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Animal Adaptations

Readiness

Animal Adaptations

TEKS Objective

The student is expected to compare the structures and functions of different species that help them live and survive such as hooves on prairie animals or webbed feet in aquatic animals.


Essential Understanding

The student knows that organisms undergo similar life processes and have structures that help them survive within their environments.

Science Background

Desert Animal Survival: Desert USA (website) - Explanations of survival adaptations used by a variety of desert creatures to acquire and retain water, avoid and dissipate heat, etc.

Desert Animal Survival
Desert USA, www.desertusa.com

Adaptations to an Aquatic Lifestyle: The Wild Classroom (website) – Excellent overview of adaptations in aquatic mammals. Explore the rest of the site for other habitats and adaptations.

Adaptations to an Aquatic Lifestyle
The Wild Classroom, www.thewildclassroom.com

Prairie Ecosystems, Animal Adaptations: Illinois State Museum (website) – Overview of the characteristics that enable prairie animals to survive in their grassland homes.

Prairie Ecosystems, Animal Adaptations
Illinois State Museum, www.museum.state.il.us

Adaptations: Project Beak (website) - Different birds utilize different areas within their habitat. Learn about bird adaptations, including variations in feathers, beaks, feet and communication.

Adaptations
Project Beak, projectbeak.org

Signature Lesson

Animal Adaptation Activity: SeaWorld/Busch Gardens (PDF) - Students investigate and compare the structures and functions of different animals, focusing primarily on adaptations that enable animals to live and survive. The activity uses learning stations and includes station cards with directions and questions.

Animal Adaptation Activity
SeaWorld/Busch Gardens, www.seaworld.org

Supporting Lessons

Animal Adaptations: National Park Service (PDF) - Field trip guide that can be used in the classroom to learn about a variety of animal adaptations.

Animal Adaptations
National Park Service, www.nps.gov

Reptile Adaptations: Discovery Education (website) - Students investigate physical and behavioral traits of reptiles to learn how these animals have adapted for survival.

Reptile Adaptations
Discovery Education, school.discoveryeducation.com

Mimicry and Camouflage: BioEd Online (website) - In this lesson (including teacher background, student pages and extensions), students explore and identify unique adaptations that some organisms have developed as survival strategies.

Mimicry and Camouflage
BioEd Online, www.bioedonline.org

Fashion a Fish: Project WILD (PDF) - Students investigate how fish adapt to their environments, how these adaptations can help fish survive in their habitats, and how adaptation benefits animals in general.

Fashion a Fish
Project WILD, www.projectwild.org

Elaboration Lessons and Extensions

Adaptations, Fit for Survival: Journey North (website) - Students explore the meaning of physical and behavioral adaptation, and investigate animal migrations as an adaptation for survival. The site features maps that show tracking reports of migrating butterflies and humming birds. Additional links focus on other animals, such as cranes and gray whales.

Adaptations, Fit for Survival
Journey North, The Annenberg Foundation, www.learner.org

Animal Adaptations Create-a-creature: San Diego Zoo (website) - Using imagination and simple materials, students design a habitat, “create” an animal adapted to that habitat, and write a natural history for their animals.

Animal Adaptations Create-a-creature
San Diego Zoo, www.sandiegozoo.org

Assessment Ideas

Assign each student a specific animal and have each student write and illustrate a report or PowerPoint presentation that describes his/her animal, its habitat, its behavior, and adaptations that help it to survive.

Literature Connections

Would You Survive? Animal and Plant Adaptation. Townsend, John (ISBN-13: 978-1410919694)

The Most Extreme Animals. Gerstein, Sherry (ISBN-13: 978-0787986629)

How Do Animals Adapt? Kalman, Bobbie (ISBN-13: 978-0865059573)

What Do You Know About Animal Adaptations? Slade, Susan (ISBN-13: 978-1404241992)

The Science Behind Animal and Plant Survival. Brasch, Nicolas (ISBN-13: 978-1599205595)

Related Science TEKS

(5.10B) Inherited Traits and Learned Behaviors
The student is expected to differentiate between inherited traits of plants and animals such as spines on a cactus or shape of a beak and learned behaviors such as an animal learning tricks or a child riding a bicycle.

(5.10C) Insect Metamorphosis
The student is expected to describe the differences between complete and incomplete metamorphosis of insects.

Related Math TEKS

5.14A  The student is expected to identify the mathematics in everyday situations.

5.14B   The student is expected to solve problems that incorporate understanding the problem, making a plan, carrying out the plan, and evaluating the solution for reasonableness.

5.14C   The student is expected to elect or develop an appropriate problem-solving plan or strategy, including drawing a picture, looking for a pattern, systematic guessing and checking, acting it out, making a table, working a simpler problem, or working backwards to solve a problem.

5.14D  The student is expected to use tools such as real objects, manipulatives, and technology to solve problems.

Additional Resources

Animal Adaptations: Utah Education Network (website) - Discussion questions and links to an extensive list of websites with information on many different animals’ adaptations to their habitats.

Animal Adaptations
Utah Education Network, www.uen.org

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