9-12: Science

The study of heredity and genetics is an excellent opportunity to talk about how genes contribute to human diversity. Some aspects you might want to highlight in class include human variation in skin color, differences in how we taste the foods we eat (PTC), variations in traits like lactase persistence, and the non-binary nature of biological sex. Resources for these topics include the following:

    • Human Skin Color:
      • http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/biology-skin-color
      • For variations in human skin color we highly recommend the following resource from HHMI biointeractive. HHMI BioInteractive has an excellent, and comprehensive, module on the biology of skin color hosted by Penn State University anthropologist Nina Jablonski. This module includes tips for educators, interactive and non-interactive videos, an animation and activities. Many HHMI resources are also available in Spanish.
    • Lactase persistence:
      • http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/making-fittest-got-lactase-co-evolution-genes-and-culture
      • For lactase persistence, HHMI BioInteractive has an excellent, and comprehensive, module on the biology and bioevolutionary significance of lactase persistence hosted by human geneticist Spencer Wells (the Director of the Genographic Project of the National Geographic Society). This module includes click and learn videos, activities, and a film guide. Many HHMI resources are also available in Spanish.
    • PTC and human taste:

RACE: The Power of an Illusion | For Teachers

    • RACE: The Power of an Illusion | For Teachers: Comparing mtDNA Sequences to Learn About Human Variation
    • RACE: The Power of an Illusion | Jamestown: Just an Environment or a Just Environment? Racial Segregation and its Impacts
    • RACE: The Power of an Illusion | For Teachers: The Empirical Challenges of Racial Segregation
    • RACE: The Power of an Illusion | For Teachers: The Genetics and Evolution of Skin Color
    • RACE: The Power of an Illusion | Jamestown: Planting the Seeds of Tobacco and the Ideology of Race
    • RACE: The Power of an Illusion | For Teachers: Comparing Chimp mtDNA to Learn About Races
    • RACE: The Power of an Illusion | Is Race Real?

 

Conversations about evolution at the High School level are an excellent opportunity to explore the idea that humans evolved, just like other animals, and that humans are, in many ways, a product of their environment.

    • Bones and Stones – Origins of Modern Humans
      • http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/bones-stones-and-genes-origin-modern-humans
      • HHMI BioInteractive has a comprehensive, module on human evolution featuring anthropologists Tim White (University of California, Berkeley), John Shea (Stony Brook University), and Sarah Tishkoff (University of Pennsylvania). This module includes tips for educators, interactive and non-interactive videos, an animation and activities. Many HHMI resources are also available in Spanish.

Cladogram activities are a great way to introduce students to the idea that we are part of a larger web of life, all connected through evolution. These resources provide a useful baseline for understanding how scientists create phylogenies.

    • Larry Flammer Cladogram Activity

 

Humans change their environments in many ways. These videos highlight the ways that different cultures interact with, and impact, the land around them.

  • Fire Hunting in Australia
    • This video introduces students to the practice of fire hunting, a traditional method of catching Goanna lizards.

 

Due to the current impact humans are having on the global climate, there is a wealth of resources out there addressing the ways in which humans have impacted water quality, air quality, etc. Some of our favorites include the following:

  • NASA Climate Web Resources

 

Humans can also change their more immediate environments. This links provide some interesting examples of the ways in which human actions impact the world around us:

  • Evolution of the Peppered Moth
    • This video explains how, during the Industrial Revolution, human-created pollution in the UK lead to genetic changes in Peppered Moth populations.
    • This video discusses how poaching practices in Sub-Saharan Africa may to be leading to selection for tuskless elephants!

 

While not directly anthropological, many educational sources addressing topics related to human evolution also address stratigraphic principles, the process of fossilization, and how scientists excavate and clean fossil remains.