4th Grade Science, Unit 3: Relationships and Requirements of Living Things

Adapted from MDE: Science Content Expectations: Fourth Grade Companion Document

“Advantages of Individual Differences”

GLCEs:

L.EV.E.2 Survival – Individuals of the same kind differ in their characteristics, and sometimes the differences give individuals an advantage in surviving and reproducing.

L.EV.04.21 Identify individual differences (color, leg length, size, wing size, leaf shape) in organisms of the same kind.

L.EV.04.22 Identify how variations in physical characteristics of individual organisms give them an advantage for survival and reproduction.

S.IP.04.11 Summarize information from charts and graphs to answer questions about plants and animal requirements and their relationships.

S.IA.04.13 Communicate and present findings of investigations that describe plants and animal requirements and their relationships

Make observations of the students in the classroom. List observable traits or physical characteristics that all fourth grade students have in common. Create a list of individual differences in traits and characteristics such as height, arm length, hand size, finger length, foot size, etc. Discuss that every species of animal has individual traits. Which student would be better at reaching the top shelf in the closet? Which student would be better at holding a large ball? Discuss the how individual differences may give an animal an advantage in its environment.

Observable Physical Traits / Student with either longest or largest / Student with either
shortest or smallest
Height
Arm Length
Leg Length
Hand size
Finger length
Foot size

Relationships and Requirements of Living Things Name ______

“Advantages of Individual Differences”

Fill in the chart by observing the individual differences of students in the classroom.

Observable Physical Traits / Student with either longest or largest / Student with either shortest
or smallest
Height
Arm Length
Leg Length
Hand size
Finger length
Foot size

Use the information from your chart to answer the following questions:

1. Which student would be best at reaching the top shelf in the closet?

______

2. Which student would be best at hanging onto a large ball?

______

3. Which student would be best at crawling under a low shelf?

______

4. Which student would be best at reaching into a tight space?

______

5. Which student would be best at running quickly?

______

6. Which student would be best sliding through a tight space?

______

7. Think of an animal. List how an individual difference having to do with being larger or longer will give that animal an advantage that might help it better survive in its environment.

______

______

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8. Think of an animal. List how an individual difference having to do with being smaller or shorter will give that animal an advantage that might help it better survive in its environment.

______

______

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