Adaptive animal behavior is explored in Lesson 6, Worm Watch . A series of experiments provides the opportunity for students to observe the behavior of earthworms in a variety of conditions that simulate conditions in the worms' habitat. Students will observe actual food-getting adaptations by observing living spiders. Through dramatization of a variety of animal movements in Getting Around , Lesson 8, students experience how different animals are adapted to move in their different habitats. Garden snails are used in an activity to observe adaptations for movement.
Students have an opportunity to make and keep plaster casts of animal tracks.
Adaptations that enable animals to locate food, detect predators, and sense changes in their environment are explored in Lesson 10, Wild Senses . Students participate in activities that enhance their own senses and increase understanding of specialized animal senses. Living Cycles , Lesson 11, focuses on how different life stages are adaptations that help animals survive through changing environmental conditions. The concept of metamorphosis is introduced with a puppet show and reinforced with an activity in which students combine puzzle pieces to complete an animal's life cycle. Life stages of living animals, mealworms, are observed over several weeks.