Rationale
The purpose of this page is to allow students to explore the world of animal adaptations. 
Students will  explore new vocabulary: extinction and adaptation.  The work students
will do here will help them to understand the different adaptations animals make to
survive in their environment.  They will learn that every animal (whether mammal, reptile,
insect, bird, or fish) will make adaptations to survive or extinction will occur.









Instructional Topic Web Sites

Physical and Behavioral Adaptations	What do I learn at this website?
Animal Adaptations	This website gives a list of nearly 30 animals and questions about their adaptations.  In order to find out the reason behind their physical adaptation the student or teacher must click on the link and explore the animal in more detail.
Critter Camouflage	Can you see the critter in this photo?  This website explains the reason and impact of camouflage as a physical adaptation.
Kratts Creatures	This website lets students and teachers explore the animals from every continent on Earth.  Then they can read a description of the animal of the week and try to guess what it is.
Dirtmeister's Science Investigations	This website gives students and teachers alike, the chance to investigate, observe, and report their findings in relation to Animal adaptations.  It includes information about physical and behavioral adaptations.
Arctic Animals	This website gives lots of information on differen types of animals residing in the Arctic.  If you click on any name of an animal it will take you to another page to find out even more about the animal's adaptations.
Night Creatures of the Kalahari	This website gives examples of animals that are nocturnal.  Nocturnal animals are not born that way.  They are born with equipped with the ability to see at night, but not with the behavior to do so.  See how they learn quickly to hunt in the darkness.
Insect Adaptations	This website gives examples and explanation of why most life on earth is insects.  It shows the adaptations insects are able to make to survive.
National Geographic	In this website, National Geographic explores the theory that nature created a perfect animal that doesn't ever have to make any adaptations! (Who knew?)
Kids:  Frog Pond	This website explores the effect of changes in the environment that make it impossible for various rainforest frogs to adapt to the changing climate and surroundings.
Charles Darwin 1809-1882 Darwin and Natural Selection	This website is an informational website that explores Darwin's theory of Natural Selection.
by Nova	This online game shows how adaptations (mutations) develop over time. (Read the instructions before starting.)
Kids Turn Central	This website is a kids resource center that allows students to click on the name of a wild cat and discover facts about it and also look at pictures.
Butterflies	This website allows students to click on a wing pattern and learn how wing colors, patterns, and shapes help protect butterflies from their predators.

Topic Activities

Activity One (Click on the words "Activity One" to go directly to the website children will need to access to identify the cats from the poem.  The website is also available in the topic webpages table above.)

Objectives: -  Children will be able to define camouflage. -  Children will be able to describe how camouflage helps some cats survive. -  Children will be able to identify characteristics of different types of cats. Materials: -  Copies of outline of a medium sized cat (cat outline should take up about half of an 81/2 x 11 inch paper)      Be sure to have enough cat copies for each student to have eight cats -  Crayons or markers -  Chalkboard or easel paper -  Copies of cat poem included -  Reference books or access to Kids Turn Central topic website listed above -  Pictures of different wild cats -  Scissors Activities: 1.  Begin by explaining that many mammals are camouflaged.  This means that the colors and markings on their coats help them blend into their environment and make them less visible to their predators or prey.  Show pictures of different types of cats and how their coats are different.  Discuss what characteristics are different with each and write them on the chalkboard/easel. 2.  Write the following cat names on the chalkboard/easel:                    leopard, lion, black panther, tiger, cheetah, jaguar, cougar, and snow leopard 3.  Pass out the poem included at the end of this activity.  Have the students read the poem.  Explain that each verse of the poem matches one of the cats listed.  Have the students search reference books or the topic websites concerning cats to determine which picture matches which verse. 4.  Pass out 8 cat outlines to every student and have students cut the cats out. 5.  Have students label each cat cut-out with the name of  one of the cats listed on the easel. 6.  Have the students color each cat to match one of the cats described in the poem (lion, jaguar, snow leopard, black panther, and tiger).  Make sure the students use the reference books or the topic webpages to correctly make their markings on the cats cut-outs. 7.  When finished, discuss with the children the various ways that each cat's coat helps it blend into its environment.  For example, discuss how the orange and black pattern on the tiger helps it blend into its background to help it sneak up on its prey.  The dark black strips of the tiger run at right angles to the outline of the tiger's body.  This helps to break up the tiger's outline and makes it look as if it were part of the habitat where it lives.  Another example is that of the leopard, which is spotted.  This cat lives in a wooded area where sunlight comes through the woods in a "mottled" pattern.  The dark spots on the cat's light coat help the cat mimic the natural light and the dark pattern found on the forest floor.  It also helps break up the outline of the body. Cat Poem 1 I've got a strong body And very large paws. Teeth made for killing And powerful jaws. When it's time for a hunt The females take charge, And the prey they go after Are usually large. 2 On padded tiptoes I move without sound. I can jump twenty feet In only one bound. I often go swimming Or lie under a tree. And the stripes on my back Make me harder to see. 3 In dark Asian forests I am bush my prey. And my dark-colored coat Doesn't give me away. Like all other leopards I have spots on my back Though you can't always tell 'Cause my coat is so black. 4 I'm active at night But may sleep through the day, And my fur has dark spots On a background of gray. I eat all kinds of prey Including goats called markhor, But unlike other big cats I'm unable to roar. 5 It's Latin America Where I always roam. The tropical forests Are the place I call home. My light-colored coat Is all covered with spots And within my rosettes There are even more dots. Answers to poem verses:  1. Lion, 2. Tiger, 3. Black Panther, 4. Snow Leopard, 5. Jaguar)

Activity Two (Click on the words "Activity Two" to access the butterfly website listed in the topic webpages table above.)

Objective: -  Students will demonstrate their understanding of camouflage by designing a butterfly that blends into a classroom "habitat." Materials: -  One box of assorted toothpicks -  An outdoor grassy area or large piece of green fabric or astroturf -  Paper butterfly patterns for each student (large, the size of a sheet of copy paper) -  Butterfly pattern -  Markers, crayons, or colored pencils -  Colored toothpicks or paper clips Activity: 1.  Begin the lesson by presenting the students with a box of toothpicks or paper clips in assorted colors. 2.  Count how many toothpicks or paper clips there are of each color.  Write the total of each on the blackboard.  (Be sure to have green toothpicks in your box.) 3.  Spread the colored items randomly over a large area of green grass.  (If you don't have a grassy area at your school, use a patch of bare earth with some tan toothpicks.  OR, use a large piece of fabric that matches the color of the green toothpicks. 4.  Give the students 10 seconds to collect as many colored items as they can find. 5.  Count the number of each colored item that the students retrieved.  Compare this to your original count.  Which color items were the asiest to spot and collect?  Which were less obvious?  Why? 6.  Introduce the concept of camouflage as an animal adaptation.  Explain that many animals have colors or markings on their fur, feathers, scales, or skin that enable them to blend into their habitat (the place where the animal lives).  Ask the students, "How might camouflage help an animal to survive?"  Can they think of any examples?  (A motionless green frog at the edge of a pond is almost impossible for predators and prey to spot.  The drab feathers of most female birds help them go unnoticed as they sit on their eggs.  The snowshoe hare changes color with the season.  Becoming white in winter and brown in summer.) 7.  Have students access the butterfly wing patterns site and explore how the butterflies camouflage themselves in hundreds of different way to stay safe. Product: 1.  Give each student a copy of the butterfly pattern. 2.  Ask the students to pretend your classroom is a butterfly habitat.  Have each student look around the room and select a specific home or habitat for his or her individual butterfly. 3.  Have each student color his/her butterfly pattern with markers, crayons, or colored pencils so that it will be camouflaged in this habitat. 4.  Ask your students to place the butterflies in their habitat without burying them.  The butterflies must be out in the open, but well-camouflaged. 5.  Invite students from another class to see how many of your butterflies they can find. Extensions: Sometimes an animal's coloration does the opposite of camouflage.  Instead, its markings or color patterns may call attention to the animal.  Coloration may issue a warning to other species (for example, the bright colors of the South American poison arrow frog warns possible predators that these amphibians are not good to eat), or help advertise for a mate (male peacocks use their impressive tail display to attract females.) Repeat the Classroom Camouflage activity by having students design butterflies whose coloration does not blend into their surroundings.  Since they cannot hide from view, what methods might each of these butterflies use to protect itself from predators?  What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of camouflage compared to advertising or warning coloration?

Activity Three Click on the words "Acitivity Three" to go directly to the website students will need to use.  The link is also available in the Topic Web pages table above.  It is listed as "Dirtmeisters".

Objective: -  Children will be able to define adaptation. -  Children also will be able to compare mammal adaptations for finding food and escaping from predators. -  Children will write and illustrate a story describing how a certain mammal adaptation arose. Materials: -  Access to website containing Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling -  Access to website containing "Why the Possum's Tail is Bare" by James Connolly (Ranger Rick, April 1985) -  Chalkboard or easel paper -  Paper and pencils -  Reference books and access to Dirtmeisters Science Reporters Website -  Crayons or markers Activities: 1.  Begin by discussing with the children some of the ways mamals and other animals are adapted to survive.  Explain that adaptations are characteristics or behaviors that help an animal survive in its environment.  For example, have kids think of ways that fish are adapted to live in water. (Gills, fins, and a streamlined body could be examples.)  Then, ask them to thin of other animal adaptations.  Write these answers on the chalkboard/easel. 2.  Then, ask the children if they are familiar with Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories.  If not, explain that Kipling was a famous author who wrote short stories, poems, and novels.  He lived in India during the late 1800's and early 1900's.  In his book, Kipling made up descriptive tales using imagination to explain how some animals came to look or act the way they do.  Read one or two of these stories to the children.  You also may want to read a myth by another aurther ( in this example, "Why the Possum's Tail is Bare" by James Connolly). 3.  Then, allow the children time to brainstorm a mammal that they think has some interesting adaptation.  Then, let the kids write and illustrate their own "just so" story about one of their favorite mammals.  (Some suggestions include:  "How the Platypus Got Its Duck Bill,"  "How the Zebra Got Its Striptes," and "How the Vampire Bat Got It's Wings.")                         These stories should combine some fact and some fiction.  For example, Kipling's "The Beginning of the Armadillos" explains that the hedgehog and the tortoise changed into armadillos by borrowing characteristics from one another.  Of course, this is not true, but the story does explain that the armadillo has protective armor and can roll up into a ball to defend itself from predators -- which are all facts. 4.  When the children have finished, have them share their stories and illustrations with others.

Software Reviews

Title of Software: Amazing Animals Activity Center Published by: DK Multimedia Software is useful for: This software is great fo introducing the world's most incredible animals.  It contains more than ten different games and activities, which are designed to illustrate the most fantastic and often surprising aspects of animal behavior, appearance, and habitat. Anticipated Problems: This program is an activity pack that emphasizes games and fun things to do.  It has fascinating facts to absorb.  There are however not enough facts.  Some of the pertinent information such as how long the animals live, and other information that children want to learn is not included in the software games.

Title of Software: Amazing Animals Zoofari Games Published by: Global Software Software is useful for: This program is a software package that runs on Windows XP.  It includes fun games that educate students on the more than 120 animals from every corner of the world.  It teaches about adaptations, habitats and is great to use in the classroom or at home to emphasize the changes animals make to survive. Anticipated Problems: This program could pose a problem if the user doesn't have Windows XP.  Also students need to be familiar with computer hardware in order to navigate through the program.  Students may need help if they don't have any computer experience.

Title of Software: Kid's Craze Animals Published by: Encare Software is useful for: This software allows the student to travel on an interactive safari and be face-to-face with animals in their natural habitats.  You'll be astounded by what you see and hear as over 120 animals come to life through video, games and activities.  Students can play animal games in, design animal habitats, and create 3D animals to survive in their habitats using Crayola Amazing Animals. Anticipated Problems: Again this program could pose a problem with students that aren't computer savy.  However, other than that, the program taylors itself to all ranges of abilities and even students with special needs can be as imaginative or as bland as they would like.

Title of Software: Microsoft Paint Published by: Microsoft Corporation Software is useful for: This program is a program that students can use to draw and create their own animal with its own specific adaptations needed to survive in a pretend habitat. Anticipated Problems: The use of this program could result in some problems due to the extensive time it takes to teach students how to use it.

Title of Software: Microsoft Word Published by: Microsoft Corporation Software is useful for: This program can be used to create journal logs, or descriptions of the animals students learn about.  Also the students can reflect on the types of adaptations animals need to make to survive and the result in adaptations not being made. Anticipated Problems: Some students may not be able to type very well, resulting in time being spent on pecking away at the keyboard.  It could be helpful to invest in a typing program to teach the students how to type at a higher rate than is typical for fourth grade students.

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