First page & logos KS2 - STEM€¦ · Great great grandson of Charles Darwin. Darwin’s ways of...

Discover DarwinAn Education Resource for Key Stage Two

Front cover: Extract from one of Darwin’s notebooks.

Facing page: Darwin’s ‘Tree of Life’ sketch.

© 2010

Contents

Foreword

Introduction

Map of Darwin’s Landscape Laboratory

Darwin’s ways of working: Unit 1

Seed dispersal: Unit 2

Worms: Unit 3

Entangled bank: Unit 4

Acknowledgements

Useful contacts

ContentsContents

Why Darwin for nine to fi fteen year-olds? Because when he was their age, he was already watching

the natural life around him and beginning to think about what he saw! Generations of young

scientists have been inspired by Darwin, and if we point young people to what he was focusing on

and prompt them to explore it as he did, we can help them to share his insights together with the

whole experience of wonder and discovery that led him into science.

Schools that can visit Darwin’s home at Downe have a special opportunity to see how he worked

there with the plants and animals in the countryside around. But almost all schools should be able to

fi nd suitable plants, insects and other creatures somewhere near them for their own investigations.

Do bring your pupils to Down House if you can, but don’t worry if you can’t. The lessons and the

pupils’ own studies should work very well on their own.

At the end of his life Darwin was asked by a friend to provide a foreword for a book the friend had

written about plants and insects, based on Darwin’s science. Darwin liked the book very much

and wrote that if any ‘young and ardent observer’ read it, and then ‘observes for himself, giving full

play to his imagination, but rigidly checking it by testing each notion experimentally, he will, if I may

judge by my own experience, receive much pleasure from his work.’

This education pack will be a wonderful encouragement for all the young and ardent observers in our

schools today.

Randal KeynesGreat great grandson of Charles Darwin

Darwin’s ways of working: Lesson 1 1 Foreword Foreword

Discover DarwinOne hundred and fi fty years after it was published on November 24th

1859, The Origin of Species is still relevant to science and this Discover

Darwin pack is intended to help teachers to introduce Charles Darwin’s

ideas and explore his achievements. It is perhaps more important now

than it has ever been to understand what Darwin thought and how his

ideas are applicable to the issues affecting the natural world today.

This celebratory educational pack has been produced by The London Borough of Bromley, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund to encourage children to follow in Darwin’s Footsteps using The Origin of Species as a route map. From this revolutionary book, and subsequent books we have selected four themes suitable for Key Stage 2. Accompanying PowerPoints supporting each theme can be downloaded from www.darwinslandscape.co.uk.

In The Origin of Species, Darwin drew together many ideas and impressions he formed on his Beagle voyage around the world, and distilled knowledge from experiments he carried out in the 40 years he spent at his home in Downe1 village, Bromley. The landscape around Downe was his laboratory, the source of his wildlife specimens and his inspiration, as he tested and refi ned his notions of geological time, variability within species, animal and plant adaptations in response to changes in the environment over millions of years, inheritance of characteristics and the struggle for life.

Darwin’s ways of working: Lesson 1 1 Introduction Introduction

1 The original spelling of the village was Down – hence Down House. In the mid-nineteenth century, the spelling of the village name was changed to Downe, but Charles Darwin refused to alter the name of his home – hence Down House at Downe.

He walked through species-rich meadows at High Elms and along the Downe and Cudham Valleys. He crossed the heaths to collect the remarkable insect-devouring plants he noticed in boggy areas, and collected mud from local ponds. Neither worm casts on the verges nor birds and butterfl ies in the hedgerows escaped his attention, and all take centre stage in the fi nal paragraph of The Origin of Species.

Introduction

The kitchen garden provided food for his wife and his children, butler, maids, gardeners, governess and frequent visitors including the leading scientists of the time. Growing a wide range of fruit and vegetables alerted Darwin to the gardeners’ ability to breed plants to improve their size, colour and fl avour. He appreciated the results of artifi cial selection and realised that the same process must occur in the natural world; natural selection was happening all around him.

Darwin used simple experiments and techniques in his work that can be replicated in schools. Most of all he showed that observation, thinking deeply and refl ection were vital tools that drove his scientifi c enquiry. He walked around his thinking path, the Sandwalk at Down House, three or more times each day and mulled over his ideas, planned his experiments and cogitated on his results. Time for thinking and refl ection is a rare commodity in a child’s life, especially during the school day so we aim to afford opportunities in these lessons.

Using these ResourcesThe lessons included for Key Stage 2 cover curriculum topics in an integrated way; science, literacy, numeracy, art, history and ICT are included. Each lesson is self-contained but together they form a module that might be attempted in a science or environment week. It would be helpful if teachers read all of the lesson plans and supporting notes in association with the PowerPoint presentations available to download from www.darwinslandscape.co.uk to make the most effective use of the resources. Both still images and video clips are included on the slides to illustrate concepts and show examples that might otherwise be diffi cult to source. Short-term and longer-term experiments are suggested and there is advice on how to incorporate the school grounds and local green spaces or parks if a visit to the countryside around Downe village is impractical.

Enquiry-based learning is encouraged to enable children to gain knowledge and develop a broad understanding of the many concepts, principles, models and theories Darwin initiated in the fi eld of natural science. Children are encouraged to work like him so that they begin to understand the nature of science; making observations, asking questions, experimenting to investigate the natural world, collaborating with others, reading and researching. Finding evidence and making good arguments that children explain to each other emulates Darwin’s way of working.

Children can follow their own interests to gain deeper understanding and improve their skills. There are references to Gifted and Talented and Special Educational Needs activities but teachers can adapt these resources by using the appropriate language and styles of learning individuals in their class need to aid progression. Creative skills and group work are encouraged both indoors and out-of-doors but effective grouping is a strategic choice. All activities, however short, need clear outcomes and a specifi ed time limit.

IntroductionIntroduction

Introduction

An important element of these lessons is that Darwin’s scientifi c work is linked with the decisions that children make now and in the future. There are opportunities for everyone to express an opinion.

EvaluationWays of revealing gaps in knowledge and misconceptions have been included. Individuals can show what they have learned either in writing frames, models, experiments or poems. Peer assessment is promoted so that students clarify their own and others understanding in the process. It would be helpful if children use a single notebook when working with these resources. Darwin looked back on his notebooks to refl ect on his ideas and to gain inspiration and used effectively, for individual note making (not classwork), they would provide teachers with a useful assessment tool.

TechnologyDarwin used simple scientifi c equipment. All schools have access to a microscope which is probably better than the one he used. Hand lenses are helpful for seeing the things that might be overlooked out-of-doors. Digital cameras will be helpful especially if everyone in the class has opportunities to use one. Website addresses have been included but children may need help in locating specifi c information. Parents might be encouraged to engage in science activities taken from the resources e.g. collecting and weighing worm casts, and fi nding relevant information using the internet.

Health and SafetyTeachers should ensure that they have read the appropriate local authority and school guidelines. Before making a visit they should carry out a risk assessment and a preliminary visit. Where a specifi c issue has been anticipated it is highlighted in the lesson plan and access to appropriate organisation’s websites suggested.

Lesson PlanningThe lessons in this pack are designed to introduce children to Darwin’s experiments in his garden and the countryside around Down House. A visit to the area would be particularly helpful because children will see how the simplest of habitats, plants and animals were at the centre of Darwin’s work. Thereafter the school ground, a local park or even wasteland may become the key to stimulating student’s interest in the distinctive value for local scientifi c investigations.

If only one visit to Down House and Darwin’s Landscape Laboratory ispossible, students can be directed to concentrate on Darwin’s study, the wormstone, broad classifi cation of fruits and vegetables e.g. the many bean, cabbage, gooseberry varieties in the garden and thinking about his work as they walk around the Sandwalk. A visit can stimulate questions and provide evidence of Darwin’s work to support the lessons that follow. Each unit uses themes which Darwin summarised in The Origin of Species.

Bromley Environmental Education Centre at High Elms (BEECHE) provides an additional environment for students to study and observe Darwin’s landscape. For further information email: [email protected].

Unit 1 takes Darwin’s Study as its theme, because it was here that he wrote The Origin of Species. By recreating the space, placing scientifi c equipment in it and adding collections from their surroundings, children may clarify their

Introduction

ideas about Darwin’s ways of working. The design process also has great potential to engage children in creative problem solving.

Unit 2 investigates how and why seeds move. In the chapter entitled Struggle for Existence, Darwin sets out the diffi culties plants have in colonising new territory. Those seeds exquisitely adapted to travel may have a slight advantage. If children can collect mud from Keston pond or a pond near their school they can follow Darwin’s germination experiment. Ducks may feature in a pond visit and they too facilitate seed dispersal. Those seeds attached to or inside a duck can fl y with it from the pond to some ‘foreign’ environment. By modelling seeds children can show their understanding of the basic principles of seed dispersal.

Unit 3 explores the world beneath our feet. In the fi nal paragraph of The Origin of Species Darwin mentions worms because they are crucial to the complex web of life. That something so small could also change the landscape fascinated Darwin. Children can do simple experiments and basic calculations to reveal the extent of worm activity locally. In this lesson too, children’s appreciation of their part in the continuation of the web of life Darwin described is explored.

Unit 4 asks children to consider how Darwin wrote about his fi ndings. As a piece of literature, the last paragraph of The Origin of Species is poetic and stirring. As a concept, Darwin’s ‘entangled bank’ underpins the study of ecology and biodiversity today.

IntroductionIntroduction

Dar

win

’s L

and

scap

e La

bora

tory

Bro

mle

y En

viro

nmen

tal

Educ

atio

n C

entr

e at

H

igh

Elm

s - B

EEC

HE

Hig

h El

ms

Cou

ntry

Par

k

Kes

ton

Com

mon

&

Pon

ds

Dow

n H

ouse

Cudham Valley

© B

arry

Sm

all

Darwin’s ways of working: Unit 1 1Darwin’s ways of working: Unit 1 1

Darwin’s ways of workingOverview In 1842, fi ve years after returning from his Beagle voyage, Darwin moved from

London to Down House in Downe village, now in the London Borough of Bromley.

The ‘Old Study’ at Down House is where he wrote The Origin of Species. This

lesson explores the study as a means of learning about Darwin’s ways of working

and ends with pupils recreating the study in the classroom as an art project.

‘After fi ve years work [after the Beagle voyage] I allowed myself to

speculate on the subject, and drew up some short notes; these I enlarged

in 1844 into a sketch of the conclusions, which then seemed to me

probable: from that period to the present day I have steadily pursued the

same object.’ Introduction to The Origin of Species, 1859.

Lesson outcomes

at the end of this lesson children will be able to:

• describe Darwin’s ways of working

• describe and recreate Darwin’s study

• go through the design process for an art installation

Curriculum links

Art:

• fi rst-hand observation; sketchbook skills, working in 2D and 3D; exploring a range of starting points

ICT:

• fi nd reliable information on the internet

History:

• researching lives of people in history; questioning; Victorian Britain

Literacy:

• speaking and listening, understanding and responding to others; team work

• scanning and skimming texts

• writing in different forms and contexts; review and comment

Science:

• thinking creatively; testing ideas; observation and experiment

Time of yearAny time.

Timing3 days work including one day visit to Down House if possible.

Equipmentscientifi c equipment.

Resourcespost-it notes,paper,pens,Origin quotes,desktops/laptops with internet access, worksheet andsketchbooks.

Keywordsscientifi c methods,sketching,design,installation,exhibition andOld Study.

Skills developmentcommunication,ICT,collaboration,improving own learning and performance,problem solving,information processing,reasoning andenquiry.

Darwin’s study at Down House today

2 Darwin’s ways of working: Unit 12 Darwin’s ways of working: Unit 1

Lesson Sequence

IntroductionPrior knowledge of Darwin. In small groups, children:

• write on a post-it note, one thing they know about Charles Darwin;

• stick these post-its on the wall and discuss what the Darwin topic will cover.

In the introduction to The Origin of Species, Darwin explains how he wrote his book. Read the quotation to the class. In small groups, children:

• write on a post-it what they would like to fi nd out about the way Darwin worked;

• stick the post-its on the wall next to things already known. Compare and discuss the post-its. It may become clear that some questions need to be rewritten or new questions added. Write these down and add them to the post-it wall;

• keep the post-its up to refer to during the lesson and at the end.

Make sure every pupil has access to a computer that can connect to the internet. Introduce the class to Darwin’s study. Go to www.english-heritage.org.uk/Darwin2009/index.html and ask pupils to fi nd Darwin’s study. (Tip: Click on the Explore tab, Start the Tour and a map should come up where you can click on the Old Study).

By holding the left-hand mouse button and moving the mouse you can get a panoramic view of the study. Ask children for their fi rst impressions of the room.

Main activity

Split the class into 4 groups to investigate different parts of the room:

• The oval table

• The square table

• The pictures on the walls

• The bookcases (for more able pupils; the books cannot be seen clearly but these pupils could search on the internet for information about books in Darwin’s library)

Using Activity Sheet 2.1.1 provided, children write down what they can see, what use they think was made of each object and what that tells us about Darwin’s ways of working.

Bring each group together away from the computers and ask them to discuss what individuals have seen. Ask

them to come to an agreement about what the study tells us about Darwin’s ways of working and report their fi ndings back to the rest of the class.

Finish with a discussion of any objects or parts of the room that are unclear or that are diffi cult to interpret and ask pupils to identify what questions they want to fi nd the answers to on a visit to Down House or by searching the internet.

Extension activity

For those who fi nish their computer work early, ask them to look around the study closely to fi nd other items that tell us about Darwin’s ways of working. Ask them to keep a note of these extra items and report back to the class at the end of the lesson.

The oval table in Darwin’s study


Lesson Sequence continued

Outdoor Lesson If you can visit Down House

(This visit can be on the same day as the visit to the Sandwalk at Down House for Unit 4 in this series.)

Each child has a sketchbook, an activity sheet and a copy of the questions they want to answer on their visit.

• Allow one group at a time ten minutes in the study. Each looks at the objects from their investigation in more detail.

• Ask them to add detail to their Activity sheet and make some sketches of objects.

• Each group can also visit other parts of the house to see if they can get more clues elsewhere (Tip: Visit the Billiard Room and the fi rst fl oor).

• Visit the garden and make sure each child walks around the Sandwalk where Darwin went to think.

Extension activity

Ask the more able pupils to work out or fi nd out what the alcove in the corner of Darwin’s study was for. (Clue: Darwin had gastric problems for most of his life.)

What do you do if you can’t visit Down House?

Use the Down House website to explore the rest of the ground fl oor:www.english-heritage.org.uk/Darwin2009/index.html

There is also some information about Darwin from the homepage of that website. Another website to explore is www.darwinslandscape.co.uk which has information about Down House and gardens under the heading ‘Where Darwin Worked’.

The website of an exhibition put together by the American Museum of Natural History and was hosted by the Natural History Museum in London from October 2008 has a video tour of Down House:www.amnh.org/exhibitions/darwin/work/

There is a page devoted to his study:www.amnh.org/exhibitions/darwin/work/where.php which was recreated for the exhibition.

Follow up ActionExplain to the children that they are going to recreate Darwin’s study in the classroom.

• Will it be in a corner or transform the whole classroom?

• Discuss how accurate the recreation needs to be. Do all the objects need to be recreated? Can some of the objects be painted/modelled? Can pupils bring in similar objects to those in Darwin’s study? (e.g. seashells, fossils, animal bones, stones, snail shells, seed heads, plum stones).

• Each group designs a part of the study and labels their design with ideas about how each object will be recreated. Make sure they refer back to their visit sketches.

• Spend time in the next week setting up Darwin’s study.

• Open Darwin’s study to other classes and ask the children to explain what the objects tell us about Darwin’s ways of working.

• Have a class discussion after the open day to review the methods and materials used to recreate Darwin’s study and whether they would change anything or do some differently to make it more effective.

Assessing Pupils’ Progress (APP)

Each child can make a guide book for a friend or more able pupils might do so for visitors of different ages like the reception class or governors.

4 Darwin’s ways of working: Lesson 14 Darwin’s ways of working: Lesson 1

ListÊ whatÊ youÊ canÊ see:

WhatÊ doÊ youÊ thinkÊ theÊ objectsÊ wereÊ usedÊ for?

AreÊ thereÊ anyÊ objectsÊ thatÊ you'reÊ unsureÊ whatÊtheyÊ areÊ orÊ howÊ theyÊ wereÊ used?

WhatÊ doesÊ thatÊ tellÊ usÊ aboutÊ theÊ wayÊ DarwinÊ worked?

SketchÊ oneÊ orÊ twoÊ ofÊ theÊ mostÊ interestingÊ objects

Activity sheet 2.1.1: Exploring Darwin’s study

Investigator: ....................................................... The part of the study I am investigating: ............................................


Supporting Notes & PowerPoint

IntroductionThe 1-minute video of David Attenborough on the English Heritage website is a good way to start the pre-visit lesson (after the post-it note activity).

www.english-heritage.org.uk/Darwin2009/index.html

Information about the books in Darwin’s library can be found here:

www.darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?itemID=A313&viewtype=image&pageseq=1 Look at pages 11-18.

www.lib.cam.ac.uk/exhibitions/Darwin/captions.htmlLook at Cases 3, 9, 10 and 11.

www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/3620514/The-buccaneer-who-measured-the-world.html

Make a note of the questions the class has generated and have the list ready for them to take on the visit or use with the website tour.

PowerPoint

Slides 1 and 2 show the old study where Darwin wrote The Origin of Species and quotations from it relevant to the way he worked. The composite slide (Slide 6) has the following ways of working:

Top row Pollination experiments (he knew that there must be a means by which plants inherited their characteristics > weed patch experiment (struggle for life) > carnivorous plants (he fed them on various materials) > worm stone measuring tool (see wormstone) > wild gooseberries (he was interesting in selective breeding of fruit and vegetables)

Middle row Thrum eyed and pin eyed Primulas grown in the garden (variation within a species) > small weed - struggle for life (see weed patch) > parasitic plants (toothwort grows at Down House) it has evolved with its host plant – co-evolution > the wormstone (the amount of soil brought to the surface by worms) > Darwin bred pigeon to understand variability within a species

Bottom row He studied orchid structure - Orchids in Downe Valley here again co-evolution took place > superfecundity of seeds (see weed patch experiment) > climbing plants in his greenhouse (different clinging methods and adaptation that helped plants reach the light and grow well) > The Sandwalk (his thinking path) > he grew a range of cabbages (54 varieties) in his garden to look at life cycles, pollination and variability in plants.

Investigator: ....................................................... The part of the study I am investigating: ............................................

The fi rst run of 1250 copies were sold out on the fi rst day

6 Darwin’s ways of working: Unit 16 Darwin’s ways of working: Unit 1

Supporting Notes & PowerPoint continued

Ring 020 7499 5676 to book a visit to Down House. For details online, go to: www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.1578 Entry is free for education visitors.

Follow up ActionChildren should fi nd out that Darwin used many different scientifi c research methods. He:

• read many books by earlier scientists and thinkers that shaped his ideas,

• observed, noted and sketched the interesting things he saw while on the Beagle voyage or around Downe in Kent and referred back to these later,

• collected animal and plant specimens and got other scientists and enthusiasts to send him specimens to study,

• experimented by using living plants and animals,

• corresponded and talked with many scientists and enthusiasts in different fi elds to help him formulate his ideas and

• made notes, worked those up into an outline and then added detail to make a book. He didn’t write The Origin of Species all in one go.

More quotes from the introduction of The Origin of Species for you to use

‘When on board the H.M.S. Beagle as naturalist, I was much struck

with certain facts in the distribution of the organic beings inhabiting

South America, and in the geological relations of the present to the

past inhabitants of that continent.’

‘My work is now (1859) nearly fi nished; but as it will take me many

more years to complete it, and as my health is far from strong, I have

been urged to publish this Abstract.’

‘This Abstract, which I now publish, must necessarily be imperfect. I

cannot here give references and authorities for my several statements;

and I must trust the reader reposing some confi dence in my accuracy.’

‘I much regret that want of space prevents my having the satisfaction

of acknowledging the generous assistance which I have received from

very many naturalists, some of them personally unknown to me.’

‘At the commencement of my observations it seemed to me probable

that a careful study of domesticated animals and of cultivated plants

would offer the best chance of making out this obscure problem.

(That problem being natural selection)’

Seed dispersal: Unit 2 1Seed dispersal: Unit 2 1

Seed dispersalOverview On the Beagle Darwin thought about the plants he saw on both sides of the

Atlantic Ocean and decided that they were similar in many respects. In the Kent

countryside he observed the ways in which seeds were dispersed. Some travelled

only a short distance from their parent plant and competed with it for light,

nutrients and water. Other seeds travelled further and could arrive, hundreds of

miles away, in a place that had a different climate and soil and had to compete with

the plants that grew there already.

‘Seeds are widely dispersed by various means, and some will occasionally

be brought from distant stations, where their parents have grown under

somewhat different conditions…from a more shady or sunny, dry or moist

place, or from a different kind of soil containing other organic or inorganic

matter.’ Charles Darwin, The effects of cross and self fertilisation in the vegetable

kingdom, 1876.

Lesson outcomes

• children will fi nd evidence of Darwin’s ideas about why so many seeds are produced, how seeds are distributed and whether his conclusions are still valid

Curriculum links

Science:

• life processes common to plants include reproduction

• life processes in familiar animals and plants and theenvironments in which they are found

• the life cycle of fl owering plants, including seed dispersal and germination

• different plants and animals found in different habitats; adaptation and competition

Time of yearAutumn & when plants are in seed.

Timing2 x 1 hour lessons, a 2 hour visit and a long-term experiment.Equipmentscience notebook,digital camera,spoons,plastic boxes andplastic bags.

ResourcesField Studies Council (FSC) identifi cation charts,art/craft materials andstring.

Keywordsweather,wind,drought,frost,waterlogging,food chain,theorising,fresh water andsea water.

Skills developmentobservation,reasoning from evidence, argumentation andcreativity.

Health & Safetypond visit.

Dandelion seeds are transported by the wind

Lesson Sequence

IntroductionGive out the picture of a duck (Activity Sheet 2.2.1). Individually, children are given 3 minutes to mark on the duck in blue pencil/pen where ducks may carry seeds.

Starter activity

PowerPoint

Darwin investigated how seeds moved from place to place. In pairs children discuss the different distances seeds may travel according to the dispersal method. They complete the luggage labels (Activity Sheet 2.2.2) and use string to tie the labels to a line across the classroom.

Plenary

Make a table of the advantages and disadvantages of each method. In pairs, children use their duck picture again and, in a different colour, add more information about where the duck might be carrying seeds (outside and inside).

Outdoor LessonIf you can visit Keston Ponds Keston or Cudham Ponds could have provided the mud Darwin used in his germination experiment but mud from a school pond or local pond will work too. Explain what Darwin did at the pond.

Darwin’s instructions on how to collect pond mud:‘I took in February three table-spoonfuls of mud from three different points, beneath water, on the edge of a little pond.’

Look at the plants around the pond and up to 5 metres away. Try to identify them. Find evidence of the animals using the pond (sightings and evidence e.g. feathers, tracks, droppings).

Take photographs of ducks, droppings, or plants around the pond.

2 Seed dispersal: Unit 22 Seed dispersal: Unit 2

M

arsh Marigold

Keston Ponds

Seed dispersal: Unit 2 3


Follow up Action

Long-term activity

Treat the pond mud as Darwin did: ‘I kept it covered up in my study for six months pulling up and counting each plant as it grew; the plants were of many kinds, and were altogether 537 in number.’

If you could pull out the seedlings carefully and plant them in a seed tray the plants that grow can be identifi ed. How they came to the pond is a point for discussion.

When all of the seeds have germinated, dry and weigh the mud. The mud Darwin collected ‘when dry weighed only 6 ounces.’ Why is the amount of soil important?

Short-term activities

In groups children prepare a presentation about the pond visit and the evidence they found regarding seed dispersal on, in or near the pond.

Darwin was interested in how seeds could withstand sea water to populate islands. Using the data in the table, children complete the germination rates. They suggest how Darwin could conclude that: ‘some plants might under favourable conditions be transported over ... the sea 300 or even more miles …and if cast on the shore of an island not well stocked with species, might become naturalised.’

Long-term extension activity

Scientists in Darwin’s day thought that continents must have sunk. Islandsin the ocean were thought to be the tops of mountains. Similar plants would grow right across the continent and so, when the sea drowned some of the land, similar sorts of plants would continue to grow on the edges of the new sea. Darwin thought this nonsense. Read the letter in the Gardener’s Chronicle (see Supporting Notes & PowerPoint page 7) and think about how this experiment would help him to make his case.

Debate the idea that seeds cannot survive a journey across the oceans to reach land hundreds of miles away.


Individually children use art materials to make a model of a seed that ‘they have discovered’ and explain how it is distributed.

Seedlings growing in Darwin’s Greenhouse

Activity Sheet 2.2.1: Seed dispersal

Seed Name: .............................................

Travel by ...................................................

Distance ........................ metres/kilometres

Possible delays? ..........................................

................................................................

Activity Sheet 2.2.2: Seed dispersal luggage label



IntroductionThe Duck: PowerPoint slide 2 and Activity Sheet 2.2.1.

PowerPoint

Each of the slides can be used to generate questions.Slide 13 may help when reconsidering where ducks carry seeds. Ducks can trap seeds in the feathers and on their beaks. They carry mud which may contain seeds on the underside of their feet and seeds can lodge on the webbed upper part of the foot.

Darwin made the following observations: ‘The crops of birds do not secrete gastric juice, and do not, as I know by trial, injure in the least the germination of seeds.’

Sketch of the insides of a duck

He theorised that if the bird died soon after eating the seed, this seed would remain viable. It takes from 12 to 18 hours for seed to pass into the gizzard. If the bird migrates during this time, seed could move hundreds of miles. In some cases ‘A bird in this interval might easily be blown to the distance of 500 miles.’ But on average ‘We may safely assume that … their rate of fl ight would often be 35 miles an hour.’

At its new destination Darwin’s next observation is important ‘In the course of two months, I picked up in my garden 12 kinds of seeds, out of the excrement of small birds, and these seemed perfect, and some of them, which were tried, germinated.’

Migratory birds are mobile and carry seeds, they can take the seeds far from the parent plant and into a new environment entirely in a very short time. The big questions then are a) will the seed germinate, b) whether seedlings can compete with plants that are established at the new site and c) if seeds do germinate and grow, whether they can survive in this new environment.

Ducks may remove external seeds by preening, dropping mud and from weed they bring out of the water. The duck leaves its droppings, which may contain seeds, on the bank.

Other ways in which seeds cross oceans include travel on weed rafts, drift wood, on ships (and now aircraft) and some very large seeds fl oat e.g. coconut (inside its large green outer husk).

Seed dispersal: Unit 2 7


Use the other PowerPoint slides to complete the following activity.

Luggage Label

A differentiated exercise: each child fi lls in the label. Some dispersal methodsare easier to describe than others e.g. an acorn drops from the tree andbounces a few metres away or it can be buried by a bird a few metres or a fewkilometres away. In pairs, the children compare their labels and talk about the pros and cons of their method.

They turn their label over and on the top half they write one reason why it is a good dispersal method and one reason why it is not. On the bottom half of the label they draw a picture of the seed being dispersed.

Plenary

Make a table of the advantages and disadvantages of each method.

Example

Examples: the wind blows seeds but there is no certainty that the seed will reach an ideal location to germinate. If an acorn stays near its parent plant then it has to compete for light but a sudden removal of an oak tree allows acorns to germinate and grow rapidly. The soil conditions may be exactly right near the parent plant and moving away from this area could make germination or growth less likely.

Outdoor LessonPond visit

(A view of Keston Ponds is on PowerPoint Slide 12)

Health & Safety - follow school and local authority guidelines on visits that include being near water. All children should be given the opportunity to take photographs. They can make notes, collect specimens e.g. leaves, seeds, and look for wildlife or collect evidence of wildlife.

Extension activity

Children can be asked to think about how they would set up an experiment to fi nd out whether they can answer Darwin’s question. Does sea-water kill seeds?

‘I have begun making some few experiments on the effects of immersion in sea-water on the germinating powers of seeds, in the hope of being able to throw a very little light on the distribution of plants, more especially in regard

to the same species being found in many cases in far outlying islands and on the mainland. Will any of your readers be so kind as to inform me whether such experiments have already been tried? And, secondly, what class of seeds, or particular species, they have any reason to suppose would be eminently liable to be killed by sea-water? The results at which I have already arrived are too few and unimportant to be worth mentioning.’ Charles Darwin, Gardener’s Chronicle.

Acorns


Seed type Number of days in salt water

Number that germinated

Germination rate (Darwin)

(a) Observation on the germination rate

(b)

Red Pepper 137 30 out of 56 Came up well

Celery 137 6 out of 100

Oats 120 50 out of 100 Pretty well

Spinach 120 Not stated Very well

White broccoli 11 Not stated Came up excellently

White broccoli 22 All killed

Lettuce, carrot, Cress, radish

85 Not stated Very few germinated

Dwarf kidney beans

11 Not stated killed

Peas 14 Not stated killed

Darwin’s seed water experiment

This is a potential maths activity

If you decide to repeat this experiment with some of the seeds mentioned, the table can be extended where indicated to add (a) Germination rate for our experiment and (b) Observations on our germination rate. The saline solution is made with 1 litre of water to approximately 2 tablespoons sea salt.

Darwin worked out that seeds will survive in sea water for 10 days on average and, with the help of ocean currents running at an average of 33 miles a day, a seed could fl oat some 330 miles.

Debate: Use all of the information in these 3 lessons to look at the arguments for and against the proposition: Seeds cannot survive a journey across the oceans to reach land hundreds of miles away.

Worms: Unit 3 1Worms: Unit 3 1

WormsOverview

Darwin investigated the place of living things in the formation of the

landscape. The amount of earth that earthworms bring to the surface

can be judged by two methods; the rate at which objects left on the

surface are buried, and more accurately by weighing the quantity

brought up within a given time. Worm casts are then spread out more

or less completely by the rain and wind. Earthworms not only transform

landscape but also take raw materials and turn them into nutrients that

are taken up by plants to become part of their tissue. Plants are the

source of almost all organic life.

Darwin wrote about earthworms as agents of change: ‘It is a marvellous refl ection that the whole of the superfi cial mould [soil] ….. has passed, and will again pass, every few years through the bodies of worms.’ Charles Darwin, The formation of

vegetables mould through the action of worms, 1881.

Lesson outcomes

• children will appreciate that worms make small changes to the landscape that lead to large changes over time

Curriculum links

Science:

• links between life processes in familiar animals and plants and the environments in which they are found

• food chains showing feeding relationships in a habitat

• living things and the environment need protection

Time of yearSpring or autumn (not during drought or frost).

Timing3 x 1 hour lessons and an experiment taking 1 week.

Equipmentscience notebook,camera,spoons,plastic boxes andquadrats (or string to enclose a specifi c area).

Resourcestable 1 andidentifi cation keys.

Keywordsweather,drought,frost,water logging,food chain,digestion,decomposition,indicator andtheorising.

Skills developmentobservation,reasoning from evidence andargumentation.

Health & Safetyhand washing after touching soil.

Earthworm

2 Worms: Unit 32 Worms: Unit 3

Lesson Sequence

Introduction

Starter activity

In pairs children use the words in Activity Sheet 2.3.1 to explain what is going on under their feet. (SEN groups can be given a selected set, G&T groups use all). Everyone adds to the drawing of a soil profi le on Activity Sheet 2.3.2 and the resulting frieze is displayed.

PowerPoint

Ask the children to think about each of the questions and how they might set up investigations to fi nd the answer.

Outdoor Lesson Understanding worm activity

For Darwin’s wormstone experiment (see Supporting Notes & PowerPoint). The tasks can be completed at Down House, in a local park or school grounds.

Task1: fi nding worm casts. In groups children look for and record where they fi nd worm casts. They photograph the site and the worm cast. They collect a sample of a worm cast using a spoon and put it in a small plastic box.

Task 2: In groups they then look for worm casts in specifi c environments:

• under a deciduous tree/hedge;

• under a coniferous tree/hedge;

• in an open area of ground;

• in a fl ower/vegetable plot and

• in pots/containers.

Task 3: There is a regrouping so that someone from each of the different groups makes up new groups. They feedback their information and decide whether worm activity is different under different conditions and kinds of vegetation. These groups think about why they think this is happening (Observation, thinking about variables and theorising).

Worm casts on a lawnEarthworm burrow

Worms: Unit 3 3Worms: Unit 3 3


Follow up ActionHow would children test Darwin’s ideas?

• an investigation based on worms bringing soil to the surface

• an investigation based on the effect of worms on soil fertility

Each group presents its proposal under these headings and the best ones are attempted.

Extension activity

Role play/simulation (Activity Sheet 2.3.3). Children take part in the activity as individuals representing the roles and the audience that votes or groups take on the roles (more diffi cult when it comes to the vote).

Everyone puts forward their views on the effect of decisions that humans make on wildlife.

The maths extension activity (page 7) applies maths to the movement of soil in different environments.

Creative activity using IT

Make an internet search for worm facts e.g. www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfi les/416.shtml.

One of these facts will be that an earthworm is segmented. Make a segmented worm by creating a table about 6cm down an A4 page that has 12 rows each 4cm wide and all 2cm deep except the 8th row down, make that 3cm deep. In each row type a worm fact from the search and in the 8th row write about the saddle. *Draw an elongated rounded tail that will fi t on the end furthest from the saddle and a rounded head at the saddle end. Write information about eyes and other head - related facts on the head and add facts to the tail. Shade the table in brown making sure that the writing is visible. Print the table onto thin card. Cut out the table, making a small v-shaped cut at each of the intersections. Display the worms going head fi rst into burrows drawn on a long, narrow sheet of brown wrapping paper at fl oor level.*If children fi nd this too diffi cult draw the head and tail separately, add the facts by typing them out and sticking them on the head and tail and attaching the head and tail with a paper fastener to the main body.

Discuss the facts the children have found.


Use Activity Sheet 2.3.1 again. Individuals then add to Activity Sheet 2.3.2 and the frieze is displayed again.

Example of a segmented earthworm

fact

fact

fact

fact

fact

fact

fact

fact

saddle

fact

head

tail

4 Seed dispersal: Lesson 2

Worm cast Roots Worm

Humus Burrow Water

Bury Stem Leaf

Grinding Bones Stones

Nutrients Flower Seeds

Dead plants Landscape Clay

Twigs Snail shells Flowers

Mole Oxygen Coins

Activity Sheet 2.3.1

Words that help to show what is happening in the soil under our feet.

Act

ivit

y sh

eet

2.3.

2: S

oil p

rofi

le


A brief outline of the confl ict: Ê TheÊ parkÊ andÊ childrenÕsÊplaygroundÊ hasÊ aÊ moleÊ problem.Ê TheÊ LÊ shapedÊ parkÊ hasÊ noÊ molesÊinÊ theÊ playgroundÊ area,Ê onÊ theÊ shortÊ sideÊ ofÊ theÊ LÊ andÊ theyÊ onlyÊappearÊ toÊ beÊ atÊ theÊ veryÊ topÊ edgeÊ ofÊ theÊ LÊ shape,Ê furthestÊ awayÊfromÊ theÊ playgroundÊ andÊ thisÊ areaÊ isÊ leastÊ usedÊ becauseÊ thereÊ isÊnoÊ seatingÊ here.Ê SomeÊ peopleÊ wantÊ toÊ getÊ ridÊ ofÊ theÊ molesÊ toÊ makeÊtheÊ parkÊ lookÊ neatÊ andÊ tidy.Ê WildlifeÊ groupsÊ areÊ againstÊ killingÊmolesÊ becauseÊ thereÊ areÊ fewerÊ habitatsÊ nowÊ forÊ molesÊ inÊ towns.ÊTheÊ meetingÊ isÊ toÊ discussÊ andÊ decideÊ whatÊ shouldÊ beÊ doneÊ aboutÊtheÊ moles.Ê Ê

1.Ê PeopleÊ whoÊ useÊ theÊ parkÊ andÊ areÊ forÊ theÊ molesÊ stayingÊ sayÊthatÊ theyÊ areÊ quiteÊ happyÊ toÊ shareÊ theÊ parkÊ withÊ molesÊ becauseÊtheyÊ areÊ doingÊ noÊ realÊ harm.Ê Ê WhyÊ doesÊ theÊ parkÊ needÊ toÊ beÊ neatÊandÊ tidy?Ê EveryÊ weekÊ orÊ so,Ê humansÊ digÊ holesÊ toÊ plantÊ treesÊ orÊbulbsÊ butÊ molesÊ onlyÊ digÊ forÊ food.Ê

2.Ê PeopleÊ whoÊ useÊ theÊ parkÊ andÊ areÊ againstÊ theÊ molesÊ sayÊthatÊ theÊ molesÊ makeÊ theÊ parkÊ lookÊ untidyÊ andÊ theyÊ donÕtÊ wantÊ toÊcomeÊ toÊ seeÊ aÊ mess.Ê TheyÊ areÊ sureÊ thatÊ theÊ molesÊ willÊ undermineÊtheÊ playgroundÊ orÊ trees.Ê TheyÊ sayÊ itÊ isÊ aÊ parkÊ notÊ aÊ wildlifeÊreserve.

3.Ê TheÊ BoroughÊ CouncilÊ caresÊ forÊ theÊ parkÊ atÊ aÊ costÊ ofÊ £200,000ÊaÊ year.Ê ItÊ wantsÊ theÊ parkÊ toÊ beÊ wildlifeÊ friendlyÊ butÊ itÊ hasÊ toÊ takeÊaccountÊ ofÊ healthÊ andÊ safetyÊ regulations.Ê IfÊ molesÊ areÊ creatingÊ aÊhealthÊ andÊ safetyÊ hazardÊ thenÊ itÊ mustÊ takeÊ action.Ê

4.Ê TheÊ localÊ BiodiversityÊ ActionÊ GroupÊ wantsÊ theÊ molesÊ toÊ beÊleftÊ inÊ peace.Ê MolesÊ areÊ onlyÊ inÊ theÊ parkÊ becauseÊ thereÊ areÊ plentyÊofÊ earthworms.Ê TheÊ molesÊ liveÊ inÊ theÊ leastÊ usedÊ partÊ ofÊ theÊ parkÊwhereÊ fewÊ peopleÊ go.Ê TheÊ wholeÊ ofÊ thisÊ areaÊ couldÊ beÊ leftÊ forÊwildlifeÊ becauseÊ thereÊ areÊ soÊ fewÊ wildÊ habitatsÊ leftÊ inÊ theÊ borough.ÊItÊ isÊ unlikelyÊ thatÊ theÊ molesÊ willÊ digÊ downÊ toÊ undermineÊ anyÊ treesÊbecauseÊ earthwormsÊ usuallyÊ liveÊ withinÊ aÊ metreÊ ofÊ theÊ surfaceÊ andÊtheyÊ areÊ lessÊ likelyÊ toÊ liveÊ inÊ theÊ dryÊ areaÊ underÊ trees.

5.Ê TheÊ LocalÊ gardenÊ clubÊ wouldÊ preferÊ theÊ molesÊ toÊ stayÊ inÊ theÊparkÊ andÊ notÊ beÊ inÊ everyÊ gardenÊ aroundÊ about.Ê SomeÊ goÊ toÊ theÊparkÊ everyÊ yearÊ andÊ takeÊ theÊ soilÊ fromÊ moleÊ hillsÊ toÊ useÊ asÊ pottingÊcompost because it is so fi ne and weed free. They suggest sowing grass seed on the fl attened mole hills to make the park look better.Ê TheyÊ thinkÊ molesÊ areÊ lessÊ likelyÊ toÊ goÊ intoÊ theÊ playgroundÊbecauseÊ theÊ soilÊ hasÊ beenÊ turnedÊ overÊ andÊ theÊ earthwormsÊ theÊmolesÊ eatÊ haveÊ notÊ hadÊ timeÊ toÊ re-establishÊ themselvesÊ inÊ thatÊ soil.

Activity Sheet 2.3.3: Moles in the park

Worms: Unit 3 7

Soil Movement over time: maths extension activity

In pairs convert inches to centimetres (2.5cm = 1 inch).

Work out the average amount of soil that is added over a 10-year period.

In the last column explain why you think that row varies from the average you have worked out.

What could you do to improve the soils in the areas with below average movement of soil? (Tip: what conditions do worms like?)

Place Worm casts taken from:

Depth of soil that would be added over10 years

Depth in cm

Reasons for the difference from the average

Maer Hall, Shropshire

Dry sandy grass fi eld

2.2 inches in 10 years

Maer Hall Swampy land 1.9 inches in 10 years

Downe, Kent Pasture land 2.2 inches in 10 years

Downe, Kent Pasture on very poor soil on the side of a valley

0.83 inches in 10 years

Average depth of soil added over 10 years

Worms: Unit 3 7



The wormstone

Darwin, and his son Horace, invented a wormstone to measure the rate at which earthworms displace soil. The worm stone was a round millstone 40-50cm in diameter placed fl ush with the ground. Long metal rods were driven into the ground through this hole. The rods don’t move and act as a reference point to detect any movement of the stone.

The wormstone was placed on a site where earthworms were abundant. As each worm travelled under the stone it ingested a tiny amount of the soil. As many worms removed soil as they passed under the stone it sank slowly into the ground.

Regularly Charles and Horace measured the height of the stone in relation the top of the metal rod. At fi rst they found that nearby tree roots were pushing the stone up faster than the action of the earthworms caused it to sink. So they moved the stone to a different place in the garden. In his book, Formation of Vegetable Mould (see www.darwin-online.org.uk/) Darwin tells us that the action of the worms caused the stone to sink at a rate of 2.2 millimetres a year. Darwin estimated from these fi gures that on every acre of his land some 18 tons of soil was brought to surface annually by the action of earthworms. Recent UK research suggests that poor soil may support 625,000 earthworms, per hectare and rich fertile farmland up to 2,937,500 per hectare.

IntroductionThe diagram (2.3.2) and words (Activity Sheet 2.3.1) can be used at the beginning of the lesson to show what children understand about soil. After the PowerPoint children might then add what they have learnt. They might colour the layers, add worms, a mole, animal bones and pottery bearing in mind that the scale of the diagram is approximately one third of actual size. The diagrams can make a frieze around the classroom by matching up the worm burrows.

PowerPointEach picture has some relevance to Darwin’s ways of working. See notes beneath each slide.

Follow up Action • If tiles can be set out in the school grounds or even in a raised bed or fl ower

bed in September there could be some evidence that burial is beginning by the following July.

• Composting experiments using different materials.

Worms in a jar to show mixing. Layer the coloured sand and compost and introduce the worms. Let the worms burrow into the soil for about 30 minutes and then cover the jar with a box to keep out the light, only remove the box when feeding. Feed with material that would go into a compost bin and dead leaves. Do not add water. Follow RSPCA guidelines on animal handling and care and keep handling to a minimum www.rspca.org.uk/ (go to education homepage then FAQs). Health & Safety hand washing after touching soil.

Moles in the park. Activity Sheet 2.3.3. Groups take on a role of a participants or organisation. Allow about 5 minutes for them to decide their main objectives (they can add information e.g. parks and wildlife in general). Each speaker (group) has 3 minutes to put the case for the organisation or individual. The audience votes to decide the outcome.

The class discusses the effect of their decision on wildlife.

The measuring device for the wormstone, made by Horace Darwin in 1878

Experiment to show that earthworms mix soil

Darwin’s wormstone in his garden at Down House

Entangled bank: Unit 4 1Entangled bank: Unit 4 1

Entangled bankOverview The entangled bank is an iconic image from The Origin of Species. Darwin

often used a poetic writing style in his work. This lesson explores the techniques

Darwin used and modern poetic science writers. The lesson fi nishes with a

whole class poem about evolution.

‘When we look at the plants and bushes clothing an entangled bank,

we are tempted to attribute their proportional numbers and kinds to

what we call chance. But how false a view is this!’ Charles Darwin,

The Origin of Species, 1859.

Lesson outcomes

at the end of this lesson children will be able to:

• analyse poetic science writing

• write creatively on the topic of evolution

Curriculum links

Literacy:

• group discussion and interaction; use action and narrative to convey themes; use dramatic techniques to explore issues; evaluate effectiveness of performances

• recognise the effect of fi gurative language; consider poetic forms; read poems aloud

• plan and draft their own writing

Science:

• review different methods of presenting science

History:

• impact of a signifi cant individual in Victorian Britain

Time of yearAny time.

Timing3 days including 1 day visit to Down House if possible.

Equipmentcomputer,printer,laminator anddigital recorder.

Resourcespaper,pens,quote from Origin,notes about meaning,quotes from other science writers andcoloured pencils.

Keywordspoetic science,writing styles andpoetry.

Skills developmentcommunication,working with others,reasoning,creative thinking andevaluation.

Plants and bushes on Downe Bank

2 Entangled bank: Unit 42 Entangled bank: Unit 4

Lesson Sequence

IntroductionIt’s time to consider how Darwin wrote about his work.

• Ask each pupil to write down one thing under each of these headings:

How did Darwin do his work?

What kind of experiments did he do?

What did he fi nd out?

• Ask them to rewrite their points in one of these different styles:

newspaper article

children’s science book

script for a radio programme

• Ask them to read out their fi nal piece and explain how writing it in their chosen style made them think differently about what they were writing.

Discuss how these different styles get the information across in different ways. Which is most informative? Which is most persuasive?

Main activity

Look at the Entangled Bank on the PowerPoint Slide 2 before reading the fi nal paragraph of the The Origin of Species with the class (see Supporting Notes & PowerPoint). Ensure everyone understands what Darwin means in this paragraph, particularly the laws (spelt with capital letters).

Then start a discussion about Darwin’s writing technique.

What is he trying to get you to think about in the fi rst line of this paragraph? Is he successful? Why?

Why did he write certain words with capital initial letters? What was he trying to say about these words?

What do the children imagine when they read the last line of the paragraph? Ask everyone to make a picture (drawing, mood board, abstract) of these thoughts.

Extension activity

Children could compare Darwin’s writing with the science books in the library. More able pupils could compare Darwin’s writing with modern science writers (See Supporting Notes & PowerPoint, Page 7).

Keston pond

Darwin’s writings were inspired by his observations such as a male digger wasp on a fl y orchid

Entangled bank: Unit 4 3Entangled bank: Unit 4 3


Outdoor Lesson If you can visit the Sandwalk at Down House

(This visit can be on the same day as the visit to Down House for Unit 1 in this series.)

In the afternoon go to the far end of the garden and through the green door is the entrance to the Sandwalk. Explain to the children that Darwin walked here every day to think through the discoveries he was making and how to write about them.

Ask the children to walk slowly around the Sandwalk in single fi le with three or four paces between each child. Everyone should think about what they have learned about Darwin and think of some ideas for a line of poetry to describe evolution.

Ask the children to write down their thoughts after their walk. These will beworked-up back in the classroom. Ask them to note down why they thinkDarwin walked around the Sandwalk so often..

What do you do if you can’t visit Down House?

Set up your own thinking path in the school grounds or decide where you can walk around a local park or wood. Darwin’s thinking path was a circular walk of about 500m around a small copse of trees surrounded by fi elds.

When you have chosen your thinking path, ask your pupils to walk slowly round it and follow the suggestions for using the Sandwalk .

Follow up ActionExplain to the children that they are going to write a class poem to explain evolution. In pairs they work on two lines of a poem to describe evolution based on their idea from the Sandwalk. Suggest that they should try to use at least one of these techniques to create very vivid imagery:

• metaphor • alliteration

• simile • rhyme

Each line can be typed up, printed out and laminated while the pupils are drawing illustrations for their poem.

When the lines and drawings are ready, work with the class to mount them on the wall. Experiment with lines and pictures in different places until everyone agrees the poem is fi nished.

New

imag

e of

San

dwal

kO

ld im

age

of S

andw

alk

Illus

trat

ion

of a

n en

tang

led

bank


Extension activity

Everyone can write one or more sentences that explain an entangled bank as they perceive it. (See PowerPoint Slide 5) what do you think?

More able pupils can write their own version of Darwin’s last paragraph. How would they rewrite it so it was clearer to modern readers? Would they include any of the poetry the class has written to bring the ideas alive?


Split the class into groups and ask them to prepare to perform a section of the poem. They can add actions, noises, expressions and use different tones of voice to convey the poem. (Tip: Record sounds on your visit or outside the classroom to add to the performance.)

Children in each group then perform their section, making sure that everyone in the group contributes.

Children in other groups use the rubric and discuss each performance and how effective it was at putting across Darwin’s ideas (Slide 14).

Entangled bank: Unit 4 5

Assessment criteria rubric:

Criteria To a small extent To a moderate extent To a great extent

Pupils have represented Darwin’s ideas accurately

Pupils have used poetic techniques effectively

Pupils have contributed to an effective performance

Pupils have contributed to the evaluation of performances


Refer back to seed dispersal (Unit 2) for instance, where plants often rely on animals to disperse seeds or to human reliance on worms (Unit 3) and the job they do.

1

2 Darwin meant that each offspring of a plant or animal is generally different from its siblings or more distantly related individuals. Natural Selection happens when a slight variation gives an individual a real advantage over others in the struggle for life.

3 Refers to Darwin’s discovery that many more plants or animals are produced than can survive and so compete with each other to sustain life.

4 Divergence of Character meaning animals and plants diverge over many years into different species and replace those of its species that are less well adapted and suffer Extinction.

5 Darwin is referring to highly evolved, specialised animals e.g. woodpeckers, hedgehogs, and humans.


Final paragraph of The Origin of Species.

It is interesting to contemplate a tangled

bank, clothed with many plants of many

kinds, with birds singing on the bushes,

with various insects fl itting about, and with

worms crawling through the damp earth, and

to refl ect that these elaborately constructed

forms, so different from each other, and

dependent upon each other in so complex

a manner1, have all been produced by laws acting around us. These laws,

taken in the largest sense, being Growth with Reproduction; Inheritance

which is almost implied by reproduction; Variability2 from the indirect and

direct action of the conditions of life, and from use and disuse: a Ratio of

Increase3 so high as to lead to a Struggle for Life, and as a consequence to

Natural Selection, entailing Divergence of Character4 and the Extinction of

less-improved forms. This, from the war of nature, from famine and death,

the most exalted object which we are capable of conceiving, namely, the

production of the higher animals5, directly follows. There is grandeur in

this view of life, with it’s several powers, having been originally breathed

into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling

on according to the fi xed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless

forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being evolved.

Visit alternatives

PowerPoint Slide 11 show an old photograph of part of the Sandwalk also available at www.darwin-online.org.uk/life19.html. Modern photographs are also on the PowerPoint Slides 12 and 13 and other photographs can be found at www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.14922/chosenImageId/6



Poetic science to compare with Darwin:

Stephen Jay Gould, 1989. Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History. Norton & Company, New York, p24.

These Canadian fossils [in the Burgess Shale] are precious because they

preserve in exquisite detail, down to the last fi lament of a trilobite’s gill, or the

components of a last meal in a worm’s gut, the soft anatomy of organisms.

Our fossil record is almost exclusively the story of hard parts. But most

animals have none, and those that do often reveal very little about their

anatomies in their outer coverings (what could you infer about a clam from

it’s shell alone?)

Edward O. Wilson 2001The Diversity of Life. Penguin Books Ltd, London, p3.

In the Amazon Basin the greatest violence sometimes begins as a fl icker

of light beyond the horizon. There in the perfect bowl of the night sky,

untouched by light from any human source, a thunderstorm sends its

premonitory signal and begins a slow journey towards the observer, who

thinks: the world is about to change. And so it was one night at the edge of

the rain forest north of Manaus, where I sat in the dark, working my mind

through the labyrinths of fi eld biology and ambition, tired, bored, and ready

for any chance distraction

Richard Dawkins, 2005. The Ancestor’s Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Life. Phoenix, London, p572.

‘You bipedal apes, you stump-tailed tree shrews,…. you newcomers on

the block, you eukaryotes1, you barely distinguishable congregations of

a monotonously narrow parish, you are little more than fancy froth on the

surface of bacterial life. Why, the very cells that build you are themselves

colonies of bacteria, replaying the same old tricks we bacteria discovered a

billion years ago. We were here before you arrived, and we shall be here after

you are gone’.

1 Eukaryotic cells are large, complex cells with walled nuclei and mitochondria that make up the bodies of all animals and plants.


Darwin’s ways of working: Lesson 1 1 Acknowledgements Acknowledgements

This publication has been produced by the London Borough of Bromley, supported by The Heritage Lottery Fund.

The World Heritage Team (Alister Hayes and Aimee Clarke), London Borough of Bromley would like to thank all the contributors for their assistance.

Authors:

Dr Sue JohnsonDr Dawn SandersEmma NewallKim Biddulph

Contributors:

The Charles Darwin TrustRandal KeynesEnglish HeritageBromley Environmental Education Centre at High ElmsThe London and Kent Wildlife TrustsCudham CE Primary SchoolDowne Primary SchoolNewstead Wood School for GirlsCharles Darwin School

Images and illustrations copyright of:

English HeritageSteven J. BaskaufJohn & Irene PalmerBarry SmallJohn RossDr Sue JohnsonDr Dawn SandersEmma NewallKim BiddulphLondon Borough of Bromley

Design and layout by Nicky Coulton, The Design Studio, London Borough of Bromley

Please accept our apologies if we have missed naming you as a contributor.

Useful contactsUseful contacts

The London Borough of BromleyWorld Heritage Team [email protected]

The Charles Darwin [email protected]

Bromley Environmental Education Centre at High Elms (BEECHE)[email protected]/beeche

The Home of Charles Darwin, Down House - English Heritage01689 859119: Down House020 7499 5676: Schools bookings & informationwww.english-heritage.org.uk/server.php?show=nav.14922

Further Information:

UNESCO Associated Schools A global network of schools promoting quality education. The UK network supports the integration of international perspectives in schools and promotes the values of UNESCO, including human rights, mutual respect and cultural diversity. www.unesco.org.uk/unesco_associated_schools

Natural History Museumwww.nhm.ac.uk/

International Year of Biodiversitywww.biodiversityislife.net/

Natural Englandwww.naturalengland.org.uk

London Wildlife Trust www.wildlondon.org.uk

Kent Wildlife Trust www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk

Bromley Biodiversity Partnershipwww.bromleybiodiversity.co.uk

Downe Scout Activity Centrewww.scouts.org.uk/sac/schools_navigation.php?pageid=2439

Shaws Guide Camp Sitewww.cudhamguidecampsite.org.uk/

Cudham Environmental Activities Centrewww.cudhameac.org.uk

Downe Residents’ Associationwww.downenews.com

First page & logos KS2 - STEM€¦ · Great great grandson of Charles Darwin. Darwin’s ways of...

Documents

Transcript of First page & logos KS2 - STEM€¦ · Great great grandson of Charles Darwin. Darwin’s ways of...