Tuesday, April 25, 2006The Art of Adaptation
Exploring the Ways Animals Adapt to Their Respective EnvironmentsAuthor(s)
Marcella Runell, The New York Times Learning Network
Tanya Yasmin Chin,
Tuesday, April 25, 2006The Art of Adaptation
Exploring the Ways Animals Adapt to Their Respective EnvironmentsAuthor(s)
Marcella Runell, The New York Times Learning Network
Tanya Yasmin Chin, The Bank Street College of Education in New York City
Grades: 6-8, 9-12
Overview of Lesson Plan:In this lesson students will examine the concept of animal adaptation by conducting research, creating a diagram and crafting a short story about a specific animal that experiences this vital process.
Review the Academic Content Standards related to this lesson.Suggested Time Allowance:One hourObjectives:
1. Examine the concept of adaptation for human beings.
2. Consider the effects of scientific adaptation for animals as discussed in the article, “Scientists Again Debating How Snakes Came to Slither.”
3. Conduct research on the various ways animals adapt and the reasons why such changes are vital.
4. Create diagrams that illustrate the functions of adaptation.
5. Write short stories from the perspectives of the animals they researched.
Resources / Materials:
-copies of “Scientists Again Debating How Snakes Came to Slither” found online at: http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/featured_articles/20060425tuesday.html(one per student)
-resources on various animals, including textbooks, encyclopedic sources, and computers with Internet access
Activities / Procedures:
1.WARM-UP/DO-NOW: Upon entering class, students will be asked to respond to the following prompt written on the board prior to class, “What does it mean to adapt? Can you think of a time when you have adapted to a new situation? (Examples might include moving to a new place, starting a new school, having a new sibling or parent, or starting a new job.) What changes did you have to make in order to adapt?” The word “adapt” is a verb which means: "to make fit, often by modification, or implies a modification according to changing circumstances" (found online at http://www.webster.com). Students should be encouraged to share their responses with the class.
After sharing various personal examples of human adaptation, students should be encouraged to think about the concept of adaptation for all species by reading the article, “Scientists Again Debating How Snakes Came to Slither.”
2. As a class, read and discuss the article, “Scientists Again Debating How Snakes Came to Slither,” (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/featured_articles/20060425tuesday.html) focusing on the following questions:
a. What in particular fascinated Charles Darwin?
b. From what type of creature did the snake evolve?
c. What changes occurred?
d. What did paleontologists find nearly a hundred years after Darwin died?
e. What was recently unveiled in the April 20, 2006 issue of the journal "Nature"?
f. When was the first time a snake with legs was reported?
g. Who reported it?
h. In what environment did Dr. Caldwell and Dr. Lee propose that snakes evolved?
i. What evidence did they cite?
j. What was the name of the closest relative to snakes?
k. Who is Dr. Zaher and what contribution has he made to the snake debate?
l. Who is Dr. Sebastian Apesteguia and what did he discover?
m. What was the difference between Najash and Pachyrhachis according to the article?
n. Where does Dr. Zaher assert that Pachyrhachis lived?
o. What does Dr. Caldwell say about the arguments regarding Najash?
3. Explain to students that they will be working in pairs to investigate animal adaptations. Students should brainstorm to compose a list of the many adaptations animals must undergo to survive in their respective environments. Examples might include but are not limited to the following:
-Structural adaptations, which involve some part of an animal's body, such as the size or shape of the teeth, the animal's body covering, or the way the animal moves
-Protective coloration, or protective resemblance, which allows an animal to blend into its environment, is also known as camouflage. Camouflage makes it harder for enemies to single out individual animals.
-Mimicry, allows one animal to look, sound, or act like another animal to fool predators into thinking it is poisonous or dangerous.
-Behavior adaptations, include activities that help an animal survive. Behavior adaptations can be learned or instinctive, such as spraying toxic gases for protection. Migration, another behavioral adaptation, involves an animal or group of animals moving from one region to another and then back again. Hibernation is also a behavioral adaptation in which the animal's entire system slows. Requiring little fuel, the animal lives off of the fat that is stored in its body.
More information about types of animal adaptations can be found at the Utah Education Network Web site, (http://www.uen.org/utahlink/activities/view_activity.cgi?activity_id=3803) for animal adaptation information.
After discussing the various ways that animals “adapt,” student pairs may be assigned an animal from the list below or may choose a different animal. The same guiding principles and research questions should be used for all research. Advise students that they will be creating an annotated