Penguin Adaptations
Penguin Adaptations Penguin Shores Grade Levels Grades 3-5
Engage This activity is designed to start your students in recognizing themselves as scientists and thinking critically about problem-solving. The goal is to teach concepts through discovery and to encourage using scientific thought processes. As with all lessons provided, please feel free to adapt them according to your students’ abilities. You may find it more successful to lead activities and discussions as a whole group rather than using individual Research Plan sheets. Certain scientific vocabulary may or may not be appropriate for your students’ level of understanding. Take these ideas, make them your own and your students will have a greater chance at success. How do the adaptations of penguins and birds differ to reflect the habitats in which they live? 1. Begin this lesson by telling students that they will be investigating penguin and other aquatic bird adaptations. 2. If your students are familiar with brainstorming and recording their ideas, break them into small groups. If your students need more guidance, work with them as a large group. Engage your students in a discussion of what they predict the answer to this question to be. More importantly, why do they think this? Explore 3. Continue with the above discussion and encourage the group to come up with ways that they could investigate the question and test their predictions scientifically (all suggestions are welcomed). Are there materials that would help them find the answer? Should they be making observations? What will they do with the information once they have it? And how will they know that they’ve successfully answered the question? Allow a wide variety of ideas and encourage conversation amongst the students to refine the details of their ideas. 4. Ideas should be recorded on the Research Plan sheets. Small groups can record their own answers or you can record ideas as a group. Explain 5. Explain to the group that you have an activity that might help to give them some insight in to the situation. Start the activity by giving the example of blubber as an adaptation of some animals like penguins that live in cold climates. Blubber helps the penguin survive by providing warmth and protection from the cold ocean waters. (Note: Be sure students understand that not all penguin species live in cold temperatures. Some penguins, like Galapagos penguins, live in warm climates.)
Tell the students they are about to do an experiment that will help them understand what it might feel like to have blubber as an adaptation. Use the materials listed at the end of this lesson to begin the experiment. 6. Spoon the shortening into one plastic bag. Turn an additional plastic bag inside out and place it in the bag with the shortening. Zip the two bags together, forming a pocket in the center. Evenly spread the shortening between the bag layers by gently squeezing. Repeat step 3 with the two remaining bags and no shortening. 7. Have a student in each group place one hand inside each bag. Secure each bag onto the student’s hand by placing a rubber band around the opening. Instruct the student to dip both hands into the ice water and determine which hand is kept warmer. (The hand in the “blubber mitt” will feel warmer.) 8. Repeat, allowing each student an opportunity to test the blubber mitts and make observations. 9. Conclude the lesson by discussing the students’ questions and observations. Ask students, “How did the experiment help you to understand how blubber helps a penguin survive in cold environments?” 10. Challenge students to investigate other adaptations that help penguins survive, and make a list of every penguin adaptation they can think of. Like the blubber example, this can be anything special about an animal that makes it unique and helps it to survive. 11. Allow the students to make their lists, and then discuss together. You may make a master list on the board for everyone to see. 12. Next, compare how some of the characteristics may differ between penguins and other birds that live in different environments (ex. Ohio waterfowl) 13. Students will need to explore a range of different materials that may be available to them in order to learn about the similarities and differences between penguins and Ohio waterfowl, as well as the habitats in which they live. 14. When students have completed their research, ask them to answer the following questions for each of the adaptations on their list. a. How would this adaptation help the penguin survive within its natural environment? b. Would this adaptation help or hinder the penguin if it lived in a different habitat that might be like the environment where Ohio waterfowl live? 15. Repeat above questions for the Ohio waterfowl adaptations. Have the students build on these questions to determine whether the form and function of a specific adaptation might help them to survive in their specific habitat.
Expand 16. As the students think about the situations that they have just seen through the activity, have them reflect on what happened. 17. Discuss this situation further with the students. How easy or difficult would it be for a penguin to survive in a different habitat? Would they be able to survive in the wild in Ohio? Why or why not? Would other birds like waterfowl that live in Ohio be able to survive in environments where penguins are found? Why or why not? 18. Brainstorm ideas for possible ways a penguin might be able to survive in a foreign habitat. 19. Feel free to repeat the activity in any number of ways with any number of situations that your students can come up with.
Assess 20. Was the outcome the same as what they had predicted? Was the fact that the penguin’s adaptations fit specifically for their environment something that they had thought of before the activity? 21. If the students are working in small groups, observe their work and review what they are writing on the Research Plan. If working as a whole group, fill in the Research Plan together. Materials ( for each small group) 4 quart-size re-sealable (Ziploc) plastic bags 1½ cups solid vegetable shortening Large dishpan of ice water 2 rubber bands Spoon Paper towels (for cleanup) Standards
Ohio Academic Content Standards Grades 3-5 Life Science(LS): Behavior, Growth and Changes • Plants and animals have life cycles that are part of the adaptations for survival in their natural environments.
National Science Education Standards Grades 3-5 Science as Inquiry Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry Understanding about scientific inquiry Life Science Characteristics of organisms Organisms and environments Diversity and adaptations of organisms
Name: _________________________
Research Plan – Penguin Adaptations 1. Questioning State the problem. Make a hypothesis.
2. Planning Make a plan by asking these questions (think, talk, write)
3. Implementing Gather the materials. Follow the procedures.
4. Concluding Draw a conclusion.
5. Reporting Share my results (informal) Produce a report
How do adaptations of penguins and other birds differ to reflect the habitats in which they live?
Engage This activity is designed to start your students in recognizing themselves as scientists and thinking critically about problem-solving. The goal is to teach concepts through discovery and to encourage using scientific thought processes. As with all lessons provided, please feel free to adapt them according to your students’ abilities. You may find it more successful to lead activities and discussions as a whole group rather than using individual Research Plan sheets. Certain scientific vocabulary may or may not be appropriate for your students’ level of understanding. Take these ideas, make them your own and your students will have a greater chance at success. How do the adaptations of penguins and birds differ to reflect the habitats in which they live? 1. Begin this lesson by telling students that they will be investigating penguin and other aquatic bird adaptations. 2. If your students are familiar with brainstorming and recording their ideas, break them into small groups. If your students need more guidance, work with them as a large group. Engage your students in a discussion of what they predict the answer to this question to be. More importantly, why do they think this? Explore 3. Continue with the above discussion and encourage the group to come up with ways that they could investigate the question and test their predictions scientifically (all suggestions are welcomed). Are there materials that would help them find the answer? Should they be making observations? What will they do with the information once they have it? And how will they know that they’ve successfully answered the question? Allow a wide variety of ideas and encourage conversation amongst the students to refine the details of their ideas. 4. Ideas should be recorded on the Research Plan sheets. Small groups can record their own answers or you can record ideas as a group. Explain 5. Explain to the group that you have an activity that might help to give them some insight in to the situation. Start the activity by giving the example of blubber as an adaptation of some animals like penguins that live in cold climates. Blubber helps the penguin survive by providing warmth and protection from the cold ocean waters. (Note: Be sure students understand that not all penguin species live in cold temperatures. Some penguins, like Galapagos penguins, live in warm climates.)
Tell the students they are about to do an experiment that will help them understand what it might feel like to have blubber as an adaptation. Use the materials listed at the end of this lesson to begin the experiment. 6. Spoon the shortening into one plastic bag. Turn an additional plastic bag inside out and place it in the bag with the shortening. Zip the two bags together, forming a pocket in the center. Evenly spread the shortening between the bag layers by gently squeezing. Repeat step 3 with the two remaining bags and no shortening. 7. Have a student in each group place one hand inside each bag. Secure each bag onto the student’s hand by placing a rubber band around the opening. Instruct the student to dip both hands into the ice water and determine which hand is kept warmer. (The hand in the “blubber mitt” will feel warmer.) 8. Repeat, allowing each student an opportunity to test the blubber mitts and make observations. 9. Conclude the lesson by discussing the students’ questions and observations. Ask students, “How did the experiment help you to understand how blubber helps a penguin survive in cold environments?” 10. Challenge students to investigate other adaptations that help penguins survive, and make a list of every penguin adaptation they can think of. Like the blubber example, this can be anything special about an animal that makes it unique and helps it to survive. 11. Allow the students to make their lists, and then discuss together. You may make a master list on the board for everyone to see. 12. Next, compare how some of the characteristics may differ between penguins and other birds that live in different environments (ex. Ohio waterfowl) 13. Students will need to explore a range of different materials that may be available to them in order to learn about the similarities and differences between penguins and Ohio waterfowl, as well as the habitats in which they live. 14. When students have completed their research, ask them to answer the following questions for each of the adaptations on their list. a. How would this adaptation help the penguin survive within its natural environment? b. Would this adaptation help or hinder the penguin if it lived in a different habitat that might be like the environment where Ohio waterfowl live? 15. Repeat above questions for the Ohio waterfowl adaptations. Have the students build on these questions to determine whether the form and function of a specific adaptation might help them to survive in their specific habitat.
Expand 16. As the students think about the situations that they have just seen through the activity, have them reflect on what happened. 17. Discuss this situation further with the students. How easy or difficult would it be for a penguin to survive in a different habitat? Would they be able to survive in the wild in Ohio? Why or why not? Would other birds like waterfowl that live in Ohio be able to survive in environments where penguins are found? Why or why not? 18. Brainstorm ideas for possible ways a penguin might be able to survive in a foreign habitat. 19. Feel free to repeat the activity in any number of ways with any number of situations that your students can come up with.
Assess 20. Was the outcome the same as what they had predicted? Was the fact that the penguin’s adaptations fit specifically for their environment something that they had thought of before the activity? 21. If the students are working in small groups, observe their work and review what they are writing on the Research Plan. If working as a whole group, fill in the Research Plan together. Materials ( for each small group) 4 quart-size re-sealable (Ziploc) plastic bags 1½ cups solid vegetable shortening Large dishpan of ice water 2 rubber bands Spoon Paper towels (for cleanup) Standards
Ohio Academic Content Standards Grades 3-5 Life Science(LS): Behavior, Growth and Changes • Plants and animals have life cycles that are part of the adaptations for survival in their natural environments.
National Science Education Standards Grades 3-5 Science as Inquiry Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry Understanding about scientific inquiry Life Science Characteristics of organisms Organisms and environments Diversity and adaptations of organisms
Name: _________________________
Research Plan – Penguin Adaptations 1. Questioning State the problem. Make a hypothesis.
2. Planning Make a plan by asking these questions (think, talk, write)
3. Implementing Gather the materials. Follow the procedures.
4. Concluding Draw a conclusion.
5. Reporting Share my results (informal) Produce a report
How do adaptations of penguins and other birds differ to reflect the habitats in which they live?
