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Year 6

Evolution: evidence

I can research a living thing that has evolved over time.

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New
New
Year 6

Evolution: evidence

I can research a living thing that has evolved over time.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Evolution is the process by which living things can gradually change over time.
  2. The huge variety of living things in the world today is the result of evolution over time.
  3. The theory of evolution has been proven through evidence from fossils as well as living animals and plants.
  4. The evolution of living things can be researched using secondary sources of information.

Common misconception

Pupils may think evolution is just one possible suggestion or an unproved idea about how living things change over time, due to the common use of the word ‘theory’ for an initial idea or suggestion.

Use the examples in the lesson to explain there is enough evidence supporting the theory of evolution for us to be certain that it is scientific fact, rather than an idea we are still unsure about.

Keywords

  • Theory - A theory is a carefully thought-out explanation for something about our world that is based on learning from scientific enquiry.

  • Adaptation - An adaptation is a feature of a plant or animal that helps them to survive in their habitat.

  • Evolution - Evolution is the process by which living things change over time.

  • Ancestor - Your ancestor lived in the past and is directly related to you.

  • Secondary sources - Secondary sources are texts, images or objects created using information gathered by others.

For Task 2 pupils must research the differences between two species of penguin. This could easily be changed to a different animal that is closer to your pupils’ interests. For example, they could research hares and Arctic hares instead or polar bears and sun bears.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Access to secondary sources of information about penguins (non-fiction texts or the internet).

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Fossils can give us evidence about living things that lived millions of years ago. What are fossils?
An image in a quiz
Special types of rock.
Animal bones that have been frozen.
Living things that have died and are decaying.
Correct answer: The remains or imprints of living things preserved in rock.
Q2.
How do scientists form their theories?
Correct answer: They use all the evidence they have from enquiries.
They gather opinions from their friends and family.
They use their intuition and gut feelings.
Q3.
A species is…
Correct answer: a distinct type of living thing.
a group of animals.
a unique type of plant.
the offspring of a living thing.
Q4.
Which of these people are not one of Alex’s ancestors?
An image in a quiz
his mother
his father
Correct answer: his sister
his grandfather
Q5.
An adaptation is a feature of a living thing that helps it to in its habitat.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: survive, stay alive
Q6.
The term 'survival of the ' explains how living things that are better adapted to their habitats are more likely to survive, reproduce and pass their characteristics on to their offspring.
Correct Answer: fittest

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
The huge variety of living things in the world today is a result of over time.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: evolution, evolving
Q2.
Evolution is the process by which …
environments change over time.
Correct answer: living things change gradually over time.
organisms change rapidly over a single generation.
Q3.
How can we find out more about how living things have evolved over time?
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: Carrying out research using secondary sources of information.
Carrying out research using fiction texts.
Carrying out a fair test enquiry.
Q4.
What evidence do scientists have that supports the theory of evolution?
Correct answer: the fossil record
Correct answer: living things that are alive today
volcanic rock
prehistoric photographs
Q5.
Which of these statements about evolution is correct?
Living things can choose to evolve if their habitats change.
There is no proof to support the theory of evolution.
Only animals can evolve, not plants or micro-organisms.
Correct answer: Evolution happens over time and over many generations of a species.
Q6.
Which of these is an example of evolution?
Tadpoles becoming frogs as they get older.
Correct answer: Birds developing different beaks in different habitats over many generations.
Plants producing one generation of offspring who inherit their adaptations.
Animals shedding a thick winter coat when the weather becomes warmer in spring.