Mystery
Monarch Adaptation
How Does it
Help the Creature Survive?
|
Click
to enlarge photo |
Activity,
Part 2: Take Another Look
- Show students
this second image of the same structure. Ask:
* What is different about this picture?
* What new information does it give you?
* Do you have any new guesses about what it is or how it helps the young
monarch survive?
* What questions do you have?
- Show students
a video
clip of one phase of metamorphosis (going from caterpillar to chrysalis).
Next, listen to what monarch biologist, Dr. Brower has to say about
what's happening. Tell students to look and listen for clues about what
those funny little parts are and what they do.
Video
Clip
Monarch Metamorphosis
(.mpg
file 192 Kb) |
Watch
the caterpillar
twist and
turn as the chrysalis forms
|
Audio
Clip
Hear
Dr. Brower Explain
(.wma
file, 15 Mb)
( .wav
file, 1.4 Mb) |
- As a class,
make a list of vocabulary words you heard. Work together to figure out
or research the definitions. (If students don't pick these words out,
you may want to play the audio clip again, or suggest them: metamorphosis,
cremaster, chrysalid, silk, hooks.)
- Ask, After
seeing the caterpillar in action and listening to Dr. Brower, do you
know what part(s) of the monarch you've been looking at? How
close were your earlier guesses? Challenge students to describe
this part of the butterfly's life cycle using all of the new vocabulary
words.
- Explain
that some people think the mushroom-like things in the close-up pictures
look a bit like hooks. Ask, What other types of hooks do you know
of (e.g., fishing hook)? How do the hooks in the monarch's cremaster
act like other types of hooks? Explain that when you look at things
in nature, sometimes you can figure out what something does by asking,
What does it remind me of?
Making
Connections — Discussion and Journaling Questions
- What do
you think is the coolest thing about the monarch adaptation you observed?
- How does
it help a monarch survive? What would happen if the monarch didn't have
it?
- Can you
describe any other neat physical adaptations that help monarchs survive
in their habitats? (Which are more important during certain life cycle
stages?) What about human physical adaptations (e.g., hair on our heads!)?
Flower adaptations (e.g., aromas)?
Digging
Deeper: Hooked on Hooks! Nature-Inspired Products >>
National
Science Standards
Science
as Inquiry
Ask a question about objects, organisms, or events. (K-4)
Each plant
or animal has different structures that serve different functions in growth,
survival, reproduction. (K-4)
Life Science
Living systems at all levels of organization demonstrate the complementary
nature of structure and function. (5-8)
Biological
adaptations include changes in structures, behaviors, or physiology that
enhance survival and reproductive success in a particular environment.
(5-8)
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