Cladograms

Activity Summary
Cladograms are a simple way to establish the evolutionary relatedness of a set of organisms. In this activity, a set of organisms is selected for the students, as well as a set of traits. Students methodically identify which traits belong to which organisms in a table. Then, a cladogram is constructed from the compiled information.

Grade Levels
9-12

Learning Objectives
1. Describe/explain the kind of information a cladogram displays
2. Analyze physical features of organisms to create a graph
3. Show the evolutionary relatedness of a set of organisms

Lesson Materials (view or download)
PowerPoint
Lesson Plans

Keywords
common ancestor, evolution, traits

Last updated: 3/6/2015