Format
1. The museum's research into human origins is introduced to the students.
2. The concept that all humans are the same species is discussed, using vocabulary words: HABITATS, VARIATION, ADAPTATIONS
3. Other animal species that show variation in their behaviors/appearances are discussed.
3a. Students can be invited to stand and arrange themselves according to various traits, like age or eye color. (this depends on your room layout)
4. UV-sensitive beads are shown to explain how human skin adapted to different levels of sun exposure as we migrated into new habitats.
5. Other real specimens are shown to illustrate how human bodies respond to varying levels of UV radiation.
6. Questions are taken throughout the program.
Objectives
• Use museum research to explain how the human species has its origins in Africa
• Describe how differences in human skin color are biological adaptations to life under the sun
• List variations other animal species have that help them survive in different habitats
• Identify ways that the word ‘race’ includes many ideas that are not the same as biological variation of our physical bodies
Standards Alignment
State Standards
OHIO LEARNING STANDARDS
Grade 2 Science: Interactions within Habitats: All organisms alive today result from their ancestors, some of which may be extinct
Grade 3 Life Science: Behavior, Growth and Changes: Offspring resemble their parents and each other. Individuals of the same kind of organism differ in their inherited traits. These differences give some individuals an advantage in surviving and/or reproducing.
Grade 4 Life Science: Earth’s Living History: 4.LS.1: Changes in an organism’s environment are sometimes beneficial to its survival and sometimes harmful.
Grade 5 Social Studies: Regions and People of the Western Hemisphere: Historical Thinking and Skills, Early Civilizations, Heritage
Grade 6 Life Science: Cellular to Multicellular: Living systems at all levels of organization demonstrate the complementary nature of structure and function.
Grade 7 Life Science: Cycles of Matter and Flow of Energy: In any particular biome, the number, growth and survival of organisms and populations depend on biotic and abiotic factors.
Grade 7 Social Studies: Geography Strand, Human Systems: Improvements in transportation, communication and technology have facilitated cultural diffusion among peoples around the world.