Y6 Science: Evolution & Natural Selection

This term, the children of Y6 have been studying Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. We began our learning in this unit by studying Darwin's life, including his voyage aboard the HMS Beagle and his work as a naturalist on the Galápagos Islands.

We also discussed the social and religious implications of Darwin's discovery within Victorian Britain, as well the ways in which significant faith leaders, including Pope Francis, have explained how evolution can be consistent with a religious worldview. 

The children then learnt about the scientific evidence that exists supporting Darwin's theory, including the wealth of evidence gathered by paleontologists from the fossil record, which builds on the children's prior learning on fossilisation from Y3. The children produced excellent work in their books, explaining and illustrating their understanding that the fossil record suggests the evolution over time of simple, unicellular life, to complex animals such as ourselves. 

This week, we have studied the driving force of the evolutionary process: natural selection. The children have learnt about the process by which individuals within a species who are best adapted to survive within their environment, pass on their well-adapted genetics to their offspring. We contrasted this with countertheories by contemporaries of Darwin, such as Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, discussing how modern science provides evidence for natural selection. 

The children have found our studies so far to be fascinating, and we look forward to continuing our learning in the coming weeks.