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Year 6

Researching Charles Darwin's theory of evolution

I can explain the theory of evolution by natural selection, giving examples of how it has led to animals having certain characteristics.

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Year 6

Researching Charles Darwin's theory of evolution

I can explain the theory of evolution by natural selection, giving examples of how it has led to animals having certain characteristics.

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Share activities with pupils
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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Darwin proposed the theory of evolution by natural selection to explain animals' adaptations.
  2. The theory is based on the idea that within a species, there are variations and competition.
  3. Within a habitat, some individuals will be better-adapted and others will be less-well-adapted.
  4. The better-adapted individuals are more likely to survive and reproduce, passing on these advantageous characteristics.
  5. Over a huge period of time, the advantageous characteristics become normal in the species (or can create a new species).

Keywords

  • Variations - differences between individuals in a particular species

  • Natural selection - theory that organisms with characteristics beneficial for living in a particular environment will pass on these characteristics to offspring

  • Offspring - the young of an animal

  • Evolution - the process by which living things change and develop over millions of years.

Common misconception

Pupils may believe that evolutionary changes happen rapidly.

Evolution is a process that occurs over huge periods of time.


To help you plan your year 6 english lesson on: Researching Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Show videos and pictures to support pupils' understanding of evolution by natural selection - particularly focusing on Darwin's finches if possible to support pupils' writing in subsequent lessons.
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This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which words best describe the tone of a biography?
Correct answer: factual
Correct answer: serious
imaginative
opinionated
Q2.
Which of these facts link to the theme of Charles Darwin's early life?
Correct answer: He was sent to boarding school.
The Beagle's voyage lasted five years.
Darwin was excited to visit the Galapagos.
Correct answer: He was born into a very wealthy family.
Q3.
What fact is represented by this image from the text map for Charles Darwin's life?
An image in a quiz
The Beagle's expensive voyage began in 1809.
Darwin paid lots of money to join the Beagle's voyage in 1809.
Darwin's father was born in 1809 and he worked in a bank.
Correct answer: Darwin was born in 1809 into a wealthy family.
Q4.
Which facts are represented by this image from the text map for Charles Darwin's life?
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: Darwin was sent to Edinburgh University to study medicine.
Darwin visited his doctor in Edinburgh.
Correct answer: He did not enjoy studying this subject.
Darwin did not like the city of Edinburgh.
Q5.
Which picture represents this fact? 'The Beagle visited the Galapagos Islands off the coast of South America.'
Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3
Correct answer: Picture 4
Q6.
Which of the following would we not find in a text map?
pictures
Correct answer: sentences
words
numbers

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which theory is Darwin known for?
natural selection by evolution
Correct answer: evolution by natural selection
creation
variation
Q2.
Which word describes the differences between individuals in a species?
Correct answer: variation
competition
successful
adaptations
Q3.
Fill in the gaps: If an individual has variations that make them better-adapted to their environment, they are more likely to __________ and __________.
compete
have variations
Correct answer: survive
Correct answer: reproduce
Q4.
What did Darwin notice about the Galapagos finches?
They were all very different in every way.
Correct answer: Species on different islands had different beaks.
They were all identical.
Correct answer: The beaks were adapted to the food on each island.
Q5.
Put the steps in order to explain how finches evolved larger beaks on some islands.
1 - During a storm, the birds were blown to an island where most seeds were large.
2 - Some of these birds had larger beaks.
3 - The birds with larger beaks were more successful and survived longer.
4 - These birds could reproduce more and pass on the larger-beak variation.
5 - Over a long time, having a larger beak became normal.
Q6.
True or false? Animals make the decision to change their characteristics in order to be better-adapted to their environment.
Correct Answer: false, False