Last updated: March 15, 2023
Lesson Plan
Florida Animal Adaptations
- Grade Level:
- Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade
- Subject:
- Science
- Lesson Duration:
- 60 Minutes
- State Standards:
- Florida State Standards
SC.5.L.17.1 - Additional Standards:
- SC.3.L.17.1
SC.4.L.16.2
SC.4.L.16.3
SC.4.L.17.1
SC.4.L.17.4
SC.5.L.15.1
Essential Question
How do animals adapt to survive in different environments?
Objective
Compare and contrast adaptations displayed by animals that enable them to survive in Florida's natural habitats.
Background
What is adaptation?
An adaptation is a special skill that helps organisms to survive in their environments. Adaptations could be physical, physiological, or behavioral. All living things (including humans) on this planet have adaptations. Adaptations are influenced by environmental factors, including climate and food availability. Animals have needs like food, water, shelter, and breeding. To meet those needs, animals adapt to their environment.
1. Physical Adaptation
Physical adaptations are special body parts, such as shapes, skin, and color, that help the organisms to survive in their natural habitat. (e.g., The thickness of an animal’s fur helps them to survive in cold environments. The shape of a bird’s beak helps them to eat food as well as make nests. Camel’s long leg, eyelids, hump are all examples of adaptation.) Animals depend on their physical structure to help them find and eat food, to build shelters, to protect from predators, and to reproduce.
2. Behavioral Adaptation
If an animal changes their behavior to survive in the environment, it is called a behavioral adaptation. Behavioral adaptations are mostly learned, not inherited. (e.g., Diurnally is the trait of an organism that is active during the day, while nocturnally describes the ones that are active during the night. Migration, instincts, and hibernation are also examples of behavioral adaptation.)
3. Physiological Adaptation
Physiological adaptations are metabolic changes in an animal that help them to survive. (e.g., A snake’s ability to produce venom, mammal’s ability to maintain constant body temperature, the release of toxins or poisons, releasing antifreeze proteins to avoid freezing in cold environments, etc.)
Preparation
Discover the 300 acres of natural habitats at Fort Matanzas National Monument. Working together, the maritime forest, the dune, scrub, and salt marsh ecosystems are able to provide food and shelter for a myriad variety of plants and animals.
Consider scheduling a Distance Learning Opportunity or Field Trip to Fort Matanzas.
Materials
Images of Florida animals and examples of their adaptations.
Download Animal Adaptations Worksheet
Lesson Hook/Preview
Pose questions to the students, "What is unique about Florida's coastal environment? How have animals needed to adapt to survive there?"
Watch the Fort Matanzas music video, The Many Faces of Fort Matanzas (3 minutes, 46 seconds).
Watch the Fort Matanzas video, Florida Coastal Environment (3 minutes, 36 seconds).
Procedure
Step 1: Schedule a Distance Learning Opportunity or Field Trip to Fort Matanzas.
Step 2: Print or digitally prepare the handout for students to read and explore adaptations of animals that live in Florida's natural habitats.
Step 3: Independently, students should explore the Animals of Fort Matanzas. Choose an animal. Describe in 3-5 sentences how it adapts to it's environment.
Step 4: Pair students up to compare/contrast their animals and their adaptations. Use a Venn Diagram to record the similarities/differences.
Vocabulary
Adaptation- A body part, body covering, or behavior that helps an animal survive in its environment.
Behavior- Actions or reactions of an animal in response to something else.
Camouflage- A color or shape in an animal’s body covering that helps it blend into its environment.
Dormant- Alive but in a resting condition where all body systems are very slow.
Environment- Everything that surrounds and affects a living thing. The environment includes non-living things, such as water and air, as well as other living things.
Habitat- The place where an animal lives. The physical characteristics of an animal’s surroundings.
Hibernate- Spend the winter in a dormant state.
Metabolism- Chemical processes that take place in the body’s cells where energy is created from food.
Migrate- The periodic passage of groups of animals from one region to another for feeding or breeding
Mimicry- An adaptation in which an otherwise harmless animal looks like a harmful animal in order to protect itself.
Predator- An animal that hunts and eats other animals for food.
Prey- An animal that is taken and eaten by another animal (predator) for food.
Supports for Struggling Learners
Work with your exceptional student education or special education teachers to modify the lesson to meet the specific needs of your students with different abilities.
Enrichment Activities
Explore full virtual reality tour for Fort Matanzas National Monument.
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