Predictive Biological Anthropology: Looking Around to Look Forward

  • Publication date May 14, 2025

Sally Cannizzaro

Introduction and Rationale

“The art of life lies in a constant readjustment to our surroundings.” – Okakura Kakuzo

While he was speaking of life in more philosophical and Taoist/Zen terms, Okakura’s thoughts apply just as well to humans’ physical adaptations as they do his beloved traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony.  Throughout earth’s history, living things have needed to adjust and adapt to both temporary circumstances and changing environments that challenged their quality of life, and this has certainly been true for humans during our relatively short tenure on earth. 

This unit will focus on observable physical acclimatization and adaptations that specific groups of humans have made in order to respond to their environments.  Once students understand the relationship between environmental conditions and the corresponding physical acclimatization and adaptations, they will anticipate a specific future environmental change and predict what physical acclimatization, adaptations, or evolution will be required for humans to thrive in the new environment. 

I was initially motivated to create this unit based on a television show.  My family and I enjoy watching reruns of the show Bones, and find it particularly interesting when the lead character makes determinations about a particular person’s living conditions and lifestyle based on what was observed on/in a person.  My hope with this unit is that it sparks an anthropological interest in students and allows them the opportunity to find something compelling about human cultures and development–whether it’s biological anthropology, forensic, or archaeological–that they can pursue as anything ranging from an interesting literary genre for their spare time to a potential future career.

This unit was designed for identified 6th-8th grade Gifted and Talented (GT) students in a dedicated GT elective class.  It is intended to provide a deeper dive into the standard evolution and adaptation science classroom standards, and to expose students to anthropology and potentially spark an interest in it.  The components of the topic itself will likely be of interest to my students because there is only a small likelihood of them having encountered these specific situations and these specific acclimatization and adaptations before.  This means there is a large element of novelty present in the core unit, combined with a low risk of duplicating what has previously been learned in core Science classes.  The district-created GT unit pacing guide has dedicated blocks for student-generated projects and extended learning opportunities, which students can leverage to learn more about human acclimatization and adaptations, or about these specific peoples if they are interested.

In addition to the desire for novelty and potential for extended learning, Gifted and Talented students also tend to have a stronger tolerance for ambiguity and are more accepting of answers that evolve based on new information.  This makes a unit based on anthropology particularly well-suited for their learning preferences because it’s a tantalizing field in which we will never know everything about it!  One can always dig deeper to learn more details, revisit “known” facts as new technology and information becomes available, and connect pieces of history that may have had no previous thread tying them together.  These elements dovetail beautifully with the learning and growth mindsets we continuously profess to our GT students.

Demographics

Our school is one of ten 6th-8th grade public middle school sites in the largest school district in the state.  Unlike several of the district’s other middle schools, ours is neither an academic magnet nor a lottery magnet school, and aside from housing a specialized Autism learning program, it does not offer any specifically unique opportunities or programs.  (All district middle schools, including ours, offer centrally coordinated gifted and talented services.)  The school’s total student population is roughly the median of the range of the ten public brick-and-mortar middle schools in the district. 

Of the 761 students in the school (which are fairly evenly split between the three grades), 55% are male and 45% are female.  Slightly more than half of the students are Hispanic/Latine, 17% are Black, 12% are white, 4% are Native American (17 federally recognized tribes are represented,) 2% are Asian, 2% are Pacific Islander, and 11% are classified as “multiracial” (most of these students identify as either Black and white or as Native American and white.)  At our school, 90% of students qualify for Title I services, 48% of the students are English Language Learners, 15% of the students qualify for some level of Special Education services, and nearly 9% are classified as unhoused. 

Our state is currently one of four that fully fund gifted education and accordingly has state-defined thresholds that must be met for each of several levels and types of GT identification and services that are intended to define and meet student needs.  At our school, 84 students (11% of the total school population) meet the requirements of one of at least one category, and 74 of those students are currently enrolled in the GT elective class.  Of the total GT-identified population at our school, nearly 60% are male and 40% are female.  The racial/ethnic breakdown is 39% Hispanic/Latine, 20% Black, 17% white, 5% Native American (7 federally recognized tribes are represented,) 5% Asian, <1% Pacific Islander, and 14% are classified as “multiracial.”  Of the total population of GT students at our school, 90% qualify for Title I services, 32% are ELLs (another 7% are Former ELLs,) 6% qualify for some type of Special Education services, and 7% are classified as unhoused. 

The fact that nearly one-third of the GT students at our school are actively learning English (they range from newcomers to those nearly ready to transition out of formal ELL services) and 6% qualify for Special Education services (two students have dyslexia and one has a hearing impairment) necessitates that there be explicit vocabulary and language instruction throughout all learning opportunities. 

Not many elective classes in our district have access to technology, so we are fortunate to have a class set of Chromebooks that students are able to use.  This allows students to complete independent deeper-dives into knowledge in addition to being able to create and save documents and presentations, etc. One caveat is that much of their core curriculum is presented and available via Chromebook, so students are on a device throughout much of their school day.  Balance is needed to ensure that this unit feels and functions differently from the “canned” online curriculum they otherwise receive in many of their classes.

Unit Content

Students in the GT elective at our school will learn about and grapple with two major learning concepts during this unit:  First, that humans must acclimatize or adapt to survive and thrive in changing environments, and second, that human adaptations are observable and can be traced to an environmentally-based need.  Indirectly, students will also come to understand that each human is the sum of their adaptations.  By the end of this unit, students should have a level of understanding deep enough to be able to apply their knowledge as well, by grappling with the question “What specific human adaptation would be necessary to thrive in [a hypothetical but plausible] future environmental situation?” 

To learn about topics within biological anthropology, it is important that everyone is using similar definitions.  Our district pays for access to the Gale virtual reference database series and tools, which makes the establishment of common definitions relatively straightforward.  Our understanding starts with the term “anthropology,” which is “the scientific study of humanity and of human culture [which] is unique among the social sciences in that it focuses on all societies and all aspects of human physical, social, and cultural life”.(1)  We are going to focus on biological anthropology (alternatively, the term “bioanthropology” may be used) which specifically refers to the study of human physical characteristics. (ibid)  It is important to note that the contemporary term “biological anthropology” has replaced the antiquated and occasionally problematic “physical anthropology,” so one might see that term used in some older reference materials.  Should students want to extend their learning, they might be interested to learn more about forensic anthropology, which is the application of biological anthropology, or perhaps they will want to learn more about archaeology, which is the study of material remains and objects left by earlier peoples. (ibid) 

To better understand the “why” of biological anthropology, one needs background knowledge.  In this case, helpful background knowledge includes understanding similarities and differences amongst commonly (mis)used anthropological terms; specifically, acclimatization, adaptation, and evolution. 

Acclimatization (Acclimation)

While all of these processes (acclimatization, adaptation, and evolution) are environmentally-dependent, acclimatization (a term often used interchangeably with “acclimation,” but we will use “acclimatization” in this unit in the interest of consistency) refers to the temporary process of becoming accustomed to a new environment.  A defining characteristic of acclimatization is that it is reversible.  One such example would be a person from a lower elevation on a ski vacation taking time to get used to thinner air on the higher altitude of a mountain before going skiing to prevent altitude sickness.  When the skier returns to a lower elevation, their body will lose the higher-altitude acclimatization they gained.  Should the person want to return to a higher elevation to go skiing again, they would need to repeat the altitude acclimatization process each trip. (2) 

Some medical advances have leveraged acclimatization to improve lives.  Allergen immunotherapy is a common intervention to thwart the negative effects of allergies on the human body, and the many people who receive regular allergy shots to build up their hyposensitization, which is a tolerance for their particular allergen are very familiar with this type of intentional acclimatization. (3)  As with other examples of acclimatization, though, the benefits of allergen immunotherapy are reversible if the environment changes.  There are many who reach adulthood and find that they have lost their tolerance for their particular allergy(ies) and need to start their shot series again in order to build their immunity back up, or are dependent upon maintenance shots in order to maintain their hyposensitization. (4) 

Not all intentionally applied acclimatizations are as altruistic as allergen hyposensitization, though.  Blood doping is a technique used by athletes to improve how effectively their bodies transport oxygen throughout the body.  This is done by taking samples of one’s own blood at rest, storing it, and transfusing it back into their tired body so that red blood cells are artificially increased, ostensibly reoxygenating the blood before the body would have had a chance to naturally do so. (5, 6)  This technique is widely banned in sports, since it can result in serious side effects such as heart attacks and strokes, and is therefore a potentially dangerous acclimatization that humans intentionally endure for temporary athletic benefit.

Adaptation

Adaptation goes further than acclimatization does.  It requires genetic change over generations and is irreversible, like the traditional populations living high in the Tibetan plateau and the Himalayas who utilize oxygen better and have enlarged lung capacity to be able to draw more air with each breath. (7, 8)  These populations would not need to re-acclimatize each time they return to a higher altitude.  Unlike evolution, a defining characteristic of adaptation is that those with an adaptation are still considered to be of the same species as those without the particular adaptation(s). That means there are populations who live in vastly different environments and have adapted accordingly, but are all still considered to be of the same species regardless.  When discussing populations living in the Himalayas and Tibetan plateau versus those living at lower altitudes, whether one’s lung capacity is enlarged or not is not a defining factor of whether one is human or not. 

The ability to comfortably consume milk products is perhaps a more accessible example of adaptation within a species.  Humans can drink milk during infancy, but most lose the ability to digest the milk sugar lactose at around the age of three.  Those who are of northwest European origin and those of western African heritage, however, continue to produce the lactase enzyme (which is produced in the small intestine to break down lactose) well into adulthood, and can still consume milk without the uncomfortable flatulence and diarrhea that those without the lactase enzyme experience. (9, 10)  The difference in these populations is in how much longer they have herded livestock and used them for dairy purposes.  It is estimated that livestock has been domesticated for at least five to eight thousand years in northwestern Europe, and for at least five thousand years in western Africa. (11, 12, 13)  While the rest of the world’s population shut down the “useless” lactase production gene after being weaned, the small intestines of these dairying populations continue to process lactose so they could digest nutrient-rich milk from their livestock. (14)  Those humans who adapted to be able to tolerate lactose were able to benefit from extra calories, added calcium, and water absorption that milk consumption provides. (15)

People typically take global (human-wide) adaptations for granted, since humans haven’t existed without having them.  Shivering is a good example of a global human adaptation.  When humans get cold, the body warms itself via the involuntary muscle contractions of shivering. This warming method isn’t intended to last long. In fact, it can’t last for long periods; shivering is limited to the time it takes to exhaust glycogen stores.  (16)

Enlarged lung capacities of high altitude-dwelling groups and lactase enzyme-producing dairy consumers are both human examples of local adaptation, which “occurs when, due to genetic change, individuals from a population have higher average fitness in their local environment than those from other populations of the same species.” (17)  While the aforementioned lactose tolerance is the best-known, many other examples of human local adaptations exist.  The native Inuit population, which traditionally live in Greenland and northern North America, have adapted genes that allow them to consume high-fat diets without the negative effects on the heart, obesity, and insulin resistance typically experienced by those outside their population eating similarly high-fat diets. (18)  Indigenous populations in the Andes, particularly in highland Argentina, have adapted to be able to tolerate higher levels of arsenic in their drinking water.  Their Peruvian and Colombian counterparts, however, who do not have historically higher levels of arsenic in their water, have not shown to have developed this adaptation and would suffer the same negative cardiovascular, neurologic, and respiratory effects as humans located elsewhere who may consume arsenic. (19, 20)  Many of the Chinese in East Asia live in an area that lacks selenium, a micronutrient that is essential in trace amounts for normal cell function in humans.  Their selenoprotein genes and genes that regulate the use of selenium have adapted, which has allowed them to inhabit these selenium-deficient environments without the resulting negative impacts on their immune systems. (21)  Again, the changes in each of these local human populations developed over time and are irreversible, but have no bearing on whether the populations are still considered to be of the human species or not, so they are considered adaptations. 

The concepts of convergent adaptation and evolution (22) can provide an interesting opportunity for exploration for those who are primed for a deeper dive into adaptation.  Students may observe that populations in different geographic areas have similar adaptations, and may very reasonably infer that those adaptations are the result of similar ancestry.  That isn’t always the case, however.  Sometimes the adaptations are convergent, such as the case of high-altitude Tibetan, Andean, and Ethiopian populations all of whom live geographically far apart.  While each population has adapted to thrive in high-altitude environments, their adaptations occurred independently of each other, but appear to be similar and serve a similar purpose due to living in similar environments. (23, 24, 25)  For those interested in learning more about adaptations around the world, Alexander Harcourt’s 2015 book Humankind, and the chapter “We are what we eat” in particular, provides a variety of examples of various adaptations of human populations around the world in an easily readable format. (26)

It’s worth clarifying that for our purpose in this unit, we will not strictly adhere to the original intent of the term “adaptation” that many original creationists, Charles Darwin, and Darwinian followers still use: that “adaptation” refers only to a structure evolved directly by natural selection for its current use. (27)  Instead, we will use a more liberal definition of adaptation that also includes what Stephen Jay Gould and Elisabeth Vrba referred to as “exaptation,” which includes “structures that contribute to fitness but evolved for other reasons and were later co-opted for their current role.” (28)  Simply put, for this unit, we don’t care why the adaptation originally occurred; we only note that the adaptation helps for its current purpose.  For those interested in deeper dives into the history of adaptation, who has contributed to the philosophical/scientific thinking behind it, and what should/shouldn’t constitute an adaptation, works by Charles Darwin, Stephen Jay Gould, Elisabeth Vrba, Walter J. Bock, George C. Williams, and others can provide additional context.

Evolution

While we will not be diving deeply into evolution during this unit, we will discuss how evolution goes even further than adaptation does.  It is a process of change over a much longer span of time where all members of a species share the adaptations.  As an example, if all humans eventually moved to a high elevation and over the course of thousands of years they gradually began to express a gene where humans were covered head-to-toe in thick fur to stay warm to more successfully live in the colder climate of a higher altitude, and this “thick fur” gene was passed to them and will be passed to their offspring, the human population would be considered to have evolved to have thick fur.  Like adaptation, evolution is not reversible.  Unlike adaptation, however, inclusion/exclusion of members as being part of the species would be contingent on whether or not they had evolved to have thick fur covering their bodies.  (29) 

An interesting evolutionary human trait is contained in our feet.  As a species, humans are bipedal, meaning that we walk on two feet. The arch of the human foot acts as a storage-return mechanism, being put under pressure and then recoiling, so humans are able to propel themselves forward, and can even run on their two feet. (30)  The combination of a rigid foot with a fully developed latitudinal arch and transverse arch is unique to humans; apes, monkeys, and chimpanzees have not only different toe positions and alignments from humans, but have more flexibility and a different arch/midfoot as well. (31, 32)  This irreversible, distinct foot anatomy that humans have developed over many millennia and are a qualifier of belonging to the human species meets the threshold for evolution.   

Due to oversimplification and misunderstandings about Darwinism and micro- and macroevolution, as well as a contentious political/religious climate in our state, “evolution” as a term will be mentioned as generically, politically neutral, and as agnostic as possible.  The purpose for its inclusion will be to help provide an anchor of breadth of scope when discussing acclimatization and adaptation. 

Anatomy

In order to appreciate the impacts of acclimatization, adaptation, and evolution, it’s important to understand the role and function of the various parts and systems of the human body that are impacted.  For the specific learning experiences and texts that students will be grappling with for this unit, the focus will be on the oxygen-delivery systems of the body, the skeletal system, and the eyes. 

Erythrocytes

Red blood cells (erythrocytes) are part of human blood.  Their function is to deliver oxygen to tissues throughout the human body via the bright red protein hemoglobin.  If a person has too few red blood cells, they will suffer from low oxygenation, which can cause fatigue, muscle weakness, and cold hands and feet, among other symptoms.  If a person has too many red blood cells, they can experience excessive blood thickness, potentially leading to a heart attack, stroke, or a variety of lung diseases. (33)

Hypoxia

Hypoxia (“hypo-” meaning “lesser” and “ox” referring to oxygen) is the term for low oxygen levels in tissues.  (The term hypoxia is often confused with the related term hypoxemia, which refers to low oxygen levels in the blood.)  In the short term, hypoxia can cause headaches, confusion, and anxiety, and can lead to bluish skin, slowed heart rate, and organ damage (notably the heart and brain, which can lead to death) in the longer term.  (34)

Skeletal System

The skeletal system serves several important functions in the human body, including giving it its shape, protecting its organs, and assisting with locomotion. (35) Those with reduced bone density have osteopenia and are at risk for osteoporosis.  With osteoporosis, a person may become shorter, have changes in their posture, experience lower back pain, or break bones easily.  While osteoporosis isn’t fatal and doesn’t directly change one’s life expectancy, the characteristic thinning and weakening of bones can result in hip fractures, which can significantly impact mobility and quality of life. (36)

Eyes

The human eye is incredibly intricate and contains many parts.  For this unit, it is particularly important to understand the functions of the cornea, pupil, lens, and retina.  The cornea both protects the inside of the eye and bends light as it enters the eye.  Its density is roughly the same density as water, so it’s important to note that the cornea’s reflective power is lost when the eye is immersed in water.  The pupil, which is the black circle at the center of the front of the eye, controls how much light is allowed to enter it.  The lens focuses that light and directs it to the back of the eye.  The retina is at the back of the eye and converts the received light into electrical signals that the brain can process. (37, 38, 39)

Populations with Adaptations

Many distinct populations worldwide have location-specific adaptations; several of them have well-documented adaptations of the aforementioned body parts.  For the purpose of this unit, we will focus on only a few of them.  These particular groups were selected in part to ensure that students are exposed to a wide variety of stimulant environments that they may not otherwise encounter during core class learning. 

High Altitude Dwellers

While the previously mentioned skiers have to acclimatize to the environment, there are several populations whose oxygen-delivery systems have adapted to living at higher altitudes.  Tibetan plateau highlanders, Nepalese sherpas, and indigenous Himalayan groups all have documented changes to how thick their blood is and their degree of vascular vasoconstriction, which would be a problematic level of pulmonary hypertension if they inhabited areas of a lower altitude. (40) These adaptations have proven crucial to their survival; in fact, at high altitude, they result in “resting and exercise pulmonary arterial pressures that are in line with sea-level averages and show minimal hypoxic pulmonary hypertension.” (41)

Astronauts

Astronauts comprise a population that is uniquely susceptible to changes in bone density and structure.  When in space, bone density begins to decline immediately.  Within one month, 1-2% of bone density is lost in weight-bearing bones, which increases to 8-12% after just six months! (42)  After returning to earth’s gravitational pull, the changes in bone density are extremely difficult to reverse, and for some, the loss in bone density is never fully reversed. 

The effects of weightlessness in general are considered to be one of the largest problems that need to be mitigated or overcome for multiyear space missions. (43)

Freedivers

The “sea nomad” Moken children of Southeast Asia have adaptations of their eyes that allow them to see underwater.  What’s particularly fascinating is that while these changes have the permanence of an adaptation, due to the nature of how eye lenses become less flexible as people mature, the ability to see underwater is lost in adulthood.  It is an adaptation that is unique only to the children! (44) 

When human eyes are submerged in water, the reflective power of the cornea is neutralized.  In response, the typical eye pupil will slightly dilate due to the dimmer light, but this results in blurrier underwater vision.  By contrast, the eye pupils of the Moken children not only constrict to the near-maximum (which increases their vision’s depth of field) but their young, flexible lenses change shape to allow more light to the back of the eye.  Combine these features with reduced salt water irritation, and you have eyes that are well-adapted to diving in the sea. (ibid)

Teaching Strategies

Students will grapple with essential questions throughout our unit:  “How have/do humans survive and thrive when their environment changes?” and “How can we determine if a change is an acclimatization, an adaptation, or an evolution?”  Students will need to consider the benefits humans gain in acclimatizing, adapting, or evolving, and will be challenged to deeply consider what humans would need in a hypothetical situation to which humans have never been exposed.  To effectively teach this to my diverse group of gifted learners, several frameworks and strategies will be implemented.

Flexibility

The scope of this unit may appear superficial, but this deceptive appearance is written in part to cater specifically to how we know gifted learners process new information, and perhaps more importantly, how these students will respond when new information is presented to them.  The decision to use such a wide definition of the term “adaptation” is one such example.   We do this knowing that gifted students will likely push back and/or ask for clarification regarding if we’re including x in our definition of adaptation and why this decision(s) was made to include y and so forth.  It’s not unusual for gifted students to appear to take over an entire class period with their desire to push back, but this behavior is typically an effort to either fully understand the underlying meaning of what’s being presented (45) or to satisfy their more highly developed sense of curiosity, which is combined with an advanced ability to think and comprehend. (46)

Our classrooms are designed to be safe learning spaces for students to deeply engage, pose hypothetical situations that push boundaries, and ask hyper-specific questions that dig at the root of what we’re learning.  These occasions also provide an opportunity for teachers to refer students to other researchers, philosophers, etc. who have had those same questions over time, so that the students feel validated in their quest for knowledge, and know they can explore their questions further, at a later/more appropriate time.  Ultimately, with this level and type of guidance, students are effectively practicing appropriate discourse strategies, such as turn taking and disagreement. 

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Bloom’s Taxonomy (both the original version and its 2000 update) aims to classify educational goals so that teachers set appropriate levels of proficiency for students. (47)  The cognitive actions of the revised Bloom’s Taxonomy include (in order of increasing levels of thinking) remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create. (48)  It’s not unusual for gifted students to move quickly through the lower levels of learning when given a new task, so teachers need to be prepared to push students toward the more engaging and challenging levels.  Open-ended assignments can provide gifted students with opportunities to work at the higher levels of Bloom’s. (49)

Depth and Complexity Framework

Our district Gifted and Talented office uses J Taylor Education’s Depth and Complexity Framework throughout our units and lessons to make sure students are learning at an appropriately deep and complex level.  Their Depth icons “refer to approaching or studying something from the concrete to the abstract or from the known to the unknown” and include Details, Patterns, Rules, Ethics, Language of the Discipline, Trends, Unanswered Questions, and Big Idea. Their Complexity icons “inspire students to relate concepts and ideas at a more sophisticated level” and include Multiple Perspectives, Over Time, and Across Disciplines (50)  These icons can be used either independently or in combination for maximum impact, and this framework flows into and through the other strategies used for this unit. 

Explicit Vocabulary and Language Instruction

When teaching topics as interrelated as acclimatization, adaptation, and evolution, it’s important to be intentional with timing and delivery so as to avoid confusion and misuse of the terms.  This is particularly important for my students who have dyslexia (since “acclimatization” and “adaptation” are similar both visually and in definition) as well as those who are still learning English (ELLs) who may not yet have the language background to be able to grapple with gradient vocabulary such as these terms.  Due to the high number of our GT-identified students who are also ELLs, strategies such as those used in the SIOP (Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol) Model are helpful, particularly when teaching vocabulary.  SIOP has a lesson planning checklist that is especially useful; it includes such ideas/reminders as explicitly linking past learning to new concepts, using appropriate speech commensurate with proficiency levels, providing opportunities to interact and discuss concepts, and comprehensively reviewing key vocabulary, among others. (51) 

Physical Manipulatives

Tangible, hands-on learning experiences provide unique opportunities for active engagement and learning for students.  In addition to the benefits of contextualizing language and linking abstract terms with physical representations, they can also be helpful for students who are trying to distinguish between similar terms. 

Text Analysis

Analyzing and summarizing texts is a significant part of most standardized tests our students encounter, and is strongly encouraged for inclusion in every lesson we create. Regardless of this, analyzing and interacting with text is a good way for students to improve their ability to comprehend complex vocabulary in authentic contexts.  There are many approaches and acronyms and types of text analysis; all of them are intended to teach students to think critically and gain a deeper understanding of the text’s and vocabulary’s meaning. 

K20 Center Strategy Library

The University of Oklahoma’s K20 Center has hundreds of strategies, created by teachers all over Oklahoma, for teachers of various grade levels and abilities.  These strategies can be filtered by grade level, group size, place in lesson, and purpose, so they can be used if students need more variation in learning type, or need an opportunity to learn more deeply about a concept. (52)

Rubrics

Students can’t meet expectations that haven’t been set, and rubrics are a good way to communicate what students need to do and at what level they need to do it.  For maximum impact, rubrics for final projects are distributed when they are assigned (as opposed to shortly before they are due) and students’ families also receive a copy of the rubric at that same time.  It is important to take time to explain all aspects of the rubric and allow students to push back and otherwise ask questions so that everyone has the same clear expectations for performance.  Whenever possible, it’s beneficial for students to have dedicated time to periodically complete either a formal or informal self-assessment of progress using their rubric as a guide so they are able to see where they are being successful and where they may need to adjust their plans.   

Classroom Activities

This unit is designed to provide space for students to dive deeply into the concepts of acclimatization, adaptation, and evolution to the level at which students feel comfortable with playing with the ideas and leveraging creativity to explore the concepts further.  Students learning these concepts will come away with clearer ideas on what humans have to do in order to survive and thrive in new environments, and be able to clearly identify differences amongst human populations in different locales.  They will be challenged to consider these concepts deeply, to the point of working through a thought experiment in which humans are thrust into a hypothetical environment in which they will need to adapt in order to survive/thrive.

Early in the unit, we will take time to learn what is called in Depth & Complexity parlance “the Language of the Discipline.” This refers to the specific vocabulary one needs to know to function well and appropriately within a discipline.  Since the students are at a variety of levels of ability with the English language, we will use a variety of tools and methods to ensure comfort with these new terms. 

Foldables: Foldables are a specific type of three-dimensional, paper-based graphic organizer that is typically in Bloom’s “understand” level.  They were originally created over 30 years ago by Dina Zike to serve as kinesthetic study guides and are found in many PK-16+ classes today.  There are different types of Foldables depending on the number of terms,  how those terms relate to one another, and if you choose to add additional information (such as drawings, diagrams, or sentences.) Students fold, cut, and create the Foldable themselves, which adds to both buy-in and the overall learning experience.  For the terms acclimatization, adaptation, and evolution, a basic Three-Tab Book can be a helpful organizer that can continue to serve as a reference for students. (53)

Frayer Model: Since we’re discussing larger concepts, as opposed to rote facts, the Frayer Model will help students develop clearer understandings of each of our main concepts: acclimatization, adaptation, and evolution.  Ian Byrd’s blog Byrdseed, which is an excellent source for ideas for gifted teachers, has a straightforward explanation of the components of the Frayer Model.  The students write their concept in the center of a page, then complete the four “boxes” surrounding it, which ask the student to define the concept/ explain its “big idea,” provide details/ essential characteristics of the concept, provide examples of the concept, and then provide non-examples of the concept. (54)  In addition to making students consider concepts more deeply, (typically at Bloom’s “analyze” level,) an advantage to the Frayer Model is that it can be easily adapted to either paper/pencil or digital needs. 

Vocabulary Tools: Online vocabulary tools can also be helpful for vocabulary acquisition, whether used or referenced directly in class, or made available as a resource for students.  NYU Steinhardt offers an expansive offering of Bilingual Glossaries and Cognates that may potentially be helpful for students, but note that students need to have a reading foundation in their first language for this to be a useful resource.  For this unit, the High School Living Environment (Biology) section in Spanish (55) may be potentially valuable for students, since Spanish is the dominant primary language of our GT ELLs.  The National Human Genome Research Institute has several–but not all–of the terms we will use in this unit, but can be used as a resource regardless, particularly to help students explore other related terms they encounter during their learning. (56)  

Once students have a strong vocabulary foundation, they are ready to begin to interact with it in texts.  They will be asked to read, reread, and interact with three articles that are intended to serve as a deeper dive into acclimatization, adaptation, and evolution. We will use three different texts discussing our three focus populations and adapted human body parts: the oxygen-delivery systems of high-altitude dwellers (57), the skeletal system of astronauts (58), and the eyes of the Moken children. (59)  [DT1] 

Text Analysis and Summary

CRUSH and Smush: The “C.R.U.S.H. and Smush” strategy from the K20 Center will be used to help students methodically analyze and summarize texts, particularly if students are less familiar with reading informational texts and/or tend to be heavy-handed with a highlighter if left unchecked.  For this strategy, students skim the article and Circle new vocabulary that they define, then Read the article, Underlining important terms as they go.  Students then go back and Star main points, then Highlight only the parts that support the main ideas.  They then “Smush” the article by summarizing it, making sure to include everything that was highlighted or starred previously.  (60)  As an additional analysis layer, for each article, students will be asked to state whether each example is of an acclimatization, adaptation, or evolution, and to provide evidence supporting their position. 

Cut It Out: We will also use a modified version of the K20 Center’s “Cut It Out” as a way to have students elevate their summary into Bloom’s “evaluate” and “create” levels. For this strategy, students use a summary they have done of a text–in this case, they’ll use the “Smush” summary they generated.  They physically create illustrations that represent the essential parts of their summary, and record an audio description of the summary while showing relevant illustrations against an otherwise blank background.  While not required, these creations can be presented either in-person or virtually to their peers. (61)

Once students have demonstrated that they understand relevant vocabulary and can analyze and summarize appropriate texts to differentiate between acclimatization, adaptation, and evolution, they are ready to move on to the final portion of the unit. 

Final Project: Ultimately, students will creatively respond to “What specific human acclimatization/adaptation/evolution would be necessary to thrive in [a hypothetical but plausible] future environmental situation?”

Rubric: Students and their families will receive the rubric at the beginning of the final project.  It will include four columns of success, including Exceeds Standard, Meets Standard, Approaches Standard, Below Standard.  Several elements will be evaluated using this criteria, including: describing the “future environmental situation,” explaining what about the current human state is inadequate for the situation, proposing an appropriate acclimatization/adaptation/evolution that takes contextual factors into account, (62) clearly distinguishing which it is, and demonstrating the originality and elaboration components of Divergent Thinking. (63)

Ideation: Before students begin their own final project, they will need low-risk practice to demonstrate that they understand the creative project’s parameters.  Informal hypothetical situations will be posed for groups to discuss, including such far-fetched ideas as “What if all cows suddenly disappeared?”, “What if the entire earth flooded and was entirely covered in water?”, and “What if earth’s gravity was reduced by five percent?”  These will be largely conversational exercises with the teacher intentionally guiding students to include the aforementioned criteria in their processes.

Once students show that they understand the requirements and comfort with ideating creative solutions, they will be formally provided with the prompt “What specific human acclimatization/adaptation/evolution would be necessary to thrive in [a hypothetical but plausible] future environmental situation?”  For students who are comfortable with full creative control, they will determine what the future environmental situation will be.  For those who are less comfortable with decision-making, they will be given a situation (e.g., all humans have moved to Mars.)  Students will use their rubric to determine what and how they will satisfactorily determine their adaptation.  Students will preferably work in small groups to accomplish this task, with some kind of tangible representation (posters, speeches, Canva/Google Environment, etc.) of their solution.

Expert Stay and Stray: Once students have created their product, they will complete the Expert Stay and Stray in lieu of a more traditional presentation.  Student groups will stand at their product and work to become equal experts on it.  The teacher will announce that one of the group members will stay as the expert while the other group members move to a new station to listen and become an expert on the new product.  The process repeats several times, until either every student has a chance to be the expert, or has had a chance to travel to each station. (64)

Appendix on Implementing District Standards

Our district Gifted and Talented office uses the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) Pre-K to Grade 12 Gifted Education Programming Standards to guide lesson plan development.  These standards use student outcomes for goals and provide an important foundation for gifted learners at all stages of development. (65)

  • 1.5. Cognitive, Psychosocial, and Affective Growth. Students with gifts and talents demonstrate cognitive growth and psychosocial skills that support their talent development as a result of meaningful and challenging learning activities that address their unique characteristics and needs.
  • 3.1. Curriculum Planning. Students with gifts and talents demonstrate academic growth commensurate with their abilities each school year.
  • 3.4. Instructional Strategies. Students with gifts and talents demonstrate their potential or level of achievement in  their domain(s) of talent and/or areas  of interest.
  • 3.5. Instructional Strategies. Students with gifts and talents become independent investigators.

Oklahoma Academic Standards for English Language Arts (66)

  • Standard 3: Critical Reading and Writing
    • Reading: Students will apply critical thinking skills to reading and writing. Students will analyze, interpret, and evaluate increasingly complex literary and informational texts that include a wide range of historical, cultural, ethnic, and global perspectives from a variety of genres.
    • Writing: Students will thoughtfully and intentionally write, addressing a range of modes, purposes, and audiences.
  • Standard 4: Vocabulary and Effective Writing
    • Reading | Students will expand and apply their spoken and reading vocabularies to speak and read.
    • Writing: Students will expand their grade-level vocabularies through reading, word study, and class discussion.

While our school does not offer Middle Years Programme coursework that builds towards the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma, several of my students will likely attend the district’s magnet high school that offers the International Baccalaureate, and may take the IB Anthropology course.  As such, it’s good to note the standards listed in their Social and Cultural Anthropology Subject Brief. (67)

  • 3.  Synthesis and Evaluation • Compare and contrast characteristics of specific cultures and societies

Many of my students will attend a high school that offers Advanced Placement (AP) courses, and Environmental Science is a course that is offered at some of them. (68)

  • Environmental Science Topic 2.6: Adaptations ERT-2.H.1 Organisms adapt to their environment over time, both in short- and long-term scales, via incremental changes at the genetic level.  ERT-2.H.2 Environmental changes, either sudden or gradual, may threaten a species’ survival, requiring individuals to alter behaviors, move, or perish.

Notes

  1. Burton, John W. ‘Anthropology’. In World Book Advanced, 2025. www.worldbookonline.com/advanced/article?id=ar024140.
  2. Wit, Lawrence C. ‘Acclimatization’. In World Book Advanced. Chicago, IL, 2025. https://www.worldbookonline.com/advanced/article?id=ar700079.
  3. Boursiquot, Jean-Nicolas, Rémi Gagnon, Jaclyn Quirt, and Anne K. Ellis. ‘Allergen Immunotherapy’. Allergy, Asthma & Clinical Immunology 20, no. S3 (16 December 2024): 66. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13223-024-00935-2.
  4. Fornadley, John. ‘Allergy Immunotherapy’. Otolaryngologic Clinics of North America 31, no. 1 (February 1998): 111–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0030-6665(05)70033-5.
  5. Grau, Marijke, Emily Zollmann, Janina Bros, Benedikt Seeger, Thomas Dietz, Javier Antonio Noriega Ureña, Andreas Grolle, et al. ‘Autologous Blood Doping Induced Changes in Red Blood Cell Rheologic Parameters, RBC Age Distribution, and Performance’. Biology 11, no. 5 (23 April 2022): 647. https://doi.org/10.3390/biology11050647. Pg 11
  6. Khing, Tony. Performance-Enhancing Drugs in Sports. Issues in Sports. Minneapolis, MN: ABDO Publishing Company, 2014. Pg 24 (pic on phone): def of blood doping
  7. Templeton, Alan R. . ‘Adaptation’. In World Book Advanced, 2025. www.worldbookonline.com/advanced/article?id=ar004140.
  8. Pamenter, Matthew E., James E. Hall, Yuuka Tanabe, and Tatum S. Simonson. ‘Cross-Species Insights Into Genomic Adaptations to Hypoxia’. Frontiers in Genetics 11 (22 July 2020): 743. https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2020.00743. Pg 8
  9. Harcourt, Alexander H. Humankind: How Biology and Geography Shape Human Diversity. New York: Pegasus books, 2015. Pg. 197-199 Lactose intolerance adaptation
  10. Callaway, Ewen. ‘How Humans’ Ability to Digest Milk Evolved from Famine and Disease’. Nature 608, no. 7922 (11 August 2022): 251–52. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-02067-2. Pg. 251-252
  11. Harcourt, Alexander H. Humankind: How Biology and Geography Shape Human Diversity. New York: Pegasus books, 2015. Pg. 200 Lactose intolerance adaptation
  12. Larsen, Clark Spencer. ‘The Past 12,000 Years of Behavior, Adaptation, Population, and Evolution Shaped Who We Are Today’. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 120, no. 4 (24 January 2023): e2209613120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2209613120. Pg. 4Stats on dairying
  13. Fan, Shaohua, Matthew E. B. Hansen, Yancy Lo, and Sarah A. Tishkoff. ‘Going Global by Adapting Local: A Review of Recent Human Adaptation’. Science 354, no. 6308 (7 October 2016): 54–59. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaf5098. Pg. 54
  14. Harcourt, Alexander H. Humankind: How Biology and Geography Shape Human Diversity. New York: Pegasus books, 2015. Pg. 200-201 Lactose intolerance adaptation
  15. Jeong, Choongwon, and Anna Di Rienzo. ‘Adaptations to Local Environments in Modern Human Populations’. Current Opinion in Genetics & Development 29 (December 2014): 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gde.2014.06.011. Pg. 2 Comprehensive article on main 3 adaptations
  16. Daanen, Hein A.M., and Wouter D. Van Marken Lichtenbelt. ‘Human Whole Body Cold Adaptation’. Temperature 3, no. 1 (2 January 2016): 104–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/23328940.2015.1135688.  PG. 105-106 This article discusses shivering, among other cold adaptations.
  17. Rees, Jasmin S., Sergi Castellano, and Aida M. Andrés. ‘The Genomics of Human Local Adaptation’. Trends in Genetics 36, no. 6 (June 2020): 415–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tig.2020.03.006. Pg. 415 Local adaptations
  18. Fumagalli, Matteo, Ida Moltke, Niels Grarup, Fernando Racimo, Peter Bjerregaard, Marit E. Jørgensen, Thorfinn S. Korneliussen, et al. ‘Greenlandic Inuit Show Genetic Signatures of Diet and Climate Adaptation’. Science 349, no. 6254 (18 September 2015): 1343–47. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aab2319. Pg. 1544-1545 Genetic adaptations of Inuit.
  19. Schlebusch, Carina M., Lucie M. Gattepaille, Karin Engström, Marie Vahter, Mattias Jakobsson, and Karin Broberg. ‘Human Adaptation to Arsenic-Rich Environments’. Molecular Biology and Evolution 32, no. 6 (June 2015): 1544–55. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msv046. Highland Argentinians with arsenic in drinking water
  20. Vicuña, Lucas, Mario I Fernandez, Cecilia Vial, Patricio Valdebenito, Eduardo Chaparro, Karena Espinoza, Annemarie Ziegler, Alberto Bustamante, and Susana Eyheramendy. ‘Adaptation to Extreme Environments in an Admixed Human Population from the Atacama Desert’. Edited by David Enard. Genome Biology and Evolution 11, no. 9 (1 September 2019): 2468–79. https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evz172. Pg. 2475
  21. White, Louise, Frédéric Romagné, Elias Müller, Eva Erlebach, Antje Weihmann, Genís Parra, Aida M. Andrés, and Sergi Castellano. ‘Genetic Adaptation to Levels of Dietary Selenium in Recent Human History’. Molecular Biology and Evolution 32, no. 6 (June 2015): 1507–18. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msv043. Pg. 1513 Chinese adapting to selenium-deficient environments.
  22. Ferraretti, Giulia, Aina Rill, Paolo Abondio, Kyra Smith, Claudia Ojeda-Granados, Sara De Fanti, Massimo Izzi, et al. ‘Convergent Evolution of Complex Adaptive Traits Enabled Human Life at High Altitudes’, 25 October 2023. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.10.24.563738.
  23. Witt, Kelsey E., and Emilia Huerta-Sánchez. ‘Convergent Evolution in Human and Domesticate Adaptation to High-Altitude Environments’. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 374, no. 1777 (22 July 2019): 20180235. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2018.0235. Pg. 2-4
  24. Fan, Shaohua, Matthew E. B. Hansen, Yancy Lo, and Sarah A. Tishkoff. ‘Going Global by Adapting Local: A Review of Recent Human Adaptation’. Science 354, no. 6308 (7 October 2016): 54–59. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaf5098. Pg. 54
  25. Seifu, Wubalem Desta, Abreham Bekele-Alemu, and Changqing Zeng. ‘Genomic and Physiological Mechanisms of High-Altitude Adaptation in Ethiopian Highlanders: A Comparative Perspective’. Frontiers in Genetics 15 (7 January 2025): 1510932. https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2024.1510932. Pg. 4
  26. Harcourt, Alexander H. Humankind: How Biology and Geography Shape Human Diversity. New York: Pegasus books, 2015.Pg. 195-212 Lactose intolerance adaptation
  27. Gould, Stephen Jay, and Elisabeth S. Vrba. ‘Exaptation-A Missing Term in the Science of Form’. Paleobiology 8, no. 1 (1982): 4–15. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2400563. Pg. 4 Has a definition of adaptation
  28. Gould, Stephen Jay, Paul McGarr, and Steven Peter Russell Rose. The Richness of Life: The Essential Stephen Jay Gould: Edited by Paul McGarr and Steven Rose: And a Foreword by Oliver Sacks with an Introduction by Steven Rose. 1st American ed. New York, N.Y: Norton, 2007. Pg. 231 Definition of adaptation
  29. Templeton, Alan R. Evolution. In World Book Advanced, 2025. www.worldbookonline.com/advanced/article?id=ar004140.
  30. Stearne, Sarah M., Kirsty A. McDonald, Jacqueline A. Alderson, Ian North, Charles E. Oxnard, and Jonas Rubenson. ‘The Foot’s Arch and the Energetics of Human Locomotion’. Scientific Reports 6, no. 1 (19 January 2016): 19403. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep19403.
  31. Asghar, A., and S. Naaz. ‘The Transverse Arch in the Human Feet: A Narrative Review of Its Evolution, Anatomy, Biomechanics and Clinical Implications’. Morphologie 106, no. 355 (December 2022): 225–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.morpho.2021.07.005.
  32. Drapeau, Michelle S.M., and Elizabeth H. Harmon. ‘Metatarsal Torsion in Monkeys, Apes, Humans and Australopiths’. Journal of Human Evolution 64, no. 1 (January 2013): 93–108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2012.10.008. Humans have foot arches, monkeys and apes don’t
  33. Cleveland Clinic. ‘Red Blood Cells: Function, Role & Importance’. Accessed 10 March 2025. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/21691-function-of-red-blood-cells.
  34. Cleveland Clinic. ‘Hypoxia: Causes, Symptoms, Tests, Diagnosis & Treatment’. Accessed 10 March 2025. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23063-hypoxia.
  35. NIAMS Science Communications and Outreach. ‘Health Lesson: Learning About Bones’. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, 3 June 2024. https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/educational-resources/health-lesson-learning-about-bones.  This educational resource is intended for students in grades 4-6, so the vocabulary is very accessible and clear. 
  36. Cleveland Clinic. ‘What Are Osteoporosis Warning Signs?’ Accessed 10 March 2025. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/4443-osteoporosis.
  37. Thomson, Helen. ‘The “Sea-Nomad” Children Who See Like Dolphins’. BBC, 29 February 2016. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20160229-the-sea-nomad-children-who-see-like-dolphins. This is a student-friendly article version of the same Gislén article on the Moken children of Thailand.
  38. Gislén, Anna, Marie Dacke, Ronald H.H Kröger, Maths Abrahamsson, Dan-Eric Nilsson, and Eric J Warrant. ‘Superior Underwater Vision in a Human Population of Sea Gypsies’. Current Biology 13, no. 10 (May 2003): 833–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0960-9822(03)00290-2. This study examines the structural adaptations of the Moken children of SE Asia.
  39. Cleveland Clinic. ‘Eyes: A Window to the World for Your Brain’. Accessed 12 March 2025. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/21823-eyes.
  40. Beall, Cynthia M., Geoff Childs, Sienna R. Craig, Kingman P. Strohl, Elizabeth Quinn, and Buddha Basnyat. ‘Repeatability of Adaptive Traits among Ethnic Tibetan Highlanders’. American Journal of Human Biology 34, no. 4 (April 2022): e23670. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.23670.
  41. Bigham, Abigail W., and Frank S. Lee. ‘Human High-Altitude Adaptation: Forward Genetics Meets the HIF Pathway’. Genes & Development 28, no. 20 (15 October 2014): 2189–2204. https://doi.org/10.1101/gad.250167.114. Pg. 2191 This article describes vascular changes and other adaptations to survive at high altitudes.
  42. Jaber, Jay Michael, Joshua Ong, Ethan Waisberg, Prithul Sarker, Nasif Zaman, Alireza Tavakkoli, and Andrew G. Lee. ‘NASA’s Impact on Medical Innovation: Breakthrough Technologies from Space Research’. Acta Astronautica 226 (January 2025): 34–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2024.10.026. Pg 35
  43. Legner, Klaus. ‘Humans in Space & Space Biology’. United Nations Programme on Space Applications. 15 (January 2004): 77–135.  Pg. 82
  44. Gislén, Anna, Marie Dacke, Ronald H.H Kröger, Maths Abrahamsson, Dan-Eric Nilsson, and Eric J Warrant. ‘Superior Underwater Vision in a Human Population of Sea Gypsies’. Current Biology 13, no. 10 (May 2003): 833–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0960-9822(03)00290-2. This study examines the structural adaptations of the Moken children of SE Asia.
  45. Edmentum. ‘Classroom Strategies: Teaching Gifted Students’. Accessed 10 March 2025. https://www.edmentum.com/articles/classroom-strategies-teaching-gifted-students/.
  46. Davidson Institute. ‘Tips for Teachers: Successful strategies for teaching gifted learners’. Davidson Institute, 24 January 2020. https://www.davidsongifted.org/gifted-blog/what-is-giftedness/.
  47. Seyferth, Janelle. ‘What the Research Says About Gifted Learners’. Davidson Institute, 5 April 2004. https://www.davidsongifted.org/gifted-blog/what-the-research-says-about-gifted-learners/This post discusses Piaget’s development theory and Bloom’s taxonomy as they relate to gifted learners.
  48. Anderson, Lorin W., and David Krathwohl, eds. A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. 1st ed. New York, NY: Pearson, 2000.
  49. Pennsylvania Association for Gifted Education (PAGE). ‘Differentiation for Gifted’. Accessed 11 April 2025. https://www.giftedpage.org/differentiation-for-gifted/.  This website discusses several strategies for working with gifted students.
  50. The Center for Depth and Complexity. ‘The Depth and Complexity Icons’. The Center For Depth and Complexity. J Taylor Education, 2025. https://depthcomplexity.com/.
  51. Echevarría, J., Vogt, M.E., & Short, D. (2017). Making content comprehensible for English learners: The SIOP® Model (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
  52. The K20 Center, the University of Oklahoma. ‘Instructional Strategies’. Authentic Lessons for 21st Century Learning. Accessed 15 February 2025. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/search?type=strategies.
  53. Staples, Michele R. . ‘Using Foldables in the Classroom’. Class Lecture, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, n.d. https://www.tamucc.edu/education/events/conferences/tbti/files/resources-2022/using-foldables.pdf.
  54. Byrd, Ian. ‘The Frayer Model – A Tool To Explain Concepts’. Byrdseed (blog), 13 November 2019. https://www.byrdseed.com/frayer-model/.
  55. NYU Steinhardt. ‘Bilingual Glossaries and Cognates ’. NYS Statewide Language Regional Bilingual Education Resource Network. New York University, 2025. https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/metrocenter/language-rbern/resources/bilingual-glossaries-and-cognates.
  56. National Human Genome Research Institute. ‘Talking Glossary of Genomic and Genetic Terms’. National Human Genome Research Institute. National Institute for Health. Accessed 1 December 2024. https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary.
  57. LeMunyon, Christi. ‘How Does Your Blood Adapt to High Altitudes?’ Exercise Physiology (blog), 5 December 2018. https://exercisephys.wp.drake.edu/2018/12/05/how-does-your-blood-adapt-to-high-altitudes/. This mostly student-friendly article describes how the human body acclimatizes to higher altitudes.
  58. The Guardian. ‘Lost in Space: Returned Astronauts Struggle to Recover Bone Density, Study Finds’. 30 June 2022, sec. Science. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/jun/30/lost-in-space-returned-astronauts-struggle-to-recover-bone-density-study-finds. This is a student-friendly article that discusses the amount of bone density lost after space travel.
  59. Thomson, Helen. ‘The “Sea-Nomad” Children Who See Like Dolphins’. BBC, 29 February 2016.https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20160229-the-sea-nomad-children-who-see-like-dolphins. This is a student-friendly article version of the same Gislén article on the Moken children of Thailand.
  60. The K20 Center, the University of Oklahoma. ‘Instructional Strategies’. Authentic Lessons for 21st Century Learning. Accessed 15 February 2025. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/search?type=strategies.
  61. The K20 Center, the University of Oklahoma. ‘Instructional Strategies’. Authentic Lessons for 21st Century Learning. Accessed 15 February 2025. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/search?type=strategies.
  62. Association of American Colleges and Universities. 2009. Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education (VALUE). Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities. https://www.aacu.org/initiatives/value.
  63. Guilford, JP. The Nature of Human Intelligence. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1967.
  64. The K20 Center, the University of Oklahoma. ‘Instructional Strategies’. Authentic Lessons for 21st Century Learning. Accessed 15 February 2025. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/search?type=strategies.
  65. National Association for Gifted Children. ‘2019 Pre-K-Grade 12 Gifted Programming Standards’, 2019. https://nagc.org/page/National-Standards-in-Gifted-and-Talented-Education.
  66. Oklahoma State Department of Education. ‘ 2021 Oklahoma Academic Standards for English Language Arts ’, n.d. https://oklahoma.gov/education/services/standards-learning/english-language-arts/standards.html.
  67. International Baccalaureate Organization. ‘Subject Brief Individuals and Societies: Social and Cultural Anthropology’, 2017. https://www.ibo.org/programmes/diploma-programme/curriculum/individuals-and-societies/social-and-cultural-anthropology/. Alongside the College Board’s AP released items and scoring guidelines, the IB Programme’s guidelines will ensure that students are working at an appropriately rigorous level.
  68. ‘AP Environmental Science Exam Questions – AP Central | College Board’. Accessed 6 March 2025. https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-environmental-science/exam/past-exam-questions.  College Board releases free-response question sets, scoring guidelines, and commentary from their previous AP exams.  When creating rubrics, these can be helpful to make sure the ones you use are appropriately rigorous.