© Learning A–Z All rights reserved. www.sciencea-z.com 1 ADAPTATIONS UNIT OVERV

© Learning A–Z All rights reserved. www.sciencea-z.com 1 ADAPTATIONS UNIT OVERVIEW  All living things change. Over long periods of time, species must gradually adapt to meet the challenges of their environment or they will not survive. The Adaptations unit helps students explore how and why plants, animals (including humans), and other organisms adapt to their environment. It addresses the difference between physical and behavioral adaptations as well as distinguishing between behaviors that are instinctive and those that are learned. Certain reading resources are provided at three reading levels within the unit to support differentiated instruction. Other resources are provided as a set, with different titles offered at each reading level. Dots on student resources indicate the reading level as follows: low reading level middle reading level high reading level THE BIG IDEA  Plants and animals, including humans, have to adapt to changes in the environment. These changes can range from global to microscopic and may include changes in the climate, the population of other species sharing the same habitat, and the availability of essential resources for survival. Physical adaptations are natural occurrences, not deliberate choices. Behavioral adaptations are usually responses to environmental conditions and are not momentary decisions made by individuals. Some adaptations turn out to be successful, and others do not. Only those organisms that adapt successfully survive and pass on their genes to future generations. Many different adaptations are often successful, which has led to incredible diversity in nature. Organisms are affected by their environment, but they also affect their environment. Over the course of this unit, students may consider the effect that human activity has on nature and how plants and animals have to adapt to changes in ecosystems and environments caused by modern society. Other topics This unit also addresses topics such as: how species adapt to extreme environments, plant behavior, animal communication and camouflage, human impact of natural selection, and how dog breeds are designed. © Learning A–Z All rights reserved. www.sciencea-z.com 2 UNIT GUIDE Adaptations SPARK  The spark is designed to get students thinking about the unit’s topics and to generate curiosity and discussion. Materials n paper and pencil Activity Place students in pairs. Have them take turns telling their partner their favorite food without speaking or writing. They may use any other method, which may include drawing the food in the air or on paper, making one’s body take on the shape of the food, using sign language, or displaying an image of the food on a computer screen. Give the pairs a few moments to plan how they will communicate with each other. Invite paired volunteers to attempt the task in front of the class. Encourage the rest of the class to observe the methods used. Below are questions to spark discussion. If you could no longer speak, how would you communicate? Why? If we gradually lost the ability to speak over thousands of years, do you think anything would change about our behavior or our bodies? How do animals communicate? Do you think any animals will ever learn to speak? Why or why not? If so, how? Use this activity to begin an introductory discussion about adaptations. Explain that organisms adapt as their needs change. But unlike this activity, changes in nature usually happen very slowly—over many thousands or even millions of years—which gives each plant or animal species a long time to adapt to the change. Throughout the unit, students will learn more about adaptations. Many of the unit’s vocabulary terms are related to the spark activity and can be introduced during the spark. For vocabulary work, see the Vocabulary section in this Unit Guide. PRIOR KNOWLEDGE  Invite students to explain their understanding of what it means to adapt and to identify any familiar adaptations. Discuss what would happen to plant and animal species if they did not adapt. Probing Questions to Think About Use the following questions to have students begin thinking of what they know about adaptations. © Learning A–Z All rights reserved. www.sciencea-z.com 3 UNIT GUIDE Adaptations to change physical features or behaviors of a species in response to changes in the environment adapt (verb) © Learning A–Z All rights reserved. www.sciencea-z.com Adaptations Adaptations a specific change to a physical feature or behavior of a species that helps the species survive adaptation (noun) Adaptations Adaptations a way of reacting to a certain set of circumstances behavior (noun) Adaptations Adaptations WORD CARD DEFINITION CARD WORD CARD DEFINITION CARD WORD CARD DEFINITION CARD Cut or Fold $ $ n What is an example of an adaptation? n What types of things adapt? n Does an animal or a plant choose to adapt? Explain. n Do animals learn how to behave from their parents? Explain. n  What kinds of animal adaptations might occur if a new predator began to live in a habitat? n  What kinds of plant adaptations might occur if an area gradually became much drier? n  What kinds of adaptations might occur if there were a change in temperature? n Are adaptations always successful? Why or why not? Tell students they will learn more about these topics soon. UNIT MATERIALS  Each unit provides a wide variety of resources related to the unit topic. Students may read books and other passages, work in groups to complete hands-on experiments and investigations, discuss science ideas as a class, watch videos, complete writing tasks, and take assessments. Resources are available for printing or projecting, and many student resources are also available for students to access digitally on . Selected unit resources are available in more than one language. For a complete list of materials provided with the unit, see the Adaptations unit page on the Science A–Z website. VOCABULARY  Use the terms below for vocabulary development throughout the unit. They can be found in boldface in the Nonfiction Book, the Quick Reads, and/or other unit resources. These terms and definitions are available on Vocabulary Cards for student practice. Additional vocabulary lists are provided in the teaching tips for Investigation Packs and FOCUS Books. Core Science Terms These terms are crucial to understanding the unit. adapt  to change physical features or behaviors of a species in response to changes in the environment adaptation  a specific change to a physical feature or behavior of a species that helps the species survive behavior  a way of reacting to a certain set of circumstances characteristic a physical feature that helps identify an organism environment  all of the conditions affecting an organism in a specific area, including plants, animals, water, soil, weather, landforms, and air © Learning A–Z All rights reserved. www.sciencea-z.com 4 UNIT GUIDE Adaptations extinct no longer in existence habitat  the natural conditions and environment in which a plant or animal lives inherited  passed on from parent to child, as in a physical characteristic instinct  inherited behavior that leads animals of the same species to act certain ways in certain situations mutation  a change a living thing is born with that may alter how it grows and what it can do naturalist a person who studies plants and animals organism a living thing reflex a purely automatic response species  a group of related organisms with characteristics that distinguish them from other groups of organisms Other Key Science Terms The following vocabulary is not essential for comprehending the unit but may enrich students’ vocabulary. biome  a community of plants and animals that occupy a specific type of habitat blowhole  a hole at the top of a whale or dolphin’s head, through which it breathes canopy  the part of a forest where the tops of the trees form a dense layer of foliage drip tip  a long, pointed tip on a leaf of many rainforest plants that allows water to run off quickly echolocation  a method of locating objects using sound waves that are reflected back when they strike an object generation  all the organisms of a species born around the same time; the time between when a group of organisms and their offspring are born microorganism a very tiny, microscopic organism pod a group of dolphins that live together predator  an animal that hunts, kills, and eats other animals in order to survive prey an animal that a predator hunts and eats © Learning A–Z All rights reserved. www.sciencea-z.com 5 UNIT GUIDE Adaptations Visit www.sciencea-z.com Adaptations A Science A–Z Life Series Word Count: 1,877 www.sciencea-z.com Written by Ron Fridell Adaptations © Learning A–Z All rights reserved. www.sciencea-z.com Name _______________________________________________ Date ________________ ADAPTATIONS Crossword Across 1. all of the conditions affecting an organism in a specific area, including plants, animals, water, soil, weather, landforms, and air 2. a person who studies plants and animals 7. to change structures or behaviors to match changes in the environment 8. passed on from parent to child, as in a physical characteristic 9. a living thing Down 1. no longer in existence 3. a purely uploads/Ingenierie_Lourd/ adaptations-unit-guide 1 .pdf

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