Introduction

This lesson was developed as part of the eMINTS training program in the Francis Howell School District.

The topic of this lesson is animal adaptations.

Learners

This is a science lesson designed for third grade students; however, it could easily be adapted to fourth or fifth grade students.

Prior to the lesson, students will need to have a brief understanding of animal adaptations.  They will also need to understand the terms omnivore, carnivore, and herbivore.  Students will need to be familiar with creating PowerPoint presentations. 

Curriculum Standards

Science Standards Addressed

• Acquire a solid foundation which includes knowledge of characteristics and interactions of living organisms (Science Standard 3, Missouri Show-Me Standards)
• Acquire a solid foundation which includes knowledge of interactions of organisms with their environments (Science Standard 4, Missouri Show-Me Standards)

The thinking and communications skills that are incorporated into this lesson are defining, describing, finding, discussing, classifying, explaining, understanding, locating, reporting, listing, constructing, developing, discovering, participating, organizing, designing, supporting, inferencing, critical thinking, creative production, creative problem-solving, teamwork, and compromise.

Process

To accomplish the task, students will be working in groups of three. They will need to:

1. Choose one of five animals to research and visit websites to find information about their chosen animal.

2. Print out worksheets to take notes while researching.

3. Plan and create a Power Point presentation. There are directions to click on for each page. Print out the Power Point Planning Sheets to plan their Power Point. They will be researching and presenting information about their animal's diet, body structure, behavior, habitat, and interesting facts. They will also be explaining what might happen if their animal no longer had its special adaptations. 

4. Present their Power Point presentation to fellow researchers (their classmates) at the Animal Adaptations' Convention.

This lesson is designed to be taught for approximately one hour per day for a two-week period. It is primarily a science lesson; however, writing and oral speaking are also included.

Students will be divided into groups of three based on interest in a specific animal and teacher knowledge of the dynamics within the classroom.

This lesson is designed to be teacher-friendly and should be easily accomplished by novice as well as experienced teachers.

Variations

This lesson could be completed within any type of computer lab or classroom equipped with one computer for every three students.

Resources Needed

In order to implement this lesson, the teacher will need one computer with high-speed internet access for each group of three students.

A United Streaming video on animal adaptations is also linked within this lesson; however, if this resource is not available, it is not vital in carrying out this lesson.

Specific websites utilized in this lesson can be found in the Process section of the student webquest page.

This lesson is designed to be carried out with one teacher in the classroom; however, if parent helpers are available, it would be very appropriate to utilize them as well.

Evaluation

Students will be evaluated based on the evaluation grid which can be viewed on the student page of this webquest. Students will be given both an individual grade and a group grade utilizing the grid.

Conclusion

This lesson is about animal adaptations.  Students will learn specific details about their chosen animal.  They will research and learn about the animal's diet, body structure, behaviors and additional interesting facts.  They will also use higher-order thinking as they predict what would happn to their animal if it no longer had its special adaptations.  

Credits & References

http://www.huntingsociety.org/

http://www.whozoo.org/anlife2000/jamiebritt/gilaindexrev.html

http://www.unitedstreaming.com

Thanks to Amanda Jones and Debbie Sprock for allowing permission to revise their webquest. jonesamanda@rockwood.k12.mo.us