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Notes for teachers

This lesson is designed to serve as a culminating activity for an animal adaptations unit, AFTER students understand that adaptations are something that occur over time - this lesson is used to demonstrate that they understand that adaptations are features that help animals survive, and to have them design a “new” animal and apply their knowledge to this new species

This lesson presumes that students have already learned about different types of habitats and have a basic understanding of the features of those environments

List of Materials

Paper
Pencils/colored pencils
Computer w/ internet access
Access to a website that students can design on

I find Canva to be very easy for students to navigate, but programs like Google Slides, PowerPoint, etc. can work too

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AZ Science Standards

4.L4U1.11 - Analyze and interpret environmental data to demonstrate that species either adapt and survive or go extinct over time.

AZ Educational Technology Standards

Standard 1: Empowered Learner - Students leverage technology to take an active role in choosing, achieving, and demonstrating competency in their learning goals, informed by the learning sciences.

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National Science Standards

4-LS1-1: Structure and Function

Standard: Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.
Alignment: Students analyze current adaptations and then design new adaptations (structures) for their animal to survive in a different environment (function). By justifying why their specific design choices (e.g., "thick fur for cold") help the animal survive, they are constructing this argument.

National Educational Technology Standards

ISTE Standards

1.4 Innovative Designer

Standard: Students use a variety of technologies within a design process to identify and solve problems by creating new, useful, or imaginative solutions.
Alignment: Students are solving a "problem" (survival in a new environment) by designing an imaginative solution (a new animal species) and visualizing it using digital design tools.

1.6 Creative Communicator

Standard: Students communicate clearly and express themselves creatively for a variety of purposes using the platforms, tools, styles, formats, and digital media appropriate to their goals.
Alignment: Students use digital platforms (like Canva or Slides) to create a visual artifact that communicates their animal's features and adaptations to an audience.

Common Core State Standards (ELA/Literacy)

The research, design justification, and presentation aspects of the project align with writing and speaking standards.

W.4.1: Opinion/Argument Writing

Standard: Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.
Alignment: When students explain why their chosen adaptations will allow the animal to survive in the new environment, they are effectively writing an argument supported by evidence (facts about the environment).

SL.4.4: Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas

Standard: Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes.
Alignment: Students present their new animal, describing its habitat and adaptations using the specific details they developed during the lesson.

SL.4.5: Multimedia Presentation

Standard: Add audio recordings and visual displays to presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.
Alignment: The requirement to create a visual representation of the animal using digital tools directly satisfies this standard.

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Objectives:

Students will be able to interpret information about an environment and design a new “species” that has adapted to survive in this environment
Students will be able to support the design choices (adaptations) of their new species with reasons that they will help their species survive
Students will be able to use technology to design and present their new “species”

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Agenda (60 minutes)

Pick animals and new environments (5 min)
Research adaptations (15 min)
Draft animals (10 min)
Design species on Canva (25 min)
Present species (5 min)

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Driving Question

How do species adapt to survive in their environment?

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Hands-on Activity Instructions

Each student will start with a “base” animal - they can pick it or it can be assigned.

example: Great white shark

Each student will be assigned a new environment - one that is completely different than the one their animal typically lives in.

example: Great white shark now must have adaptations to survive in the desert

Students will fill in a chart with the adaptations that animal has to survive in their current environment.

Students can research this information if needed

Current Adaptations	Potential Issues in New Environment
Torpedo shape to glide through water Gills to breathe underwater Fins to steer body
New Adaptations

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Hands-on Activity Instructions

Students will now think about potential issues that their animal will face in their new environment, and record these issues on their chart.

example: How will a shark move on land? How will they breathe?

After brainstorming potential issues, students should think of ways that their animal could “adapt” to their new environment, and fill this in on the chart.
Students will draw a “rough draft” of what their new species will look like with it’s new adaptations.

Current Adaptations	Potential Issues in New Environment
Torpedo shape to glide through water Gills to breathe underwater Fins to steer body	Needs to walk on land Needs arms to grab food Unable to breathe air with gills Needs water to stay damp and keep skin healthy
New Adaptations
Has 4 legs to move around on land Has a special set of lungs to breath on land Stores water in a pouch inside it’s fin to keep water available when needed

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Hands-on Activity Instructions

Once students have drafted out their new animal, they are ready to use technology to build it!
If using Canva (it’s free for educators and students!), have students create a new, blank presentation
Once opened, students can click on “elements” to explore backgrounds (the environment their new species lives in), shapes, and graphics such as eyes, hands, tails, etc.
Shapes and graphics are able to be changed in size, orientation, color, etc.
If a student cannot find what they are looking for in the search bar, they can use the “Draw” tab to draw it themselves

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Hands-on Activity Instructions

Once students have designed their animal on the computer, they should label their animal’s new adaptation and write what that adaptation’s purpose is.
After the designing and labeling has been completed, students will share their new animal with a group or with the class.
This can also be a time for students to discuss other potential problems and potential adaptations with their groups.

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Assessment

	1	2	3
Objective 1	Student chose adaptations that were not relevant to the new environment	Student chose adaptations that were only somewhat relevant to the new environment	Student evaluated the qualities of the new environment and chose adaptations relevant to that environment
Objective 2	Student created 0-1 different appropriate adaptations for their new species	Student created 2 different appropriate adaptations for their new species	Student created 3 or more different appropriate adaptations for their new species
Objective 3	Student did not use a wide variety of design options (i.e. only used drawing tool), or the rendering is unclear and confusing	Student used some variety of graphic design options when creating their new species, including shapes, graphics, text boxes, and arrows, which showed a somewhat clear rendering of their new species	Student used a wide variety of graphic design options when creating their new species, including shapes, graphics, text boxes, and arrows, which showed a clear rendering of their new species

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Differentiation

Provide a semi-filled in chart with examples of existing adaptations, potential problems, and new adaptations so that the student has a model to go off of

Remediation

Extension/Enrichment

Create a new species that can survive (simultaneously) in TWO different environments (e.g. the desert AND a tundra)