by Pam Albrecht,CIT
Frances M. Rhodes Elementary, Northside ISD
"For Charles Darwin, the father of the theory of evolution of the species, the essential key to his concept of “survival of the fittest” was adaptability. In his theory, since all living things struggle unceasingly to survive, an organism’s survival response to changes in its environment makes all the difference.
Darwin reasoned that, over the course of millennia, plants and animals live and die in ever-changing environmental conditions. As an environment changes, say from warm to cold, the plants and animals that can best adapt are more likely to survive and persist into future generations.
This natural ability of living things to adjust and reconfigure as surrounding conditions change"* is called ADAPTATION.
*Seamon, Terrence. from http://learningvoyager.blogspot.com/2005/11/adaptability-there-is-new-species-at.html
As a founding member of the Rhodes Learning from
Animals club, you are aware that it is only through adaptations that animals
are able to survive in the world's changing climate and ecosystems. To
help recruit more members, your club has asked you to develop a presentation,
brochure or website that educates them about how animals adapt to their
environment and what we should learn from it. Because you are a pro at
what you do, you begin first with research............
Your task is
to prepare a presentation, brochure, or a website that informs others
of how many animals are having to adapt to their changing surroundings
in order to survive.:On
each slide/section, you should organize your presentation according to
the questions that you researched. (Verbal Linguistic) (ST)
Make a "rough draft" by making a slide/section of the project
for each question. (NT)
Don't forget your final section/slide must include how you plan to stabilize/increase
the population for your endangered animal.(Verbal Linguistic)(NF)
You may choose to….
Add clipart/photos
or drawings to your presentation to make it more visually appealing (Visual/Spatial)
Add music or sounds to enhance your presentation (Music/Rhythmic)
Use graphs or charts that you have found or made to demonstrate changes
in your animal's population or habitat (Logical/Mathematical)
Utilize information you learned on by interviewing a veternarian or other
life science professional or environmental activist. (Naturalist.) See
Mrs. Albrecht for how to "cite" this source.
Add a slide/section to show changes over time to your endangered animal
or habitat (Naturalist)
Use your own motion paths or even create your own for the entrances of
your clip art or photos (Multimedia project only) (Bodily/Kinesthetic)
Step 1:
You will use both the library and internet sources below to gather your
information. Your will also need a graphic
organizer, on which you will organize the information you find. When
you record your information, don't forget to record the source number
on your graphic organizer, in the appropriate column, so that you can
adequately cite your "sources."
Step 2: Do your research using the following resources:
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Site
Address
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Animals Around Us: Animal Adaptations: What Are They?. United Learning. 2003. unitedstreaming. 3 March 2006 <http://www.unitedstreaming.com/> (Use your Rhodes login and password. Click on Playlist. Click School Playlist. Then click on the Adaptations folder for 4th grade.)
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Don't
forget to write the source number on your graphic
organizer to tell where you found your information!!
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Step 3: Use the information you have found to make your powerpoint,
webpage, or brochure. You may use any of the ideas listed in the task
section above. Before giving your presentation use the self
check evaluation to make sure you are done.
Step 4:
Present your information to your classmates. While listening, you may
evaluate your peers by using the attached peer
project evaluation.
In addition to the Self Check evaluation and Peer Project evaluation, your teacher will be evaluating your project from your presentation. She will use one of the rubrics below:
It is also beneficial for you to evaluate the whole research process to
determine things you have learned from the whole research process. To
do that you need to use the attached self
evaluation of the research process.
Congratulations! You have just helped save the animals of tomorrow. Your hard work in researching and promoting efforts to save our world's animals has paid off. In addition you have just joined the ranks of the "knowledgeable public," an influential force in our democracy.
Credits:
Thanks to the following sites for:
Background:
http://www.free-backgrounds.com/about.shtml
Clip Art:
Quote:
http://learningvoyager.blogspot.com/2005/11/adaptability-there-is-new-species-at.html