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Animal Adaptation Lesson

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Danielle George Danielle George 970 Points

Hello I am about to teach a 2nd grade lesson on animal adaptations. I am making bags of blubber to show the kids that our skin in water and polar bears in water feel very different. I am making the blubber out of crisco and ziplock baggies, and the kids will not be able to touch the actual crisco but still get the effects out of it. I am worried that bowls of water and the blubber will be too messy for the kids to do it at their desks in groups, but I am also worried that if I only bring back a few students at a time to do the experiment, the rest of the class will be off task and disengaged. I am just at a loss on what to have the students do while they wait for their turn. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. This is also the engage part of my lesson, so they will not know much but what was previously taught to them. 
Melanie Biddinger Melanie Biddinger 495 Points

Hi Danielle,

This is a great question, which I believe many teachers come across during their careers.  Firstly, I think it is important to mention that when students make a mess, it is not always a bad thing.  When children get messy, it’s an indication that they are having fun and are fully invested in their learning.  However, I completely agree that you do not want your room in “shambles.”  Therefore, if you decide that you want all of your students to engage in this experiment at once, I would consider several things.  Firstly, I would greatly consider the make-up up of your groups.  I personally would place no more than five students per group and place the more responsible students with their peers who seem to need more prompting to stay on task.  In addition, I strongly recommend that you model how to do the experiment.  Many children benefit from having a model; therefore, you could show them how to appropriately put their hands in the bags and perform the experiment. I also would go over all of your expectations and rules prior to the activity and inform them of any consequences that may arise for those who do not follow directions.  I also would consider requesting an extra pair of hands either from other school staff members or from the students’ parents.

However, if you do not want to have everyone complete the experiment at once, I would have the students who are at their desks watch a related video if they have devices or complete some form of a pre-test to determine their already existing knowledge.  This pre-test may involve the students drawing what they know or want to know, writing a poem, or creating a story, which are all entertaining ways students can demonstrate what they know or want to know.  You could also have the students predict what will happen during the experiment while they wait for their turn.  

-Melanie
David Vernot David Vernot 4340 Points

Hello Danielle,
I'll preface this by saying that I am not an early childhood educator, but what follows might help. I'm not sure what you are trying to compare when students feel the 'blubber' and then the water in bags. In one case the are feeling the stuff under a whale's skin. In the other they are feeling the liquid in which both whales and humans (who don't have blubber) swim.
I did some searching and found this NSTA resource which might be helpful. At the bottom of the lesson plan there is a link to a related lesson plan posted elsewhere.
http://www.nsta.org/publications/news/story.aspx?id=52626
It is an article located in the NSTA Learning Center.
The Learning Center is a great way to look for ideas and information. Here's the skinny if you haven't searched it:
[ol]

  • http://learningcenter.nsta.org/

  • Click on the 'Explore All Resources' tab.

  • Use the search box to search for specific terms. You can be simple (like 'blubber') and then narrow later.

  • Once you've searched an come up with a zillion hits, narrow your search by source, grade band, free or cost, etc. (I don't know why that left hand 'narrowing' column is not there from the start).

    • [/ol]
    Some resources, link the one above, are free to everyone, some are free to members with a cost to others, and some have member discounts.

    Hope this helps. Have fun with those little kiddos.
    David
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