Grade Levels: 9-12

Time Allotment: Two to three 45-minute class periods

Overview:

In this lesson, students will use selected segments from the PBS series The Human Spark to explore how the capacity for language develops in the human brain, and about how that capacity distinguishes us from other animals.

The Introductory Activity first asks students to brainstorm what distinguishes humans from other primates, and then presents a video clip in which psycholinguist Stephen Pinker suggests that language is one of three unique human qualities. The Learning Activities further explores the development of language in children, the possible origins of words, the function and nature of grammar, and the interconnected anatomy of the brain’s “language loop.” For the Culminating Activity, students will write a short essay summarizing what they’ve learned and positing an unanswered question as a jumping-off point for further research.

This lesson is best used as an introduction to linguistics or psychology, or as a supplement to a biology unit on the anatomy of the brain

Subject Matter: Psychology, Biology, Linguistics, Evolution

Learning Objectives:

Students will be able to:

• Describe several ways in which humans are unique among species
• Outline the sequence of language developmental in children
• Suggest theories for the origins of language
• Explain how tool use and language capacity may be linked in the brain
• Name the parts of the brain involved in language, describing their specific function and relative location in the brain’s anatomy

Standards:

From the National Science Education Standards

Content Standard: 9-12

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY

Content Standard A: As a result of activities in grades 9–12, all students should develop:

UNDERSTANDINGS ABOUT SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY

• Scientists usually inquire about how physical, living, or designed systems function. Conceptual principles and knowledge guide scientific inquiries. Historical and current scientific knowledge influence the design and interpretation of investigations and the evaluation of proposed explanations made by other scientists.
• Scientists conduct investigations for a wide variety of reasons. For example, they may wish to discover new aspects of the natural world, explain recently observed phenomena, or test the conclusions of prior investigations or the predictions of current theories.
• Scientists rely on technology to enhance the gathering and manipulation of data. New techniques and tools provide new evidence to guide inquiry and new methods to gather data, thereby contributing to the advance of science. The accuracy and precision of the data, and therefore the quality of the exploration, depends on the technology used.
• Results of scientific inquiry—new knowledge and methods—emerge from different types of investigations and public communication among scientists. In communicating and defending the results of scientific inquiry, arguments must be logical and demonstrate connections between natural phenomena, investigations, and the historical body of scientific knowledge. In addition, the methods and procedures that scientists used to obtain evidence must be clearly reported to enhance opportunities for further investigation.

Media Resources:

Video:

Clip 1: “Dr. Steven Pinker: Language Makes Us Human”

In this outtake from The Human Spark, Psycholinguist Stephen Pinker discusses the three things he believes makes us distinctly, uniquely human: language, cooperation, and technological “know how.”

Clip 2:  “The Language Spark”

An excerpt from episode 3 of The Human Spark, Episode Three: “Brain Matters” exploring the human brain’s unique capacity for complex language.

Websites:

“Language on the Brain”

A video exploring how the brain processes language,  produced by the American Museum of Natural History for its exhibit “Brain: The Inside Story.”

“The Language Loop”

An educational website from McGill University in Montreal exploring how specific parts of the brain process different aspects on language comprehension and production.

Materials:

For the teacher:

• A computer with internet access connected to a projector and speakers for classroom use.
• “The Sound of Language” Student Organizer Answer Key (PDF) (RTF)
• “The Language Loop” Student Organizer Answer Key (PDF) (RTF)

For each of five group of students:

• A computer with internet access.

For each student:

• “The Sound of Language” Student Organizer (PDF) (RTF)
• “The Language Loop” Student Organizer (PDF) (RTF)

Prep for Teachers:

Prior to teaching this lesson, you will need to:

Preview all of the video segments and websites used in the lesson.

Download the video segments used in the lesson to your classroom computer, or prepare to watch them using your classroom’s internet connection.

Bookmark the website used in the lesson on each computer in your classroom. Using a social bookmarking tool such as delicious.com or diigo (or an online bookmarking utility such as portaportal) will allow you to organize all the links in a central location.

Proceed to Lesson Activities.

Grade Levels: 5-8

Time Allotment: Two 45-minute class periods

Overview: In this lesson, students view and discuss video segments from the PBS program The Human Spark, as they learn about what distinguishes human beings from other species. In the Introductory Activity, students list similarities and differences between human beings and other species.  In Learning Activity 1, students explore how human thought differs from that of chimpanzees and other species. In Learning Activity 2, students explore a variety of traits/abilities (including language & symbols, social life and the ability to walk upright) and learn how they have evolved in humans over millions of years and how these traits/abilities distinguish humans from other animals. In the Culminating Activity, students compose essays about what makes humans unique.

Subject Matter: Science; Psychology

Learning Objectives:

Students will be able to:

• Compare and contrast human traits/abilities with those of other species.
• Describe how human thinking differs from that of other species.
• Explain one specific human trait/ability and describe how it has evolved over time.
• Discuss at least four ways in which humans differ from other species.

Standards:

National Science Education Standards

Grades 5-8:
Content Standard C: Life Science
As a result of their activities in grades 5-8, all students should develop understanding of:

• Regulation and Behavior
  • All organisms must be able to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions while living in a constantly changing external environment.
  • Regulation of an organism’s internal environment involves sensing the internal environment and changing physiological activities to keep conditions within the range required to survive.
  • Behavior is one kind of response an organism can make to an internal or environmental stimulus. A behavioral response requires coordination and communication at many levels, including cells, organ systems, and whole organisms. Behavioral response is a set of actions determined in part by heredity and in part from experience.
  • An organism’s behavior evolves through adaptation to its environment. How a species moves, obtains food, reproduces, and responds to danger are based in the species’ evolutionary history.
• Diversity and Adaptations of Organisms
  • Millions of species of animals, plants, and microorganisms are alive today. Although different species might look dissimilar, the unity among organisms becomes apparent from an analysis of internal structures, the similarity of their chemical processes, and the evidence of common ancestry.
  • Biological evolution accounts for the diversity of species developed through gradual processes over many generations. Species acquire many of their unique characteristics through biological adaptation, which involves the selection of naturally occurring variations in populations. Biological adaptations include changes in structures, behaviors, or physiology that enhance survival and reproductive success in a particular environment.
  • Extinction of a species occurs when the environment changes and the adaptive characteristics of a species are insufficient to allow its survival. Fossils indicate that many organisms that lived long ago are extinct. Extinction of species is common; most of the species that have lived on the earth no longer exist.

National Standards for Psychology Curricula

Standard Area IVC: Thinking and Language

• CONTENT STANDARD IVC-1: Basic elements comprising thought
  Students are able to (performance standards):
  • IVC-1.1 Define thinking as a mental process involved in the manipulation and understanding of information. Students may indicate this by (performance indicators): a. Identifying mental images and verbal symbols as elements that comprise thinking.
• CONTENT STANDARD IVC-4: Theories and developmental stages of language acquisition
  Students are able to (performance standards):
  • IVC-4.3 Speculate on whether animals acquire and use language. Students may indicate this by (performance indicators): b.  Relating conclusions drawn from early attempts to teach language to primates; c.  Discussing contemporary views on whether animals can acquire language.

Media Resources

The Human Spark, selected segments

• Human vs. Chimp Thinking
  A discussion about how human thought differs from that of chimpanzees.

• Beyond the Present
  A look at humans’ unique ability to reflect upon events that have happened in the past and think about things that could possibly happen in the future.

• Thinking about Thinking
  A discussion about the ability of humans to think about others’ thoughts.

• Insight and Imagination

An overview of how insight and imagination distinguish humans from others.

Additional segments which students can use in their research for Learning Activity 2:

• A Matter of Size
  A look at the brains of a rat, monkey, chimp and human and why some brains are bigger than others.

• Cooperation

A brief look at the cooperative and social nature of humans.

• Human Language

A look at the difference between human language and other species’ communication systems.

• The Art Spark
  An exploration of early cave art and what it tells us about our ancestors.

Website:

What does it mean to be human?

This Smithsonian Institution website explores what it means to be human and provides a variety of information, photographs and web interactives. The site features a “human characteristics” section, which can be used in Learning Activity 2. This section focuses on human characteristics which have evolved over the past 6 million years: http://humanorigins.si.edu/human-characteristics.

Materials

For the class:

• Computers with internet access
• Computer, projection screen and speakers (for class viewing of online/downloaded video segments)

Before the Lesson

Prior to teaching this lesson, you will need to:

Preview all of the video segments and websites used in the lesson.

Download the video clips used in the lesson to your classroom computer(s) or prepare to watch them using your classroom’s Internet connection.

Bookmark all websites which you plan to use in the lesson on each computer in your classroom. Using a social bookmarking tool such as delicious or diigo (or an online bookmarking utility such as portaportal) will allow you to save the links in one location.

Proceed to Lesson Activities.

Grade Levels: 9-12

Time Allotment: Two to three 45-minute class periods

Overview: In this lesson, students will use selected segments from the PBS series The Human Spark to investigate the differences and similarities between the respective social dynamics of humans and our closest primate relatives and what they may tell us about what—if anything—may make us uniquely human.

In the Introductory Activity, students are asked to brainstorm what the basic building blocks of human society are, and asked to consider whether any of these are indeed unique to humans, or if they may also be found in the animal world. In the Learning Activity, they will watch a series of excerpted clips from The Human Spark comparing and contrasting the social and individual behavioral tendencies of humans and primates along three main themes: altruism/helping/cooperation, laws/rules/power/politics, and learning/teaching. In the Culminating Activity, students will divide into groups to compare the observations they have made throughout the lesson on their student organizers and make brief presentations to the rest of the class.

This lesson is best used as an introduction to (or supplement to) a unit on anthropology or sociology.

Subject Matter: Anthropology, Sociology, Psychology, Evolutionary Biology

Learning Objectives:

Students will be able to:

• Outline the essential elements of human society
• Describe the basic dynamics of chimpanzee society
• Define a relationship in anthropological terms
• Provide experimental examples of an innate human tendency to cooperate
• Compare and contrast the learning and teaching behavior of humans and primates
• Explain why the extent of our ability to cooperate may constitute a “human spark” distinguishing us from animals

Learning Standards

(From the National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies available at www.socialstudies.org/standards/strands)

Chapter 2—The Themes of Social Studies

1. CULTURE

Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of culture and cultural diversity.

Human beings create, learn, share, and adapt to culture. The study of culture examines the socially transmitted beliefs, values, institutions, behaviors, traditions and way of life of a group of people; it also encompasses other cultural attributes and products, such as language, literature, music, arts and artifacts, and foods. Students come to understand that human cultures exhibit both similarities and differences, and they learn to see themselves both as individuals and as members of a particular culture that shares similarities with other cultural groups, but is also distinctive. In a multicultural, democratic society and globally connected world, students need to understand the multiple perspectives that derive from different cultural vantage points.

4. INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT AND IDENTITY

Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of individual development and identity.

Personal identity is shaped by an individual’s culture, by groups, by institutional influences, and by lived experiences shared with people inside and outside the individual’s own culture throughout her or his development. Given the nature of individual development in a social and cultural context, students need to be aware of the processes of learning, growth, and interaction at every level of their own school experiences. The examination of various forms of human behavior enhances an understanding of the relationships between social norms and emerging personal identities, the social processes that influence identity formation, and the ethical principles underlying individual action.

5. INDIVIDUALS, GROUPS, AND INSTITUTIONS

Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of interactions among individuals, groups, and institutions.

Institutions are the formal and informal political, economic, and social organizations that help us carry out, organize, and manage our daily affairs. Schools, religious institutions, families, government agencies, and the courts all play an integral role in our lives. They are organizational embodiments of the core social values of those who comprise them, and play a variety of important roles in socializing individuals and meeting their needs, as well as in the promotion of societal continuity, the mediation of conflict, and the consideration of public issues.

Media Components:

Video:

Selected segments of The Human Spark: So Human, So Chimp

Chimp Politics

Host Alan Alda and scientist Franz de Waal observe and compare two alpha-male chimpanzees’ different approaches to sharing at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center in Atlanta.

Social Networks and the Spark

Oxford University’s Alan Dunbar compares human social networks  to those of chimps;  at Yale University, host Alan Alda observes how babies as young as three months old favor cooperative puppets over those that won’t play.

How We Learn

Host Alan Alda observes experiments at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology which demonstrate how differently human children and orangutans learn how to complete tasks.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

At the Yerkes National Primate Research Center in Atlanta. Vicki Horner explains the ways chimps “passively tolerate” learning as opposed the “active” engagement of human teaching.

Cooperation Over Competition

Scientists discuss what may be the uniquely “human spark” which separates us from animals: our ability to communicate, cooperate, and collaborate with others.

Materials:

For the teacher:

1 projected computer with internet access

Social Skills Student Organizer Answer Key (PDF) (RTF)

For each of three groups of students:

1 computer with internet access

For each student:

Social Skills  Student Organizer (PDF) (RTF)

Prep for Teachers:

Prior to teaching this lesson, you will need to:

Preview all of the video segments used in the lesson.

Download the video segments used in the lesson to your classroom computer, or prepare to watch them using your classroom’s internet connection.

Print/copy the Social Skills Student Organizer for each student.

Proceed to Lesson Activities.

Grade Levels: 9-12

Time Allotment: Three 45-minute class periods

Overview: In this lesson, selected segments from the PBS series The Human Spark are used to help students understand both the construction and context of some of the prehistoric tools which allowed early humans to survive and thrive. Particular attention is paid to the design and use of these early tools, the specific techniques used in their construction, and the reciprocal relationship between human technology and human evolution.

In the Introductory Activity, students will review the six simple machines and their role as the building blocks of most technologies. The Learning Activities will examine the progressively more sophisticated stone-age technologies of the hand-ax, the spear, and the atlatl assisted spear. The Culminating Activity asks students to brainstorm other tools and technologies which have affected the course of human development, and to conduct further research into them.

This lesson is best used as an introduction to a unit on the history of technology, or as a supplement to an anthropology or archaeology unit about Neanderthals and/or early humans. 

SUBJECT MATTER: Archaeology, Anthropology, Technology

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

Students will be able to:

• Describe  the six simple machines and give examples of each
• Describe detailed construction techniques for several different prehistoric tools
• Distinguish between natural and man-made wear patterns on rocks.
• Discuss how certain tools and technology have advanced human development and may have affected human biological evolution

LEARNING STANDARDS:

(From the National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies, available at www.socialstudies.org/standards/strands)

Chapter 2—The Themes of Social Studies

8. Science, Technology, and Society

Science, and its practical application, technology, have had a major influence on social and cultural change, and on the ways people interact with the world. Scientific advances and technology have influenced life over the centuries, and modern life, as we know it, would be impossible without technology and the science that supports it.

There are many questions about the role that science and technology play in our lives and in our cultures. What can we learn from the past about how new technologies result in broader social change, some of which is unanticipated? Is new technology always better than that which it replaces? How can we cope with the ever-increasing pace of change, perhaps even the concern that technology might get out of control? How can we manage technology so that the greatest numbers of people benefit? How can we preserve fundamental values and beliefs in a world that is rapidly becoming one technology-linked village? How do science and technology affect our sense of self and morality? How are disparate cultures, geographically separated but impacted by global events, brought together by the technology that informs us about events, and offered hope by the science that may alleviate global problems (e.g., the spread of AIDS)? How can gaps in access to benefits of science and technology be bridged?

(From the National Science Education Standards, available at www.nap.edu)

Content Standards: 9-12

Science as Inquiry

Content Standard A: As a result of activities in grades 9–12, all students should develop

• Understandings about scientific inquiry

1. Scientists usually inquire about how physical, living, or designed systems function. Conceptual principles and knowledge guide scientific inquiries. Historical and current scientific knowledge influence the design and interpretation of investigations and the evaluation of proposed explanations made by other scientists.
2. Scientists conduct investigations for a wide variety of reasons. For example, they may wish to discover new aspects of the natural world, explain recently observed phenomena, or test the conclusions of prior investigations or the predictions of current theories.

Science and Technology

Content Standard E: As a result of activities in grades 9-12, all students should develop

• Understandings about science and technology

1. Scientists in different disciplines ask different questions, use different methods of investigation, and accept different types of evidence to support their explanations. Many scientific investigations require the contributions of individuals from different disciplines, including engineering. New disciplines of science, such as geophysics and biochemistry often emerge at the interface of two older disciplines.
2. Science often advances with the introduction of new technologies. Solving technological problems often results in new scientific knowledge. New technologies often extend the current levels of scientific understanding and introduce new areas of research.

MEDIA COMPONENTS:

Video:

Selected segments of The Human Spark: Becoming Us

These video segments may be accessed by clicking the links below or on the Video Segments Page.

If It Ain’t Broke…

Archaeologist John Shea explains the context and construction of one of early humans’ first tools–the stone hand ax.

Pyroengineering

Archaeologist Curtis Marean explains a recent discovery about how early humans used fire in the creation of certain stone tools.

Making Stone Tools is Sooo Millions of Years Ago

Archaeologist Curtis Marean explains a recent discovery about how early humans used fire in the creation of certain stone tools.

To Make A Spear

Archaeologist John Shea demonstrates the construction of a primitive spear and explains its  impact on the social development the early humans who used them.

Websites:

“Simple Machines”

A website from the Center of Science and Industry featuring animated interactives about the nature and applications of simple machines.

MATERIALS:

For the teacher:

• A computer with internet access connected to a projector and speakers for classroom use.

PREP FOR TEACHERS:

Prior to teaching this lesson, you will need to:

Preview all of the video segments and websites used in the lesson.

Download the video segments used in the lesson to your classroom computer, or prepare to watch them using your classroom’s internet connection.

Bookmark the website used in the lesson on each computer in your classroom. Using a social bookmarking tool such as delicious.com or diigo (or an online bookmarking utility such as portaportal) will allow you to organize all the links in a central location.

Proceed to Lesson Activities.

1. Ask students how they would define “technology” in the most simple and general terms possible. (Accept all answers, but explain that anthropologists define technology as the use and knowledge of tools, techniques, and systems to solve problems or otherwise serve some purpose.) Ask students how they would define a tool in the most simple and general terms possible. (Accept all answers, but explain that a simple working definition of a tool is that it is some sort of instrument used to perform or facilitate work.) According to this definition, ask students if they think something as complex as a computer could be considered a tool. (Yes.) What about the software that runs on that computer? (Yes.) But what were the tools that made these tools, and what in turn were the tools used to make them? Where does it end? Ask students to come up with a list of  10 of the simplest tools they can think of. In other words, 10 of the most physically useful objects which they think cannot be broken down into even simpler useful objects. (Probable answers include a knife, a hammer, a screwdriver, etc.) Write all answers on a blackboard or whiteboard.

2. Log on to the “Simple Machines” website. Click on “The Essence Of Simple Machines” tab on the bottom left of the screen. The screen will show images of the six classic simple machines. Ask the class to identify and explain the basic function of each one, clicking on the machine’s link to get more information if necessary. (Pulley, inclined plane, lever, screw, wedge, and wheel.)

3. For each tool on their list of 10 simple tools, ask students if it is, or contains, one or more of the six simple machines. (E.g. a knife would be an example of a wedge; a hammer would be example of a lever.)

4. Explain that these simple machines do indeed constitute some of humanity’s earliest tools—developed and used long before they were named or recognized as the basic building blocks of future technologies. Tell students that in this lesson they will be taking a closer look at some specific instances of “stone age technology,” exploring how some of humanity’s earliest tools were created, what they were used for, and what further evolutions and advancements in humanity itself they may have sparked.

Learning Activities

1. Tell students that in this lesson they will be watching some segments from the PBS series THE HUMAN SPARK, which explores different theories about what it is that makes humans unique among animals. Ask students what ideas they may have about what makes us unique? (Accept all answers.) Ask students if they think that making and using tools are traits unique to humans? (Accept all answers.) Explain that while tool making and use was once considered uniquely human, more recent research has revealed that other species also make and use tools. Chimpanzees, for example, have been observed stripping sticks with their fingers and teeth so that they may more easily be inserted into ant and termite nests as probes to collect the edible inhabitants. Nevertheless, for no other species has tool making and use—on other words, technology—been such a central part of an evolutionary strategy as it has been for humans.

2. Tell students that they will know be looking at a video segment which examines the context and construction of one of humanities’ earliest tools—the hand ax. As they watch, ask students to be watching for the reason why archaeologist John Shea believes the design of the hand ax changed so little for so long.  PLAY Clip 1: “If It Ain’t Broke…”

3. Review the focus question: why does archaeologist John Shea believe the design of the hand ax changed so little for so long? (The design of the hand ax was not under a   “powerful pressure of natural selection” to evolve and improve; in other words, it wasn’t broke, so it wasn’t fixed!) Ask what natural selection is? (Charles Darwin’s principle of “survival of the fittest.”) Explain that Shea is using an evolutionary term usually applied to organisms and applying it instead to an organism’s inanimate creation; the more “fit” a tool seems to serve its purpose, the less it is refined or “evolves”, and the more it “survives” in its existing form.

4. Ask students how stone-age hand axes were made, based on Professor Shea’s demonstration. (A piece of rock is hit with another piece of rock, which chips pieces off, creating a sharp edge.) What kind of rock would work best for constructing hand axes in this manner? (Accept all answers, but point out that flint and certain other sedimentary rocks are ideal.) What are sedimentary rocks? (Sedimentary rocks are created by the geological compression over time of layer upon layer of sediments, generally left behind where there were once rivers or other bodies of water.) Why are they ideal materials for creating tools? (Their sedimentary layers can easily be chipped or “flaked” away to produce a sharp edge.)

5. Tell students that besides being a good stone for making into blades, flint possesses another extremely useful quality—what is it? (Flint, when struck with a rock containing iron, can generate sparks which can be kindled into flame.) Explain that this technique, known as “percussion firestarting,” is generally though to have developed around 7,000 B.C.—much later than the stone hand axes seen in the previous clip. Recent archaeological discoveries, however, suggest that fire did indeed play a role in the creation of certain stone blades dating back at least 72,000 years ago. As they watch the next clip, have students pay attention to what “silcrete” is and what role fire played in its use as a raw material for stone blades.  Play Clip 2: “Pyroengineering.”

6. Review the previous question: what is silcrete? (A material long thought to be ideal for making stone blades, many high-quality examples of which have been found by archaeologists). How was archaeologists’ actual experimental experience with silcrete problematizing this theory? (They themselves couldn’t make silcrete into good blades.) What was the archaeologists’ breakthrough in understanding how the high-quality silcrete blades were made? (They discovered silcrete encased in ash, suggesting that it had been heat-treated.) What happened when they heat-treated silcrete themselves during a barbeque? (It took on the same red color as the original silcrete blades they’d found, and when struck, flaked off sharp edges beautifully.)

7. Tell students that hardening by fire is also known as “tempering,” and that it is widely used in almost every type of manufacturing today, but that silcrete was perhaps its original use. Ask student how this type of “pyroengineering” might first have been discovered by early man? (Accept all answers, but point out that it may very well have been discovered accidentally when raw silcrete was heated in a cooking fire not unlike that made by Curtis Marean and his fellow archaeologists at their barbeque.) Remind students that silcrete blades have been found that date back over 72,000 years. Ask students how they think tempering would have been possible so many years before humans developed the ability to create fire? If necessary, offer this hint: how does fire occur naturally? (Flames started naturally by lighting strikes could, with care, be maintained more or less indefinitely.)

8. Point out how the case of silcrete is a good illustration of how much archaeological knowledge must be extrapolated from relatively mundane artifacts (e.g. an ash-encrusted rock) and confirmed through modern experimentation (e.g. the archaeologists’ barbeque.) When most of the prehistoric archeological record consists of various types of rock, even the subtlest differences can be significant to the trained eye. Ask students how archaeologists can distinguish between pieces of flint which were simply broken naturally from pieces that were deliberately fashioned into axes by early humans? (Accept all answers, and tell students to be thinking about this question as they watch the next clip.) PLAY Clip 3: “Making Stone Tools Is Sooo Millions of Years Ago.”

9. PAUSE at 1:54 right after John Shea says to Alan Alda “Of course they didn’t have guns yet.” Review the previous question: how can archaeologists distinguish between pieces of rock which were naturally broken from pieces that were deliberately fashioned into axes by early humans? (Rocks that are naturally fractured tend to be worn equally over their entire surface, and chipped in all directions, whereas artificially created ax heads show careful chipping only along the cutting edges, and always in one direction. Also, the environmental context in which rocks were found gives strong indication of whether they were made by humans.) Ask students what specific uses they think hand-axes had. PLAY Clip 3 through to the end.

10. Review the previous question: for what specific uses were hand-axes used? (They were multi-use tools, but depending on the nature of the edge they could be used for cutting or scraping.) Ask students to review the six classic simple machines. (Screw, inclined plane, pulley, wheel, lever, and wedge.) What kind of simple machine is a hand axe? (A wedge.) How does a wedge work? (It splits objects.)

11. Ask what would happen if you somehow attached a hand axe to a long stick or shaft?  (You would have created a spear.) What are the advantages of a spear over a hand axe? (Greater range.) Ask if a spear is fundamentally a different type of simple machine than a hand axe. (No—a spearhead is a wedge exactly like a hand-axe; only the nature of the force behind it is different—i.e. the force of a thrust, or the force of momentum if thrown.) Ask students how they think early humans went about making spears. (Accept all answers.) Tell students to be watching in the next clip for the answer to this question. PLAY Clip 4: “To Make A Spear.”

12. PAUSE at 35:55, after Shea says “In a real one we’d have a lot of glue in there.” Review the previous question: how did early humans make multi-part spears? (A stone spearhead would be made in a manner similar to a hand ax, inserted into a groove cut in a wooden stick or shaft, held in place with pitch or some other type of glue, and secured by multiple windings of animal sinew or plant fiber.) Explain that the spear, when thrown, was one of the earliest examples of “projectile technology.” Ask what the very earliest example probably was? (A thrown rock.)  Ask students what advantage projectile weapons had against the handheld variety? (Greater range.) What are the benefits of a weapon with greater range? (Accept all answers.) Have students pay particular attention to this question as they watch the remainder of the clip. PLAY Clip 4 through to the end.

13. Review the previous question: what are the benefits of a weapon with greater range? (Larger, more dangerous prey like woolly mammoths could be hunted at a safer distance.) Ask students if in the last clip they observed Shea and Alda using another example of stone-age technology to give their spears even greater range? If necessary, go back and play the clip from the previous pause point at 35:55. (They were using wooden “spear-throwers,” one end of which fit over the spear’s end with the other being held in the hand of the thrower.) Ask students how they think a spear-thrower works. (Accept all answers.) Tell students that the spear thrower used by Shea and Alda—also known as an “atlatl”—has been developed by many primitive cultures around the world. Ask students if they think the atlatl is an example of another simple machine? (Yes—a lever.) Explain that an atlatl is specifically a “third class lever,” which works by applying force between the fulcrum (the thrower’s shoulder) and the load (the spear or dart). By allowing a smaller movement on the fulcrum end of the lever to be magnified into a larger movement on the load end, an atlatl adds speed—and accordingly, distance—to the spear’s trajectory by effectively lengthening the thrower’s arm.

14. Ask students whether early humans hunted larger game animals individually or in groups? (In groups.) Why? (Because even the more advanced projectile technology of the atlatl-thrown spear wasn’t powerful enough for one person to kill a larger animal single-handedly.) Ask students why John Shea suggests in the clip that the nature of cooperative hunting was in itself also a major factor in humans’ evolutionary advancement. (The coordination and cooperation necessary for a group of early humans together required communication and planning, which in turn required language.)

15. Ask students which they think came first—primitive hunting implements or the language necessary to coordinate their use? (Accept all answers.) Point out that the likely answer to this “chicken and egg” dilemma is that the development of hunting tools and language was intertwined, with an advance in one leading to an advance in the other. Ask how else improvements in hunting might have affected human evolution? (Accept all answers.) Explain that, generally speaking, improvements in hunting allowed more and bigger game to be hunted, providing more meat in early humans’ diet; more meat, in turn, is believed to have contributed to a larger brain size; a larger brain size, among other things, helped contribute to even more sophisticated tool technology and language use, and so on. Essentially, our tools are extensions of ourselves—technologies that are both the artifacts of our evolutionary development to date, and catalysts for future development.

Culminating Activity

1. Divide students into groups of 4-5. Allow 20-30 minutes for groups to brainstorm five other basic tools or technologies which they think may have contributed to human advancement. Instruct groups to keep their ideas as simple and elemental as possible (e.g. “the plow,” rather than “farming machinery”).

2. Have each group present their ideas to the rest of the class as you write down all ideas on the blackboard or whiteboard. Encourage questions and comments from the class. Can any tool or technology be reduced to a simpler, more basic element? Is the tool an example of a simple machine? Does it include multiple simple machines? What human advancement might it have helped facilitate?

3. After all groups have presented, have each student choose one of the tools or technologies listed on the black or whiteboard as the subject for a short research essay addressing the following questions:

• When was the tool or technology developed/invented?
• What need did it address?
• Who developed/invented it?
• What advance did it make possible?
• How has the tool or technology been developed, improved, or expanded beyond its original incarnation?

Proceed to Video Segments.

Grade Level: 9-12

Time Allotment: 3 45-minute class periods

Overview: Where did life on Earth come from, and how did it become what it is today?  Students will explore the answer to that question in this lesson on evolution.  The lesson begins with an overview of the history of evolutionary theory, and then takes students on a tour of three billion years of life on the planet using an online interactive timeline.  Students will learn, using video segments from the PBS series The Human Spark, how modern humans evolved from our earliest primate ancestors.  As a culminating activity, students will examine some of the factors that continue to contribute to the evolution of new species and life on Earth.

Media Resources:

The Human Spark, selected segments

Links in the Evolutionary Chain

An exploration of some of the different characteristics that distinguish different branches of the hominid “family tree,” such as brain and face size, ability to make tools, and location.

Human Nature

A look at the ways in which monkeys and apes are similar to humans, not just biologically but mentally and socially

Websites:

Evolution: Change: Deep Time

This interactive timeline from the PBS series NOVA’s extensive Evolution website shows geological and biological milestones on Earth starting 4.5 billion years ago.

Materials:

Deep Time Milestones Student Organizer (PDF) (RTF)

Deep Time Milestones Student Organizer Answer Key (PDF) (RTF)

Objectives

Students will be able to:

• Explain the history of evolutionary theory, and the theory of natural selection as developed by Charles Darwin;
• Identify milestones in the evolution of life on Earth over the past 3.8 billion years;
• Compare and contrast characteristics of modern humans with early human and primate ancestors, and analyze how this may have affected our evolutionary path;
• Define the terms genetic drift, speciation, biodiversity, and extinction, and discuss how these factors contribute to the evolution of species.

Standards

National Science Education Standards

Life Science

Content Standard C

BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION

[See Unifying Concepts and Processes]

• Species evolve over time. Evolution is the consequence of the interactions of (1) the potential for a species to increase its numbers, (2) the genetic variability of offspring due to mutation and recombination of genes, (3) a finite supply of the resources required for life, and (4) the ensuring selection by the environment of those offspring better able to survive and leave offspring.
• The great diversity of organisms is the result of more than 3.5 billion years of evolution that has filled every available niche with life forms.
• Natural selection and its evolutionary consequences provide a scientific explanation for the fossil record of ancient life forms, as well as for the striking molecular similarities observed among the diverse species of living organisms.
• The millions of different species of plants, animals, and microorganisms that live on earth today are related by descent from common ancestors.
• Biological classifications are based on how organisms are related. Organisms are classified into a hierarchy of groups and subgroups based on similarities which reflect their evolutionary relationships. Species is the most fundamental unit of classification.

Before the Lesson/Prep for Teachers

Prior to teaching this lesson, you will need to:

Preview all of the video segments and websites used in the lesson.

Download the video clips used in the lesson to your classroom computer(s) or prepare to watch them using your classroom’s Internet connection.

Bookmark all websites that you plan to use in the lesson on each computer in your classroom. Using a social bookmarking tool such as delicious.com or diigo (www.diigo.com) (or an online bookmarking utility such as portaportal) will allow you to organize all the links in a central location.

Prepare all classroom materials. Print out and make copies of the “Deep Time Milestones” student organizer for each student in your class.

a. Prepare for the Gallery Walk activity by writing the following questions at the top of flip chart pages or large pieces of paper (one question per page): Genetic Drift: When a new population is established by a very small number of individuals from a larger population there tends to be a lack of genetic variation.  This is called the Founder Effect.  What are some of the disadvantages to this lack of variation?

b. Speciation: It is speculated that the Homo heidelbergensis population split – some moving to Europe and evolving into Neanderthals, others remaining in Africa to become Homo sapiens.  What type of speciation is this, and what effect did it have on the human population?

c. Biodiversity: During the Cretaceous period, biodiversity levels were high.  Mammals, dinosaurs, birds, marine creatures, and plant life flourished all over the planet.  Then, a massive meteor impact 65 million years ago wiped out 60 – 80% of all species on the planet.  Why did some survive and not others?

d. Extinction: The most recent large scale extinction event, the Holocene, includes many plants and animals but most notably large mammals and rainforest species.  Many believe that humans are largely responsible for these extinctions.  Do you feel that humans have contributed to extinctions over the past 10,000 years?  Why or why not?

e. Natural selection: Survival isn’t always based on physical fitness, but on the way our brains work.  Things like social skills, language, and technological capability may have been what allowed us to dominate over our ancestors.  What skills do we have that our earlier or primate ancestors didn’t, and why might they have been passed down to younger generations?

Post the flip chart pages around the room prior to the Culminating Activity.  If you are not familiar with conducting a “Gallery Walk” in your classroom, review the procedure at the “How to Use Gallery Walk?” Web page.

Proceed to Lesson Activities.

Grade Level: 9-12

Time Allotment: 1 – 2 45-minute class periods

Subject Area: Science

Overview: In this lesson, students will learn about an important but extinct branch of the hominid family tree – the Neanderthals.  In the Introductory Activity, students will use a hands-on activity and a web interactive to learn about Neanderthals and how they fit into the scope of human evolution.  In the Learning Activity, students will explore the similarities and differences between Neanderthals and modern humans using segments from the PBS series The Human Spark.  As a Culminating Activity, students will conduct independent research on the factors leading to the extinction of the Neanderthals.

Learning Objectives:

Students will be able to:

• Explain Neanderthals’ relationship to homo sapiens on an evolutionary timeline
• Define physical and behavioral characteristics of Neanderthals
• Compare and contrast Neanderthals and modern humans
• List factors contributing to decline of Neanderthal population
• Analyze theories explaining why modern human populations overtook Neanderthal populations

Standards:

National Science Education Standards

Content Standard A

As a result of activities in grades 9–12, all students should develop

• Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
• Understandings about scientific inquiry

2. Scientists conduct investigations for a wide variety of reasons. For example, they may wish to discover new aspects of the natural world, explain recently observed phenomena, or test the conclusions of prior investigations or the predictions of current theories.

• Scientific explanations must adhere to criteria such as: a proposed explanation must be logically consistent; it must abide by the rules of evidence; it must be open to questions and possible modification; and it must be based on historical and current scientific knowledge.
• Results of scientific inquiry—new knowledge and methods—emerge from different types of investigations and public communication among scientists. In communicating and defending the results of scientific inquiry, arguments must be logical and demonstrate connections between natural phenomena, investigations, and the historical body of scientific knowledge. In addition, the methods and procedures that scientists used to obtain evidence must be clearly reported to enhance opportunities for further investigation.

Life Science

Content Standard C

BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION

• Species evolve over time. Evolution is the consequence of the interactions of (1) the potential for a species to increase its numbers, (2) the genetic variability of offspring due to mutation and recombination of genes, (3) a finite supply of the resources required for life, and (4) the ensuring selection by the environment of those offspring better able to survive and leave offspring.
• Natural selection and its evolutionary consequences provide a scientific explanation for the fossil record of ancient life forms, as well as for the striking molecular similarities observed among the diverse species of living organisms.

POPULATION GROWTH

• Populations grow or decline through the combined effects of births and deaths, and through emigration and immigration. Populations can increase through linear or exponential growth, with effects on resource use and environmental pollution.
• Various factors influence birth rates and fertility rates, such as average levels of affluence and education, importance of children in the labor force, education and employment of women, infant mortality rates, costs of raising children, availability and reliability of birth control methods, and religious beliefs and cultural norms that influence personal decisions about family size.

NATURAL RESOURCES

• Human populations use resources in the environment in order to maintain and improve their existence. Natural resources have been and will continue to be used to maintain human populations.

NATURAL AND HUMAN-INDUCED HAZARDS

• Some hazards, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and severe weather, are rapid and spectacular. But there are slow and progressive changes that also result in problems for individuals and societies. For example, change in stream channel position, erosion of bridge foundations, sedimentation in lakes and harbors, coastal erosions, and continuing erosion and wasting of soil and landscapes can all negatively affect society.

Media Resources:

The Human Spark, selected segments

• A Day in the Life of a Neanderthal

This clip describes some of the similarities and differences between the Neanderthal way of life and that of modern humans.

• What’s the Difference?

This clip discusses how certain specific aspects of Neanderthals’ diet and development set them apart from modern humans.

• A Social Network

This clip explores the relationship between social and technological change, specifically in Neanderthal and modern human populations.

Websites:

Human Evolution Timeline Interactive | The Smithsonian Institution’s Human Origins Program

Before the Lesson/Prep for Teachers

Prior to teaching this lesson, you will need to:

Preview all of the video segments and websites used in the lesson.

Download the video clips used in the lesson to your classroom computer(s) or prepare to watch them using your classroom’s Internet connection.

Bookmark all websites that you plan to use in the lesson on each computer in your classroom. Using a social bookmarking tool such as delicious.com or diigo (or an online bookmarking utility such as portaportal) will allow you to organize all the links in a central location.

Review spelling and pronunciation of “Neanderthal.”  Different sources will use both the “Neanderthal” and “Neandertal” spellings – both are acceptable.  “Neanderthal” is used consistently in this lesson as on the Human Spark website.  No matter which spelling is used, the word is pronounced with a hard “T” sound – “Neander-TAL,” as the word derives from the German word “tal,” meaning “valley.”  The first Neanderthal remains were discovered in Germany’s Neander Valley.

Proceed to Lesson Activities.

Grade Level: 9-12

Time Allotment: two to three 45-minute class periods

OVERVIEW: In this lesson, students will use selected segments from the PBS series The Human Spark, to learn how archeologists discover and examine physical evidence and use it to formulate theories explaining how and why humans were able to advance beyond our now-extinct cousins the Neanderthals.

The Introductory Activity establishes the scope and focus of archeological research by challenging students to properly sequence a series of early human milestones, while an online quiz tests for prior knowledge. In the Learning Activities, students learn about archeological methodology as they watch The Human Spark segments featuring archeologists at work in both the field and the laboratory, and conduct a hands-on classroom activity simulating an archaeological excavation. In the Culminating Activity, students apply their new archaeological knowledge to a group project researching the early human milestones featured in the Introductory Activity.

This lesson is best used as an introduction to a science unit on archaeology or anthropology.

SUBJECT MATTER: Archaeology, Anthropology

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

Students will be able to:

• Describe the nature and limitations of Neanderthal culture.
• Discuss various theories about what enabled early humans to supersede the Neanderthals.
• Outline traditional archaeological methods and how they are being augmented by modern technology.
• Distinguish between “hard” and “social” sciences.
• Give specific examples of what the “debris of everyday life” can tell us about our early human ancestors.
• Offer theories of what might constitute a unique “human spark.”

STANDARDS:

From the National Science Education Standards at www.nap.edu

CONTENT STANDARD G: History and Nature of Science

As a result of activities in grades 9-12, all students should develop understanding of

SCIENCE AS A HUMAN ENDEAVOR

• Individuals and teams have contributed and will continue to contribute to the scientific enterprise. Doing science or engineering can be as simple as an individual conducting field studies or as complex as hundreds of people working on a major scientific question or technological problem. Pursuing science as a career or as a hobby can be both fascinating and intellectually rewarding.
• Scientists are influenced by societal, cultural, and personal beliefs and ways of viewing the world. Science is not separate from society but rather science is a part of society.

THE NATURE OF SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE

• Science distinguishes itself from other ways of knowing and from other bodies of knowledge through the use of empirical standards, logical arguments, and skepticism, as scientists strive for the best possible explanations about the natural world.
• Scientific explanations must meet certain criteria. First and foremost, they must be consistent with experimental and observational evidence about nature, and must make accurate predictions, when appropriate, about systems being studied. They should also be logical, respect the rules of evidence, be open to criticism, report methods and procedures, and make knowledge public. Explanations on how the natural world changes based on myths, personal beliefs, religious values, mystical inspiration, superstition, or authority may be personally useful and socially relevant, but they are not scientific.
• Because all scientific ideas depend on experimental and observational confirmation, all scientific knowledge is, in principle, subject to change as new evidence becomes available. The core ideas of science such as the conservation of energy or the laws of motion have been subjected to a wide variety of confirmations and are therefore unlikely to change in the areas in which they have been tested. In areas where data or understanding are incomplete, such as the details of human evolution or questions surrounding global warming, new data may well lead to changes in current ideas or resolve current conflicts. In situations where information is still fragmentary, it is normal for scientific ideas to be incomplete, but this is also where the opportunity for making advances may be greatest.
• Science distinguishes itself from other ways of knowing and from other bodies of knowledge through the use of empirical standards, logical arguments, and skepticism.

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES

• Usually, changes in science occur as small modifications in extant knowledge. The daily work of science and engineering results in incremental advances in our understanding of the world and our ability to meet human needs and aspirations. Much can be learned about the internal workings of science and the nature of science from study of individual scientists, their daily work, and their efforts to advance scientific knowledge in their area of study.

MEDIA COMPONENTS:

Video:

The Human Spark: Becoming Us, selected segments

The Art Spark

An exploration of early cave art and what it tells us about our ancestors.

The Neanderthal Way

A glimpse into the excavation of a cave once inhabited by our close relatives the Neanderthals, and what it tells us about their archeological methodology.

What Teeth Can Tell

An example of how modern technology is informing archeological methodology.

The Garbage of Everyday Life

A tour of an archeological dig of an early human settlement, and some clues it offers about our ancestors.

The Community of Symbolism

Archeologists explain the significance of early ornamental beads.

Social Advantages

An explanation of the evolutionary advantage of human social organization.

Websites:

“What Do You Know?”

A quiz testing students’ knowledge about archaeology from the American Museum of Natural History.

MATERIALS:

For the teacher:

• A computer with internet access connected to a projector and speakers for classroom use.
• “Early Human Milestones” Student Organizer Answer Key

For each group of several students:

• A computer with internet access.

For each student:

• “Early Human Milestones” Student Organizer

PREP FOR TEACHERS:

Prior to teaching this lesson, you will need to:

Preview all of the video segments and websites used in the lesson.

Download the video segments used in the lesson to your classroom computer, or prepare to watch them using your classroom’s internet connection.

Bookmark the website used in the lesson on each computer in your classroom. Using a social bookmarking tool such as delicious.com or diigo (or an online bookmarking utility such as portaportal) will allow you to organize all the links in a central location.

Print and make copies of “Early Human Milestones” Student Organizer and Answer Key.

Proceed to Lesson Activities.

Human Spark: So Human, So Chimp & Brain Matters, Selected Segments

Human vs. Chimp Thinking
A discussion about how human thought differs from that of chimpanzees.

Beyond the Present
A look at humans’ unique ability to reflect upon events that have happened in the past and think about things that could possibly happen in the future.

Thinking about Thinking
A discussion about the ability of humans to think about others’ thoughts.

Insight and Imagination

An overview of how insight and imagination distinguish humans from others.

Additional segments which students can use in their research for Learning Activity 2:

A Matter of Size
A look at the brains of a rat, monkey, chimp and human and why some brains are bigger than others.

Cooperation

A brief look at the cooperative and social nature of humans.

Human Language

A look at the difference between human language and other species’ communication systems.

The Art Spark
An exploration of early cave art and what it tells us about our ancestors.

Downloadable QuickTime versions of the video segments:
(Note: To download a video, right click on the video title and click “Save Link As…’ or “Save Target As…”. On a Mac, press the CTRL key and simultaneously click the mouse, then save the link.)

Human vs. Chimp Thinking

Beyond the Present

Thinking about Thinking

Insight and Imagination

Matter of Size

Cooperation

Human Language

The Art Spark

The Human Spark, Brain Matters

“Dr. Steven Pinker: Language Makes Us Human” (Please note this link will open a new page or tab and take you to a separate location on the Human Spark website.  This clip is NOT downloadable.)

In this outtake from The Human Spark, Psycholinguist Stephen Pinker discusses the three things he believes makes us distinctly, uniquely human: language, cooperation, and technological “know how.”

The Language Spark

An excerpt from The Human Spark exploring the human brain’s unique capacity for language.

Downloadable QuickTime versions of the video segments:
(Note: To download a video, right click on the video title and click “Save Link As…’ or “Save Target As…”. On a Mac, press the CTRL key and simultaneously click the mouse, then save the link.)

The Language Spark