Planet of Life: Apes to Man: Teacher’s Guide
Grade Level: 6-8
Curriculum Focus: Animals
Lesson Duration: Two class periods
Program Description
Climb our family tree in Apes to Man to find out how the unpredictable forces of evolution shaped
our primate ancestors and Earth's first hominids. And discover the many fine traits we have in
common — including perception, cleverness, and a gift for communicating!
Onscreen Questions and Activities
Segment 1, Planet of Life: Apes to Man: Part One
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Pre-viewing questions:
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What do you know about how organisms evolved? Do you know how different
species evolved?
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As you watch the documentary, pay attention to the ways in which evolution is
applied to humans. Take note of the evidence used to support the ideas presented.
Post-viewing questions:
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Scientific theories often change as new information is revealed. Discuss the
significance of the discovery of Lucy.
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How did the study of her skeleton provide a turning point in the understanding of
human evolution?
Activity: Find out what happens after the discovery of an important fossil. Use print and online resources to research the complete process, from collection to laboratory analysis,
preparation, model building, classifying and naming.
Segment 2, Planet of Life: Apes to Man: Part Two
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Pre-viewing questions:
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What do you know about the geological events that created the Great Rift Valley in
Africa?
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How did these events affect the surrounding environment?
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As you watch the documentary, pay attention to the ways that these geological
events may have influenced the evolution of apes.
Planet of Life: Apes to Man: Teacher’s Guide
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Post-viewing questions:
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The documentary shows how theories of human evolution have changed with the
discovery of new evidence. Discuss the nature of scientific theories in general.
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How does a hypothesis become a theory? Illustrate your discussion with examples
from the documentary.
Activity: Compile a list of important discoveries that have provided evidence in support of
human evolution. Then develop a concept map that shows how these discoveries are related.
What conclusions do you draw from this map?
Lesson Plan
Student Objectives
Students will understand:
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Primates (e.g., monkeys and apes, such as chimpanzees and gorillas) in the African savannas, or
grasslands, were the first animals in evolutionary history to exhibit bipedalism, or the ability to
walk on two feet.
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About 3.5 million years ago in Africa, the first hominids appeared—bipedal primates who
walked erect. Those early hominids were the ancestors of recent humans.
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The ability to walk erect gave hominids greater speed, stamina, and agility, and therefore a
better chance for survival in the African savannas, or treeless plains.
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The ability to walk erect is considered a milestone in human evolution because it allowed for
the use of arms and enabled the production of complex sounds necessary for human speech.
Materials
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Planet of Life: Apes to Man video and VCR, or DVD and DVD player
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Computer with Internet access or videotapes of primates such as monkeys and chimpanzees
walking
Procedures
1. Share the following information with your students: Primates (e.g., monkeys and chimpanzees)
in the African savannas, or grasslands, were the first animals in evolutionary history to exhibit
bipedalism, or the ability to walk on two feet.
2. Tell the class that they are going to observe and analyze the way human beings walk and
compare human walking with that of other bipedal primates (monkeys or apes, such as
chimpanzees and gorillas).
3. Have several volunteers demonstrate typical human walking by walking up and down several
times in front of the class.
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Planet of Life: Apes to Man: Teacher’s Guide
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4. Each student should make a written list of observations of the demonstration. Suggest that
students include posture as well as foot, leg, and arm motions in their observations. (Note: You
may want to remind students that they are making scientific observations and caution them not
to include any inappropriate or judgmental remarks in their descriptions.)
5. Have students watch a demonstration of at least one other type of primate walking, such as a
monkey, gorilla, or chimpanzee. The class could watch a video, or download a video from a
Web site.
6. Each student should make a written list of observations similar to the ones they made for the
human walking demonstration.
7. After students have completed their observations, hold a class discussion to compare and
contrast human walking with the walking of the other primate observed.
8. Conclude the discussion by telling the class that about 3.5 million years ago in Africa, the first
hominids appeared—bipedal primates who walked erect. Those early hominids were the
ancestors of recent humans.
9. Next, have the class assign ratings based on their observations. They should rate both primates
for speed, stamina, and agility based on a system of 0 (very low) to 10 (very high). Students
should conclude that humans rate higher than other primates.
10. Finally, hold a wrap-up discussion with the class, or have students form small discussion
groups, to talk about why hominids had a better chance for survival on the African savannas, or
treeless plains, than earlier primates. Students should conclude that without trees to climb, the
ability to run quickly over long distances was more important for survival than the ability to
brachiate, or use arms to swing through the tree branches in a forest habitat.
11. Tell students that, in addition, the ability to walk erect (without bending over or touching the
ground with the hands) is considered a milestone in human evolution because it allowed for the
use of arms for other purposes. Also, erect posture enabled the production of complex sounds
necessary for human speech.
Discussion Questions
1. Discuss some traits of primates that distinguish them from other mammals.
2. Discuss the significance of the discovery of Lucy.
3. Discuss the universality of DNA and how this molecular data can be used to construct family
trees.
4. Explain the geologic events and the consequences created by the formation of the Great Rift
valley.
5. Explain how human behavior is different from the behavior of other animals.
6. Why are primate fossils rare?
Assessment
Use the following three-point rubric to evaluate students' work during this lesson.
Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved.
Planet of Life: Apes to Man: Teacher’s Guide
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3 points: Student observations careful and complete; comparisons and contrasts careful and
complete; conclusions and answers show creative thinking.
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2 points: Student shares adequate observations; comparisons and contrasts adequate;
conclusions and answers need more thought.
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1 point: Student shares adequate observations; comparisons and contrasts inadequate;
inadequate conclusions and answers.
Vocabulary
anthropoid
Definition: Humanlike. (Note: Anthropoidea is a suborder of primates.)
Context: Higher primates (more advanced) such as monkeys, chimps, and humans are known
collectively as anthropoids.
bipedalism
Definition: The condition of having two feet or of using only two feet for locomotion.
Context: Humans and chimps exhibit bipedalism when walking.
brachiating
Definition: To progress by swinging from one hold to another by the arms.
Context: In trees, brachiating is a more efficient form of locomotion than bipedalism.
genetic maps
Definition: The arrangement of genes on a chromosome.
Context: Genetic maps can show evolutionary relationships.
hominid
Definition: Any of a family (Hominidae) of erect, bipedal, primate mammals comprising recent
humans together with extinct ancestral and related forms.
Context: One of the earliest signs of human arrival is hominid imprints dating back 3.5 million
years.
savanna
Definition: A treeless plain.
Context: A savanna is a tropical grassland with seasonal rainfall and drought and adapted
scattered bushes and other plants.
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Planet of Life: Apes to Man: Teacher’s Guide
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Academic Standards
National Academy of Sciences
The National Science Education Standards provide guidelines for teaching science as well as a coherent
vision of what it means to be scientifically literate for students in grades K-12. To view the standards,
visit http://books.nap.edu.
This lesson plan addresses the following science standards:
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Life Science: Diversity and adaptations of organisms
Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL)
McREL's Content Knowledge: A Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K-12 Education
addresses 14 content areas. To view the standards and benchmarks, visit
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/browse.asp.
This lesson plan addresses the following national standards:
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Science—Nature of Science: Understands the nature of scientific inquiry.
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Science—Life Science: Understands biological evolution and the diversity of life.
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Science—Earth Science: Understands Earth's composition and structure.
Support Materials
Develop custom worksheets, educational puzzles, online quizzes, and more with the free teaching tools
offered on the Discoveryschool.com Web site. Create and print support materials, or save them to a
Custom Classroom account for future use. To learn more, visit
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http://school.discovery.com/teachingtools/teachingtools.html
Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved.