Animal Behavior

Topic: animal behavior

Objectives & Outcomes

• Students will be able to explain why some animals migrate and the physical and behavioral adaptations that allow them to migrate.

Materials

• Pictures or videos of animals that migrate (e.g. birds, whales, etc.)
• Handouts with information about animal migration
• Whiteboard and markers

Warm-up

• Ask students if they have ever heard of animals migrating. Ask them to name any animals they think migrate.
• Write their answers on the whiteboard.
• Ask students what they think might motivate animals to migrate.

Direct Instruction

• Show students pictures or videos of animals that migrate. Ask them to identify which animals are migrating and which are not.
• Ask students if they can think of any reasons why animals might migrate. Write their answers on the whiteboard.
• Discuss the reasons students gave, and add any that you know of. For example, animals might migrate in search of food, water, or shelter. They might also migrate to avoid harsh weather or predators.
• Ask students if they have ever seen any animals migrate. If so, ask them to share their experiences.

Guided Practice

• Have students work in pairs to research one type of migrating animal. Have them write down the reasons that the animal migrates and any other interesting facts they learn.
• Have students present their researched animals to the class and share what they learned.

Independent Practice

• Have students choose one type of migrating animal to research on their own. Have them write a paragraph about why the animal migrates and any other interesting facts they learn.

Closure

• Review the main points of the lesson, including the reasons why animals migrate and the different types of migration.
• Ask students to share one thing they learned about animal behavior during the lesson.

Assessment

• As students work on the migration map project, observe them to assess their understanding of the different types of migration and the reasons why animals migrate.
• Collect and review their migration map projects to assess their understanding of the migration patterns of a specific species.