Adaptation and Evolution Reading Comprehension

Year 6 ScienceEvolution and Inheritance5 pages

About this worksheet

Polar bears and peppered moths carry the two-page reading passage on this Year 6 sheet, 'The Great Survivors', which explains adaptation and evolution. The first is the polar bear, with blubber up to 11 centimetres thick and paws covered in papillae. The second is the peppered moth, which turned dark in cities like Manchester during the Industrial Revolution and then pale again after clean air laws. Charles Darwin and natural selection are introduced along the way. Eleven questions follow in three parts: Retrieve, Infer, and Evaluate and Respond. The answer page gives model answers, including two for the final opinion question. It suits Year 6 evolution and inheritance in the England National Curriculum.

Remix for free

Adaptation and Evolution Reading Comprehension: Evolution and Inheritance - page 1

Adaptation and Evolution Reading Comprehension: Evolution and Inheritance - page 2

Adaptation and Evolution Reading Comprehension: Evolution and Inheritance - page 3

Adaptation and Evolution Reading Comprehension: Evolution and Inheritance - page 4

Curriculum objectives covered

Evolution and inheritance

“Identify how animals and plants are adapted to suit their environment in different ways and that adaptation may lead to evolution”

Questions 1 to 3 and 6 deal with the polar bear's adaptations. Questions 9 and 10 use the peppered moth to show adaptation leading to evolution.

Evolution and inheritance

“Recognise that living things produce offspring of the same kind, but normally offspring vary and are not identical to their parents”

The third paragraph explains inheritance and variation, and question 4 asks pupils to find the word variation.

What's inside this worksheet

The Great Survivors

Pupils read five paragraphs, from a polar bear on ice at minus 40°C to the peppered moths of the Industrial Revolution.

Part 1: Retrieve

Five questions. Pupils find the definition of adaptation, the thickness of the blubber, the job of papillae and the word 'variation', then tick True or False for two moth statements with evidence.

Part 2: Infer

Four questions, including why the author compares the bear's paws to snowshoes and whether a polar bear could choose to lose its blubber.

Part 3: Evaluate and Respond

Pupils decide whether evolution only happens over millions of years, then choose the polar bear or the peppered moth as the better example of natural selection.

Answers

Model answers for all eleven questions, such as 'stood out like beacons' for question 7.

How teachers use it

Guided reading

Read the passage in a guided reading session first, then teach the science. Part 1 works as a quick check on the reading alone.

Moth hunt

Before question 9, show pictures of pale and dark peppered moths on clean and sooty bark, and ask which one a bird would find first.

Debate

Split the class for question 11. Half argue for the polar bear and half for the moth, using the model answers as a guide.

More Year 6 Science worksheets

Living Things and Their Habitats Animals Including Humans Light Electricity

Get started today

Create your own lesson plans, worksheets, and classroom activities in minutes using our AI-powered tools.

Try Chalkie for free