Adapting Animals: Biology for Grade 2

Session Design by Stormy Knaak, Kimberly Lamping, Cameron A. Mumford, Emily Powell, and Larissa Washburn

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Content Standards
Utah Science: Standard 4: Objective 2C
o Identify behaviors and reactions of living things in response to changes in the environment including
seasonal changes in temperature and precipitation.
Utah Science: Standard 4: Objective 1A
o Compare and contrast the characteristics of living things in different habitats.
Utah Integrated Core: Standard 1: Objective 2E
o Create and perform unique dance movements and sequences that expand physical skills while
demonstrating personal and spatial awareness.

Enduring Understanding
Students will understand that humans have the responsibility to protect and preserve endangered wildlife by
raising awareness about the importance of conservation.

Key Knowledge
Students will know that grizzly bears adapt to their environment by hibernating in the winter, growing sharp
claws to kill their prey, and overeating during fall to prepare for hibernation.
Students will know that Arctic hares adapt to their environment by molting their brown spring/summer coats to
white fall/winter coats to better camouflage themselves in their environment in order to lessen their chance of
being seen and eaten by predators.
Students will know that Dodo birds likely became extinct due to flash floods and human predation while cranes
survived in the same habitat because they were able to fly and had longer beaks and legs that allowed them to
catch food more easily.

Skills
Students will be able to create tableaux of animals in their habitats.
Students will be able to dynamize tableaux.

ASSESSMENT
Performance Tasks
Students will work in small groups to create still images of Arctic hares and grizzly bears behaving as they would
during the spring, summer, fall, and winter in order to create tableaux of animals in their habitats.
Students identify what season the other group is portraying in their tableaux and explain their rationale for their
interpretation in order to demonstrate their ability to identify behaviors and reactions of living things in
response to changes in the environment including seasonal changes in temperature and precipitation.
Students identify physical features of grizzly bears and Arctic hares (including how these features sometimes
change) in different habitats in order to demonstrate they can compare and contrast the characteristics of living
things in different habitats.
Students dynamize tableaux to illustrate the change of season (while respecting each others personal space) in
order to create and perform unique dance movements and sequences that expand physical skills while
demonstrating personal and spatial awareness by working in groups to create unified rhythmic movements that
connect their images of the four seasons.
Students analyze evidence from a cave, with Explorer Sam, including the presence of; arrowheads, a high water
line, and fossils of a Dodo bird and a crane in order to deduce and eventually explain why Dodo birds went
extinct due to flash floods and human predation while cranes did not.
Students write a letter to elephant poachers explaining why they should not engage in poaching in order to
understand that humans have a responsibility to protect and preserve endangered wildlife by raising awareness
about the importance of conservation.
Other Assessment
Students complete a worksheet in which they identify particular characteristics of grizzly bears and Arctic hares,
described in the key knowledge section, in order to illustrate they know how grizzly bears and Arctic hares adapt
to their environments.

MATERIALS NEEDED
Teacher Materials
Pictures of a grizzly bear and an Arctic hare in their habitats.
Explorer costume
Dodo bird fossil replica made of clay
Crane fossil replica made of clay (or similar material)
Dodo bird Explorer Ad (see attached)

Student Materials
Pen or pencil
Lined paper
Worksheet (see attached)

LEARNING PLAN
Framing / Hook
1. Introduction/ Hands up in the Air
a. Introduce yourself to students.
b. Students put hand in the air and attempt to stretch as high as they can.
c. Students throughout the lesson will be asked to put hands in the air as a focus tactic, in order to refocus
a group.
2. Introduce Squirrel Activity
a. Briefly discuss with students what behaviors squirrels engage in during different seasons. Solicit
responses from students and fill in additional examples if necessary.
b. If you are in a space that does not have a large open area, ask students to move their desks to the side
to create a playing space.
3. Squirrel Dramatization.
a. Students take on the role of squirrels during each of the four seasons.
b. As the teacher calls out each season, students alter their behavior to the following:
i. Squirrels stock up on acorns, nuts, or any other foods in the fall.
ii. Squirrels isolate themselves with their food storage, and attempt to stay warm in the winter.
iii. Squirrels mate and create families during the spring.
iv. Squirrels explore possible places to stay warm in the winter, and find food supplies in the
summer.
1. NOTE: Students should explore a variety of squirrel like behaviors. If students engage in
behaviors that are not squirrel like, ask them if a squirrel would realistically engage in
such behavior and side coach them to an appropriate behavior.
4. Squirrel Reflection
a. Discuss following questions with the students:
i. Why did the behaviors alter for the squirrel during each of the seasons?
ii. What would happen if the squirrel did not behave this way?
iii. Do all animals act and behave like squirrels during each of the seasons?
iv. How do humans change throughout the four seasons?

Process
5. Introduce still images
a. Explain that a still image is like a frozen picture in time where everyones body is motionless to depict a
particular image.
b. Students create a still image of a moment during the squirrel activity.
 i. NOTE: Emphasize that still images do not make any sort of movements, and do not make noise.
6. Create still image of animals in all four seasons
a. Students are split into two groups; grizzly bears and Arctic hares.
b. Each group discusses what their assigned animal would do in the four seasons.
i. NOTE: Teachers should guide students in identifying the specific behaviors of the grizzly bear,
and Arctic hare.
c. Students create still images of these animals during all four seasons.
i. How did the animal behave during the Winter? Spring? Summer? Fall?
ii. How is the animal behaving differently?
7. Dynamize still image
a. Explain to students that dynamizing a still image includes adding more meaning through slight movement.
b. Students dynamize their still images.
i. NOTE: Emphasize that students should keep special awareness and respect each others space.
8. Move through the seasons
a. In groups students create unique movements that connect each season to the next.
b. Remind students to respect personal space.
c. Students rehearse their movement sequences.
9. Share movement pieces with other group
a. Students perform their movement sequence for the other group.
b. Students in the group watching identify behaviors during the four seasons of the group presenting.
c. Discuss the specific behaviors and attributes of each animal.
e. Ask the following questions:
i. How did the animal behave during the winter? Spring? Summer? Fall?
ii. How is the animal behaving differently?
iii. Why do certain animals develop these behaviors?
10. Animal Worksheet
a. Students complete an assignment where they write the changing behaviors of grizzly bears and Artic
hares.
b. As a class, students fill out the first animal; identifying their features and behaviors.
c. Collect the students completed assignments.
d. Explain that this worksheet will be given to Explorer Sam, whom they will meet during the next lesson.

DAY 2
11. Introduction
a. Students are told one of the teachers was unable to make it to class.
b. Students are reminded about hands in the air.
i. When a teacher says, hands in the air, students are to put their hands in the air and stop
talking.
c. Pass out name tags.
d. Introduce drama conventions.
i. Students discuss taking on a character.
ii. Explain that students and the teacher will take on role.
iii. Explain to students that it is important to be a good audience member if they see a teacher in
role; otherwise others around them may be disrupted. Matt fixed.
12. Unfinished material
a. Students are seated around a poster that has an image of a Dodo bird and an invitation for explorers.
b. Students are asked their initial thoughts of the Dodo bird.
13. Introduction of Explorer Sam
a. Explorer Sam explains that the Dodo bird is extinct.
i. Ask: What does extinct mean?
b. Students are put in role as explorers attempting to find the reason for the extinction of Dodo birds.
c. Explorer Sam explains to students that they are travelling to the caves of Madagascar.
14. Students define the space
 a. Students are given a tour of the cave.
b. Explorer Sam points out specific parts of a cave such as:
i. Waterfall
ii. Walls with bats
iii. Tunnels
iv. Water line
v. And other parts that students suggest
c. Students are lead through a sound scope exercise by Explorer Sam:
i. Students sit in a large circle in the cave.
ii. Students offer different noises that might be heard in a cave.
iii. Students are told to close their eyes.
iv. Explorer Sam will start one noise, such as rubbing hands together.
v. Each student will copy the same motion one by one, waiting for the person before them to do
the noise.
vi. Explorer Sam goes through 4 or 5 other noises.
vii. Note: the teacher not in role will hide the fossils and arrowheads around the classroom during
this activity.
d. Students explore the space.
i. Remind students not to touch anything they find.
ii. Based on the fossils found, ask students why they think the Dodo bird went extinct.
iii. Compare the Dodo bird fossil to crane fossil.
1. Show students a picture of a crane to make sure they know what one looks like in real
life.
iv. Have students identify differences between the two fossils.
1. Make sure students understand that Dodo birds couldnt fly, due to their bulky
physique, and short wings.
2. Make sure students understand the physical differences between the Dodo bird and the
crane (cranes have long necks and legs, can fly, Dodo birds are short, and cant fly).
15. Discovered artifacts
a. Explorer Sam points out the arrowheads near the fossil of the Dodo bird.
b. Explorer Sam points out the extremely high waterline in the cave.
c. Students hypothesize what this could mean.
16. Still-Image of Dodo bird and crane
a. Students are split into two different groups.
b. Each group will be assigned to the Dodo bird or the crane.
c. In their groups students create two still images; the Dodo bird during a flash flood and being hunted, or
the crane during a flash flood and being hunted.
d. Students will show the other group their still images.
e. Ask Students:
i. What differences do you notice between the still images?
ii. How is the crane/Dodo bird reacting to the flash flood/hunting?
iii. What physical characteristics are changing these reactions?
17. Causes of extinction discussion
a. Gather Students in a circle and ask:
i. By raising hands, who thinks Dodo birds went extinct due to flash floods? Hunting?
ii. Why did you pick flashfloods? Hunting?
iii. Emphasize there is no right or wrong answer.
iv. Ask students what other animals are facing extinction? Why?
v. Make sure over hunting is mentioned.
18. Poaching
a. Ask students:
1. What is poaching?
2. What are consequences of poaching?
 3. What is an animal that is being poached today?
a. Examples include: Elephants, sea turtles, tigers, lions, rhinoceros, and whales.
b. (Depending on time) Have students stand in a straight line that spans across the room.
i. Students think of a piece of advice they could give to poachers, that would convince poachers
not to poach the given animal.
ii. The teacher in role acts as the poacher, walking down the line.
iii. Each student gives their piece of advice to the teacher in role as he/she walks down the line.
c. Have explorers return to the classroom.
d. Letter to the poacher.
i. Students write a letter to poachers.
1. Explain how to write a letter and show an example on the board.
2. Students write a letter stating reasons why poachers should stop poaching endangered
animals.
3. Remind students they are only allowed 5 minutes to write their letters. Remind them
every few minutes.
e. Explorer Sam gathers the letters, and expresses that he/she needs to leave.

Reflection
19. Reflect on explorer experience.
a. NOTE: Teacher in role as Explorer Sam changes into regular teacher clothes and returns to classroom.
b. Students answer the following questions in a question answer discussion:
i. Why do some animals go extinct while others do not?
ii. How does poaching and over-hunting a bad thing affect a species?
iii. How can we help preserve habitats so animals can survive?
 NAME:

Changing Features and Behaviors of Animals Work

Sheet
Name the animal pictured and describe two physical features and one changing behaviors
during each of the four seasons.

Animal ______________________________
Physical Features - ______________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
Summer - ___________________________________________________
Fall - ______________________________________________________
Winter - ____________________________________________________
Spring - ____________________________________________________

Animal _________________________
Physical Features - _________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
Summer - ___________________________________________________
Fall - ______________________________________________________
Winter - ____________________________________________________
Spring - ____________________________________________________