Natural Selection in Humans

The following classroom-ready resources complement The Making of the Fittest: Natural Selection in Humans, a 14-minute film that describes the connection between the infectious parasitic disease malaria and the genetic disease sickle cell anemia. This connection, first discovered by Dr. Tony Allison working in East Africa, provides one of the best-understood examples of natural selection in humans.

At A Glance Film Guide (PDF)
Student Quiz (PDF)
In-Depth Film Guide (PDF)

Worksheet: A Lesson on the Nature of Science
Teacher Materials (PDF) Student Handout (PDF)
A worksheet designed to show students how scientists make their discoveries. It provides students with background information about how Dr. Allison's work built upon the contributions made by other scientists. It also probes students on their understanding of how the evidence that he collected supports the conclusions that he made.
Appropriate for: high school biology (all levels), introductory college biology

Worksheet: Testing a Hypothesis
Teacher Materials (PDF) Student Handout (PDF)
A worksheet designed to actively engage students as they watch the film. Students are asked to answer questions pertaining to the information provided in the film. Follow-up questions probe student understanding of how Dr. Allison found the link between sickle cell disease and malaria, and why this finding is important in understanding human evolution.
Appropriate for: middle school life science, high school biology (all levels)

Hands-On Activity: How Do Fibers Form?
Teacher Materials (PDF) Student Handout (PDF)
A hands-on activity in which students construct models of sickle-cell hemoglobin fibers inside red blood cells to illustrate how changes in the structure of a protein can affect cell shape. Students are then asked to relate these changes to disease symptoms.
Appropriate for: high school biology (all levels), introductory college biology.

Hands-On Activity: Population Genetics, Selection, and Evolution
Teacher Materials (PDF) Student Handout (PDF)
A hands-on activity that uses simulations with beads to teach students about population genetics, the Hardy-Weinberg principle, and how natural selection alters the frequency distribution of heritable traits. The activity includes exercises such as calculating allele and genotype frequencies, graphing and interpretation of data, and designing experiments to reinforce key concepts in population genetics.
Appropriate for: high school biology (all levels), introductory college biology

Lesson: Mendelian Genetics, Probability, Pedigree, and Chi-Square Statistics
Teacher Materials (PDF) Student Handout (PDF)
A lesson that requires students to work through a series of questions pertaining to the genetics of sickle cell disease and its relationship to malaria. These questions will probe students' understanding of Mendelian genetics, probability, pedigree analysis, and chi-square statistics.
Appropriate for: high school biology (all levels), introductory college biology