Mathematics Grade Prototype Curriculum Guide

Materials needed

Per group:

• 
  Tweezers
  
• 
  Clothespins
  
• 
  Spoons
  
• 
  Straws
  
• 
  Two small flat stones
  
• 
  Chopsticks
  
• 
  Cooked spaghetti
  
• 
  Uncooked rice
  
• 
  Raisins
  
• 
  Birdseed
  
• 
  Plastic worms
  
• 
  Cup
  
• 
  Water
  
• 
  Attached instruction sheet
  
• 
  Attached data sheet
  

Instructional activity

Content/Teacher Notes

Organisms have structures uniquely adapted for their particular needs. A seed-eating bird would be unable to survive by eating worms because its beak is not adapted for catching worms. These structural adaptations affect the entire species of organisms and usually occur gradually over many generations. Although we generally use animals as examples for adaptations, all organisms in all five kingdoms of living things — animals, plants, fungi, protists, and monerans — must adapt or die. (As students progress through middle school, they will be introduced to the six-kingdom classification system. At the elementary level, however, they learn about the five-kingdom classification system.) Adaptation progresses when an organism with a characteristic favorable in its habitat enjoys an advantage over the other organisms in its species. It will most likely live longer and pass its new characteristic to its offspring, thus continuing the adaptation process.

Introduction

1. Ask the class if they have ever noticed that different species of birds have differently shaped beaks. Show pictures of birds with different types of beaks, and have students speculate on the task each type of beak performs.

2. Tell the students that they will be investigating how birds’ beaks are adapted to perform different jobs.

Procedure

1. Divide the class into groups of three. Give each group one set of “beaks” (tweezers, clothespins, spoons, straws, flat stones, or chopsticks), one set of “bird food” (cooked spaghetti, uncooked rice, raisins, birdseed, plastic worms, or cup of water), a data sheet, and one activity instruction sheet. Have each student pick two beaks to test and record.

2. Read “The Best Beak for the Job” handout, and explain the directions to students.

3. Allow students 10 minutes or so to try to “eat” each food with each of their two beaks. Circulate through the room to clear up any misconceptions.

4. When all students have completed the activity, have each group share their observations with the class.

Observations and Conclusions

1. Ask the students the following questions to stimulate class discussion:

• 
  What type of beak is best for tearing meat? (Sharp and curved)
  
• 
  How do these beaks compare to the sharp teeth of meat-eating animals?
  
• 
  Why might a liquid-sipping beak like the straw gradually change to a beak that not only sips but can also chew? (This might occur if the bird’s supply of liquid begins to disappear, necessitating a change in diet for the bird’s survival.)
  

Sample assessment

• 
  Have the students design an animal that can walk in shallow pond water, eat bugs in the mud at the bottom of the pond, be camouflaged from its predators, and climb trees if in danger. Let each student draw and color his/her own illustration of the animal, as well as describe in a well-organized paragraph how the animal accomplishes each of the tasks required.
  

Follow-up/extension

• 
  Have the students do a similar activity in which they are comparing other physical features of animals, such as different birds’ feet (wading, perching, catching prey) or the legs of various land animals.
  

Resources

• 
  Audubon. http://www.audubon.org/. Web site of the National Audubon Society.
  
• 
  Connections: Connecting Books to the Virginia SOLs. Fairfax County Public Schools and The College of William and Mary. http://www.fcps.edu/cpsapps/connections. Presents a database of more than 1,000 works of children’s literature and their connection to the Virginia Standards of Learning.
  
• 
  Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K–12. National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). http://www.nsta.org/ostbc.
  
• 
  Search for Literature: Literature for Science and Mathematics. California Department of Education. http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/sc/ll/ap/searchlist.asp. Offers a searchable database.
  
• 
  Virginia’s Wildlife. Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries. http://www.dgif.state.va.us/wildlife/va_wildlife/index.html.
  

The Best Beak for the Job

Instruction Sheet

Name: Date:

Directions

Birds have different types of beaks that help them eat the foods they need. Suppose that the tools in this activity are different beaks. Which beak would be the best adapted to eat each food?

Materials needed

“Beaks” Bird Foods

Chopsticks Plastic worms

Drinking straws Cooked spaghetti

Tweezers Rice

Clothespin Raisins

Spoons Birdseed

Two small flat stones Water in a cup

Procedure

1. Observe the different forms of “beaks” and “bird foods.” Predict which beak is best adapted for picking up each food.

2. Select two “beaks,” and test out your predictions by trying to pick up the food with the chosen “beaks.”

3. Complete the chart on the accompanying data sheet. In the column marked “Observation,” write a sentence explaining why that “beak” is especially adapted for that food.

4. After completing the eating activity, complete the final two activities on your data sheet.

The Best Beak for the Job

Data Sheet

Name: Date:

Food	Best “Beak”	Observation
Plastic worms
Cooked spaghetti
Rice
Raisins
Birdseed
Water in a cup

Study your chart. Which beak is best adapted for

• 
  picking up insects? ______________________
  
• 
  crushing birdseed? ______________________
  
• 
  digging up worms? ______________________
  
• 
  sipping water? ______________________
  
• 
  scooping up mud? ______________________
  
• 
  ripping meat? ______________________
  

In the box at right, draw two actual bird-beak shapes that match the two “beaks” you chose.

Change Is Good!

Organizing Topic Investigating Ecosystems

Overview Students examine the differences between structural and behavioral adaptations in living things. Students determine how these adaptations allow organisms to succeed in their environment.

Related Standards of Learning 4.5a