Plant and Animal Adaptations
Unit Plan
Plant and Animal Adaptations
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Grade Levels
4th Grade
- Related Academic Standards
- Assessment Anchors
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Eligible Content
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Big Ideas
- Aquatic, terrestrial and human-made ecosystems consist of diverse living and non-living components that change over time and among geographic areas.
- Humans depend upon the management and practices of agricultural systems.
- Living things depend on their habitat to meet their basic needs.
- People acting individually and/or as groups influence the environment.
- The health of all living things is directly related to the quality of the environment.
- The survival of living things is dependent upon their adaptations and ability to respond to natural changes in and human influences on the environment.
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Concepts
- An organism must be able to adapt to changes in the environment or move to another location, otherwise it will die.
- Environmental health can be impacted by air, water, soil and land pollution.
- Food, clothing and some shelter are provided through agricultural practices.
- Human actions affect environmental health.
- Natural events and human activities can change the environment.
- Organisms have physical and behavioral adaptations that enable them to survive in their habitat. (e.g., physical – shape of beaks, thickness of fur or fat, flat leaf vs needle; behavioral – migration, hibernation, playing dead).
- The health of an environment is dependent upon the quality of its parts. (i.e. air, water and soil).
- The parts and characteristics of organisms (e.g. feathers, hibernation, leaf size) affect the ways they meet their needs in different environments (e.g. wetlands, forests, ocean).
- When a habitat changes it affects the organism.
- Agriculture provides for many of the basic needs of humans and animals.
- All living things have basic needs: food, space, shelter and water in an arrangement suitable for survival.
- Animals and plants have physical adaptations that enable them to survive in their habitat (e.g., physical: shape of beak, position of eyes on head, thickness offur or fat, flat leaf vs. needle).
- Animals can provide both food and clothing.
- Health can be affected by things in air, water or soil.
- Homeowners and farmers can control pests while being environmentally friendly (integrated pest management).
- Living and non-living components of the ecosystem affect each other.
- Living livings depend on other living and non-living components within a habitat.
- Living things are associated with specific habitats. (i.e. rabbits live in fields but could not survive in an ocean)
- Living things find their basic needs in their habitat.
- Organisms (plants and animals) respond to seasonal changes (i.e. growth patterns, dormancy and hibernation, migration).
- PA experiences four seasonal climate changes: spring, summer, fall, winter.
- Pennsylvania farmers raise and grow specific animals and plants in order to meet our basic needs and wants.
- Plants, animals and humans need air and water to survive.
- The agricultural industry is more than farming, and provides a lot of jobs in Pennsylvania.
- There are many different species of organisms that live and interact within a habitat.
- Without sound agricultural practices, we would not be able to feed people.
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Competencies
- Explain how a particular change in the environment can affect the survival of an organism in that environment.
- Explain how the characteristics of an organism determine where it lives and how it survives in its environment.
- Identify an organism that has become extinct in Pennsylvania and explain how it became extinct.
- Identify and explain the physical and behavioral characteristics of organisms that enable them to survive in their habitats.
- Identify examples of air, water, soil and land pollutants, their sources, and their effects on the environment.
- Identify some natural and human caused events that can change an environment.
- Are you wearing clothing from a plant and/or animal source? Trace it back to its origins.
- Compare and contrast how agriculture influences the food, clothing, shelter and customs of two different cultures.
- Describe how water, air and soil affect living things.
- Describe one major habitat in PA (e.g. wetland, forest, field, river/lake/creek, urban/suburban) and identify many of the associated living and non-living components.
- Explain how living and non-living things affect one another.
- Explain how the adaptations of three different animal and/or plant species help the organisms to survive in their habitat(s) (e.g. fur, feathers, web feet; butterfly proboscis; camouflage; seed dispersal).
- Given a plant or animal, identify its preferred food, water source, shelter, space and how its habitat provides these needs in a suitable arrangement
- Identify an animal or plant and list the effects of seasonal change on that organism.
- Identify the basic needs of humans and animals that are met by agricultural industry.
- Identify the basic needs of living things in a habitat.
- What makes a pest a pest? Explain three different ways to control plant and animal pests.
- Where does your lunch come from? Trace it back to its origins.
Objectives
In this unit, students learn about adaptations and how they support the life of plants and animals; they learn to distinguish the difference between behavioral and structural adaptations. Students will:
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identify various behavioral and structural plant and animal adaptations in various environments and climates.
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identify how adaptations are crucial for human life.
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describe how adaptations secure the life of plants and animals.
Essential Questions
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How does the variation among individuals affect their survival?
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How do the structures and functions of living things allow them to meet their needs?
Related Unit and Lesson Plans
Related Materials & Resources
The possible inclusion of commercial websites below is not an implied endorsement of their products, which are not free, and are not required for this lesson plan.
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Adaptations for Pennsylvania Forests (S-4-2_Performance Assessment and KEY.docx)
Formative Assessment
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View
Multiple Choice Items:
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1. Which statement best describes the adaption of mimicry in an organism?
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A
ability to jump high
B
ability to breathe underwater
C
ability to look like another organism
D
ability to survive without water for months
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Which adaptation can a wolf use to hunt for other animals?
A
sharp claws
B
hibernation
C
warm, thick fur
D
strong sense of smell
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Which is an example of a structural adaptation?
A
thick leaves
B
hibernation
C
migration
D
camouflage
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Which term best describes how an animal can blend in with its own environment?
A
shadowing
B
mimicry
C
camouflage
D
defense
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Which adaptation helps a polar bear survive very cold temperatures?
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A
sharp claws
B
large size
C
white fur
D
warm fur
- For questions 6–9, answer True or False.
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When some animals hibernate during the winter, their heart rate and breathing slows down.
A
True
B
False
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Fish have lungs as an adaptation to obtain energy under water.
A
True
B
False
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Migration is a behavioral adaptation.
A
True
B
False
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Webbed feet are an example of a structural adaptation for water environments.
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A
True
B
False
Multiple-Choice Answer Key:
1. C
2. D
3. A
4.C
5. D
6. T
7. F
8. T
9. T
Short-Answer Items
10. List three different ways animals, plants, and humans adapt to their environments.
ANIMAL
PLANT
HUMAN
- 11. Explain in your own words the meaning of structural and behavioral adaptation.
- Give one example of each.
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Short-answer key and Scoring Rubrics:
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List three different ways animals, plants, and humans adapt to their environments.
Points
Description
4
Demonstrates clear and concise understanding (all nine responses are correct) for all three categories.
3
Demonstrates clear and concise understanding (6–8 responses are correct).
2
Demonstrates an understanding (3–5 responses are correct).
1
Demonstrates some understanding (1–2 responses are correct).
0
Demonstrates no understanding (0 responses are correct).
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Explain in your own words the meaning of structural and behavioral adaptation. Give one example of each.
Points
Description
3
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Provides definitions for structural and behavioral adaptation.
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Provides an example of structural adaptation.
- Provides an example of behavioral adaptation.
2
- Provides definitions for structural and behavioral adaptation and only shows an example of one adaptation.
1
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Provides definitions for structural and behavioral adaptation, but does not provide examples for both adaptations.
- Provides examples of behavioral and structural adaptation, but does not provide either definition.
0
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Does not provide definitions for either structural or behavioral adaptation.
- Does not provide examples of behavior or structural adaptation.
Performance Assessment:
- Adaptations for Pennsylvania Forests
- There are many deciduous forest environments in Pennsylvania. “Deciduous” means that the trees change with the seasons. The temperature is very hot in the summer and below freezing in the winter. Sometimes there is a lot of rainfall, but other times, there is not much rain. Sunlight can reach tall plants, but the forest floor is mostly shady. Plants and animals must be adapted to survive the changes over the four seasons.
Directions: Choose one plant and one animal that live in Pennslvania forests from the ideas that are provided below. Use books or the Internet to find out about adaptations that the plant and animal have. Complete the Adaptations for Pennsylvania Forests worksheet (see S-4-2_Performance Assessment and KEY in the Resources folder).
Possible Sources:
Deciduous Forest
www.blueplanetbiomes.org/deciduous_forest.htm
Animal and plant adaptations in the deciduous forest
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DRAFT 11/16/2010
