What things do animals and plant do to prepare for winter?
How are they adapted to survive the change of seasons?
These are things we see around us every day, but may not realize are a part of how our natural world is adapted to their climate and seasonal changes. This is a critical thinking activity. Use this simple activity to talk about the science standards that relates to your students' age group.
LS4.C: Adaptation For any particular environment, some kinds of organisms survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all. (3-LS4-3)
NGSS Disciplinary Core Ideas
LS2.C: Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience
• When the environment changes in ways that affect a place’s physical characteristics, temperature, or availability of resources, some organisms survive and reproduce, others move to new locations, yet others move into the transformed environment, and some die. (secondary to 3-LS4-4)
LS4.A: Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity
• Some kinds of plants and animals that once lived on Earth are no longer found anywhere. (Note: moved from K-2) (3-LS4-1)
• Fossils provide evidence about the types of organisms that lived long ago and also about the nature of their environments. (3-LS4-1)
LS4.B: Natural Selection
• Sometimes the differences in characteristics between individuals of the same species provide advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing. (3-LS4-2)
LS4.C: Adaptation
• For any particular environment, some kinds of organisms survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all. (3-LS4-3)
LS4.D: Biodiversity and Humans
• Populations live in a variety of habitats, and change in those habitats affects the organisms living there. (3-LS4-4)
Performance Expectations Students who demonstrate understanding can:
3-LS4-1. Analyze and interpret data from fossils to provide evidence of the organisms and the environments in which they lived long ago.
3-LS4-2. Use evidence to construct an explanation for how the variations in characteristics among individuals of the same species may provide advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing.
3-LS4-3. Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.
3-LS4-4. Make a claim about the merit of a solution to a problem caused when the environment changes and the types of plants and animals that live there may change.*
