7/28/2019 11-14yrs - Adaptations to Arid Habitats - Teachers Notes educatrion

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ADAPTATIONS TO ARID HABITATS Teachers Notes

Who is it for? 11-14 year olds

How long will it take? The presentation and experiment set up are ideal as an hour-longsession. The experiment can be left running overnight or until the nextclass, when the results and write up can take place.

Learning outcomes:

Students will learn about how different animals and plants are adapted to surviving in aridhabitats. Students will develop practical planning and investigative skills and will practice criticallyanalysing and evaluating evidence from their observations and experiments.

What do you need?

Interactive whiteboard or projector

Computer to connect to whiteboard or projector

ARKives Adaptations to Arid Habitats classroom presentation (PowerPoint)

Adaptations to Arid Habitats Worksheet 1 (one per student)

Adaptations to Arid Habitats Worksheet 2 (one per group)

One medium to large sponge per group (to be divided into four pieces)

Water (to soak sponges)

Selection of materials to simulate adaptations e.g., plastic bag or cling film as

waterproof skin; cardboard or other material to provide shade; washing up bowl or othercontainer to simulate a burrow

If a heat lamp or desk lamp is available you can use these to simulate sunshine;

otherwise, the sponges can be left in a warm, sunny spot (ensure there is natural light)

Weighing scales

Summary:

This creative and practical activity is designed to teach 11-14 year olds about the concept ofadaptation, looking specifically at how animals and plants are adapted to survive in arid habitats.

Students will learn the definition of adaptation, and why living organisms need adaptations tosurvive in their natural environment. Using Barrow Island in Australia as a case study, studentswill also learn the definition of an arid habitat and about the particular challenges that aridenvironments pose to living organisms.

Students will look at examples of mammals, amphibians, reptiles and plants and the specificadaptations that enable them to survive in arid habitats. Students will compare those speciesliving on Barrow Island with examples of species living in other arid habitats worldwide.

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Students will complete a worksheet that requires them to decide whether particular adaptationsare behavioural adaptations or physical adaptations, using examples given in the presentation.

Working in groups, students will then be asked to design and carry out experiment aimed attesting the effectiveness of different adaptations in reducing water loss. Students will leave theexperiment for at least 24 hours, and will collate and report their results in a written scientificreport.

Preparation guidelines:

1. Read through the instructions to make sure you understand the activity.2. Download the Adaptation to Arid Habitats PowerPoint presentation.3. Print out a set of Worksheet 1, one for each student in the class.4. Print out a set of Worksheet 2, one for each group.5. Assemble equipment for the adaptation experiment. Each group will need four sponges

(or a large sponge split into four equal pieces), access to weighing scales, and enoughequipment to simulate shade, waterproof skin and a burrow.

How to run the session:

1. Begin by introducing the concept of adaptations to arid habitats by working through theAdaptation to Arid Habitats PowerPoint presentation. See slide notes on the PowerPointpresentation for further guidance and information.

2. At the appropriate point during the presentation, hand out an Adaptations to AridHabitats Worksheet 1 to each student to fill in.

3. Once the students have completed the worksheet, run through the answers on thePowerPoint presentation as a class.

4. The last slide of the presentation introduces the experiment. Once you have explainedthe experiment to the students, ask them to divide into groups. Hand out an Adaptationsto Arid Habitats Worksheet 2 to each group and ask them to fill in the preliminaryquestions.

5. Hand out sponges and equipment and supervise the students setting up the experiment.If necessary, prompt the students as to how best to simulate the different adaptations, forexample by putting the sponge inside a plastic bag or cling film to simulate waterproofskin. Students will need to ensure that their experimental design is consistent; forexample, all the sponges should be soaked thoroughly, squeezed out to avoidoversaturation, and then weighed, and this treatment should be applied consistently forall adaptation simulations. Similarly, students will also need to consider the necessity fora control experiment.

6. Once the experiment has been set up, it should be left running overnight or until the nextclass. It is advisable to place the experiments in a sunny spot or under a heat lamp toensure that the best results are achieved. Save the worksheets as the students will need

these when collecting the results at the end of the experiment.7. In the next class, get the students to record the results and answer the remaining

questions on the last page of the worksheet. The students will be asked to produce agraph illustrating their results.

8. You may then want to ask the students to write up the experiment in full.

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Suggestions for extension activities:

Extension 1 - Design a Species

Ask the students to come up with their own imaginary species adapted to live in an arid habitat.Get the students to design a poster illustrating their species and labelling its different adaptations.

If desired, the students can then present their posters to the rest of the class.

Extension 2 - Camel Adaptations

Ask the students to research the different ways in which camels are adapted to living in deserthabitats. They can use the ARKive website, other online sources or books.

Ask the students to design a poster or create a presentation explaining the camels adaptationsand how they help it to survive.

Extension 3 Adaptation Comparison

In this activity, students have learned how animals are adapted to arid habitats, using BarrowIsland, Australia as a case study. For this extension activity, get students to consider other habitattypes, for example, polar, tundra, temperate, tropical, etc. Ask the students to pick a habitat typeand have them research a particular location (e.g. Polar/Arctic) in order to compile their own casestudies. Students should research the species that live in their chosen habitats and theadaptations they have evolved which allow them to thrive in their environment. Students can thenchoose how they wish to present their findings, for example, as a presentation, poster, writtenreport, or other format.