Dogs Decoded

PictureVariation within Species, BBC
For hundreds of years, humans have selectively bred species. Farmers selected crops with the best traits: tomatoes that were the most plump and full of flavor, lettuce with the largest leaves, flowers with the best color.  Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and kale all originated from a single form of wild mustard weed.   Additionally, humans helped to develop modern dog breeds by breeding those with the most desirable traits.  These are examples of selective breeding, a form of causing a species to change and one form of evidence for biological evolution: the change of species over time.  This unit will examine the statistics of traits in a population, evidence for biological evolution, and what can influence the survival of an individual as well as a species.

​Unit Question:

Are humans deciding the fate of future species?

Unit Product

Students will select a threatened or endangered species and evaluate factors influencing the likelihood of extinction as well as illustrate an understanding of the evidence for evolution.

Unit Skills

  • Skill 1: Asking why species change or are introduced
  • ​Skill 5: Examining trends and patterns
  • Skill 6: Creating explanations of species change
  • Skill 7: Engaging in Argument from Evidence
  • Skill 8: Evaluating information sources

Unit Content

  • I can explain how common ancestry and biological evolution are supported by multiple lines of evidence 
  • I can evaluate how changes in environmental conditions may result in: (1) increases in the number of individuals of some species, (2) the emergence of new species over time, and (3) the extinction of other species