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BACKGROUND
Teacher should introduce the following terminologies and its purpose
to the bird: hollow bones, keel, feather, opposing toes, fused or
clawed hand and beak. The teacher should explain how these features
are adaptations that work together to assure survival of the species.
Examples of animals/birds/fish/reptile/amphibian adaptations should
be given with discussion of how the adaptation helps the animal.
Examples: Australia Shingle-back Skink has a fat tail. Like many
desert animals it needs to store food and water. The White’s
Tree Frog has feet that are equipped with “suction cups”
and they can climb smooth surfaces with ease. The skin is covered
with a thick cuticle that allows it to retain moisture as an adaptation
to arid areas. The White Throated Savanna Monitor will swallow small
prey or pieces of large prey whole rather than chew it, as do iguanas
and other lizards. Like snakes, they have a strong bony roof to
the mouth protecting the brain from being damaged by the passage
of large mouthfuls. They can also greatly increase the size of their
mouth cavity by spreading the hyoid apparatus and dropping the lower
jaw. African Pygmy Goats are agile climbers. The hair growing between
their hooves gives them traction on smooth surfaces.
ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES
Students should create a plausible animal of their own, utilizing
the different features illustrated in “Becoming” to
include: hollow/non-hollow bones, feathers/no feathers, keel/no
keel, tail/no tail, opposing/non-opposing toes, fused or clawed
hand, beak/no beak (following discussion as to what feature). Pictures
should be created on poster board then put together with solid brass
fasteners to allow individual body parts to be mobile. Teacher should
encourage creativity and pull data from other site areas-movable
beak, courtship plumage, holding a piece of food in foot or beak…
Students need to be able to explain the adaptations they have given
to their creature, and how these adaptations would increase chances
for survival/evolvement and in what way.
Second option-Using foam core, students will create a mystery animal
utilizing featured adaptations. Once done, it will be cut out. Without
showing their puzzle to their fellow students (can be done with
one classmate or as a group), they will describe why they chose
specific features, how the adaptations would have been used and
why they were necessary for survival of the species. A classmate
will then put the puzzle together using the clues given and reiterate
how this animal utilized each feature.
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