Last updated: April 7, 2022
Lesson Plan
Desert Plant Adaptations: Structures that Support Survival
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- Grade Level:
- Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade
- Subject:
- Science
- Lesson Duration:
- 60 Minutes
- State Standards:
- Utah SEED 4th Grade
4.1 Organisms Functioning in their Environment
4.1.1: Construct an explanation from evidence that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction. - Additional Standards:
- NGSS 4th Grade
4-LS1 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
4-LS1-1. Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior. - Thinking Skills:
- Understanding: Understand the main idea of material heard, viewed, or read. Interpret or summarize the ideas in own words. Analyzing: Break down a concept or idea into parts and show the relationships among the parts. Evaluating: Make informed judgements about the value of ideas or materials. Use standards and criteria to support opinions and views.
Essential Question
In what ways do organisms adapt to better survive in their environment, and how do we observe and recognize these adaptations?
Objective
Students will be able to understand and construct an argument that living organisms have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.
Background
This guide provides background information about plants in Zion and directions for an activity, where students will design their own plant with the appropriate adaptations for survival. This guide is designed for fourth grade, but the activity can be modified for students at other levels
Preparation
- Download and review Desert Plant Adaptations Guide
- Download and print activity materials
- Gather all materials listed in design a plant activity
- A projector or screen is needed for Zion's Desert Plants video
Materials
Download Desert Plant Adaptations Lesson Plan and Activity Guide
Lesson Hook/Preview
Desert landscapes are hot and dry, often with less than 10 inches of precipitation per year. This harsh environment means that plants struggle to survive here. Plants must adapt to the desert habitat. Adaptation is “process by which species becomes fitted to its environment.”1 This leads to internal and external structures in plants that help them survive the heat, aridity, harsh sunlight., and more. External structures can be observed on the outside of a plant, like cacti spines or yucca’s waxy skins. Internal structures are inside the plant, hidden from view, like the mechanism that allows juniper to “self-prune” to conserve water.
Procedure
Follow suggested procedures within the activity guide
Vocabulary
Adaptation: How an organism adjusts, conforms, and responds to changes in the environment
Habitat: the natural home or environment that a plant or animal prefers and best survives inInternal structure: a feature that is usually unseen, existing inside an organism, i.e. different kinds of cells or organs
External structure: a feature that occurs on the outside of an organism and is usually easily visible, i.e. spikes on a cactus
Self-prune: to shed branches that have disease or do not receive enough sunlight as a means of conserving energy
Additional Resources
- Information about ecological zones: Plants - Zion National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)
- Adaptation information about prickly pears: stelprdb5410122.pdf (usda.gov)
- Adaptation information about fourwing saltbush: Fourwing Saltbush (fs.fed.us)
- Adaptation information about juniper: The Indomitable Juniper - Canyonlands National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)
- Yucca information: Yucca - Zion National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)