Grouping Species Using DNA
Explain cladistics: organisms are grouped by shared derived characters, not just similarity; how phylogenetic trees are built using molecular data (DNA sequence alignment) and the molecular clock; explain why birds are technically a group within dinosaurs (crown Avemetatarsalia); distinguish convergent evolution (unrelated species evolving similar traits) from parallel evolution; introduce horizontal gene transfer and why the tree of life is more accurately a web; explain why classification systems keep changing as new data emerge
Lesson
Set out your lesson
“Grouping Species Using DNA means practising the idea at the table with a simple hands-on check. We will demo once, then your child tries.”
Bring to the table
- Fossil photos or a printout of a trackway / skeleton
- Pencil and sticky notes
Extra for the adult
Worked example. Round footprints in a line suggest a walking animal, not a flyer.
Optional challenge. For Grouping Species Using DNA, add one harder example after success.
What to notice. Keep one parent note: examples tried; results; support used. This session samples Grouping Species Using DNA, not mastery.
Share and support
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Practice this concept
Start practiceGrouping Species Using DNA practice
Practice key ideas from Grouping Species Using DNA.
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Learning resources
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NASA Space Place · Practice link — not the full lesson
Play
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Source, access and review notes
Public NASA Space Place page. An anonymous GET on 2026-11-12 returned HTTP 200 with no login or payment prompt for this URL. Opening the link does not save practice or assess mastery. An adult should preview and guide the learner.
NASA Space Place. “Play.” External page; Gakuva does not copy, host, embed, or redistribute materials.
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Check understanding
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“Can your child explain why biologists now say that birds ARE a type of dinosaur — not just their descendants but literally within the dinosaur family tree? What does that tell us about how scientists classify animals?”
Curriculum record
- Type
- Conceptual
- Subject
- Science
- Domain
- Animals of the World
- Age range
- Ages 13–14