of a lively discussion, you could ask students to write down any inquiry-driven questions and hypotheses they may have on a separate piece of paper or Post-It® note to post on the front board.
3. Wrap up the discussion by informing students that in this lesson they will be learning about animal adaptations and how they contribute to species’ fitness to their environment.
II. Think & Share (15 minutes).
1. Ask the students to think of examples of kinds of foods that birds eat. Write these on the board as students list them. As a group, compare the items on the list, asking how the foods are similar/different to/from each other.
2. Have the students provide examples of birds that might eat the foods listed. List these birds next to the foods. Using two diverse examples (e.g., hummingbirds and eagles), ask, Do you think hummingbirds’ beaks and the eagles’ beaks are similar in shape or different from each other? They may already know that these two birds have different beaks. Encourage students to describe why this may be (because they eat very different kinds of foods).
3.
Explain that students will experiment with different tool “beaks” to see how well they are suited (adapted) to gathering different kinds of food items.
III. Beak competition (15 minutes). 1.
Place students into groups of 3–4 at a lab station. Students will observe a variety of tools at their station and a dish with food items (food-source bowl). Instruct the students not to consume any food items in the lab.
2. Tell students that each tool represents a bird beak. Students can select any two “beaks” to begin. When the timer says “Go,” two competing “birds” (students) will have 30 seconds to collect any food item, one item at a time and as quickly as they can, and place it in their “nest.” Students will only be able to use their “beaks” to pick up food (i.e., no facilitating the transition from food source to nest using your other hand!). Encourage students to try their “beaks” with all types of food.
3. Have students count the number of food items collected and record these figures on the Student Data Table (Appen- dix D, Resource 2, Part 1) and return the collected food items to the food-source bowl to simulate nutrient cycling.
4. Repeat Step 2–3 for each “beak.” Ensure that all students in the group have had an opportunity to compete. 5. Within their groups, have each student discuss the activity. • Looking at your data, which food items were gathered most easily? What characteristics did compatible pairs
of “beaks” and food items have that allowed them to be so compatible? Encourage all answers and address any mis- conceptions. Students may discuss that the test-tube clamp was successful with the marbles because the curve of the clamp matched the curve of the marble.
• Which food items were the most difficult to gather? What characteristics did certain “beak” and food item
combinations have that made them incompatible? Encourage all answers, and address any misconceptions. Students may discuss that marshmallows and forceps were incompatible because the marshmallows would stick to the forceps, which made it difficult to detach the two without using another hand.
• Guide students towards discussing how birds’ beaks play an important role in their adaptability (i.e., fitness) to their environment. Connect this discussion to the larger concepts of survival and reproductive success.
6. After the discussion, have students average the number of food items collected by each “beak” using a calculator. Record this data on the Student Data Table (Appendix D, Resource 2, Part 1).
7. After finishing data collection, lead all students through a discussion to follow up on what they discussed in their groups. Clarify any items of confusion. Students may discuss that the spoon was the most successful with a variety of items because of its “scooping” design. Encourage all responses.
Day 2
IV. A Changing Climate (10 min). Read the following information to your students or display it for them to read along with you:
The video about the Galápagos Islands introduced a natural phenomenon. Every few years, a current of warm water called El Niño (The Boy) circulates through the waters of South America. El Niño is a natural event which causes a decrease in the abun- dance of primary consumers, which will ultimately decrease the abundance of higher-level consumers as a consequence.17 El Niño can also bring about changes in the weather in the surrounding area (e.g., intense rainfall), which increases the amount of plant growth on land. The overgrowth of plants may actually cause other food items to become scarce,18 causing many of the animals that rely on those food sources to suffer. As global warming continues to disrupt climates in specific environments, sea surface temperatures continue to increase, causing El Niño events to become more frequent and more intense. This is an example of climate change occurring today.
8.
Students will now simulate the effects of a changing climate on biodiversity by removing marshmallows and dried beans from the food items and by removing all “beaks” with the exception of the scoopula and chopsticks
Green Teacher 121 Page 17
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