S9.3.3

Knows that biological evolution accounts for a diversity of species developed through gradual processes over many generations; species acquire many of their unique characteristics through biological adaptation (e.g., changes in structure, behavior or physiology that enhance reproductive success), which involves the selection of naturally occurring variations in populations.

Scavenger Hunt: Simulating Natural Selection

To help students learn, in a more concrete way, how natural selection operates, I came up with an activity that simulates evolution by natural selection. In this simulation, students take on the roles of crab-like predators that have variations in the shape of their "claws." These feeding appendages catch prey (pinto beans), and come in four variants: spoons, forks, knives, and chopsticks. Groups of students go hunting/scavenging for beans on grass lawns with their feeding appendages.

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