Teacher sheet · Ages 6–7 · about 45–50 minutes
Same but different
Lesson page: echoesof.science/school/evolution/ages-6-7/ · Pupil worksheet: echoesof.science/school/evolution/ages-6-7/print/
Learning aims
- Know that young living things are like their parents but not identical.
- Know that some features help an animal survive where it lives.
- Retell the peppered moth story in simple words.
- Observe, count and compare in a simple game.
Lesson plan
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 5 min | Look at photos of a family of cats or dogs: what is the same, what is different? |
| 10 min | Read the text together. |
| 15 min | Hungry birds. |
| 5 min | Play Hidden or easy to see? |
| 5 min | Quiz together. |
Materials for the experiment
- Two big sheets of newspaper
- Moth shapes cut from white paper (10)
- Moth shapes cut from newspaper (10)
- A timer
Safety: Use safety scissors or ask an adult to cut the moths. Pick up the moths gently, one at a time; no grabbing or pushing.
Common misconceptions
| Pupils may think… | Actually… |
|---|---|
| An animal can change itself because it wants to. | Animals cannot choose their colour; the ones that happen to be well hidden survive more. |
| All babies of the same parents are identical. | Young animals vary a little. |
| Evolution happens in a day. | It takes a very long time, many generations. |
Worksheet answers
- A drawing with the light moth circled.
- Newspaper (usually).
- A drawing of a thick, strong beak.
Quiz answers
- Do babies look a bit like their parents? Yes, many things are passed on. Many features are passed from parents to young.[1]
- Are all the babies of an animal exactly the same? No, they are a little different. Young animals vary a little.[1]
- A finch eats hard seeds. Which beak does it have? A thick, strong beak. Seed-eating finches have thick, strong beaks.[1]
- On a dark, sooty tree, which moth is easier for a bird to see? The light moth. The light moth stands out on a dark tree.[3]
- Why did more dark moths survive long ago? Birds could not see them easily. The dark moths were hidden on the dark trees.[3]
Going further
Hide paper moths of different colours around the classroom, give children 30 seconds to find them, and see which colours are found last.
Sources used in this lesson
- [1] Biology 2e, 18.1 Understanding Evolution (OpenStax (Rice University), open textbook): reliability High
- [3] Peppered moth (Encyclopaedia Britannica): reliability High
Full list with links and a note on each source's reliability: echoesof.science/school/evolution/sources/
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