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Animal Adaptations

First written by Cody Allen & Jennifer Isom

Form and function for adaption and survival

Total adaptation to an environment means extinction if the environment changes. 

Overview

Contents Overview

A sequence of plans to facilitate a review and develop a deeper understanding of adaptation. Activities include exploration of adaptations for birds - beaks and feathers, animals with whiskers and antenna, smell, mealworms, and camouflage.

Related topics of study:

Planning information

Learner background information

A plan designed for learners who have prior knowledge in cause and effect, use of observations to make inferences, and explanations. Basic understanding of animals and working in groups.

General information on planning

Intended learnings & learners thinkings

Content Big ideas, concept & facts, & outcomes
(Source concepts & misconceptions)

Big ideas

An organism's form is related to its environment.

Concepts and facts

  • Animals tend to adapt to their environment in order to survive in their habitat.
  • Animals have certain features that help them to survive in certain environments.
  • Changes may not be noticed on a scale of a human's life time. However, these changes become large as the number of lifetimes become large.

Outcome

Describe animals have physical characteristics and behaviors that have helped them to adapt to different environmental conditions to survive.

Science concepts: physical, earth, life

Big ideas: Animals have physical characteristics and behaviors that have helped them to adapt to different environmental conditions to survive.

Related concepts

Outcome

  1. S

Anticipated learner thinkings & misconceptions

Animals are the same now as they were years and years ago.

  • Form is shape Function and form are two different unrelated things.

Inquiry, process, & cross cutting concepts & skills

Inquiry

  • When I experiment I collect observations that describe how different properties change (become variables) when objects and systems interact. This helps me make claims, explain what is happening, and to predict what might happen in the future.
  • Inquiry concepts
  • Process concepts
  • Perspective concepts

Cross cutting

Big ideas: See also Concepts & misconceptions

Form and function are complementary function.

Related concepts and facts

Observation and explanation

  • Observational data and reasoning is used to explain interactions. Evidence is something that is observed and can be used to understand what is happening and make predictions about future changes.
  • Explanations are based on observation derived from experience or experimentation and are understandable.

Form and function

  • Form is related to function
  • Function is related to form
  • The form of an object or system is complementary to its function.
  • The form of an object or system is related to the environment in which it operates.
  • The form of an object frequently limits its function.
  • The function of an object is frequently related to its form.
  • The function of an object or system is complementary to its design.
  • The function of an object or system is related to the environment in which it operates.

Outcome -

  • Describe that form and function are related to each other and to the environment.
  • Describe how form and function are related to adaption and survival.

Specific outcomes -

  • Describe how feathers have a form related to their functions of protection.
  • Describe how beaks have a form related to the function of eating.
  • Describe how smell is related to the function of protection.
  • Describe how mealworms have different functions to adapt to their environment for survival.
  • Describe how camouflage is a form related to the function of protection.

Other possible concepts

History of science and development of technology - perspective of science

See also Concepts & misconceptions also science, math, technology timeline

  • People have practiced science and technology for a long time.
  • Science develops over time.
  • Science investigators such as

Scoring guides suggestions (rubric)

(scoring guide)

Top level

  • Describes form determines function and when a function changes or a new one is required, then if the form changes to meet the need. That change is adaptation.
  • The shape of something determines what it can do.
  • Different things have different functions.
  • When organism change they can do different things.

Lower level

Strategies to achieve educational learnings

Based on learning cycle theory & method

See also birds - Activity simulation for different kinds of assessment with topic beaks and habitat

Pedagogical Overview

  • Animals have characteristics that help them to survive.
  • Adaptation is the modification of an animal that produces a better adjustment to the environment so that the organism can survive in its habitat.
  • Habitat is the environment where an animal finds food, water, shelter, and reproduces.

Activities Sequence to provide sufficient opportunities for students to achieve the targeted outcomes.

Make sure learners have the prior knowledge identified in the background information.

  1. Activity 1 - Feather adaptations
  2. Activity 2 - Breakfast for the birds - See also Lesson plan on model bird beaks
  3. Activity 3 - Whiskers and antennas
  4. Activity 4 - What is that smell?
  5. Activity 5 - Which way will the mealworms move?
  6. Activity 6 - Where did they go?

Focus question

Unit focus question:

  • Why are animals different?
  • How do animals change?

Sub focus questions:

  1. How do we explain our observation?
  2. How do we name objects living and non living?
  3. How do we group (classify) living organisms?
  4. How do we study and learn about the properties of living organisms?

Materials

  • feathers, eye droppers, water, oil, small cups, macaroni, raisins, small foam pieces, marbles clothespins, toothpicks, spoon, scissors, blunt tipped, plastic sandwich bag, straws, assorted objects, cotton balls, vinegar, perfume, lotions, peppermint, shampoo, body sprays, alcohol, mealworms, paper towels

Safety Considerations

To ensure the safety of the mealworms and learners:

  • Obtain the mealworms from a commercial vendor.
  • Provide adequate living quarters, bedding, food, and water. Remind everyone to treat all animals with care. No experimental procedure should cause pain or discomfort to the animal.
  • Wash hands and surfaces before and after handling the mealworms. Non-latex gloves could be used. Remind everyone not to touch their eyes, mouth, or face.
  • Check for food allergies among students when selecting food sources for mealworms.
  • At the end of the investigation, do not release the mealworms into the wild since they are a nonnative species. Consider using them as a food source for reptiles or other pets.

Lab notes

Resources

Lesson Plans

Activity 1 - Feather adaptations

Materials

  • feathers, eyedropper, hand lens, water, and oil
  • Lab note -

Focus questions:

  1. What benefit do feathers provide birds?
  2. How are feathers a successful adaptation for birds?

Learning outcomes:

  1. Explain how feathers they are and are not a beneficial adaptation for birds.

Suggested procedures overview:

  1. Put learners in groups, focus their attention, and assess their initial understanding of the focus questions.
  2. Activity - Explore feathers, how they repel water, and don't repel oil. And explain how they are and are not a beneficial adaptation for birds.

Exploration - feathers and water

  1. Ask. What does a feather look like?
  2. What kinds of animals have feathers? birds
  3. Why do you think they have feathers instead of any other type of covering?
  4. Have students collect feathers (either by looking in the environment or by purchasing them).
  5. Have them look at their feathers, feel them, and identify their different characteristics. The feathers are long, soft, colorful, silky, fluffy, light in weight.
  6. Have them put a drop of water on each feather and record their observations.

Invention

  1. Share results.
  2. Discussion their findings and how they think the water rolling off the feather can help the bird.
  3. Have them hypothesize other reasons that feathers are important to a bird and record their hypotheses. Birds need feathers to fly, to keep warm, to protect them from the rain, and to keep their babies and eggs warm.

Exploration - feathers and oil

  1. Have them hypothesize what would happen if they put oil on the feathers.
  2. Have them experiment to find out how oil affects the feathers. Then have them see how water reacts to a feather that has been covered with oil. They should find that the oil saturates the feathers and that water will no longer roll off of the feathers.

Invention

  1. Discuss. What happened to the feathers and why they think it happened.
  2. Discuss how birds can be in danger if they get oil on their feathers because they won't be able to fly or keep warm in the winter.
  3. Describe how feathers have a form related to their functions of protection.

Discovery

  1. Identify characteristics of feathers that provide successful adaptations in their environment for birds. body covering for protection, light weight to be able to fly; substance to repel water, insulation to maintain temperature (warm or cool).
  2. What characteristics do they have that are not adaptable for in the environment? oil ...

Activity 2 - Breakfast for the birds

Materials:

For each group of four:

  • 1 small cup per student
  • a couple of macaroni, raisins, small foam pieces, and marbles
  • 1 clothespin
  • 1 toothpick
  • 1 spoon
  • 1 pair of scissors, blunt tipped
  • 1 plastic sandwich bag per student

Focus questions:

  1. How do birds capture or pick up their food?

Learning outcomes:

  1. Describe how different beaks provide different adaptations for getting food.

Suggested procedures overview:

  1. Put students in groups, focus their attention, and assess their initial understanding of the focus questions.
  2. Activity - Simulate picking up food with model beaks and compare different kinds of beaks to how they are adaptations to their environments.

Exploration

  1. Students should have some prior knowledge about birds and their different parts before conducting this experiment.
  2. Ask. What is a beak?
  3. Why do you think that birds have beaks?
  4. Do different birds have different kinds of beaks?
  5. Why do you think they may have different beaks?
  6. We are going to find out how beaks can be used to eat with.
  7. Give each student a plastic sandwich bag and a cup.
  8. Explain that the cup is his or her stomach.
  9. Tell. You are going to pretend to be birds, each with a different beak.
  10. Show them how to hold and work each beak.
    • Clothespin- hold at very end so that it opens wide, use only one hand
    • Scissors- insert thumb and finger and hold scissors downward to use like forceps
    • Spoon- hold at end, use only one hand
    • Toothpicks- hold in one hand to carefully poke items
  11. Have students get into groups of four and decide which beak each will have so that there is one beak of each type.
  12. Show the students the "prey" they will put in their stomachs (the cups)
    • Marbles- snails
    • Macaroni (cooked)- worms
    • Raisins- grubs
    • Styrofoam "peanuts"- water bugs
  13. Have them sit in a circle with their group on the floor or around a table with their cup beside each of them and have each of them hold their beak.
  14. Scatter one type of prey in the center of each circle, when everyone is ready, signal for them to start collecting their prey with their beaks and put them into their stomachs.
  15. Continue until all prey is eaten or after a predetermined time.
  16. Have the students empty the contents of their cups into their plastic bags.

Invention

  1. Recall and review.
  2. Discuss which beaks were able to get more of each type of prey and why.
  3. You may chart the information from each of the groups.
  4. Review each kind of beak model.
  5. For each beak type describe the kind of prey it would be used for.
  6. For each kind of prey describe what kind of habitat it would be found in.
  7. Describe how the beaks adapted for different environments.
  8. Describe how beaks have a form related to the function of eating.

Discover

Have them research to find birds that have beaks similar to the utensil that they used and give a report on how the beak helps that bird to survive.

Match the bird and its beak picture to a habitat picture.

Activity 3 - Whiskers and antennas

Materials:

  • 1 straw per student, several objects with different shapes, blindfolds
  • Lab notes -

Focus questions:

  1. How do animals use whiskers and antenna?

Learning outcomes:

  • Describe how whiskers and antenna provide different adaptations to benefit the animal.

Suggested procedures overview:

  1. Put students in groups, focus their attention, and assess their initial understanding of the focus questions.
  2. Activity - Use a straw to identify different objects and conclude that whiskers and antenna can by animals to get information about their environment that is beneficial for them.

Exploration

  1. Put learners in pairs.
  2. Ask. What are whiskers?
  3. What are antennas?
  4. What are they used for?
  5. What kinds of animals have whiskers or antennas?
  6. Why do you think they are important for those animals?
  7. Give each pair two blindfolds and two straws.
  8. Tell them that they are cats and the straws are their whiskers.
  9. Explain they will put on the blindfolds, take a straw, and use it to feel an object that is placed on a table between them.
  10. Have them put on their blindfolds.
  11. Put objects on the table between them.
  12. Tell them to try to identify the objects with the straws.
  13. Once they think they know what the object is, have them tell you what they think it is without taking off the blindfold.
  14. Have them remove the blindfolds and look at the object in front of them.

Invention

  1. Discuss the difference between seeing and touching to interpret their surroundings.
  2. Describe different ways whiskers and antenna can by animals to get information about their environment that is beneficial for them.
  3. Have students discuss why animals’ whiskers or antennas are so important to their survival.
  4. Describe how whiskers and antenna have a form related to their functions of protection.

Discovery

Research how different animals use their whiskers and antenna to get information about their environment and how it is beneficial for them.

 

Activity 4 - What is that smell?

Materials

  • One small containers for each student.
  • Cotton balls to soak in each scent
  • Scents such as: vinegar, perfume, lotions, peppermint, shampoo, body sprays, alcohol, ...
  • Place 1 soaked cotton ball in each container, by making pairs of the same scented container so that each person will have a matching pair. If there is an odd number of students, make one set of three.
  • Lab notes

Focus questions:

  1. How do animals match scents?

Learning outcomes:

  1. Describe how matching scents are beneficial for animals survival.

Suggested procedures overview:

  1. Put students in groups, focus their attention, and assess their initial understanding of the focus questions.
  2. Activity - Compare and match scents. Describe how matching scents are beneficial for animals survival.

Exploration

  1. Put learners into groups.
  2. Ask. Can someone name the five senses?
  3. Do animals use the same senses that people do?
  4. What are some ways that animals use their senses for survival?
  5. Give each group a canister.
  6. Explain to them that they are going to pretend to be dogs; therefore they won’t be able to talk.
  7. Tell them that they will be searching for their sibling(s) that has the same scent that they do.
  8. When you give the signal, they may begin to move around the room and touch the canister of another dog that they want to sniff.
  9. The other dog opens the canister and allows them to sniff.
  10. When they find a match, the pair or group may sit down together.
  11. When everyone has found their match, have the class come back together for a discussion on how they used their sense of smell to identify and communicate with the other dogs.

Invention

  1. Ask. Was it difficult not to use their sense of sight or use their voices to communicate with the other dogs.
  2. Why is a dog’s sense of smell is so important to their survival?
  3. How are other animals’ senses important to survive.
  4. Discuss this as a class and then record their thoughts.

Discover

Research how animals sense smells.

Activity 5 - Which way will the mealworms move?

Materials:

  • For each group: five mealworms, one shoe box with lid, three paper towels, small amount of water, small amount of vinegar
  • Lab notes

Safety Considerations

To ensure the safety of the mealworms and learners:

  • Obtain the mealworms from a commercial vendor.
  • Provide adequate living quarters, bedding, food, and water. Remind students to treat all animals with care. No experimental procedure should cause pain or discomfort to the animal.
  • Wash hands and surfaces before and after handling the mealworms. Non-latex gloves could be used. Remind students not to touch their eyes, mouth, or face.
  • Check for food allergies among students when selecting food sources for mealworms.
  • At the end of the investigation, do not release the mealworms into the wild since they are a nonnative species. Consider using them as a food source for reptiles or other classroom pets.

Focus questions:

  1. How do meal worms sense where to move?

Learning outcomes:

  1. Explain adaptations are related to senses and how that is important for an organisms
  1. Put students in groups, focus their attention, and assess their initial understanding of the focus questions.
  2. Activity - Experiment with mealworms and light or dark, wet or dry, acidic or neutral, and discuss how organisms move through the environment and need to avoid predators, and environmental factors that might be detrimental.

Exploration

  1. Organize learners into pairs or groups of three.
  2. Ask. What are mealworms?
  3. Do you think animals can adapt to an environment by moving to an environment that is more suitable to them?
  4. Have one person in each group gather the materials.
  5. Have them put the lid on the shoe box leaving a 1-inch opening at one end (light - dark).
  6. Have students put the mealworms in the open end of the box where light will shine on the opening.
  7. Observe for several minutes.
  8. Record what they see.
  9. Have them remove the mealworms and cut a paper towel into two pieces. Wet one piece with water and leave the other dry.
  10. Put the paper towels in the shoe box separated so the mealworms can be placed between the two pieces of towel. Place the mealworms between the two pieces of paper towel and quickly cover the box completely.
  11. Remove the lid and observe every 30 seconds to see if the worms have made a choice as to which paper they prefer.
  12. Record their observations.
  13. Have them remove the mealworms and the paper towels.
  14. Have them cut the other paper towel in half and dampen one with vinegar and leave the other dry. Repeat steps 9 - 10.
  15. Record their observations.
  16. Discuss as a class the observations they made in their groups and why the mealworms behaved the way they did.
  17. Tell. There are two types of adaptations
    • Innate are adaptation is how an animal evolves over time in response to its environment and
    • Learned adaptations are how an animal learns to survive in its immediate environment.
  18. Is the behavior of the mealworms innate or learned adaptation to their environment?

Invention

  1. Discuss how organisms use their senses to move through their environment.
  2. Mention that an adult beetle lays eggs in the meal, so there is food for they larvae - mealworm. So if the mealworm doesn't have to seek food, why does it need to move? escape predators, and environmental factors that might be detrimental.
  3. Review environmental factors: temperature, water - dry - moist - wet, light-dark, acid-neutral-base, food, air - oxygen, carbon dioxide,
  4. Discuss how adaptions help living organisms survive.
  5. Describe how mealworms have different functions to adapt to their environment for survival.

Discover

Research adaptations for other animals, evolution of humans, what makes us human? and read How to Build a Human!

Activity 6 - Where did they go?

Materials

  • one box of colored toothpicks, one box of regular wooden toothpicks
  • Lab notes -

Focus questions:

  1. How does camouflage help organisms avoid predators?

Learning outcomes:

  1. Describe how camouflage helps organisms avoid predators.

Suggested procedures overview:

  1. Put students in groups, focus their attention, and assess their initial understanding of the focus questions.
  2. Activity - Determine how many toothpicks of different colors can be found in five minutes and explain how camouflage can protect organisms.

Exploration

  1. Organize learners into groups or pairs.
  2. What does it mean to be camouflaged?
  3. Why do you think some animals use camouflage?
  4. What would happen to some animals if they couldn’t blend in with the environment?
  5. Tell. You are going to be predators and collect toothpicks, which are going to be the prey.
  6. I have scattered toothpicks that are ...... list colors, and wood, outside.
  7. Which would will be easiest to find?
  8. Why?
  9. Which would be the hardest to find.
  10. Why?
  11. Take the class to where the toothpicks are scattered.
  12. Tell. You will have five minutes to collect those you can find.
  13. Give them five minutes to collect as many toothpicks as they can find.
  14. Take the toothpicks into the classroom and sort them by colors.

Invention

  1. Discuss the results.
  2. If equal numbers of each color are not found, ask. Why were some colors harder to find?
  3. Ask. What animals have colors on them that are hard to see in their surroundings?
  4. What advantage is this? helps them to escape predatory animals and aids in their survival.
  5. Describe how camouflage is a form related to the function of protection.

Discover

Research organisms and describe how they blend with their environment.

 

Lab Notes for activities

Lab notes 1 - Feather adaptations

Materials

  • feathers, eyedropper, hand lens, water, and oil
  • Lab notes

Focus questions:

What benefit do feathers provide birds?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Challenge

Describe how water interacts with feathers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Describe how oil interacts with feathers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Explain how feathers are and are not a beneficial adaptation for birds.

 

 

 

Describe how feathers have a form related to their functions of protection.

 

 

Lab notes 2 - Breakfast for the birds

Materials

  • Clothespin- hold at very end so that it opens wide, use only one hand
  • Scissors- insert thumb and finger and hold scissors downward to use like forceps
  • Spoon- hold at end, use only one hand
  • Toothpicks- hold in one hand to carefully poke items

Focus questions:

How do birds capture or pick up their food?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Challenge

Use the tools to pick up the food and describe how each worked.

Marbles- snails

 

 

 

 

 

Macaroni (cooked)- worms

 

 

 

 

 

Raisins- grubs

 

 

 

 

 

Foam - water bugs

 

 

 

 

 

 

Describe how different beaks provide different adaptations for getting food.

 

 

Describe how beaks have a form related to the function of eating.

 

Lab notes 3 - Whiskers and antennas

Materials

  • straw, several objects with different shapes, blindfold

Focus questions:

  • How do animals use whiskers and antenna?

 

Challenge

Use the straw to identify different objects.

Describe how you were and were not able to identify different objects.

Object ....

 

 

 

 

 

 

Object ....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Describe how whiskers and antenna provide different adaptations to benefit the animal.

 

 


Describe how whiskers and antenna are related to the function of protection.

 

Lab notes 4 - What is that scent?

Materials

scent container

Focus questions:

How do animals match scents?

 

Challenge

Find a match to your scent.

 

Describe how you matched your scent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Describe how matching scents are beneficial for animals survival.

 

 

 

Lab notes 5 - Which way will the mealworm move?

Materials

  • mealworms, light, water, vinegar, ...

Focus question

How do meal worms sense where to move?

Challenge

Explore environmental factors that mealworms sense seek or avoid.

 

Describe what happens when mealworms can choose light or dark.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Describe what happens when mealworms can choose wet or dry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Describe what happens when mealworms can choose acidic or neutral.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Describe how organisms move through the environment to find the environmental factors that are beneficial and avoid those that might be detrimental.

 

 

 

 

Describe how mealworms have different functions to adapt to their environment for survival.

Lab notes 6 - Where did they go?

Materials

  • distributed toothpicks to find

Focus question

How does camouflage help organisms avoid predators?

 

 

Challenge

See how many toothpicks can be found in five minutes.

 

 

Toothpick color Number found
Wood

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Describe how camouflage helps organisms avoid predators.

 

 

 

 

 

Describe how camouflage is a form related to the function of protection.

 

Support materials

Animal care check sheet

Describe what to do to meet the needs of your animal.

Meet Animal's health & well being needs

Habitat

 

 

Water

 

 

Nutrients

 

 

Ventilation

 

 

Waste removal

 

 

Light

 

 

Temperature - heating & cooling

 

 

Sleeping

 

 

Movement - exercise

 

 

Challenges to reduce boredom

 

 

Other

 

 

Other

 

 

 

Notes:

Describe how materials will be reduced, reused, and recycled?

 

 

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