How do animals protect themselves?
By: Rachel Connelly
A. Standards
- 6.3.2 Summarize the basic functions of the structures of animals that allow them
to defend themselves, to move, and to obtain resources.
B. Performance Objectives
- The students should be able to summarize the basic functions of animal
structures (defense).
- The students should be able to identify individual animal structures of defense
and their primary functions.
C. Hook
- What is your favorite animal?
D. Materials
for each group
- Stuffed, Taxidermy, or Plastic Animals
for each student
- Defense Activity Packet
E. Body of the Lesson Plan
Concept Exploration
The teacher asks the following questions:
I. What is your favorite animal?
Target Response:
Any Insect or Animal
II. Why do you like it so much? (you can skip this question and go straight
to the next question)
Target Response:
Anything here just trying to see how much they know about their
animal
III. Why does your favorite animal have certain features and structures?
Target Response:
Wings – flying, getting away, collecting food
Legs – moving, getting away
Fur – keeping warm
Claws – protecting, ripping apart things
Teeth – eating, ripping things, biting, protecting
Ears – hearing far away
Color – camouflage, mimicry
Thick Skin – protection, keep from dehydrating
Many more….
How do animals protect themselves?
By: Rachel Connelly
For question III you can also give or take an example from the favorite
animal question to help tie things together. For example you say butterfly and ask
them how would I draw a butterfly on the board, what kind of features and
structures would the butterfly need (add on as they say the features). Then they
would say spots, pretty colors, wings, and then you would ask well what would
the butterfly use that for. Trying to get them to say the above responses such as
flying, getting away, collecting food, camouflage, or mimicry. After the students
have had time to explore, the teacher focuses the students’ attention to think about
how the animal protects itself (also can tie in earlier when thinking about features
and structures).
Concept Introduction
At this stage of the lesson the teacher explains that each animal has different
structures that help it to survive in its environment (just like the example that was
given at the end of the exploration of this activity). The teacher will then
introduce the scientific concepts of defense, by writing them on the board (or in
powerpoint). The students will then be asked the following questions and use the
‘new’ vocabulary to help explain their observations (might want to have students
write this word in their notebook somewhere as a reference later).
Defense – how animals protect themselves
The teacher asks students the following question:
What types of structures do the animals use for defense and what are their
functions?
Target Response:
Spikes, teeth, horns, whip tails, big tails, poison, puffing up to look
bigger (change in size), camouflage (skin color), emitting odor
(smell), spray, plates, playing dead, running fast, burrowing, claws,
quills, stingers, venom, shells, emitting body fluids (ink), speed,
jumping, wings, climbing, paws, nails.
You can help the students a lot here by putting pictures up on the powerpoint or
board (instead of just making them list, might want to put the list on the board).
This way they can see and remember that this animal has this certain type of
defense, plus it gets children more excited about the lesson.
F. Concept Application
The teacher then splits the class up into groups of 3 or 4, provides the students
with animals for exploration, and hands out the Defense Activity Packet. The
students are required to make observations about the animals on their desks. The
students will be allowed three minutes (could be five minutes depending on class
and how much time you have) with each animal and asked to write down as many
observations as they can. After the three minutes are up the teacher moves the
animals clockwise to the next table, that way no confusion of students getting up
and not knowing where to go. Note: each group does not have to do every animal,
How do animals protect themselves?
By: Rachel Connelly
this way then discussing it afterwards you do not get all the same responses. The
teacher now leads a discussion about what they observed about the animals, and
asks the question do all of these animals protect themselves the same way.
G. Evaluation
The students are then asked to flip to the second sheet in their Defense Activity
Packet. This worksheet can either be done for homework, as a class, or in class
individually or group. Here you can explain that they need to use the observations
that they made earlier. They write down the name of one animal, put a structure of
defense (can be an observation), and then the function of defense. Note: you
might want to go over a few examples just so the students understand how to fill
out the chart. Example: Elephant, Trunk, Grabbing things/Hitting things. This
sheet can be turned in for a grade or discussed orally depending on the length of
class.