ANIMAL ADAPTATIONSText-Set by Amber Ragsdale

• Grade Level: 3 – 5

• Subject: Science

• Rationale: Animal adaptations occur for many reasons. There are also several different ways in which animals adapt. This text set explores what causes animals to adapt and what kinds of adaptations there are, while giving real world examples of each.

• Guiding Concepts: In order to survive in an ever changing environment, animals must adapt to their habitat and the events occurring around them. Animals that are able to adapt to these demands are more likely to survive. It is essential to understand the types of adaptations animals make and why these adaptations are made in the first place.

R, M. (2014). Science Poems. Retrieved from Mr. R.'s World of Math and Science: http://sciencepoems.net/sciencepoems/adaptation.aspx#.U8251MIU_IU

Level: Low Genre: Poem

This poem is a great addition to the text set. One thing it does, is bring in a little relief from a heavy factual work load. The poem is lighter and meant to be entertaining for students. Also, I like that it is incorporating humans to show that humans adapt as well. That being said, students can use this poem to identify what adaptation is being made. It is not specifically stated as to what the adaptation is, although we know it is a behavioral adaptation due to the changing food supply. Once students can identify that, they can interpret it to include animals as well and connect that knowledge to understand that type of adaptation and why it occurs. Also, because it is a poem, it can be used to review what a poem is and the rhyming pattern that was implemented into this poem.

Adaptation Poem

I ONLY eat pizza,It's ever so sweet!If there isn’t cheese pizza,I’m not gonna' eat!The pizza store closed!Moved out of town!What will I do?I’m feeling real down!I have to adapt,I must eat something else,Let’s see what’s around,On our blue kitchen shelf…Here are some cookies,Not a bad treat!Eat only cookies?Adaptation’s real sweet!

Mashiotta, B. (2013). Animal Skit: unique body parts, adaptation, hibernation, migration, and more! Retrieved from Teachers Pay Teachers: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Animal-Skit-unique-body-parts-adaptation-hibernation-migration-and- more-492752

Level: Average Genre: Skit

This is actually a series of seven short skits. The skits can be acted out or just read aloud by students. Each different skit focuses on a specific animal and the adaptations that animal has. The skits do not specifically say what kind of adaptation is made, but that is something the teacher can have students do to extend their work with each skit. The students could also go through the text of each skit and identify all the adaptations made and classify them by the types of adaptations. The skits also come with a kid friendly glossary to identify challenging words. This would be a great review of what a glossary is and is used for.

http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/animalneeds/

This is an interactive game that has students identifying why each adaptation listed was made by each animal. It then gives a short description of the adaptation and why it is essential for the animal to have in order to survive. It helps give students real world examples and explanations of the adaptations. The game can be played several times as each time the students starts over there is a different series of animals that the students are working with. This is a game that students can play individually in a computer lab or on a classroom computer. Since it requires students to have a little more knowledge about adaptations, it would fit in towards the end of the unit on animal adaptations.

Jenkins, S., & Page, R. (2003). What do you do with a tail like that? Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Level: Low Genre: Nonfiction Picture Book

This is an interactive picture book that allows students to make guesses about certain animals and their adaptations. One page will ask a question on how animals use certain body parts, such as tails, noses, and ears and give a close up picture of these parts from certain animals who have adapted these. The next page shows the entire animal and explains why each animal adapted in that way and how it helps them survive in their environment. The end of the book also has a longer description of each animal and their adaptation if the teacher wants to extend the students’ knowledge of them. This is a great book to use as a review of making predictions while reading since the book asks students to guess why each animal has adapted the way they have and what it is used for.

This illustration can be used as a great conversation started with students. It shows students the adaptations that a giraffe made over time in order to survive. The majority of students are familiar with giraffes and their long necks. Students will be able to identify why they have such long necks. But this illustration shows that they did not always have the long necks they are known for now. Students can engage in discussion as to why the adaptation occurred, what kind of adaptation it is, and why it made the giraffe more likely to survive.

http://evolutionbcd96.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-law-of-use-and-disusejean-baptiste.html

Rutledge, K. (2014). Encyclepedic Entry: Adaptation. Retrieved from National Geographic: http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/encyclopedia/adaptation/?ar_a=1#page=3

Level: High Genre: Article

This is an article by National Geographic. It is a great addition to the text set for a few reasons. I like that it starts out by defining adaptations. It also breaks it down further and identifies and defines the different types of adaptations. The article also gives specific examples of animals and their adaptations. There are pictures of these adaptations as well. Since this is a higher level reading, I think it could possibly be a great article that could be used for all students, if the teacher just changed the wording for lower level readers. That way, all students could get the great information but still be able to read independently. I also thought this article could be great as an extension for higher level students because it goes into greater detail of some areas, such as coadaptation, that not all students would need to worry about, but would help extend for the higher level students.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0N0wVq4nUBU

This is a YouTube video made by Mr. Parr who is known for educational remixes to popular songs. This song does a great job of explaining the adaptation types and providing real world examples of each. Because it is a song, it could be a catchy way to help students of different learning styles remember some information better. It also has repetition in it which could help reinforce the information many times within the song which could help back up the most important information better. I think that the lyrics of this could be printed out and given to students as well to reference and make notes on for future studying of the content.

www.powerpointmaniac.com

This is a PowerPoint presentation that is very interactive and informative. It has a lot of detail on what an adaptation is and what the types of adaptation are. There are a lot of specific examples as well covering a very wide range of adaptations and animals that have them. At the end of all the informational slides, there are several interactive “quiz” questions to check the understanding of the students from the information they just learned. The questions are a great way to make sure the students understood what they needed to. Because it is a PowerPoint, it can be used with all levels of students and the teacher can use class discussion to provide support to the students who ask for it or need it. The questions at the end could also be implemented into a formal assessment.

McKie, R. (2013, July 13). Climate change is happening too quickly for species to adapt. The Observer.

Level: Upper Average Genre: Newspaper

This article is a little bit different in the approach to adaptations. I like that this focuses more on the amount of time that it takes for adaptations to occur. Students may think adaptations occur quickly, but this article shows that it takes time. It also explains what types of adaptations take certain amounts of time and gives specific examples of each. It is important for students to understand that adaptations to not occur in animals over night. I also liked that it brings in more real world focus by showing what kind of impact global warming is having on the animals.

LeGuen, R. (2014). Habitat and Adaptation. Retrieved from World Wildlife Foundation: http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/teacher_resources/webfieldtrips/hab_adaptation/

Level: Average Genre: Online Article

This article does a nice job of explaining what an adaptation is. It also then explains what the different types of adaptations are and gives more examples. What I liked most about this article was that it focuses on different types of habitats and the types of changes the animals there are making. It explains why animals are making those changes and relating it back to how it helps them survive in the environment in which they live. It is also a relatively short article for the amount of information that is contained within it so I feel like students could easily read it without getting bored. The end of the article also provides some links to other pages to learn more about habitat and adaptations which would be a great extension resource for higher level students.

Settel, J. (1999). Exploding ants. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

Level: High Genre: Nonfiction Book

This book looks at a more entertaining side to adaptations. This book basically gives students a wide variety of interesting and unusual adaptations that some species have made. Some, like exploding ants and squirting blood out eyes as defense, may be new to students and will be fun for them to learn about. Because it is a longer book with a lot of information and larger words, this book would have to be adjusted in order for all students to use it. It could be read aloud, or the wording could be adjusted some in photo copies. I like that it gives students specific examples they might not have heard of before. I also like that it does not necessarily say the type of adaptation that it is, so that students can be asked to identify the type based on what they know.

Cary, A. (2005). Survival: Animal adaptations. Parsippany, NJ: Celebration Press.

Level: Average Genre: Nonfiction Book

This book looks at adaptation by the way in which they help animals to survive. It gives examples of animals from all over the world and explains the adaptations they have made. The book then tells readers why those adaptations were made and how it helps hat animal better suited to survive in their habitat. This book does not explain what the types of adaptation each example is, but if students have learned the types they can be asked to identify them as they read through the pages.

Rose, E. (2006). Animal adaptations for survival. New York: Rosen Publishing Press.

Level: High Genre: Nonfiction Book

This book defines animal adaptations. It also explains what physical and behavioral adaptations are. The biggest part of this book is giving examples of specific animals and how they adapted in order to survive in their specific habitats. It explains why the adaptations occurred and why they make the animal more suited to survive in the environment they are living in. Because this book is nonfiction, it would also be a great time to review the features of nonfiction texts to help students navigate the text more easily.

Collard, S. B. (1997). Creepy creatures. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge Publishers.

Level: Low Genre: Nonfiction Book

This book looks at physical adaptations. It explains why animals look the way they do. It does this by explaining the different reasons why animals adapt to appear certain ways, such as for communication or defense. Students will have to make the connections to understand that these are adaptations made so that the animal is better suited to survive, and the teacher can ask students to explain how the adaptations help the animals. It gives the students some more specific examples but is also designed in a way to be more entertaining for students. The book is recommended for students ages 3-6 so it is a very easy read for most third grade students. This book can be used so that low level students can read independently as well.

WebQuest Project

This is a webquest that I found that I thought I would add to the text set. This webquest has students researching the different types of adaptations and examples of each. After that students must make their own animal and design it’s habitat. Finally, the students must come up with adaptations their creature will make and explain what type of adaptation it is and how it helps the animal survive in their environment. I thought this would be a fun project that could wrap up the time spent on teaching adaptation that would allow students to get a little creative with what they know, but still be allowed to research information they might need.

http://gorin.k12.mo.us/~myersc/webquests/animaladaptationswq_files/index%202.htm