Phylogeny (HS)
The lesson will introduce students to phylogenies, including how to build and interpret them and
their application. The lesson will include a hands-on activity in which student will build a
phylogeny using candy “organisms.”
objectives
Students will be able to:
1. Understand historical and contemporary explanations of adaptation and biodiversity
2. Identify traits and use those traits to build a phylogeny
3. Correctly interpret phylogenies, including relatedness, homology and convergence
4. Apply evolutionary thinking to specific biological examples
Topic(s)
Phylogeny, biology
type
High school lesson from Sunday Academy
9-12
Grade(s):
time needed
6 hours
author
Sunday Academy
national next gen standards
north dakota standards
9-10.1.6. Identify principles governing evolution and equilibrium within systems (e.g.,
cause and effect, positive and negative feedback)
8.4.1. Identify the evidence of biological evolution. (e.g., adaptation, radiation,
extinction) as found in the fossil record
9-10.4.1. Relate the concept of natural selection to its evolutionary consequences
9-10.4.2. Identify evidence for evolution (e.g., fossil records, vestigial structures,
similarities between organisms, and DNA)
9-10.5.2. Relate the changes in the Earth’s atmosphere to the evolution of photosynthetic
life forms