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Lesson 1 (from Chapter 1)

Objective

The Selfish Gene is a book about evolutionary biology. Understanding evolution and how it works is fundamental to Dawkins' arguments. The objective of this lesson is to understand evolution as Dawkins applies it.

Lesson

1) Assign each student a term used to talk about evolution, including natural selection, survival of the species, species, trait, survival of the fittest, mutation, and adaptation. Have students research and define their term, and have each student present their term in class. Discuss the terms and their meanings.

2) As a class, discuss how Dawkins presents evolution. Why does he say that evolution is not for the good of a species, but a gene? How would these two different ways of thinking about evolution be different?

3) Break the students up into groups. Give each group a simulation of a group of creatures with different characteristics. Ask each group to predict, using the ideas...

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