Build an Animal
Subject: Biology Grade Level: 8th grade Lesson Duration: 90 minutes
Objectives: 1. The students should be able to design a hypothetical animal that could live in a particular environment. 2. The students should be able to construct a model of their animal. 3. The students should be able to infer which anatomical structures and behaviors would help an animal survive in a particular environment.
Students Background Knowledge: The students should be familiar with the definition of a biome. They should be familiar with the different biomes that are found throughout the world.
Materials: Colored paper String Pipe cleaners Colored clay Scissors Glue Tape Pins Straws Buttons Feathers Dried beans “Animal Biography” sheet A grading rubric for assessing the students’ animal A peer assessment sheet for evaluating another animal
Preparations: In this lesson plan, it is helpful if the students have already worked in groups before, however it is not essential. The teacher can place the students' desks in clusters of four. Each student will be working on his or her own project, so it is not critical as to the heterogeneity of the ability levels of the students in each group. For peer evaluation later, the student clusters will be beneficial.
Introduction: (5 minutes) T: In our previous lesson, we have been studying biomes. We have found that different biomes occupy different parts of the world, and within those biomes are different animals, plants, climates, and terrain. Who can tell me what the five different biomes of the world are? (Call on a volunteer) ESA: The five biomes are the aquatic, desert, forest, grasslands, and tundra. One student may not be able to list all five biomes, so additional students may be called on. T: Very good. The biomes of the world are defined as the world’s communities, classified according to the predominant vegetation and characterized by adaptations of organisms to that particular environment. Can someone give me an example of an animal that has adapted to one of these five biomes? (Call on a volunteer) ESA: A polar bear. T: Good. Which biome is the polar bear from? ESA: The polar bear lives in the tundra. T: Great. We have learned that certain animals live in certain biomes throughout the world. (Show excel spreadsheet) Here are five graphs of the animal disbursement patterns in all five of the biomes throughout the world. Take note of the different numbers of animals in the different categories depending on which biome you are looking at. What we are going to investigate today is that within these biomes, the animals that live in them have somehow managed to adapt to the different conditions that are found in each part of the world. Some animals are very similar in anatomy and behavior but are able to survive in very different parts of the world. Today, we are going to investigate how these animals are able to adapt to these different biomes, and the mechanisms they employ to survive, reproduce, and find food. Body of the Lesson: (35 minutes) T: Now, let us take a look at some examples of adaptation. (Show the web of different animals) All of these animals have developed a mechanism that allows them to survive, reproduce, find food, and protect themselves from their predators. With our polar bear example from earlier, can somebody give me an adaptation the polar bear has made to survive in the tundra? (Call on a volunteer) ESA: The polar bear has thick fur and lots of body fat to keep it warm during the very cold majority of the year. T: Very good. Polar bears use these adaptations as a survival mechanism. Can someone think of another adaptation that may influence another aspect of the polar bears life? ESA: The polar bears have sharp claws that enable them to grip the ice sheets. The sharp claws are also useful for catching their prey and killing them. If the student could not think of another adaptation or the thought was not complete, the teacher could help them reach it or call on another student. T: Very good. These two adaptations enable the polar bear to defend itself against prey and find food. These qualities are important to survival in the tundra because often times prey is scarce and predation by other animals is dangerous because they too are looking for scarce amounts of food. Now let us take a look at another example of an animal that has adapted to a different biome. (Show the giraffe web) Can someone tell me which biome the giraffe live in?
(Call on a volunteer) ESA: The giraffe lives in the grassland biome. If the student is not able to answer this question, call on another student. T: Very good. Keep this biome in mind as we continue discussing this adaptation web. If you noticed, I have covered up the reasons behind some of the adaptations. Can someone pick out one of these adaptations and tell me why it is beneficial to the giraffe? (Call on a volunteer) ESA: They have long legs to help them reach the leaves that are high up on the trees. T: Very good. The trees that the giraffes prefer are the acacia trees. Is there another adaptation that is pictured on the web illustration that may be associated with what the giraffe eats? (Call on a volunteer) ESA: The giraffes have rough lips T: Good. Why is this a helpful adaptation? (Call on a volunteer) ESA: The tough lips help the giraffes break the leaves off of the branches. Since the acacia trees have spiny horns, they need durable lips that will not be easily injured by the horns. If the students were unable to fully develop this answer, the teacher can follow up with these questions: We said that giraffes have tough lips, what type of protective capabilities could tough lips have? ESA: They could protect the giraffe from harmful structures on the leaves. From what we have previously discussed about trees and their defense mechanisms, can someone recall what special adaptation acacia trees have as a defense mechanism? ESA: They have thorns on their branches. So, from this information, why are touch lips important to giraffes? ESA: They can protect themselves from the horns when they are pulling off the leaves. T: Great. The adaptation the giraffes have made with their long legs and rough tongues has allowed them to gain access to their food easier. What is another form of adaptation other than food access that the giraffe has acquired? (Call on a volunteer) ESA: They have acquired spots to make them blend in better with their surroundings. T: Very good. The giraffes have the tan and white spots that allow them to hide in the brown grasses of the grasslands. Can someone tell me what is one of the giraffes' predators in the grassland? (Call on a volunteer) ESA: Their biggest predators are the lions, and if they can hide from the lions they can increase their chances of survival. T: Good. Why might the giraffes want to increase their chances of survival? (Call on a volunteer) ESA: If the giraffes are able to survive for a longer period of time, then they may have a better chance of producing offspring. If the student could not think of a reason, or if their thought was incomplete, the teacher can call on another student to continue the thought. T: Good job. The giraffes want to buy themselves as much time in the wild so they can mate and pass along their genes to the next generation. In fact this is the goal of most species of animals in the wild from all of the major biomes of the world. The animal seeks out any adaptations that can be acquired that can make this goal more feasible. Now, can anyone think
of an animal on their own that has adapted to a particular biome that happens to be different from the giraffes and the polar bears? ESA: The sharks in the ocean have adapted to their aquatic biome. T: Very good. Can someone describe a couple of the adaptations that sharks have developed in order to live successfully in the oceans of the aquatic biome? (Call on a volunteer) ESA: The sharks have strong tails that enable them to swim fast to avoid predators and capture prey. Also, the sharks have very sharp teeth. Since they are meat eaters, these teeth enable them to tear into the flesh of their prey more easily. If the student can not get a few of the adaptations, call on other students to fill in the missing information. T: Great. These characteristics allow a shark a greater chance of survival, and in turn a greater chance for mating. This is similar to the desires of the giraffe we discussed earlier. So, through our discussion today, we have discovered that the different types of animals that are found in the different biomes of the world have adapted to their environments. They have adapted in order to gather food more easily, protect themselves from predators, and to enhance their chances of mating. Transition to Activity T: Now, I would like everyone to switch gears with me for a minute and clear your heads so you can do an imagination exercise with me. I would like everyone to close his or her eyes and picture the strangest animal you have ever seen. Picture its colors, body structures, and any other distinct features it may possess. (Allow the students 30 seconds of quiet time to think) You can open your eyes now. Based off of our discussion of biomes and adaptations, you are now going to play the role of Mother Nature. You are going to have the chance to build your own animal. Your animal can look as strange as you want him to look, however, it must be able to fit into a biome of the earth and be capable of living there if it actually existed. One person out of your group of four will come to the front of the room and pick up four bags of supplies. Each person in the group will have their own supplies to build their own animal. If you need more supplies you can come to the front of the room where I have extras. As you build your animal you need to keep some questions in mind. You must think about which biome you want your animal to be living in. You must think about the adaptations we have talked about and what benefit they may have to your animal. You can think about food acquisition, protection, and mating strategies. While you are working on your animals, I will come around to each group and check on your progress. When I visit your group, I will pass out an “Animal Biography” sheet to each of you. This sheet is where you will record the biome, as well as the adaptations your animal has acquired. You will need to name your animal and sketch a drawing of what it will look like before you being to construct your model. There will also be space on this sheet for you to describe the animal's behavior, including the way it obtains food, the kind of dwelling it lives in, reproduction, and its defensive behavior. We have not gone into much detail on some of these aspects of the animal’s life, but I want you to be creative and make up plausible options your animal could possess. To make sure that everyone understands what to do now, can someone tell me how many bags one member of your group is going to take form the front of the room? ESA: The person will take four bags, one for each group member. T: Good. Now elect one person from your group to come to the front of the room and get the supplies. (Allow 1 minute to for the students to get their supplies) Now that everyone has their
supplies, you can start working. I will walk around the room and answer any questions you may have. Remember there are no wrong answers. Simply remember that your animal must be able to actually survive in the biome that you have elected for it to live in. While the teacher is walking around the room, they should not interfere with the students’ construction unless a question is asked or the students are off task. Some conversation is acceptable, for the students can discuss among their groups the options they have as far as adaptation and biome choices. After 15 minutes has passed, the teacher should remind the students that they have 5 minutes to complete their animals. After 20 minutes: T: You should all be finished by now. Some students may not be finished, but the teacher tells them to listen to the next direction and then they can finish up in the next couple of minutes. T: When you are finished, each person in the group needs to put any unused materials back in their bags and one person should return all four bags to the front of the room. Each person needs to throw away any garbage they may have and clean up the floor of scraps around their desk. Animal Biography Sheets: (20 minutes) T: Now, I am going to allow you the next 20 minutes to fill out your animal biography sheets. You must thoroughly complete these sheets and give enough detail that I can read them and understand how your animal will be able to survive in its’ biome. If you finish before the 20 minutes is up, please sit quietly so you do not disturb the rest of the people working. You may now begin. The teacher monitors the time while the students are writing. With 5 minutes remaining, the teacher announces to the class that they should be finishing up their thoughts and to get ready to turn in their sheets. T: I am going to come by and collect all of your sheets. Please remain in your seats and stay quiet while I collect the sheets. T: Now that I have collected your “Animal Biographies”, I am going to detach the biome section of the papers and pass them back to everyone. Make sure that the biography I pass back to you is not your own. You are going to then use the information provided on this person’s biography sheet to determine a possible biome that this animal could live in. I am going to pass out a peer evaluation form to each of you and this is where you need to record the biome where you believe the animal lives and why.
Assessment: The students’ are assigned a grade based on the rubric that has outlined the assessment criteria for the designing of the animal. The main criteria points are: 1. Completion of the model 2. Probability that the animal could actually exist 3. Thoroughness of explanations of adaptations Points are assigned to the peer evaluation assessments. Students are not graded on whether or not they guess the correct biome, but their reasons behind choosing the biome are assessed. The sum of the “Animal Biography” and model project, as well as the “Peer Evaluation” activity, completes the students’ final grades.
Animal Biography
Animal Name: Biome: . .
……………………………………………………………………………… Animal name: .
List the adaptations of your animal to its’ biome: 1. . 2. . 3. . 4. .
How do these adaptations help the animal survive in the chosen biome: . . . . . . . . . .
Describe you animal’s: Behavior: Food acquisition: Reproduction: Defensive behavior
. . . . . . . .
Sketch your animal below:
Adaptation Web
Giraffe Adaptation Web
Peer Evaluation Form Animal name: Biome: . .
Characteristics that fit this biome and why: . . . . . . .
Animal Project Rubric Name: Date: . .
Your animal project will be assessed on the following elements:
/10 pts Quality, creativity, originality
/20 pts Completion of the animal model that can exist in the biome the student chose. /20 pts Completion of the “Animal Biography” sheet, including a drawing of the animal and complete and thoughtful answers that show that the student understands the concepts discussed in class. /10 pts Completion of “Peer Evaluation” sheet. Thoughtful and complete answers are given. Total points: /60