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 Special
Feature Lesson:
A
Hairy Job
Overview:
Students
investigate the various roles that mammalian hair plays in adaptations
for survival.
Curriculum Focus:
science
Materials:
Hair
on the Job printout
Activity::
Make enough copies
of the Hair
on the Job printout
for each student to use. Review Special Feature. Focus on the description
of mammals (“hairy” animals). Ask students to share examples
of how hair looks different from mammal to mammal. Discuss the fact that
hair has four main “jobs:” to insulate (control the exchange
of heat between the animal and its environment); to heighten senses (in
the case of whiskers); to offer protection; and to provide a certain appearance,
which can help an animal blend in or stand out, or communicate a message
to others of its kind.
Explain that
all of these jobs reflect adaptations of mammals to their environment.
Define an adaptation as any specialization in the way an animal looks
or acts which helps it to survive. Adaptations help an animal to get food,
protect itself and reproduce. Tell students you would like them to find
examples of mammals that fit the adaptations described above. Hand out
copies of the Hair on the Job printout.
Tell students
to record their findings on the sheet. Take time to discuss students'
findings as a class. Help students to recognize how each mammal's adaptation
helps it survive the conditions of its habitat.
Extension idea:
Challenge
students to identify examples of how other kinds of animal' “clothes”
serve as adaptations for survival. Students can research fish, birds,
insects, reptiles, amphibians, arachnids and crustaceans.
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