|Name of Activity||Backyard Animal Adaptations|
|Keywords||animal adaptations, environments, design, build, unique, animal, animals, found materials, adapt, modeling|
|Subject||Non-LEGO, LEGO Building|
|Grade Level||K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6|
|Time||1 Hour Total|
|Brief Description||Students will look atanimal adaptations and then design and build their own unique animal that could live in their backyard.|
|Lesson Objectives:||To teach students about animals and why they have certain adaptations for
To teach students to design and build a model based on particular constraints.
|Materials Needed:||pipe cleaners
any other available building materials
|Preparation and Set Up:||Gather an assortment of building materials.
Collect some research on animals and their adaptations.
Pictures of an environment that the animals need to adapt to.
If desired, break students into groups of 2 – 4.
Distribute materials to students.
|Necessary Background||Animals adapt to their environment in many different ways. The most evident adaptation
is color and texture. Camouflage is used by many animals to protect themselves from
predators. Some examples include tree frogs, polar bears, and iguanas. Animals may also
be colored to make them appear to be something they are not. Moths and butterflies
often have coloration that makes their wings look like eyes. Animals also adapt to their
environment. Giraffes developed long necks to allow them to reach food at the tops
of trees. Arctic foxes have snow white coats during the winter which they shed to
reveal a light brown coat for the summer monthsVocabulary: