This interactive assessment of the short film Great Transitions: The Origin of Birds contains four automatic pause points, during which students answer questions about the film to assess their understanding of the concepts presented. After answering all the questions, students can view and print their answers.

Additional information related to pedagogy and implementation can be found on this resource’s webpage, including suggested audience, estimated time, and curriculum connections.

Key Concepts

• Species descend from other species. Any two species or groups of organisms, no matter how distantly related, can be traced back to a common ancestor.
• The fossil record provides a history of life on Earth. It includes organisms with features that are intermediate, or transitional, between major groups.
• One way scientists infer evolutionary relationships is by exploring patterns in the presence or absence of certain morphological traits in different species.
• The transition from dinosaurs on the ground to birds flying in the air did not happen in a sudden leap, nor did it happen in a linear progression.

Student Learning Targets

Explain how the fossil evidence presented in the film supports the hypothesis that birds are living dinosaurs.