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Handout
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

Adaptations – Designs for Survival

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
What's the difference between behavioral adaptations and physical adaptations? Learn about the various ways that organisms adapt to their environment with a worksheet about the creatures of the Hudson River.
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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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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Is That a Bird in Your Hat?

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders imagine they find an injured bird. They create a clay bird and nest to stimulate creative writing. The lesson includes an integrated week-long art, science, and writing activity.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Change or Adaptation

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students identify the adaptive forces in the life cycle of plants, animals, and humans, isolate and identify the role that change and adaptation play in extreme environments and research and write a short term paper using MLA citations.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hawaiian Bird Beak Adaptation

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Learners explore adaptation by participating in a lab activity. In this bird characteristics lesson, students discuss the different purposes birds have for their beaks and conduct an experiment testing which beaks collect food best....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Legendary Raptors

For Teachers 9th - 12th
How are raptors and airplanes alike? Combine science and language arts in this fun and interactive project. Young scientists research the animal in order to design their own aircraft, and compete in a contest for farthest, fastest, and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Meet One Picky Bird

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students complete a research project  In this endangered species lesson, students use the "Think, Puzzle, Explore" method to learn about endangered species. Students research and write a report on the red-cockaded woodpecker.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"For the Birds" [part I]

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Students identify birds that appear in Chinese and Japanese art, learning about their physical characteristics, classifying them according to scientific principles, and exploring their habitats and migration patterns. This is part one...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Birds & Caterpillars

For Students 6th - 9th
In this biology learning exercise, learners explain the use of camouflage as a defense mechanism. Then they list examples of insects that use camouflage to protect them from predators. Students also identify and name other types of...
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Lesson Plan
University of Kentucky

The Great Spider Debate

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Poor, misunderstood spiders! They are feared, disrespected, and detested by many people, yet they do so many positive things. A great addition to any insect unit, learn about some of the more common spiders, while hopefully dispelling...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Specialized Structures and Environments

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders explore biology by completing an Internet activity in class. For this adaptation lesson, 5th graders identify several organisms and mammals that fight for their existence through slow changes to their anatomy over the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Feathers for Lunch Lesson Plan

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students discover different types of birds and the habitats in which the dwell. In this bird lesson, students read Feathers for Lunch, discuss bird facts, and build a bird habitat.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Biodiversity Bird Hunt

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine the influence of biodiversity on human culture through the use of birds. They brainstorm words that come to mind when they think of human cultures. They describe ways that human culture and biodiversity are linked.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

The Great Horned Owl

For Students 3rd - 5th
In this recognizing facts about the Great Horned Owl worksheet, students read fun facts, match illustrations with adaptations, sequence life cycle cards, and read what to do if they find an injured bird. Students solve 16 answers.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What is a Raptor?

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students explore, analyze and discover the characteristics of raptors and generate a word bank for owls and raptors. They identify attributes shared by raptors and practice various key vocabulary words to master and utilize in sentence...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Choose Your Defense: Spines, Vomit and Camouflage

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate defensive mechanisms of insects and organisms.  For this biology lesson, students draw imaginary caterpillars as well as imaginary parasites that will harm the caterpillar.  Students utilize the Internet to discover...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Diamonte Writing

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students discover poetry while practicing their storytelling skills.  In this language arts lesson, students read diamonte and acrostic poems written by other students on the Internet.  Students create their own narrative stories about a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Wetland Metaphors

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students describe the characteristics of wetlands and identify their ecological functions. They inspect items and use them to create metaphors about wetlands.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Designasaurus: Modeling Activity for a Paleoartist

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students create and draw fictional dinosaurs. They write a description of their dinosaur.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Animals Antonyms and Synonyms Worksheet

For Students 3rd - 6th
Create a cross-curricular connection for your upper elementary language arts kids. There are 15 vocabulary words listed in the chart, and each has to do with exploring different ecosystems. For each word, the learner must find an antonym...
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Lesson Plan
Field Museum

The Case of Darwin's Finches

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
One of the most striking pieces of evidence for Darwin's Evolution of Species was his observations of finches and how their beaks differed from island to island, depending on their primary food sources. So what would happen to the theory...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Year (a Day or a Week) In My Life as a Shorebird

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students describe the basic life history of one shorebird common to their area. They use the writing process which includes brainstorming, rough draft writing, peer editing, and re-writing to create a factually and grammatically...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Animal Facts

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders list five facts about an assigned animal, and complete a bird beak activity, using pliers, blunt pencils, forceps, clothespins, and a spoon that represent different types of beaks; students complete chart showing best type...
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Worksheet
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Curated OER

Comparing Human and Avian Skeletons

For Students 5th - 8th
In this human and avian skeleton review activity, students read about both skeletal systems and respond to 10 fill in the blank and drawing questions.