| Task |
Method |
Equipment |
Concepts |
| Animal
needs | Discussion
of what animals need to survive? | - |
All
living things require a number of things for survival. They must all be able to
... -
- Growth
- Movement
- Remove
waste products
- Respiration
[Getting energy from food or sunlight etc]
- Irritability
[Respond to their environment]
- Nutrition
|
| Food
Chains |
Who
eats what in a food chain? Place selected animals (flash cards) on a whiteboard. Use a marker to join food web together. Use 4-5 Australian flora & fauna. Add a lion for a joke. |
Flash
cards of types of animals in an ecosystem. |
Discuss
the direction of energy concept for designing food chains. What happens if one
type of creature is reduced or increased in number due to external factors? |
| A
New Planet | Design
a creature to live on a newly discovered planet. | Their
work booklet |
Design two creatures that
live on different planets: Planet
"Your first animal is a Plododon: a creature that lives on the Planet Plodononia.
This world is has the following features: ·
very cold;
· full of very tall plants;
· constantly rainy;
· night lasts for 36 hours;
· no meat eaters at all.
Your
second animal is a Blastosaurus: a creature that lives on the Planet Hotalot.
This world is has the following features: ·
very hot;
· little plant life;
· constantly hot;
·
full of ants, birds & reptiles;
· night lasts for 12 hours. |
| Camouflaged
Insects | Hide
the coloured macaroni is the garden beds outside and students have 30 seconds
to find as many as possible. |
Macaroni
(60 pieces); coloured dye a variety of colours: red, green, white, dark etc. |
Try
to find as many creatures as possible in 30 seconds that are coloured different
colours. Discussion of camouflage and its benefits for survival. |
Insect search |
Look outside for insects and plant structure. |
Hand magnifying lenses |
|
Skeleton Adaptation |
Discuss adaptations for a variety of animals |
Snake, rabbit, rat (etc) skeleton. Human skeleton. |
Physical: Discuss the apposable thumb for gripping weapons in humans. Human brain for learning. Hot blooded versus cold blooded. Snakes expanding jaw. Camouflage. Survival in ecosystems (poisonous brightly coloured creatures - frogs; Feathers, skin, fat, large surface area to volume ratio; senses).
Behaviour: Hiding in caves; out of weather; working in packs; eating their own young; nocturnal animals; hibernation etc.
|
|
Island
of Mara | An
activity to investigate the changes in numbers of each species on an isolated
island when an introduced animal comes in. | Activity
cards. |
Discuss the changes in
numbers of each species on an isolated island when an introduced animal comes
in. Discuss the
questions: -
Do
you think that the Glimpies will survive? -
Will the
island be beautiful again? -
Will
the ideas about relocating the Glimpies to another island and breeding them in
captivity be successful? -
Can
anything else be done? |
| Cane
Toad Video | Play
the video talking about introducing foreign species. | Cane
Toad video. |
Discuss the effects of
introducing a foreign animal into an ecosystem and how it can affect it. |
| Bird
Beaks | Look
at the type of bird beaks and discuss their designed purpose. | Flash
cards. | Discuss
the beaks and their designed purpose. |
| RockPool
Survival | A
game to simulate survival in a rock pool. | Rock
Pool | A
game to simulate survival in a rock pool. |
| Types
of animals, insects etc | A
hands on look at different types of animals, insects etc to identify their physical
adaptations. | Sample
specimen jars and skeletons. |
Discuss the different types
of animals, insects etc and identify their physical adaptations that assist them
in surviving. |
|
Dingoes
and Wallabies | A
game to simulate survival in Australian outback. | Dingoes
& Wallabies |
A game to simulate survival
in Australian outback. |
