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Handout
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Curated OER

Animal Adaptations

For Students 3rd - 5th Standards
Young scientists explore the animal kingdom from the safety of the classroom with this short research project. After first choosing an animal, children use the Internet to discover where it lives, what it eats, and how it has adapted to...
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Lesson Plan
American Physiological Society

Sticky Adaptations A Lesson on Natural Selection

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Now you see it, now you don't! The stick bug exhibits the ability to disappear into a wooded environment. Why does this adaptation manifest in some species, but not in others? Life science students explore animal adaptations in nature...
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Lesson Plan
Alabama Wildlife Federation

Adapt-A-Bird

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Not every animal has the best features for its environment. Learners study the characteristics of birds and the implications of these characteristics as related to their environments. They use what they learn to create their own new...
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Lesson Plan
California Academy of Science

Coincidental Colonization

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
The Galápagos Islands are an amazing place of isolated adaptation, colonized by an interesting mix of plants and animals. The class plays a game to help them understand how these organisms came to live on the island through a combination...
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Interactive
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Recent Adaptations in Humans

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
You've probably spent plenty of time discussing animal adaptations with your young biologists, but what about human adaptations? Explore the evolving traits of humankind through an interactive that combines text and video clips. Scholars...
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Lesson Plan
Berkshire Museum

Camouflage!: Collecting Data and Concealing Color

For Teachers 2nd - 5th Standards
Help young scholars see the important role camouflage plays in the survival of animals with a fun science lesson. Starting with an outdoor activity, children take on the role of hungry birds as they search for worms represented by...
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Printables
Curated OER

Desert Animal Sorting

For Teachers Pre-K - 2nd Standards
What makes certain animals better suited for desert life than others? Explore the differences between desert and non-desert animals with this picture sorting activity. Be sure to print the worksheet in color so students can observe and...
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Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Adaptation and Evolution

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Um may be the atomic symbol for confusion, but it won't be needed in this instructional activity. Scholars rotate through seven stations completing experiments, hands-on activities, writing exercises, and analysis. Stations include...
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Lesson Plan
Staten Island Zoo

The African Savanna

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Are you thinking about taking your class to the local zoo? Kids of all ages love visiting exotic animals in order to learn about biodiversity, habitat, and animal adaptations. Here is a 44-page activity guide that provides educators with...
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Activity
It's About Time

Adaptations

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Congratulations! You exist, thanks to the wonders of biology and adaptations. The focus of the lesson explains many adaptations of plants and animals and how the environment has influenced the process. A hands-on activity demonstrates...
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Lesson Plan
Scholastic

Awesome Adaptations

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Engaged learners discover how an owl beak works and how animals adapt to their environment. This task is part one of a three-part series. 
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Activity
Umaine Museum of Art

Bony Fish Anatomy Worksheet

For Teachers 2nd - 5th Standards
Take time to appreciate the beauty in the anatomy of animals with this cross-curricular art and science activity. After viewing examples of fish-themed artwork, children complete the included worksheet by labeling the different parts of...
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Worksheet
Scholastic

Playing it Safe

For Students 1st - 4th
Take a look at some special animal defenses that marine creatures use by asking learners to complete this learning exercise. Pupils look at the drawing and match each animal to a description of its attribute. Learners then draw and name...
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Lesson Plan
Consortium for Ocean Science Exploration and Engagement (COSEE)

Fish Morphology

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
Life comes in all different shapes and sizes, and fish are no exception. Here, young scientists create fish prints as they learn how specific characteristics allow different species to survive in their particular habitats.
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Lesson Plan15:27
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

The Making of the Fittest: Evolving Switches, Evolving Bodies

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed Standards
How did the stickleback fish, which was once ocean bound, evolve to be able to persist in freshwater lakes? Hear from the scientists who identified the genes and related switches that allowed these survivors to adapt. In addition to the...
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Lesson Plan
National Wildlife Federation

Life in the Cold: Climate Challenges

For Teachers K - 8th Standards
What does it take to make it in the Arctic? Learners examine the cold weather adaptations of a polar bear that help it survive. With everyday objects, they model these characteristics as they become make-shift polar bears. Modeling helps...
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Interactive
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Sorting Finch Species

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Don't just tell your class about Darwin's finches ... show them! Sort some of science's most famous birds using an interactive lesson. Learners try their hand at classifying finches using song, sonogram, and beak appearance, as well as...
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Activity
1
1
Curated OER

What Are Cells?

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Energize the cells of young biologists with an edible life science activity. Engaging students in exploring the inner workings of plant and animal cells, this activity involves using colored jello and various sweet and tasty treats to...
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Unit Plan
1
1
Curated OER

Artificial Selection

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
The second lesson in the series begins with a starter activity discussing wild versus domesticated animals. Then, scholars play a card game, with optional variations, to emphasize artificial selection. Next, they attend a field trip to a...
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Lesson Plan
Pace University

Grade 6-8 Living Things

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
What characterizes a living thing? Scholars explore the concept during a differentiated instruction unit on living things. They perform lab experiments to determine how animals adapt to stimuli, watch videos and learn about...
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Lesson Plan
Science Matters

Blubber Gloves: It’s All About Insulation

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Instill the concept of adaptation with the help of Blubber Gloves—ziplock bags, shortening, and duct tape. Scholars discuss how animals and plants keep warm in polar regions, record their predictions, and try on their Blubber Gloves to...
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Lesson Plan
Alabama Wildlife Federation

Fill the Bill

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
A hummingbird isn't the only bird with a unique beak. After a discussion about the specific characteristics of bird beaks, pupils complete a station rotation and use different tools to simulate the function of different beaks. They...
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Unit Plan
University of Southern California

What Lives In The Ocean?

For Students 4th - 8th
One of the most diverse environments on Earth is the ocean. Young scientists explore the living things found in the ocean during an exciting seven-lesson unit. Their study includes organisms from plankton to invertebrates and vertebrates...
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Interactive
1
1
NOAA

Tides

For Students 6th - 12th
Sometimes low, sometimes high, but always in motion! Explore Earth's tidal system in the 10th interactive in a series of 13. Engaging life and earth science students alike, the versatile resource demonstrates cause and effect between...

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