Week+3

Week 3- Adaptations/evolution

Hey this is our teachers email: pappas.merelina.m@edumail.vic.gov.au

She said that if we need anything for our lessons just email her and let her know and she will get it ready for us :)

Jill, do you think the mask activity we have planned is a little bit too much like last weeks drawing activity? Maybe they could use the animals that they created last week and put it into a completely new habitat and then come up with a new survival feature to help their animal adapt to the new habitat. Or we could give them a mutation and they have to think about which habitat the adaptation will help them the most in??

Hey Liz, I don't think they should do another drawing activity - I actually think the masks will work well - because some students in the last session didn't really grasp the concept of 'added features' to their animals. For example, one boy drew a frog in the wetlands ( and he gave all the usual features of the frog but nothing extra) I think with the mask activity, it allows them to be hands on in making something and we can focus very specifically on our 5 senses of what we use them for. The students can make an animal mask or a human mask. Let me know your thoughts anyway (hope you're having a good weekend!! ) Chameleon link: [] Chameleon Lyrics: Liz could you save this word doc on your USB? then we can just upload it and the class can see the lyrics to the song :) Sure. It is now saved and ready for tomorrow. Ive been jamming with myself all week (NOT) so should have good performance skills for Friday :)

I am bringing my laptop, usb with the lyrics and clip for the chameleon song, my guitar and that's all. Let me know if you need me to bring anything else :)

I think that this week we should focus on how evolution works by mutations through the generations rather than using the flash and java applets during week 2 we should put them in this week as well as another activity about mutations. []

I have a youtube clip that would be useful to this purpose I downloaded this from youtube, some schools have youtube blocked. Just need to see if they have VLC or I can convert it to WMV, can't import it here as it is too big. Great video, musics a bit full on. Michael have you got this ready to go?

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these links are for natural selection simulations [] []

EXPLAIN Intro: Liz and Jill “Chameleon song” Recap on the previous lesson Why animals need specific habitats to survive, what are some of the different habitats that animals survive in (deserts, wetlands,

What different parts of the world require different adaptations? (ice, desert, tropical, by the sea) What are these adaptations? How do they help us survive in these habitats?

WHITEBOARD Read out a description of a habitat (desert) get students to visualise this habitat (close their eyes etc). Students can then come up and draw a person that might live here. Why did they include features and not others etc.

ACTIVITY: Making masks 1) DDo a draft on a piece of paper of what they want their mask to look like. 2) TThey need to include: - Their habitat (they can make this up or use their real habitat) - One extra feature (could take away a feature if this aids survival) that they have to survive. (GIVE AN EXAMPLE OF THIS, I live in a place where I am in a lot of danger, so I need to have stalk eyes to see better and be more aware of my surroundings). SHARETIME

Hi Liz and Jill, is the SHARETIME part belonging to us? so you are running the introduction part which includes: sing a song (30 mins), reflection builds on previous lesson (20mins) and demonstration of the mask activity (10 mins), so that will be 1hour in total, then we need to leave students 20 mins to do the mask activity? (what do you mean by making a draft? do they need another lesson to make the actual mask? why don't we get them to actually making the mask this week by providing them materials and all they need to do is sticking all parts together and do a bit drawing, what do you think?)

Activity: And then I agree to use the activity which Michael has posted above: divide students into 4 groups and sit in rows, then provide each first student a piece of paper with a shape of an animal, then pass the paper on to the next student, each student adds a mutation by drawing it, then each group do sharing with the class, pick up a leader from each group to talk about the end picture, share the similarities and differences between the four pictures. we could run this activity for several time by using different kinds of animals, but for each time, each group is provided with the same picture.

Then we could do chinese whisper by using a sentence which relates to the evolution, it can be a concept or something else. And do a bit of sharing at the end like what we did last week.

What do you think Michael? Do you have any other ideas to build on? Please let me know.

Ariel and Michaels parts go here- email back when this is completed or alternatively use the wiki. Our bits should take 1 hour.

Liz and Jill

Hi Ariel & Michael,

Do both of you know whats happening for the science lesson this week? Could you please both listen to the Chameleon song a few times so we can all sing it together with the class. The link is above. Liz and I have our parts covered as stated above, could you both please add your activities in between or below so we know exactly whats happening.

Yes!!!Ariel has noticed this and happy to sing the song with you all together~^ ^ Thank you~ Thanks!

Jill