Animal Adaptations (4th grade)
Materials:
Timer
Bird Beak Buffet
· Sign/instructions (attached)
· Tools with attached birds (beaks) AND matching food source
- Pelican--Scoop spoon/foam fish in water
- Hummingbird—pipet/food coloring in water
- Shorebird—tongs/rubber snakes in sand
- Woodpecker—tweezers/rice in playdough (bark)
- Hawk—scissors/playdough wrapped around skewer (bone)
- Egret/heron—chopsticks/lizards, fish, snakes in sandy water
- Sparrow—nutcracker/acorns/nuts in dirt
- Ducks—tea strainer/tea leaves in water
Adaptation Artistry
· Drawing papers with instructions (attached)
· Colored pencils
Chameleon Challenge
· Sign/instructions
· Large soda bottles
· Chameleon Eyes
· Clothespins
Migration Game (set up around room and in small room)
-Hang up preprinted signs (missing 18, just skip it)
Introduction
(5 minutes)
Essential questions: Why do different animals look different from one another? How are different animals suited for their environment? What is an adaptation?
An adaptation is a body part, behavior, or body covering that helps an animal survive and thrive in its environment. They can make it easier to live in a particular environment, avoid predators, find food, and reproduce.
Vocabulary to know:
Behavior describes the actions of an animal. Camouflage is the color or shape in an animal’s body covering that helps it blend into its environment. Environment is everything that surrounds and affects the animals. This can include non-living things such as water, air, as well as other living things. Habitat is where an animal lives. Mimicry is a type of adaptation where a harmless animal looks like a harmful animal to better protect itself.
Ask students: :
What are some examples of adaptations animals have developed to live in a particular habitat?
(aquatic environments, deserts, trees, underground)
Body coverings (feathers, fur, scales, blubber, etc.), body parts (gills, fins, prehensile tails, fingers, eyes, hibernation)
· What are some examples of adaptations animals have developed to escape from predators?
(Camouflage, mimicry, heightened senses [large ears, eyes, good hearing, etc.], bodily adaptations including long legs for running, feathers for flight, spines, quills, shells, venom)
· What are some examples of adaptations animals have developed to find food and shelter?
(Migration in many species, sharp teeth and claws, heightened senses, venom, beaks for eating specialized food, camouflage for hunting)
Split students into 4 groups, set timer and rotate them through the stations.
Adaptation Stations ( 8 minute rotations, 32 minutes total)
Review 4 stations with students and explain what they will be doing at each, and how it relates to animal adaptations (1-2 minutes for each station). Students should return station to its original state before moving on to the next station!
Station 1: Bird Beak Buffet (8minutes)
The world has over 10,000 different species of birds that live in different environments and eat different foods. Because of this, they can look very different from another and have very different body parts.
At the bird beak buffet, we have many different species of bird, trying to find their favorite foods. Which bird “beaks” (tools) are best suited for different food types?
Your goal is to work together to match up each bird type with its favorite food (show example but don’t give answer) Tell students what each food source is (rice in playdough, fish, etc.)
Give teacher solution card that s/he can share with students once they feel they’ve figured them out.
Station 2: Adaptation Artistry (8 minutes)
You are a zoologist who has just discovered a new species of animal. As every good scientist does, you will document your exciting finding. Design a fact sheet highlighting this new animal
discovery. Be sure to include the following key pieces of information:
· Animal name
· Habitat (where it lives)
· Adaptations for living in that habitat (behaviors, body parts, body coverings)
Students must identify the adaptations the animals have for surviving in the environment!
Station 3: Chameleon Challenge! (8 minutes)
Many animals have specialized body parts for finding food and avoiding predators. Chameleons have giant tongues for catching fast moving insects and eyes on the side of their head that can help find food and avoid getting eaten!
What happens if we had eyes on the side of our heads? Could we complete tasks that needed to be done with ease?
Students should take turns putting on the Chameleon Goggles and trying to drop clothespins into a bottle without knocking it over. See who can get the most in your bottle!
Station 4: Migration Game (8 min)
Migration is one of the biggest adaptations that birds and other animals have developed to survive. This is a bird migration game. Children will go from station to station, following the directions of the papers that are hung.