Phylogenetic Tree of Life - Digital Printable

• Immediate download of the file after checkout
• We offer our digital downloadable materials under two license options:
  • an Individual License for individual homeschoolers, and 
  • Extended License for schools, co-ops, and multi-family homeschool groups.

Choosing the correct license helps us keep pricing affordable while also preventing copyright misunderstandings.

This Tree of Life is used as a classification chart. The categories and groups are based on the popular "phylogenetic" approach. This phylogenetic tree is a diagram that represents the evolutionary relationships among a group of organisms. It is constructed based on the principle of common descent, which states that all organisms share a common ancestor. The tree is composed of branches that represent the different lineages of organisms, and the branching points (nodes) represent the points in evolutionary history where new lineages have diverged. The branches of the tree are labeled with the names of the organisms or groups of organisms that they represent, and traditionally, the length of the branches is used to indicate the amount of evolutionary change that has occurred.

Note: This chart is based on the format of taxonomy known as "Phylogenetic." If you are looking for a tree of life chart based on the 5 and 6 kingdom cladistical format, please see the Cladistic Tree of Life (ELC-4042). 

RESOURCES

Although the idea of a tree of life was originally described by Charles Darwin, it was not readily accepted until Carl Woese offered to refine the idea using genetic data to show that all organisms share common genetic patterns that can ultimately be traced back to a common origin.

Look at our Upper Elementary Science Flow Chart to see how this work fits in with the traditional Montessori curriculum.

Full color charts with actual real-life photographs to engage students.


STANDARDS
View the Standards met through this material.