The Scientific Homeschool Blog has some wonderful posts about teaching evolution at home and a deeper look into the controversy over evolution and creationism in public schools. There's also a great article on Scientific Classification (remember all of the Kingdom, Genus, Phylum stuff from Biology) that is a great way to introduce your kids to science and give them a good foundation for learning about evolution.
If you'd like to brush up on our national discussion about evolution, check out the documentary "Flock of Dodos" which is currently available on Netflix streaming. It's a great way to teach your kids to demand evidence, learn to view websites skeptically unless they are a trusted source, and discuss propaganda and the motives behind the ID movement. If you're learning about the Separation of Church and State or the very definition of science, this topic is a perfect way to give them concrete examples.
Here are some fantastic Evolution books for kids that Kristina Brooke of For Love of Education shared:
Our Family Tree: An Evolution Story by Lisa Westberg Peters
From Lava to Life: The Universe Tells Our Earth's Story by Jennifer Morgan
When Fish Got Feet, Sharks Got Teeth, and Bugs Began to Swarm by Hannah Bonner
Evolution Revolution by Robert Winston
We regularly use PBS's Evoltion Library a free, comprehensive resource for all things evolution related, but I am still looking for more!
My daughter, 5, is already very much an investigator and sees many connections between members of different species. We have recently started prehistory and evolution has proven to be a hit with her. There are some great picture books for kids that teach evolution. We love
ReplyDeleteOur Family Tree: An Evolution Story by Lisa Westberg Peters,
From Lava to Life: The Universe Tells Our Earth's Story by Jennifer Morgan, When Fish Got Feet, Sharks Got Teeth, and Bugs Began to Swarm by Hannah Bonne, and finally, Evolution Revolution by Robert M. L. Winston.
Wow, thanks for the great book list! I'll add it to the post!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad it helped. We are science loving geeks here too so very happy to share.
ReplyDeleteMy DS12 told his Catholic school teachers in Yr 1 that he was having trouble with the creation story because all the scientific evidence did not support it!! He he! Probably just as well we are homeschooling now.
ReplyDeleteI think we are lucky in Australia - it is not such a big issue. I am a science teacher and we are HS for academic, not religious reasons, so it is a non-issue for us.
The more I read about evolution though, the more fascinating I find it and the more I appreciate not only biology, but earth sciences and astronomy and physics and chemistry as well.
Can't wait to check out those resources (LOVE Robert Winston!).
It's crazy here! I would have no problem with them discussing it in a PS World Cultures or Cultural Anthropology class, but really? Putting something with no scientific basis in a science text and demanding that teachers pretend that there's some question as to the validity of evolution? I live in the south (well, the Mid-Atlantic but culturally the south) so it's worse here. If we were a few hours north it wouldn't be as bad.
ReplyDelete