Curriculum Tie:

• Science
  4th Grade
  Standard 5
  Objective 4

Time Frame:
1 class period that runs 30 minutes.

Group Size:
Individual

Summary:
Students will learn to recognize the specific adaptations of living things and relate them to survival within the animals environment.

Main Curriculum Tie:
Science - 4th Grade
Standard 5 Objective 2
Describe the common plants and animals found in Utah environments and how these organisms have adapted to the environment in which they live.

Materials:

• Old magazines, newspapers or anything with pictures or drawings of animals that is expendable.
• Glue
• Scissors
• Plain paper

Instructional Procedures:

• Ask students to bring in old magazines, newspapers, etc.
• Students will search the periodicals for pictures or drawings of animals and cut them out.
• Students will glue cut outs on the top of a piece of plain paper leaving room underneath for writing. One subject per paper.
• Students will try to identify the subject’s specific adaptations and write them below the picture along with why the student believes that adaptation is useful.
• On the other side of the paper students will list the environments that the subject does not inhabit leaving space for a few lines of writing in between environments.
• Student will try to imagine the subject in the new environment and write how the adaptations would be helpful or harmful in the new area.

• Assign individual or groups of students to search periodicals for living things with specific adaptations- i.e.; find all the animals with an adaptation for hunting prey, find all the animals with adaptations for living at night, etc.
• Assign students specific environments or biomes. Each will then search for all living things that are adapted to that environment- i.e.; find anything adapted to living in the desert, find anything adapted to life in the alpine biome, etc.

Bibliography:
This lesson plan was developed by the Utah Museum of Natural History.

Author:
Utah LessonPlans

Created Date :
Nov 04 2004 13:24 PM