Developing & Testing Curricula for Teaching Evolutionary Concepts at the Elementary School Level

Evolution by natural selection is key to understanding life and of considerable practical importance in public health, medicine, biotechnology, agriculture. The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) include among several evolutionary concepts that all third-graders should know. This article explores a novel approach developing testing curricula for teaching related children. College students developed lesson plans with specific learning objectives based on the NGSS taught them at elementary schools. Learning was assessed pre/post-test design, subset retested after two years. After just hours instruction active-learning activities, three grade levels tested (grades 3–5) demonstrated substantial improvement their concepts. Students who were 5 scored higher than fifth-graders had not participated previously. most challenging common ancestry selection, but showed more third- fourth-graders. If this finding substantiated further research, an adjustment schedule might be warranted. Spacing biology out better strategy concentrating 3.