edHelper.com
Life Science
 How Do New Species Form?

How Do New Species Form?
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 6 to 8
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   8.94

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    allopatric, speciation, supercontinent, adaptation, isolation, evolution, off-course, evolve, selection, genetic, separation, theory, continental, worldwide, definition, natural
     content words:    Galapagos Islands, Great Britain

Print How Do New Species Form?
     Print How Do New Species Form?  (font options, pick words for additional puzzles, and more)

Quickly Print - PDF format
     Quickly Print: PDF (2 columns per page)
     Quickly Print: PDF (full page)

Quickly Print - HTML format
     Quickly Print: HTML

Proofreading Activity
     Print a proofreading activity

Feedback on How Do New Species Form?
     Leave your feedback on How Do New Species Form?  (use this link if you found an error in the story)

How Do New Species Form?
By Cindy Grigg 		  
1     The theory of evolution says that species change over time. Did you ever wonder how new species evolve? Natural selection seems to explain how variations can lead to changes in a species. Geographic isolation seems to be one of the main ways this happens. This geographic separation from others of their species seems to be what made different species evolve on the Galapagos Islands. The six-hundred-mile separation of the islands from the mainland may have led to those animals evolving into new species. After many changes evolve in a group of animals, individuals of that group can no longer mate with the rest of the species that remain unchanged. That is the definition of species: individuals that are able to breed among themselves but are not able to breed with other species.
 
2     When a group of individuals is separated from the rest of their species for a long time, the individuals can evolve different traits. The longer the group is isolated from the rest of the species, the more likely it will evolve into a new species. One example of this has been seen in fish species in the lakes of Switzerland, Great Britain, and Scandinavia. Almost every lake has different forms, believed to have evolved from one species.
 
3     Groups of living things can become separated in different ways. Rivers can change their course. Volcanoes and mountain ranges form. New islands are created. Ocean waves can carry small groups many miles away and put them down in a new place. This is believed to be how many animals got to the Galapagos Islands.

Paragraphs 4 to 7:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable
Weekly Reading Books

          Create Weekly Reading Books

Prepare for an entire week at once!

Life Science
             Life Science

Science
             Science


    Careers in Science  
 
    Caring for Earth  
 
    Clouds  
 
    Dinosaurs  
 
    Earth's Land  
 
    Earth  
 
    Earthquakes  
 
    Electricity  
 
    Energy  
 
    Erosion  
 
    Food Pyramid  
 
    Food Webs and Food Chain  
 
    Forces and Motion  
 
    Fossils  
 
    Health and Nutrition  
 
    How Things Work  
 
    Landforms  
 
    Life Science  
 
    Light  
 
    Magnets  
 
    Matter  
 
 
    Moon  
 
    Natural Disasters  
 
    Photosynthesis  
 
    Plant and Animal Cells  
 
    Plants  
 
    Rocks and Minerals  
 
    Science Process Skills  
 
    Scientific Notation  
 
    Seasons  
 
    Simple Machines  
 
    Soil  
 
    Solar System  
 
    Sound  
 
    Space and Stars  
 
    Sun  
 
    Tsunami  
 
    Volcanoes  
 
    Water Cycle  
 
    Water  
 
    Weather  
 

More Activities, Lesson Plans, and Worksheets


Back to School
Graphic Organizers
Alphabet Worksheets
Sight Words
Math Worksheets
Mazes
50 States
Education
Teaching

Monthly Themes
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Fractions
Place Value
Time and Calendar
Money
Earth Day
Solar System
Analogies
Nouns
Following Directions
Listening
Capitalization
Cursive Writing
Patterns and Sequencing
Dinosaurs
All About Me

Kindergarten
First Grade
Second Grade
Third Grade
Fourth Grade
Fifth Grade
Sixth Grade
Multiplication
Division
Main Idea
Cause and Effect
Measurement
Decimals
Rounding
Order of Operations
Verbs
Community Helpers
Adjectives
Plants
Grammar
Addition and Subtraction
Contractions
Bulletin Board Ideas
Word Searches
Crossword Puzzles
Printable Puzzles

Reading Comprehension
Reading Skills
English Language Arts



Copyright © 2013 edHelper