Changing Habitats

Vocabulary

Students will understand that...

LS.4.1.1

• Students identify and describe the functions of external structures. (e.g., structures could include thorns, stems, roots, colored petals, pollen, claws, horns, fur) on selected plants and animals.

• Students make a claim about the external structures that aid in survival of organisms (e.g., Plants- thorns for protection; roots to anchor the plant and obtain water to support growth; waxy coating to prevent water loss from plants; methods of seed dispersal- water, wind, relying on other organisms; Animals- sharp horns for defense; thick fur or blubber in Arctic/Antarctic areas for warmth; long claws for digging or climbing). 

• Students make a supported claim that plants and animals have structures that work together as a part of a system for survival (e.g., adaptations).

LS.4.1.2

• Emphasis is on how systems transfer information (e.g., An animal’s response to stimuli- a dog is hot and lies in the shade; a rabbit hears a noise and runs away;  a person is cold so they put on a jacket).

• Students know that animals have behaviors in response to their environments and these behaviors help them survive  (e.g., migration or hibernation helps an animal to stay alive when food is scarce).

• Students describe how different animals respond to changes in environmental conditions (e.g., light, temperature, danger).

• Students explain that sensory input, the brain, and behavioral responses are parts of a system that allow animals to engage in appropriate behaviors for survival (e.g., owls are excellent hunters as an owl’s face is shaped like a disk, allowing for sounds to hit the face and funnel to ear holes which is why an owl can hear a mouse on the forest floor).

• Students describe how information sent to the brain allows experiences and behaviors to be shaped (e.g., a black bear finds unsecured human trash cans an easy source of food, associating humans with food; a coyote that has been chased by a black bear will avoid that area in the future).  

L.S.4.1.3

• Clarification Statement: Examples of cause and effect relationships could be plants that have larger thorns than other plants may be less likely to be eaten; animals with camouflage may avoid danger making them more likely to survive and reproduce.

• Students know the physical features of plants and animals are suited to the environments in which they live.

• Students explain a phenomenon that relates to variations in characteristics among individuals of the same species (e.g., coyote’s fur color. Some individuals are better able to survive if they have a lighter vs. darker coat, depending on what camouflages best in their environment)  

• Students use evidence and reasoning to construct an explanation for the phenomenon (e.g,. looking at the surrounding environment for animal coloration). 

• Students describe the given evidence necessary for the explanation, including: 

  • a given characteristic of a species (e.g., thorns on a plant, camouflage of an animal, the coloration/patterns of caterpillars or moths).

  • the patterns of variation of a given characteristic among individuals in a species (e.g., longer or shorter thorns on individual plants, dark or light coloration of animals)

  • potential benefits of a given variation of the characteristic (e.g., the light coloration of some moths makes them difficult to see on the light-colored bark of a tree). 

• Students explain some characteristics make it easier for organisms to survive, and reproduce; and those characteristics give some organisms an advantage over other organisms of the same species that don’t have those characteristics (e.g., an individual predator can run faster than their peers- they might be able to catch more prey, a more brightly colored male attracts more females. Note: Sometimes the fact that a particular species has such narrow adaptations (e.g. the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker prefers old growth longleaf pines to nest in) makes it more difficult for those animals to survive in the landscape compared to others (e.g.  the northern flicker, another woodpecker, is more of a generalist and can nest in various tree species in lots of different types of  environments).