5E Lesson Plan

Teacher: Shelby Piatt

Date: 4/7/16
Subject / grade level: Animal Adaptations: Camouflage Fourth Grade
Materials: PowerPoint and space to play Hide n Go Seek
Standards: Standard 3: Life Science 4.3.2 Observe, compare, and record the physical characteristics of living
plants or animals from widely different environments. Describe how each plant or animal is adapted to its
environment.

Lesson objective(s): At the end of the lesson students know:

a. What is adaptation?
b. When an animal blends into its environment it is call camouflage.
c. Animals use camouflage to hide from predators.
d. Animals use camouflage to hunt prey.
e. Other types of adaptations.

Differentiation strategies to meet diverse learner needs: Pictures on PowerPoint and activity.

ENGAGEMENT
Students will begin by playing a game of Hide n Go Seek. There will be two hunters and the rest of the students will
be the prey.
EXPLORATION
Animals use adaptation to help it survive, or live in its environment.
Animals depend on their physical features to help them obtain food, keep safe, build homes, and withstand
weather.
EXPLANATION
Adaptations occur over a long period of time.
Two types of adaptations: Physical and behavioral.
Physical: a type of structural modification made part of the animals body: something on or in an animal that will
better help it survive. (Camouflage)
Behavioral: something an animal does, how it acts. (Migration)
Animals need to be able to use their environments to survive.
ELABORATION
Why do animals need to be able to match their environment?

Teacher will show a PowerPoint for the students to see examples of animals using camouflage and discuss which
animals are using camouflage to hunt and which are using it to hide.
1

5E Lesson Plan
EVALUATION
What is an adaptation?
What is it called when an animal blends in with its environment?
What two reasons would an animal need to blend to its environment?
EXTEND:
Other types of adaptations are: hair growth, flight, and migration