Animals

Suggested lessons and resources to support environmental education curriculum

State Standards
6.1 Structure and Function: Living and non-living systems are organized groups of related
parts that function together and have characteristics and properties.

6.1P.2 Compare and contrast the characteristic properties of forms of energy. 6.1L.1 Compare and contrast the types and components of cells. Describe the functions and
relative complexity of cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems.

6.2 Interaction and Change: The related parts within a system interact and change.
6.2L.2 Explain how individual organisms and populations in an ecosystem interact and how
changes in populations are related to resources.

6.3 Scientific Inquiry 6.3S.2 Organize and display relevant data, construct an evidence-based explanation of the
results of an investigation, and communicate the conclusions.

6.4 Engineering Design: Engineering design is a process of identifying needs, defining

problems, developing solutions, and evaluating proposed solutions.

6.4D.1 Define a problem that addresses a need and identify science principles that may be
related to possible solutions.

UNIT #1

Animal Classification

ANIMAL CLASSIFICATION
PREPARATION: Writing/Reflection journals Picture file cards 30-40 pictures of animals representing a variety of species and animal groups, cut out of magazines and laminated on a construction paper background

ANIMAL CLASSIFICATION
KEY UNIT VOCABULARY invertebrate vertebrate mollusk gastropod arthropod crustacean arachnid centipede millipede insect cold-blooded warm-blooded fish anadromous amphibian reptile bird mammal species

Lesson 1: What makes an animal an animal?

Essential Question: What characteristics do all animals share? Journal Activity: Prompt What makes an animal an animal? Students can write about what they need in order to survive. Then, students predict what they believe are the needs that all animals share in common.

Lesson Details: Encourage students to share their journal responses. Teacher records responses as predictions to the essential question on poster, etc.
Teacher models task of completing an exploration report. Using a single picture file card of animal, teacher will think aloud and record observations, questions and predictions on the exploration report sheet. Other focus questions What do these animals need/require in order to survive? (can be written in predictions section of exploration report)

Lesson 1 (continued) Hand out several different animal picture file cards to small groups of students (3-4 ideal). Each group will decide upon one picture to use for their exploration report. Give students time to record their observations, questions and predictions. Allow student groups to present their pictures and observations, questions and predictions. Return to poster of predictions. Using student feedback from presentations, identify the key characteristics that all animals share: An animal cannot make its own food. It depends on other living things to provide energy to survive. Some animals eat plants, some animals eat other animals, and some animals eat both plants and animals. Animals have adaptations that allow them to survive. Animals move to find food, shelter, escape from danger and to find mates.

Lesson 2: Animal Classification*

Essential Question: How are living things classified? Journal Activity: Think of something that you like to keep organized (CDs, clothes, schoolwork, etc). Describe and/or sketch how you organize these materials.

Lesson Details: Provide background knowledge for students by conducting the shoe classification lesson.
Guide students through the Classification powerpoint (Carolus Linnaeus), which highlights some history of classification, and examples of animals Genus/species identifications.

Jigsaw research task: In small groups, students select an animal group. Using internet, library resources, etc, students will identify what all animals in their group have in common. (Note: Some animal groups, like fish, are so large and diverse, that it may be difficult to identify a significant number of common characteristics. It may be easier to narrow this category down to sharks, for example.) Notes can be gathered in student journals/teacher provided worksheet, etc. Students will come back to these same animal groups at the conclusion of the animals unit to create individual reports on a specific Northwest forest animal species.

Lesson 3: Animal Tracking

Essential Question: What do tracks left by animals tell us about their behaviors? Journal Activity: Students will use their journals to research a northwest forest animal, specifically focusing on their physical characteristics, habitat type, diet, etc. Lesson Details: (Details of lesson in Animal Tracking document.) After researching a northwest forest animal, students will create a stamp of that animals track using cardboard. Using all track stamps made of different species, student groups will create a track story on butcher paper. Using the story, students then learn how to identify parts of a track to use in the field hopefully at outdoor school! Students can use the animal they selected during this lesson for their final animal reports, described at the conclusion of entire Animals Unit.

ANIMAL HABITAT & ADAPTATIONS

UNIT #2

ANIMAL ADAPTATION & HABITAT

KEY UNIT VOCABULARY habitat exoskeleton metamorphosis cartilage monocular vision binocular vision camouflage

Lesson 4: Habitat For Sale*

Essential Question: What is a habitat, and why is it so important for an animal? Journal Activity: Students describe or make a rough sketch of their living space at home. What areas of home are the most important for survival? Lesson Details: Students complete the Habitat For Sale lesson. Students will design real-estate ads for a particular animals habitat. The activity can be played as a game, as students attempt to guess the animal from the description of their habitat real-estate advertisement.

Lesson 5: Adaptations*
Essential Question: Why are adaptations important for animal survival? Journal Activity: Outdoor journal Teachers locate an appropriate outdoor setting (school park, courtyard,etc) where students can quietly journal. Have students take in their surroundings, and prompt them to consider what skills or physical characteristics they would need in order to survive: in a tree; in the soil; in the grass; etc. Lesson opener: Read a childrens book highlighting animal adaptations. Possible suggestion: An Elephant Never Forgets Its Snorkel by Lisa Gollin Evans Lesson Details: Introduce adaptation as a vocabulary word on poster/board/overhead. Ask students to make a prediction. Gather predictions. Record the definition as any physical structure or behavior that enables an organism to live successfully in its habitat or environment.

Lesson 5: Adaptations (continued)

Teacher models the task by selecting an animal picture file card. Adaptations are identified by naming a known behavior and/or physical characteristic and explaining how this trait helps the animal to survive in its environment. Model the identification of typical examples (fur for heat regulation, canine teeth to tear food, eyes for vision) as well as more animal specific examples (ie. warning coloration of dart frogs). Hand out several different animal picture file cards to small groups of students (3-4 ideal). Students work collaboratively to identify as many adaptations as they can. Each group then presents one of their animals and adaptations they have identified. Ensure that students are not only identifying the physical trait or behavior, but are also outlining how these traits help the animals survive in their environment. Additional Resource: Camel Adaptation Song

Lesson 6: Camouflaged Moths

Essential Question: How does camouflage help animals survive?
Journal Activity: Show examples of Liu Bolins camouflage art. Prompt students to write about how their lives would be different if they had the ability to disguise themselves in their environments. Lesson Details: Students will demonstrate the effectiveness of camouflage by conducting a moth camouflage art activity. Extensions: Peppered Moth simulator and its effect on populations.

Lesson 7: Make it a Habitat*

Essential Question: What adaptations are essential in allowing animals to survive in different environments? Journal Activity: Students respond to the following prompt: Explain how successful a polar bear would be living in the desert?

Lesson Details: Students will conduct the Make it a Habitat lesson, which allows them to explore Earths variety of biomes. Students create fictitious animals that could successfully survive in a particular biome, with a focus on identifying key adaptations.

Inquiry: Pillbugs
Essential Question: What habitat characteristics do pillbugs prefer? Required Resource: The Pillbug Project: A guide to investigation by Robin Burnett Lesson Details: This resource is designed as an extensive 10 day unit that allows students to explore a very common, yet very mysterious organism, the pillbug (sowbug, rolly polly, etc). Though the entire unit is fascinating, the inquiry piece is ideal for inclusion in this animals unit. Students hypothesize what food/shelter/light conditions/etc. pillbugs prefer by designing an environment with two choices, then observe the pillbugs over the course of several days.

ANIMAL RELATIONSHIPS
UNIT #3

Animal Relationships
KEY UNIT VOCABULARY

niche food pyramid producer primary consumer herbivore omnivore carnivore secondary consumer tertiary consumer

decomposer food chain scavenger predator prey food web food pyramid resources

Lesson 8: Food Web/Energy Pyramid*

Essential Question: How does food energy flow through the environment? Journal Activity: Students predict how the energy from the sun finds its way to our dinner tables in the form of what foods we eat. Lesson Details: Using an online resource on Food Webs, students will simulate their own food webs.

Lesson 9: Worm bin food web

Preparation: Access to a worm bin. METRO offers in class demonstrations of worm bin science.

Essential Question: How does a worm bin demonstrate the relationships in a food web? How can worm bins help reduce garbage waste?
Journal Activity: During lesson, students can sketch organisms identified in worm bin, then organize the animals into a food web. Lesson Details: Students will explore the organic material that makes up a worm bin (Lesson in Worm Bin Activity document). Extended Resources: Online Food Web Extension activity

BIODIVERSITY
UNIT #4

Lesson 10: Charting Diversity

Essential Question: How do environmental conditions dictate the kinds of animals that inhabit a location? Journal Activity: Ask students to brainstorm the following topics: What are different environments that animals might live in? What are different ways that animals move in their environments? What are the different adaptations animals possess for their outer covering? Lesson Details: (Details of lesson found in WORD document.) Given options from the questions posed above in the journal activity, students will identify animals that fit a description of a certain environment, with a certain mode of movement, in addition to a particular adaptation they possess for an outer body covering. Students can then pair up and play a game where they must find an animal that fits within a selected group of these three criteria.

Lesson 11: Northwest Forest Animal Report

Essential Question: What are local examples of animal biodiversity? Journal Activity: Brainstorm and select a species of northwest forest animal that falls within your animal group from lesson 2. Lesson Details: Students will reconvene in their animal groups from lesson two. Each student will select a northwest forest animal representative of their animal group. Key information to be found will include: Common Name Scientific Name Specific habitat Diet Food pyramid role (consumer, scavenger, etc) Other interesting facts Information can be displayed in many formats (trading card/small poster/powerpoint, mobile, etc). As a large group, students will then combine their animals into a food web. Using yarn or string, connections should be made between animal species according to their roles in their habitat.