ALEX Classroom Resource

  

Where in the Wild?

  Classroom Resource Information  

Title:

 Where in the Wild?

URL:

 http://sciencenetlinks.com/lessons/where-in-the-wild/

Content Source:

 Science NetLinks
Type: Lesson/Unit Plan

Overview:

This lesson makes use of a book called Where in the Wild? Camouflaged Creatures Concealed and Revealed by David Schwartz and Yael Schy, with illustrations by Dwight Kuhn. In this lesson, students will gain an understanding that some animals have features that make them harder to find in their surroundings. Some use these features to hide from predators while others use them to help catch prey.

Content Standard(s):
English Language Arts
ELA2015 (2015)
Grade: 3
12 ) Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause and effect. [RI.3.3]

Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
ELA.AAS.3.12- Identify events, ideas, or steps in an informational text pertaining to time, sequence, or cause and effect.
English Language Arts
ELA2015 (2015)
Grade: 3
19 ) By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the Grades 2-3 text complexity band independently and proficiently. [RI.3.10]
Science
SC2015 (2015)
Grade: 3
10 ) Investigate how variations in characteristics among individuals of the same species may provide advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing (e.g., plants having larger thorns being less likely to be eaten by predators, animals having better camouflage coloration being more likely to survive and bear offspring).

NAEP Framework
NAEP Statement::
L4.4: When the environment changes, some plants and animals survive and reproduce; others die or move to new locations.

NAEP Statement::
L4.7: Different kinds of organisms have characteristics that enable them to survive in different environments. Individuals of the same kind differ in their characteristics, and sometimes the differences give individuals an advantage in surviving and reproducing.

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Planning and Carrying out Investigations
Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect
Disciplinary Core Idea: Unity and Diversity
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Identify given characteristics of a species (e.g., thorns on a plant).
  • Describe the patterns of variation of a given characteristic among individuals in a species (e.g., longer or shorter thorns on an individual plant).
  • Describe potential benefits of a given variation of a characteristic.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Investigate
  • Evidence
  • Explanation
  • Variation
  • Characteristics
  • Individuals
  • Species (plants and animals)
  • Advantages
  • Surviving
  • Finding mates
  • Reproducing
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Patterns of variation of a given characteristic among individuals in a species (e.g., longer or shorter thorns on individual plants, dark or light coloration of animals).
  • Potential benefits of a given variation of the characteristic (e.g. the light coloration of some moths makes them difficult to see on the bark of a tree).
  • Certain variations in characteristics makes it harder or easier for an animal to survive, find mates, and reproduce (e.g., longer thorns prevent predators more effectively and increase the likelihood of survival; light coloration of some moths provides camouflage in certain environments, making it more likely that they will live long enough to be able to mate and reproduce).
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Collaboratively investigate the variations in characteristics among individuals of the same species.
  • Describe evidence needed to explain the cause-and-effect relationship between a specific variation in a characteristic and its effect on the individual to survive, find mates, and reproduce.
  • Use reasoning to connect the evidence to support the explanation
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • Cause and effect relationships exist between a specific variation in a characteristic (e.g., longer thorns, coloration of moths) and its effect on the ability of the individual organism to survive and reproduce (e.g., plants with longer thorns are less likely to be eaten, darker moths are less likely to be seen and eaten on dark trees).
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Heredity and Diversity
Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.3.10- Sort common plants and animals by observable characteristics needed for survival.
Tags: adaptation, animals, camouflage, David Schwartz, Dwight Kuhn, survival, Where in the Wild Camouflaged Creatures Concealed and Revealed, Yael Schy
License Type: Custom Permission Type
See Terms: https://www.aaas.org/terms-of-use
For full descriptions of license types and a guide to usage, visit :
https://creativecommons.org/licenses
Accessibility
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  This resource provided by:  
Author: Stephanie Carver