How could things living today be connected to the things that lived long ago?
This is a life science unit that builds science ideas about evidence for common ancestry, natural selection, and the production of variation within population(s) of animals. Within this unit, students meet Pedro, an ancient penguin fossil.
Imagine a modern penguin, black and white and possibly marching across a frozen landscape. But what if there was a penguin found in Peru and human-sized! Meet Pedro (also known as Inkayacu or water king), the fossil remains of an ancient penguin dating back 36 million years ago. In the beginning of this unit students listen to a podcast and read a photo journal about the discovery and history of Pedro. Students then examine 18 different species of modern penguins and wonder how all 18 penguins and Pedro are connected.
In the Penguins Unit, students examine patterns within large data sets showing the different body structure variations across modern penguin species and several ancient penguins in addition to Pedro. These patterns build the basis for students to explain how these different penguins are connected and how these similarities and differences exist.