Biology - EVOLUTION: 5E CER Evolution Skull Lab - includes Skull Pictures!

High School Biology - Evolution: 5E CER Evolutionary Skull Comparison Lab:

** COMES WITH PRINTABLE SKULL PICTURES for ALL IMAGES: A-K**

Includes:

This lab is designed to use 11 skulls, although you could use more or less depending on what you have. This lab includes all 11 Printable skull cards if you don't have access to any skulls.

The following is the answer key for the 11 Printable Skull cards:

A - Homo sapien sapien (modern man)

B - Homo neanderthalensis (Neanderthal)

C - Chimpanzee

D - Australopithecus afarensis (Lucy)

E - Paranthropus boisei or Australopithecus boisei

F - Gorilla

G - Homo erectus ( Java Man)

H - Homo sapien (Cro Magnon Man)

I - Spider Monkey

J - Orangutan

K - Gibbon

This lab is modeled after a classic CER (claim-evidence-reasoning) exploratory investigation, where students conduct their own study based on measurable traits, compare and correlate information, and then present their final claim (or standpoint) using evidence derived directly from the lab. The students then present their findings to the class or you can have them present their ideas in small groups, so to get the conversation going on what they discovered and why they think the way they do. Everyone will have a different approach on how they designed their graphs and correlated information.

This is a great conversation starter on how scientists correlate information as well. The key to this lab is to not only go over what species each skull is in the end, but to leave the students thinking about convergent evolution, coevolution, reproductive isolation, mutations, environmental pressures, and adaptations that these species may have gone through that lead to have these specific physical characteristics, as well as possible evolutionary relationships with each other.