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Animal Adaptations

Grade: _4__

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Driving Questions / Scenario (what are we trying to solve or improve?)

Create an animal from the WeDo kit that can survive in a made up environment/habitat.

***This can be done without WeDo kit, if it is not available at your school by building and designing animals with craft materials***

Project Summary

Students will be given a made-up environment/habitat. Based on that habitat, they must produce a made-up animal based on the WeDo kit that will survive in that habitat. The animal must include a sensor, motor, or both from the WeDo kit.

Note: Please make sure students have been introduced to the engineering process: Links here

Also a link to introductory lesson for any robot that is being utilized.

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Materials	Estimated Time	Standards
Robotic Version: Lego WeDo Kit, craft materials (popsicle sticks, feathers, straws, any recycled materials), planning page Non-Robotic Version: craft materials (popsicle sticks, feathers, straws, any recycled materials), planning page	4 days Day 1 - plan Day 2 - build Day 3 - revise Day 4 - share	4.L.1.2: Explain how animals meet their needs by using behaviors in response to information received from the environment.

Assessment Ideas
Formative - Planning sheet is complete and has appropriate adaptations listed

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Day One - Overview

Start of Lesson

Teacher gives an overview of the engineering process.
Key questions: What is an engineer? What does an engineer do?
Teacher introduces the task and materials
Consider a hook here (engaging students immediately in topic)

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Ask: 15__ min

Day One

Students start to brainstorm ideas and start thinking of different habitats and animals to create.

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Create: 40__ min

Based off of the information students wrote down about the animal/habitat they created, students will use the We-Do kit to create and build their animal.
If there is not a We-Do kit, students may start creating their non-robotic animal using materials supplied.

Day Two

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Plan: 45__ min

Day One

Students research and fill out the information about the animal and habitat they create.
Students can use this form to create their animal.

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Improve: 20__ min

Students see if they can build and create what they have envisioned in their mind. Students make improvements and tweak their animals as necessary to demonstrate behavioral and physical adaptations.

Day Two

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Create: 40 __ min

Use Lego WeDo kits and/or craft materials to finish constructing animal and making changes as necessary to modify their animal so that it demonstrates behavioral/ physical adaptations

Day Three

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Improve: _20_ min

Make adjustments as needed to animal so that it will be ready for presentations in your following session.

Day Three

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Final Day- Closure

Consider doing one of the following:

Students present their project to other students in the class through Seesaw, oral presentations, etc...
Add pictures of your class presenting and working on project to this google presentation.
Tweet to #MCSSTEM
Connect with other classrooms through Skype and Google Hangouts through the google presentation.
Blogging

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Content Curriculum Connections

ELA: Students can write expository stories about their animals that explain how their learned and instinctive behaviors help them survive in their environment.
S.S: Compare and contrast how Native Americans adapted to their environments with the animals that your students created and how they adapted to their environments.

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Extension Ideas

With the animals that students create, they could make a video of their creations that could be an advertisement for their zoo.
Set up a Skype session for students to go on a virtual field trip to a zoo.
Have zoologist, veterinarians , forest ranchers, marine biologists come in and talk or Skype to the class about animal behaviors and their physical adaptations.