See Chapter 3 of this document and page 185 of the National Science Education Standards for more discussion of this topic. This activity also introduces students to scientific evidence, models, and explanations as described in the accompanying excerpt drawn from the National Science Education Standards. Evidence, Models, and Explanations 2 Evidence consists of observations and data on which to base scientific explanations. Using evidence to understand interactions allows individuals to predict changes in natural and designed systems. Models are tentative schemes or structures that correspond to real objects, events, or classes of events, and that have explanatory power.
Models help scientists and engineers understand how things work.
Models take many forms, including physical objects, plans, mental constructs, mathematical equations, and computer simulations. Scientific explanations incorporate existing scientific knowledge and new evidence from observations, experiments, or models into internally consistent, logical statements. As students develop and as they understand more science concepts and processes, their explanations should become more sophisticated. That is, their scientific explanations should more frequently include a rich scientific knowledge base, evidence of logic, higher levels of analysis, greater tolerance of criticism and uncertainty, and a clearer demonstration of the relationship between logic, evidence, and current knowledge. Have the students explain what they understand about evolution.