1-LS31-1. Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits - Make observations to construct an evidence- based account that young plants and animals are like, but not exactly like, their parents
Examples of patterns could include features plants and animals share. Examples of observations could include leaves from the same kind of plant are the same shape but differ in size; and, a particular breed of dog looks like its parents but is not exactly the same
Objective
At the completion of this activity, students will be able to recognize and identify similarities and differences between adult animals and their offspring. Students will be support their reasoning.
The 5 E's
Engage
10 minutes
Materials
book, Are You My Mother? By P.D. Eastman
bring students to carpet and read Are You My Mother? By P.D. Eastman
Have students pay attention to similarities and differences between the bird, his mother, and the other animals and vehicles
students will log onto a class computer and play memory together while discussing similarities and differences they observe between the baby animals and their parents
Bingo
An animal figurine will be picked out of a bag at random by a student. Students will then have to match the adult animal to its offspring on their bingo card. Steps are repeated until a student gets "bingo."
3. Families - Worksheet 1. Students will draw 4 members of their family (i.e.: mother, father, sister, brother, grandparent, etc. ) and then fill in the chart identifying a similarity and difference between them and each family member. If there is extra time, students may color in their families.
Explain
7 minutes
Materials
Powerpoint
poster paper/ markers
Students will reconvene as a class and discuss observations in a class discussion facilitated by the teacher. Teacher will present a powerpoint with pictures of adult animals and their babies. Students will raise their hand and explain similarities and differences between the two. Teacher will list their observations in the form of a venn diagram on the board/ in front of the class.
Elaborate
7 minutes
Materials
Book: Whose Baby am I? by john Butler
Paper
Read the book and have students stop on every other page to compare and contrast the animals and their parents. Direct students attention to the size difference between the animals and their babies. Introduce vocabulary based on observations from the book. Ask students to define the terms listed below. As they give suggestions, write their ideas on the board and have students come up with one big definition as a class facilitated by the teacher.
Students will be directed to match a parent animal to its offspring. Once that is completed individually, students will select one animal mentioned in today's lesson and write a short paragraph comparing and contrasting the adult and baby animal. If students have limited writing ability, pictures will suffice. Further, understanding of the material will be assessed through ability to match the animals as well as explain their differences.