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Year 6 Evolution teaching tips and ideas | Primary Science Workshops
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Y6 Evolution and Inheritance lesson plans and tips

Looking for some year 6 evolution planning and teaching tips?

Then look no further as these tips can enhance your topic either on their own or as a great supplement to our year six evolution workshop.

wow fossils as used in our y6 evolution and inheritance workshop
an insect in amber on the big screen!

Go to our year six evolution workshop page

Year 5 Evolution and inheritance full scheme of work

(you need to download them all to follow the exact scheme)

  1. Full y6 Evolution Scheme of work (6 lesson full plans with NC objectives)

  2. LESSON 1 POWERPOINT: How fossils are made

  3. LESSON 2 POWERPOINT: Mary Anning

  4. LESSON 3 POWERPOINT: Charles Darwin

  5. LESSON 4 POWERPOINT: Charles Darwin Pt2 

  6. LESSON 5 POWERPOINT: Natural selection and adaptation

  7. LESSON 6 POWERPOINT: Human Evolution

  8. Evolution and Inheritance wordsearch pack

  9. LESSON 1 fossils pictures pack

  10. LESSON 3 Beagle activity

  11. LESSON 5 animal adaptation pack

Evolution topic starter questions

  1. What is the Theory of Evolution?

  2. Who were Charles Darwin and Mary Anning?

  3. What are fossils and how are they created?

Evolution and inheritance lesson ideas

  1. Draw your own 'March of Progress' picture showing the development of humans from apes, with labels for each stage.

  2. Make a collage of cut out pictures of different animals with labels around them showing how they have adapted over time.

  3. How did our different body parts evolve?  Make a diagram of the human body with labels pointing to why you think each part developed e.g. eyebrows to stop sweat going in eyes, overhanging nose to gather more oxygen etc (will require research so could be a good mini-project idea).

y6 Evolution investigation ideas

  1. Reaction time test: working in a group, drop a ball from the same height with a person with a hand behind their back trying to catch it.  Keep going lower or further away until there is only one person left. (This demonstrates variation because some will be better than others).

  2. Do family members look alike?  Ask pupils to bring in pictures of their family members anonymously with their name and relationship on the back.  Either put them on display or go through them on the IWB and ask pupils to identify whose relative belongs to who (provokes discussion about inherited characteristics).

  3. Camouflage test: create either small clay models or drawings of creatures of a certain colour, texture and shade to try and hide them in a specific place e.g. on a tree, on the grass, on concrete and hide them around the school.  Can other people find them and can you find theirs?

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