ANIMAL ADAPTATIONS SIMULATION

ANIMAL ADAPTATIONSSIMULATIONThe Survival Island Experiment

INSTRUCTIONAL PURPOSETo provide students with a simulated experience that builds a conceptual understanding of animal adaptations.To provide students with a frame of reference about animal adaptations with which to make connections to the content knowledge and vocabulary.To provide students with a scientific investigation that engages critical thinking and deductive reasoning.

1THE SURVIVAL ISLAND EXPERIMENTYou have been recruited to assist the United States Institute of Biological Studies (USIBS) in testing the survival skills of three new species of animals recently found in the Amazon rainforest.

DO YOU ACCEPT THIS MISSION?

YOUR MISSIONYou are to observe these species in a new, isolate environment. Several of each species will be relocated to Survival Island where no other animal life exist. On the island, you will observe and record each species ability to hunt and collect the one and only available food source, quinoa. You will collect and report your findings on these species to the USIBS only.

Lets proceed. . .

MEET THE NEW SPECIES

FORKULAAlthough this creature has very sharp, pointy spikes. It may be very clumsy transporting food to its home. These creatures their spikes to make their homes up in the trees.4MEET THE NEW SPECIESSPOONIKThis creature has a mild temperament and can be very thoughtful when it comes to hunting for its food. They use their digging capabilities to make their homes in burrows underground.

MEET THE NEW SPECIESSTICKETTEThis friendly creature enjoys being around and working with others of its kind. These slim creatures find their homes in bushes and ground vegetation.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN FOR THIS SIMULATION,Each table will receive:Regions on the Island (tray)Quinoa (beads)Equal Number of Each Species (utensils) Home for Each Species (placement of cups)Data Record SheetsMatching colored cups and spoons can be purchased at PartyCity. Beads, wooden sticks, and clothes pins available at Wal-Mart. Box lids or cookie sheets make great trays.

Place the Forkulas home/cup on a stack of books, the Spooniks home/cup in a chair, and the Stickettes home/cup on the desk leveled with the tray.Try to create equal spacing from the box for all species homes.

WAYS TO EXTEND EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNDifferent colored beads can have various values A different colored bead can be the primary food for each speciesSome beads can represent poison and have no valueFor every poisonous bead collected, two food beads are subtractedIncrease math to percentages by species, by colorInjure some of the creatures7EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN Each group will conduct a 1-minute hunting trial.During the trial, each species will try to collect as much food as possible without using the sides of the tray and take it to each species home.Remember the species descriptions.At the end of the trial, each species will record how much food they were able to collect.At the end of the trials, we will do a whole class count of each species. Depending on the grade level you are teaching, you may want to discuss the characteristics of each species again. Remind students that they can not use the sides of the tray and they can not move their homes.Any food dropped in transit must be pickup(by hand) and returned to the tray. You may want to have some sort of stop signal (whistle, bell, etc.) and be sure that all students are aware of your signal because it can get loud.If you can have another adult assist, that would be best to ensure fair hunting.Once finished, you may want to have calculators available or give tips on how to best keep track of their data. The numbers will be large.Keep a data sheet for yourself as you walk around and talk to each group. As students are finishing their counting, discuss with the small groups why they believe they got their data. Especially focus on your lower performing students so that they have confidence to participate in the whole group discussion.You will have to take the PPT out of Slide Show in order to edit the data for the graph.

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When timer gets to 00:00, count quinoa and record data.9Using this PowerPoint break timer

This PowerPoint slide uses images, custom animation, and timing to provide a countdown timer that you can use in any presentation. When you open the template, youll notice that the timer is set at 00:00. However, when you start the slide show, the timer will start at 1 minute and count down by 10-second intervals until it gets to 00:00.

To insert this slide into your presentation

Save this template as a presentation (.ppt file) on your computer. Open the presentation that will contain the timer. On the Slides tab, place your insertion point after the slide that will precede the timer. (Make sure you don't select a slide. Your insertion point should be between the slides.) On the Insert menu, click Slides from Files. In the Slide Finder dialog box, click the Find Presentation tab. Click Browse, locate and select the timer presentation, and then click Open. In the Slides from Files dialog box, select the timer slide. Select the Keep source formatting check box. If you do not select this check box, the copied slide will inherit the design of the slide that precedes it in the presentation. Click Insert. Click Close.

DATA COLLECTIONDATA ANALYSISWhich species will most likely survive the longest and/or produce the most offspring in this environment?What adaptation features made these species so successful?Which species are less likely to survive very long in this environment?What features does this species possess that make it difficult for it to hunt food more successfully?Learned Behavioral AdaptationsThe Owl TransformerPhysical Adaptations Develop Over TimeWhen The Traits Are Present in the Population

Depending on the grade level and readiness level of the students, you may select to discuss with students HOW physical adaptations develop briefly (over many generations) or in detail (OMG through natural selection of present traits).From the SOL LS Framework: There are many misconceptions about evolution; therefore teachers must be careful to be accurate in their presentation of this scientific theory. One common misconception among students is that they believe that environmental influences on an organism produce changes in that organism that can be passed on to offspring. However, selection can only work through the genetic variation that is already present in the population.

13What adaptations might Stickette develop in order to be a more successful hunter?PHYSICAL(Structural)BEHAVIOR(Behavioral)14AFTER AN ADAPTATION

Over many generations, Stickette was able to survive and developed a physical adaptation so it could gather food more successfully in its environment. Stickette is now Clipette!!Tell the students that they will now be repeating the experiment. This time they will use Clipette instead of Stickette. Explain that organisms are not typically given a new name because of their adaptations; we are doing so to provide distinction between the before and after.Again, the students will have one minute. Be sure that students understand your stop signal.

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When timer gets to 00:00, count quinoa and record data.16Using this PowerPoint break timer

This PowerPoint slide uses images, custom animation, and timing to provide a countdown timer that you can use in any presentation. When you open the template, youll notice that the timer is set at 00:00. However, when you start the slide show, the timer will start at 1 minute and count down by 10-second intervals until it gets to 00:00.

To insert this slide into your presentation

Save this template as a presentation (.ppt file) on your computer. Open the presentation that will contain the timer. On the Slides tab, place your insertion point after the slide that will precede the timer. (Make sure you don't select a slide. Your insertion point should be between the slides.) On the Insert menu, click Slides from Files. In the Slide Finder dialog box, click the Find Presentation tab. Click Browse, locate and select the timer presentation, and then click Open. In the Slides from Files dialog box, select the timer slide. Select the Keep source formatting check box. If you do not select this check box, the copied slide will inherit the design of the slide that precedes it in the presentation. Click Insert. Click Close.

DATA ANALYSIS AFTER THE ADAPTATION17ADAPTATION SIMULATION ANALYSIS & REFLECTIONHow does the Stickettes trial(s) compare to the newly adapted Clipettes trial(s)?Did this adaptation enable this species to be more successful at hunting in this given environment?Can you think of a better way the Stickette could have adapted in order to be more successful at hunting? Describe those adaptations and draw an example with labels.

Having students write their ideas down before discussion provides for better articulation and depth of the discussion.Have students present their ideas and discuss why they feel that this would be a good adaptation. This is a great thinking piece. Even if you dont have time to do the illustrations, spend time doing the discussion. You will be amazed at the level of thinking you can get from your students.You can extend this activity by repeating each trial three times. This reinforces experimental validity.You can also extend this activity by allowing the students to create physical representations of the adaptation(s) they think are better and run trials.

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