GRADE: Eighth

CONTENT STANDARD: Life Science

CONTENT TOPIC: Diversity And Adaptations Of Organisms

CONCEPT: An organisms survival depends upon many things.

CONTENT OBJECTIVE: 8H2.00 To understand that adaptations may help organisms survive

INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES: The learner will:

2.01 understand how a combination of physical traits and behaviors are important to survival
2.02 understand that adaptation is related to fitness

I. Fitness
II. Adaptation

TN COMPONENT OF SCIENCE: Process of Science

TN GOAL:

To enable students to demonstrate the processes of science by posing questions and investigating phenomena through language, methods and instruments of science.

1.5 EXPLAINING - Phenomena and related information are made understandable through discussion that culminates in a higher level of learning.

1.5c Information should be related to prior knowledge.

BENCHMARK: Prior knowledge provides a foundation for new learning experiences.

TIME REQUIRED:

One instructional period

poster board, magazines, glue, scissors, and markers

fitness, adaptation

An organisms survival depends upon many things. We are going to try to determine some adaptations that help organisms to survive.

The combination of physical traits and behaviors that helps organisms to survive and reproduce in their environment is called fitness. Fitness arises through a process called adaptation. Successful adaptations enable organisms to become better suited to their environment, better able to survive and reproduce. The word adaptation also describes any inherited characteristics that increase an animal's or plant's fitness for survival. Thus, the long neck and legs of a giraffe are adaptations that permit giraffes to feed on the leaves of trees. With these adaptations, giraffes can eat leaves too high for most grazing animals to eat and thus are better able to survive and reproduce, passing their genes on to their young.

How is adaptation related to fitness?

make a collage using different photographs that the students cut from magazines that illustrate the differences in organisms. Such as-body covering, leg or neck length, types of movement.

We have learned that different characteristics increase a plant or animals fitness. On your paper give two examples of adaptations animals could make to help them survive.

fitness-a combination of physical traits that enable organisms to survive

adaptation-inherited characteristics that increase an animals ability for survival

This is the time this file has been accessed since 04/04/98.

The University of Tennessee at Martin is not responsible for the information or views expressed here.

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