More than 80 scientists, pedagogues, and philosophers passed a resolution last weekend calling for the inclusion of education on evolution in primary school curricula. In light of the "fundamental importance of the understanding of evolution for the development of a contemporary worldview" it is "strange that children in primary schools learn so little about this topic" and evolution "is not taken into account in any state primary school curriculum in Germany," the resolution argues. After all, public schools should "not influence their students in accordance with a particular religion or belief, but give them access to central scientific knowledge".

The resolution text was the result of a congress which took place from October 31 to November 1, 2015, in the Hermann Hoffmann Academy of the University of Giessen. Speakers such as the biology didactician Dittmar Graf, zoologist Volker Storch, or museum pedagogue Lena Sistig refuted in their lectures that evolutionary-theoretical knowledge could not be taught at primary school age. In fact, empirical studies show that primary school children not only have a strong interest in evolution, but are also cognitively able to understand the gradual development of the species.
 

"Evokids" work group presents teaching materials

According to Dittmar Graf, head of the Giessen Institute for Biology Didactics, one of the reasons why evolution has not played a role in primary school so far is that "for a long time there have been no attractive teaching materials". This problem has now been solved: At the conference, for the first time, the "Evokids" work group co-initiated by Graf presented its 100-page collection of educational material for evolutionary teaching in 3rd to 6th grade, which not only contains specialist and didactic information for teachers, but also elaborately illustrated worksheets for students.

One special feature of the Evokids educational material collection is the 18-minute film "Big Family - A Fantastic Journey into the Past" by filmmaker Ricarda Hinz, based on the book of the same name by philosopher Michael Schmidt-Salomon and illustrator Anne-Barbara Kindler. Film and book explore the "adventure of evolution" in a new, fascinating way, in the form of the family history of the children who, through their own mothers, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers, travel back to their great-grandmothers in the past - from their "Stone Age grandma" to "Granny shrew", from "Grandma lizard" to "Grandma fishmouth" to "Grandmapa Bactereria", the origin of all life on earth.

Furhter information (in German):
http://evokids.de/content/resolution-evolution-grundschule