Week+5-+Adaptation&EvolutionToday

Hi, guys, I think there are 7 children in my group.....how can i give each one the number from 1 to 6??? do you all have 6 children in total as a group? (Hi Ariel, one child will have a repeat of something)

Should we show children a list of pictures (e.g. sea with spilled oil, lake with dead fish, land with all rubbish around, or extremely dried land, etc. we can download these photos/pictures from internet) and ask them if animals can live in that environment, why or why not? if they are living in those environment, how will they feel? can they survive? blablablauser:ArielYe or we might also show them photos of sick animals and ask them whether do those animals adapt well with the environment or not?

What do you guys think? just a few suggestions..... I really like your plans for this week, all those activities looks exciting and discussions sounds meaningful!!! I like it!!! ^^

Ariel Ariel, I think this is a good idea for a back up activity, in case we have spare time so can you organise this? put the pics in a powerpoint presentation and I will bring my laptop and help you present it to the class.This will be a good whole class presentation to do after the activity we have planned. Let me know how you go. Hey Guys, Just letting you know that I'm feeling unwell at the moment. I hope I'm feeling better by Friday, but at the moment I'm not sure how much help I will be as I have trouble talking and I'm coughing all the time. So if I turn up I'll have to hover in the background for the lesson. I'll let you know tomorrow night if anything changes. Michael- No worries Michael. I hope you feel better. Do you have any suggestions for activities or directions we could take? We can teach it if you don't feel well but Im running out of ideas for this week.

So this week maybe we could focus on how adaptations and evolution are not things that happened in the earth's history. it is still happening now.

INTRO

Recap on previous lesson focusing on key terms : DNA, natural selection, mutations __Jill and Liz's activity (30-40 mins including discussion)__

Hands-on activity that is a simulation of how mutations can affect survival skills in animals Students pull a letter (1-6) from a hat. Each number states a specific mutation that students are required to take on. 1- Extremely long fingernails (tape wooden craft sticks to fingers) 2- No fingers (tape each hand closed) 3- Hands fused together in front of body (place hands together in front of body and tape or tie them together) 4- No arms (tape or tie arms to the side of body with tape) 5- Blind (place tape over goggles or use blindfold) 6- Lack of peripheral vision with goggles.

(Ariel & Michael, could you please bring a pair of goggles and many blindfolds if you have some? Blind folds can just be strips of material or cloth)

Students break off into their table groups. In each group the leader needs to number students 1-6 randomly. When each student in each group is numbered, they are told what their mutation is eg student numbered 1 has to stick on their extremely long fingers etc. Once eac group has prepared their students with their relevant mutations, students stay at their tables. Jill and Liz will then call a number. Each student that has this number (there should be one from each group) comes to the middle floor area where there is a food source awaiting. Students then need to work as a team with their mutated peers to eat all of the food as quickly as possible. Jill will time each group and write this outcome on the WB.

This happens for each mutation (there are 6 in total) and following this there will be a lengthy discussion around the following questions:

Discussion 1. Which mutation caused the greatest delay in acquiring food? 2. What would these mutations do to the population of the environment? Ie if everyone in the world had this mutation how do you think this would affect the worlds population. 3. What were some adaptations to the mutations that group members came up with?

Ask students if they think evolution is still happening in the world today. Brainstorm some of the signs of evolution occurring (could include change in weather patterns, extinct animals) and discuss why students think these changes are occurring.

What else adapts and evolves besides humans and animals (the earth). Show the continental drift clip but stop it when it shows what is likely to happen in the future and get students to predict (POE) with their partner where they think Australia will end up. (good idea!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSdlQ8x7cuk

Physical versus behavioural adaptations- try and identify some examples of these.

Why did crocodiles outlast the dinosaurs- they were around at the same time so what is it that crocodiles do that dinosaurs failed to do, to survive? (Concept map)

ACTIVITY Identify some changes that have been occurring to the planet recently. List these. (do you mean like global warming/ flooding/ tsunami/ earthquakes/ cyclones etc?.....natural disasters?) Get students to identify animals that they know might be affected to some of these changes. Try and get students to think of how these animals could adapt/mutate to survive the changing conditions on earth. Could they possibly act this out? Maybe if we gave each group of 4-6 students a senario (chaning condition on earth). They have 10 minutes to think about it using guided questions we will give them. The groups then act it out in front of the class. we will discuss what we see in each presentation. (30 -35 mins altogether) Yes, can you organise this Jill? Just come up with the questions and we can team teach it :)

GREAT BARRIER REEF ACTIVITY []

Lesson Conclusion & journal entries (20 Minutes) Do a big concept map on poster paper of all the different concepts/ ideas/ termonology we have leanrt from the first week. EG: Habitat - adaptation - survival - animals - survival features - camouflague - DNA - mutation - Natural selection (brainstorm and branck off from each of these headings)

Discuss what we learnt this week and some things they can write in their jounals. Students do journal entries. (Dont forget we need to take photocopies of students journal entries)

Hi Guys,

Sorry about being absent today. Hope all of it went well. Could you please do me a favour and fill me in on what happened today? Im not sure if you guys did all that was on the wiki. Also - what were some of the main concepts covered and students responses. (Christine asked me to liaise with you guys to write up week 5) Thankyou...much appreciated! Jill