What you intend the students to learn about this idea
Adaptations are the features that an organism possesses that enable them to exploit the resources of their individual biological niches. * Recognise that there are differing kinds of adaptation, including: structural, physiological and behavioural features.
Why is it important for students to know this?
Understanding the process of adaptation enables students to analyse the relationships between environmental factors and the changes that living things have made to their biological make-up enabling them to exploit the resources of their particular biological niche (VCAA, 2005)
What else you know about this idea (that you do not intend students to know yet)?
More than one factor, or a combination of factors can influence adaptation within an organism.
That adaptation is a result of genetic hereditary and evolution that can happen within a few generations (short time span) to hundreds and thousands of generations (huge time span).
*Both to be covered later in area of study.
Difficulties/Limitations connected with teaching this idea
Adaptation (evolutionary) is different to ‘adapt’ (an individual organism acclimatising).
Recognition that plants have adaptations too, enabling them to inhabit particular environments
Knowledge about students thinking which influences
your teaching of this idea.
Tendency to believe that changes happen quickly ie: within the same generation
That adaptations are an ‘animal’ feature and not relevant to plants.
That ‘man’ (homo sapiens) did not undergo adaptation
Other factors that influence your teaching of this idea
An understanding of adaptation builds the foundations for a clear understanding of genetics and evolution in Units 3 & 4. A good knowledge of adaptation, the varying types of and the role it places in determining the distribution of biota can help to avoid alternative conceptions in the related fields of genetics (hereditary) and evolution.
Teaching procedures (and particular reasons for using
these to engage with this idea)
Measuring prior understanding:
Provide students with types of environment (possibly visually via overhead or handouts) that have very obvious differences and have students list some of the environmental features found in them Ie: Arctic, ocean, tropical rainforest, desert, etc.
Once this is done, have students list organisms (plant and animal) that you would find in each.
Key questions:
What enables these organisms to exist there?
Are there any (organisms) that feature in a range of environments?
*be sure to include plants as well as animals Linking activity:
Take examples listed by the students (or have others prepared) and ask them to design a concept map that displays what adaptations the particular organism has and how they enable it to exist within its preferred environment.
*see giraffe example attached (fig.1)
Students need to draw reference to specific obvious features that enable that organism to survive. Ie: giraffe camouflage coat to hide from predators, long neck to reach tree tops, long tongue to strip leaves from trees, tough lips to resist tree spines, longer front legs to better reach upwards, etc. Testing Reasoning:
Most organisms selected will be those with obvious adaptations to the environment in which they live.
Key Question: is the octopus smarter than humans
Footage shows an octopus utilising its adaptation of camouflage, rapidly changing not only colour but shape and texture as well in order to blend into its environment.
Discussion Question- Humans can’t do this so is the octopus smarter at camouflage? *allow class discussion*
Homework activity:
Have a selection of plants and animals from diverse environments printed and cut out. Place them in a box/bag so that students are unable to see what they are getting and have them pull out an individual organism.
Students are required to answer the following questions about their organism for the next class-
where is it found?
what does it eat?
how does it live?
how does it mate/reproduce?
what adaptations enable it to do all of the above?
Students are to present their findings at the start of the next lesson- summarising their findings in a couple of minutes. This selection of activities allows the students to demonstrate their ability to draw connections between the organism’s apparent adaptation and the environment in which it resides. This indicates an individuals ability to apply biological understanding and the drawing of connections between related concepts. (VCAA, 2005)
Specific ways of ascertaining students' understanding or confusion around this idea
(include likely range of responses)
Students understanding is demonstrated through the completion of the above activities with the key being that they are able to relate the adaptive features of given organisms to the benefit they provide it with in regards to its survival within its given environment.
Possible questions that may arise- Q. Why are tails present in monkeys but not in arboreal apes? A. Though related, the apes diverged away from the monkeys early on in their evolution and as a result of differing lifestyles gradually lost the adaptation of the tail, spending more time on the ground foraging for food than in the tree tops. Old world monkeys (baboons) have tails but they are not prehensile as they spend more time on the ground than in the trees. (Hickman, et al, 1996) Q. Why haven’t all species adapted defence mechanisms to prevent predation? A. Adaptation is like a race- as one species adapts to avoid a specific predator, that predator is just as likely adapting to continue utilising it as a food source. Also, adapting to foil one predator may open up the likelihood of predation from a different predator. (Fung & Hambur, 1991)
Fig.1- Example concept map of the adaptations of a giraffe to its habitat.
* Recognise that there are differing kinds of adaptation, including: structural, physiological and behavioural features.
- More than one factor, or a combination of factors can influence adaptation within an organism.
- That adaptation is a result of genetic hereditary and evolution that can happen within a few generations (short time span) to hundreds and thousands of generations (huge time span).
*Both to be covered later in area of study.your teaching of this idea.
An understanding of adaptation builds the foundations for a clear understanding of genetics and evolution in Units 3 & 4. A good knowledge of adaptation, the varying types of and the role it places in determining the distribution of biota can help to avoid alternative conceptions in the related fields of genetics (hereditary) and evolution.
these to engage with this idea)
Fig.2- Zebras
Zebras hide markings blur their individual outlines when they run as a herd making it harder for a predator to single out an individual target.
(http://www.veeriku.tartu.ee/~ppens/animal_adaptation.html)
Provide students with types of environment (possibly visually via overhead or handouts) that have very obvious differences and have students list some of the environmental features found in them Ie: Arctic, ocean, tropical rainforest, desert, etc.
Once this is done, have students list organisms (plant and animal) that you would find in each.
Key questions:
- What enables these organisms to exist there?
- Are there any (organisms) that feature in a range of environments?
*be sure to include plants as well as animalsLinking activity:
Take examples listed by the students (or have others prepared) and ask them to design a concept map that displays what adaptations the particular organism has and how they enable it to exist within its preferred environment.
*see giraffe example attached (fig.1)
Students need to draw reference to specific obvious features that enable that organism to survive. Ie: giraffe camouflage coat to hide from predators, long neck to reach tree tops, long tongue to strip leaves from trees, tough lips to resist tree spines, longer front legs to better reach upwards, etc.
Testing Reasoning:
Most organisms selected will be those with obvious adaptations to the environment in which they live.
Key Question: is the octopus smarter than humans
Footage shows an octopus utilising its adaptation of camouflage, rapidly changing not only colour but shape and texture as well in order to blend into its environment.
Discussion Question- Humans can’t do this so is the octopus smarter at camouflage? *allow class discussion*
Homework activity:
Have a selection of plants and animals from diverse environments printed and cut out. Place them in a box/bag so that students are unable to see what they are getting and have them pull out an individual organism.
Students are required to answer the following questions about their organism for the next class-
- where is it found?
- what does it eat?
- how does it live?
- how does it mate/reproduce?
- what adaptations enable it to do all of the above?
Students are to present their findings at the start of the next lesson- summarising their findings in a couple of minutes.This selection of activities allows the students to demonstrate their ability to draw connections between the organism’s apparent adaptation and the environment in which it resides. This indicates an individuals ability to apply biological understanding and the drawing of connections between related concepts. (VCAA, 2005)
The 'How Stuff Works' website has a life science section that readily explains many of the concepts surrounding adaptation:
http://science.howstuffworks.com/biology-terms/adaptation-info.htm/printable
(include likely range of responses)
Possible questions that may arise-
Q. Why are tails present in monkeys but not in arboreal apes?
A. Though related, the apes diverged away from the monkeys early on in their evolution and as a result of differing lifestyles gradually lost the adaptation of the tail, spending more time on the ground foraging for food than in the tree tops. Old world monkeys (baboons) have tails but they are not prehensile as they spend more time on the ground than in the trees.
(Hickman, et al, 1996)
Q. Why haven’t all species adapted defence mechanisms to prevent predation?
A. Adaptation is like a race- as one species adapts to avoid a specific predator, that predator is just as likely adapting to continue utilising it as a food source. Also, adapting to foil one predator may open up the likelihood of predation from a different predator.
(Fung & Hambur, 1991)
Fig.1- Example concept map of the adaptations of a giraffe to its habitat.