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Pre-Visit Activities : Adaptations
Procedures

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Materials
We have included several examples of household items that can be used to represent adaptations in living things. After each listed item we have included ideas for specific adaptations that each item may represent. We are sure that you can think of many other ways these household items, and others, can be used to represent specific adaptations.

  • tongs (to represent a body part that pinches, i.e. crab claws or pincers)
  • tweezers (to represent a body part that grasps tiny objects, i.e. birds with finely pointed beaks)
  • scuba fins (to represent a body part that assists in movement in water, i.e. the webbed feet of river otters, turtles, alligators and many aquatic birds)
  • large-toothed hair clip (to represent a body part that snaps shut or is filled with teeth, i.e. the jaws of an alligator or gar)
  • clothes pin (to represent a body part that grasps objects, i.e. birds with beaks)
  • hard hat (to represent a body part that provides a protective covering, i.e. the shells of turtles, the exoskeletons of crabs and insects, the shells of snails)
  • bicycle helmet (to represent a body part that provides a protective covering, i.e. the shells of turtles, the exoskeletons of crabs and insects, the shells of snails)
  • piece of leather (to represent a body part that provides a protective covering, i.e. thick shark skin)
  • a bathroom plunger (to represent a body part that attaches to something by suction, i.e. the suction cups on an octopus' arm and the tube feet on sea urchins, sea stars and sea cucumbers)
  • piece of shower mat (to represent a body part that attaches to something by suction, i.e. the suction cups on an octopus' arm and the tube feet on sea urchins, sea stars and sea cucumbers)
Other materials

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Procedures

Part I

  1. Ask students how they prepare for a day at the beach, cold weather, or eating pizza. Do they wear winter coats to the beach, shorts during cold weather or eat with their toes? Discuss responses and explain that students adapt to their environment.
  2. Ask a student to wear a coat that you have in the classroom. Discuss how it is used for protection/survival. Introduce the term adaptation and explain how organisms have adaptations that aid in survival.
  3. Show the class one household item and ask the students, "What does this item do?" and "How is this item useful to the people living in your home?". Record their responses on the board.
  4. Ask students if they can think of an animal or plant body part (an adaptation) that is used to do something similar to that of the household item. Encourage students to use similes during this activity. They often help students to link a new concept to something that they already know or to something familiar. A few examples are provided below: The suction cups on the tube feet of sea urchins are like a bathroom plunger. Both things use suction to grab hold of other things. The fur on a river otter is like a winter coat. Both things are used for warmth. The shell of a turtle is like a hard hat. Both things are used to protect something soft underneath.
  5. Divide the class into groups of five. Give each group a plastic bag/storage container containing five different household items.
  6. Explain that students should decide how the items are useful to humans and record their ideas. They should discuss their ideas as a group.
  7. In their groups, students should discuss how the household items can be compared to adaptations used by animals or plants. Students should use similes to relate each household item to a plant or animal adaptation.
  8. Students should record their similes. Discuss the responses.

Part II

  1. Review the term adaptation. Show the students an item that hasn't yet been discussed. Ask them to explain how the object depicts an adaptation in an animal or plant.
  2. Divide students into teams of five. Give each group of students an Adaptations Observation Record. Have the students look at the pictures and decide what adaptation(s) each animal or plant has. They should record their observations on their worksheets.
  3. Next, discuss the habitat of several of the organisms. Ask students to explain how the adaptations allow it to live in its habitat.