Lindsey Polizzotti

Date: 3/24 and 3/27

Title: Color Variation over time in Rock Pocket Mouse Populations
Purpose: To reinforce concepts of adaptations, variation, and natural selection.
Learning outcomes:
Mutations alone are neither bad or good, its the environment that determines whether it is
advantageous, negative, or neutral.
Mutations that give a population an advantage will increase over time becoming an adaptation.
Variation occurs naturally within all populations.
Student Objectives:
I can explain how mutations can become adaptations based on the environmental conditions.
I can describe how variation and selection lead to evolution.
I can analyze and organize data in tables and graphs.
Standards:
7.MS-LS2-1: Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of periods of
abundant and scarce resources on the growth of organisms and the size of populations in an
ecosystem.
7.MS-LS2-2: Describe how relationships among and between organisms in an ecosystem can
be competitive, predatory, parasitic, and mutually beneficial and that these interactions are
found across multiple ecosystems.
7.MS-LS2-4. Analyze data to provide evidence that disruptions to any physical or biological
component of an ecosystem can lead to shifts in all its populations.
7.MS-ESS2-2. Construct an explanation based on evidence for how Earths surface has
changed over scales that range from local to global in size.

Lesson Outline Friday.

1) Introduce objectives (2 mins)
2) Refresh students on what we covered in the past few classes. (3 mins)
a) Just covered different relationships in ecosystems (symbiotic, competition,
cooperation) and we also touched on natural selection.
b) Today we will be exploring natural selection and see a real world example of
evolution happening in a relatively short time frame.
 c) Remember that some traits are inherited and give an organism a greater chance
to survive and reproduce.
3) Give each student a hand out and read through the introduction together. (2 mins)
4) Give each table a set of 4 images. Ask students to count the number of light and dark
colored mice at the different locations in both A and B record in table. Then organize the
images in order from oldest to most recent. Then explain your reasoning under question
3.(~10 mins)
5) Watch the 10 minute film Making of the Fittest, Natural Selection and Adaptation from
HHMI Biointeractive. Go over questions they should think about as they watch it. (~15
mins) Discuss the video briefly.
6) Look at your illustrations do you feel you are correct or need to rearrange? Once you are
satisfied you are correct, ask the teacher to check. Then fill in the table below on the
second page. (5 mins)
7) You will now create a bar graph or line graph (your choice) based on the data. You may
choose to do two graphs one for location A and one for location B, or attempt to include
all the data in a single graph. Be thoughtful when selecting colors for you graph and be
sure to make sure all parts of the graph are present (remind them of example on wall) (~
20 mins)
8) *They likely wont finish wrap up the class by asking a few questions about what they
have learned thus far. Let them know they will finish their graphs on Monday. Remind
students to clip this page into their science binder.

Monday- Continuation of Lesson.

9) Reiterate the objectives (2 mins)
10) Ask a few questions to jog their memory about the video and what happened.
11) Give them time to finish the graph and answer the analysis questions.
12) At the end of class those who have finished collect (if students need more time they can
finish for homework)

Check for understanding

Assess their oral ability to discuss in small group and answer questions
Assess their graph and answers to questions.
Resources: HHMI Biointeractive open source activity and short film.
www.hhmi.org/biointeractive