Survival of the Fittest: Natural Selection, Adaptation, and Antibiotic Resistance
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Students will construct evidence-based written arguments using the CER framework to explain how natural selection causes heritable trait frequencies to shift over generations in response to environmental pressures, using antibiotic resistance and pest management as real-world contexts.
Lesson Overview
Students investigate how inherited traits affect survival, gather evidence from beak-tool simulations and population data, and construct CER arguments explaining how natural selection drives adaptation — anchored in antibiotic resistance and agricultural pest management.
Materials
- Beak Tool Kit per group: 1 pair of chopsticks, 1 pair of tweezers, 1 pair of tongs, 1 spoon
- Seed types: sunflower seeds, rice grains, dried lentils, large dried beans (mixed in a tray)
- Timer (30-second rounds)
- Population Data Table handout (Tasks 4–5)
- CER Writing Frame handout
- Four-Quadrant Notes sheet
- Colored pencils (for graphing)
- Mini whiteboards or large sticky notes for group claims
- Markers
Scaffolded Task Progression
Your group just used one 'beak tool' (chopsticks, tweezers, tongs, or spoon) to collect seeds for 30 seconds. Look at your group's results.
Using the Trait-Biome Card Sort (Card Set A), match each beak tool to the seed type it collected MOST of. Then answer:
Circle your claim: The beak tool that gave the biggest survival advantage for collecting large beans was the ___.
Write one sentence: *I claim that [tool] is best for [seed] because...*
[ Interactive graph / diagram — available in the full lesson ]
Using Card Set B (Organism Trait Cards), sort each trait card into the correct biome column on your table mat: Desert, Arctic Tundra, Tropical Rainforest, or Grassland.
After sorting, choose ONE trait-biome pair and write a claim:
*I claim that [trait] is an adaptation for [biome] because it helps the organism survive [specific challenge] in that environment.*
Then answer: Could that same trait be a DISadvantage in a different biome? Which one, and why?
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