Why do humans walk on two legs? Why do fish have gills? Life on Earth is incredibly diverse and part of the reason for this is evolution, or the theory that living things change with time. Evolution: How Life Adapts to a Changing Environment explores the theory of evolution, its history, how we think it works, examples of creatures who have evolved in response to specific circumstances, and what this might mean for the future of our planet.
For billions of years, the amazing story of life on Earth has been unfolding. Millions of years ago, life on earth was nothing like it is today. Dinosaurs roamed the earth and pterosaurs flew through the skies. Millions of years before the dinosaurs, it was even more different. Strange ocean creatures lived in the seas, while the land was barren. Throughout its history, Earth has been home to an incredible diversity of living things that have changed dramatically over the many millennia. How have these living creatures changed so much? And how did that change happen? The answer: evolution!
In Evolution: How Life Adapts to a Changing Environment, readers ages 9 to 12 will study evolution, or the process by which living things change over time. One of the most important ideas in biology, evolution explains why there are so many different living organisms on earth. It also explains why you are the way you are. Because of evolution, you walk on two legs and communicate with language. And although evolution is the story of our past, it also helps us understand our future and how we continue to evolve.
Throughout Evolution, investigations and experiments provide hands-on, problem-solving opportunities for students, incorporating various challenges and tools. Readers simulate the process of natural selection, trace the blue whale's evolutionary tree, and examine how fossils provide evidence of evolution and adaptation. Using readily available household and recycled materials, each activity takes the reader through an inquiry-based, open-ended investigation that leaves plenty of room to explore individual creativity. Evolution: How Life Adapts to a Changing Environment takes readers on a journey from our common ancestry to our shared future on an incredibly diverse planet.

Carla Mooney is the author of several Nomad Press books including Comparative Religion: Investigate the World Through Religious Tradition, The U.S. Constitution: How Democracy Works, and The Industrial Revolution: Investigate How Science and Technology Changed the World. Carla lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Timeline
Introduction: What Is Evolution?

Darwin's Finches

Chapter 1: How Does Evolution Work?

Useful Adaptations

Natural Selection

Survival of the Sweetest

Chapter 2: Species and Speciation

Stranded on a Desert Island

All-y-oop Speciation

Is It a Species?

African Indigobirds

Chapter 3: Classification and the Tree of Life

Make Your Own Cladogram

Read a Cladogram

Design a Classification System

Use Linnaeus's Classification System

Design a Dichotomous Key

Chapter 4: Evidence for Evolution

Make Your Own Fossil

Find Sidewalk Fossils

Exploring Half-Life

Who Came First?

Chapter 5: Human Evolution

Mapping Early Human Migration

Create a Timeline of Hominin Evolution

Comparing Skulls

Chapter 6: Why Does Evolution Matter?

Antibiotic Resistance in Your Community

Create a Public Service Announcement

The Importance of Genetic Variation

Saving a Species

Glossary
Resources
Index