• Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Inherited and environmental characteristics). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
• Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

1. Is this characteristic inherited or environmental: natural hair colour? (inherited (from parents) / environmental (from life)) → inherited (from parents)Prompt: Were you born with it, or did it happen during life?
2. Why do puppies look like their parents but not exactly the same? (They eat the same food. / They get a mix of characteristics from both parents. / They copy their parents on purpose. / All dogs are identical.) → They get a mix of characteristics from both parents.Prompt: Each parent passes on half of the genes.
3. Inheritance: which statement is true? (If a parent loses a finger, its babies are born without that finger. / Children are always exact copies of one parent. / Characteristics are passed on in genes. / The language you speak is inherited.) → Characteristics are passed on in genes.Prompt: Which things can be passed on in genes?

• Show a microscope image of cells and ask what students think they are looking at.
• Share the objective: Evolution and fossil evidence. Read the success criteria together.

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: Mary Anning was famous for…
• Step 1: Mary Anning's fossil finds helped show that species can become extinct.
• Step 2: So the answer is: finding important fossils, such as ichthyosaurs
• Answer: finding important fossils, such as ichthyosaurs
• Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

• Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
• Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

1. What do fossils tell us about living things? (Fossils are only made of plastic. / Living things have never changed. / Living things have changed over very long periods of time. / Dinosaurs lived at the same time as the first humans.) → Living things have changed over very long periods of time.Prompt: Older rock layers contain different fossils from newer ones.
2. Evolution: which statement is true? (Dinosaurs and early humans lived at the same time. / Fossils are evidence for evolution. / Humans evolved from modern chimpanzees. / Individual animals evolve during their own lifetime.) → Fossils are evidence for evolution.Prompt: Evolution is about populations over many generations.

• Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
• Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

• Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

1. Finches on different islands have different beak shapes. The best explanation is… (Each bird stretched its beak to reach food. / Beaks suited to each island's food helped birds survive and breed. / The birds chose their beak shape. / Beak shape is random and has no effect.) → Beaks suited to each island's food helped birds survive and breed.Prompt: Which birds would have had more chicks?
2. Evolution: which statement is true? (Dinosaurs and early humans lived at the same time. / Individual animals evolve during their own lifetime. / Evolution happens over many generations. / Humans evolved from modern chimpanzees.) → Evolution happens over many generations.Prompt: Evolution is about populations over many generations.

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-6.