During this unit, students explore what animals and plants need to survive. They also closely examine how certain adaptations support these needs. For the culminating activity, students create a mashup that represents the adaptations they believe would be best suited for the success of a scientist working nearly one mile below the surface at the Sanford Underground Research Facility.
Note: students are encouraged to go outside to "explore" life in Lesson 2. Spring and Fall are likely to yield more observations of living things.
Creature Features-- The Needs of Living Things
K-LS1-1 Describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans) need to survive.
K-ESS3-1 Use a model to represent the relationship between the needs of different plants or animals (including humans) and the places they live.
1-LS1-1 Design a solution to a human problem by mimicking how plants and/or animals use their external parts to help them survive, grow, and meet their needs.*
1-LS1-2 Read texts and use media to determine patterns in behavior of parents and offspring that help offspring survive.
2-LS4-1 Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats.