Passport Around the World: Discover the Animals of the World NC Migrant Education: Science Curriculum 1 Lesson 4 Animals of the Middle East: The Desert Biome LESSON DESCRIPTION: This lesson teaches students the general characteristics, including climate, plants and animals that make up the desert biome. Students will learn about ways that plants and animals have adapted to the hot and dry desert environment by finding, absorbing and storing water. Students will do a sponge experiment to connect sponge behavior to animal adaptations, and a food experiment to understand that there is moisture in some of the foods we eat. Camels are very adapted to desert climate, so students will learn about the camel hump, learn that the hump doesn’t actually store water but it stores fat, and will make camel arts and crafts projects. An optional extension activity teaches students why the desert is hot during the day but cold at night. Students will get a chance to make connections between scientific examples and real life adaptations that occur in the desert. MAJOR CONCEPTS: Desert info: o http://voices.yahoo.com/science-lesson-plan-desert-biome-7640026.html?cat=4 o Saudi Arabia Desert Plants http://www.ehow.com/list_6535137_saudi-arabia- desert-plants.html o Types of Animals of the Arabian Desert: http://www.ehow.com/about_5378864_types-animals-arabian-desert.html#page=0 o Desert Animal Survival: http://www.desertusa.com/survive.html o Desert Animal Adaptations: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/adaptations-in-desert- animals.html o Desert animals: http://teachersnetwork.org/teachnet- lab/ps101/bglasgold/desertbiome/lesson4desertanimals.htm Camels: o Arabian Camel: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/dromedary-camel/ o What secrets lie within the camel’s hump? http://www.djur.cob.lu.se/Djurartiklar/Kamel.html o Do camels store water in their humps? http://earthsky.org/earth/do-camels-store- water-in-there-humps o How much water can a camel drink? http://www.ehow.com/facts_6928808_much- water-can-camel-drink_.html
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Passport Around the World: Discover the Animals of the World NC Migrant Education: Science Curriculum
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Lesson 4
Animals of the Middle East: The Desert Biome
LESSON DESCRIPTION: This lesson teaches students the general characteristics, including climate, plants and animals that make up the desert biome. Students will learn about ways that plants and animals have
adapted to the hot and dry desert environment by finding, absorbing and storing water. Students will do a sponge experiment to connect sponge behavior to animal adaptations, and a food experiment to understand that there is moisture in some of the foods we eat. Camels are
very adapted to desert climate, so students will learn about the camel hump, learn that the hump doesn’t actually store water but it stores fat, and will make camel arts and crafts projects. An optional extension activity teaches students why the desert is hot during the day but cold at night. Students will get a chance to make connections between scientific examples and real life
adaptations that occur in the desert.
MAJOR CONCEPTS:
Desert info:
o http://voices.yahoo.com/science-lesson-plan-desert-biome-7640026.html?cat=4
o Saudi Arabia Desert Plants http://www.ehow.com/list_6535137_saudi-arabia-
Passport Around the World: Discover the Animals of the World NC Migrant Education: Science Curriculum
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2. Start out by creating a KWL chart on deserts. Create a chart on a poster or on the board with three columns (K,
W and L). K = know, W = want to know, L = learned. First, ask the students what they know about deserts (it’s hot,
dry, camels, cactus, etc), and what they want to know (how do animals and plants survive in the desert, etc). (At the end of today’s lesson you will fill out the L part of the
chart) 3. Reading and Video introduction to Deserts: Choose 2 of
the following presentation options. Based on your specific access to technology, you can choose between the books,
video and Desert Prezi. The best combinations is to read 1
book, show the Animal Adaptations Video and then show
the Desert Prezi
Presentation options: i. Book options:
A Desert Habitat by Kelley MacAulay Who Lives Here? Desert Animals by
Deborah Hodge
ii. Technology options: Animal Adaptations Video
Desert Prezi 4. Discuss with students: (and fill out more of the KWL sheet)
All animals and people need water and food to survive. How do you think animals of the desert survive? (brainstorm and discuss what you learned in the videos/books)
What are some of the key traits of deserts? i. Low rainfall
ii. Hot during the day, cold at night iii. Not much water
5. 3-5 Desert Worksheet: Hand out the worksheet- http://www.education.com/slideshow/ecosystems-slideshow/desert-ecosystem/ You might need to make a free education.com username/login to access the worksheet. Allow students time to read through the worksheet and fill out the word search.
Bite-size pieces of different foods (apple, turkey, cheese, bread, chips, lettuce, salami, banana, sugar cookies)
Plastic sandwich bags that zip close
5 gooseneck lamps with 75-watt bulbs
Biome world map
Activity 3: Desert Survival Experiment: Does food have water in it? (all ages)
Lesson Plan:
Part 1: Introduction
1. Ask students: What are the basic needs of all plants and animals? (food and water)
2. Show students images of dry, barren deserts. How do
plants and animals that live in the desert meet their need for water?
Part 2: Investigation
1. Do you think there is water in the foods you eat? What foods to you think contain more water than others?
2. Tell students that they will be doing an experiment to find
out how much water is in common lunch food. 3. Pass out Where’s_The_Water_Worksheet and explain
procedure to students – each group will select four different pieces of food and put each piece in its own baggie and seal the bag. They will predict which food
contains the most water and then place the baggies under their lamp for half an hour, at which time they will compare
their predictions with their results. 4. Place students into groups of 3-4 students. Each group
should contain students at various academic levels 5. Have 1 member of each group come up to get baggies/food 6. Students will fill out the first part of the worksheet,
recording their samples and making their predictions
7. Once students have made predictions, they will bring their
bags to teacher at the back table and put them below their lamp
8. We will return to the experiment after 30 minutes so the
students can record their results and compare them to their predictions
Part 3: Explain
1. Read The Magic School Bus: All Dried Up (Explain): We are going to go on a field trip with Ms. Frizzle and her class in the Magic School Bus to learn more about the
characteristics of deserts and find out how some plants and animals can live there.
.doc- Download document from the bottom of https://sites.google.com/site/mebrook05/lesson-plans/desert-adaptations
Large piece of tan felt Fat tail made of felt Two long wooden spoons
with large felt oval attached over the scoop part
10 large paperclips Sunglasses with large
ping-pong ball “eyes” attached
Nose plug 4 sponges
2. Read the book to students 3. After reading, ask students questions:
a. What kinds of adaptations do desert plants have? b. How have animals adapted to live in the desert?
c. How do these adaptations help plants and animals meet their needs?
d. Is there water in the desert?
e. Do the desert animals need to be rescued?
Part 4: Explore 1. Explore specific desert animal adaptations: Tell students
that they have heard about the different types of
adaptations that animals have made to help them survive
in the desert, but now they will get to see some of these
adaptations with their own eyes. 2. Ask for a student volunteer to represent our desert animal
3. One by one, attach “adaptations” to the student. Call on students to identify what the adaptation is and how it helps the “animal” survive in the desert. Ask other students if
they agree and/or if they can think of another purpose of the adaptation. (See DesertAnimalAdaptations.doc-
Activity 4: Alice the camel has 1 hump- Outdoor activity (all ages) Lesson Plan: 1. Introduce Camels with these camel facts:
a. Habitat: Deserts, dry area b. Two types of camels: One hump (Arabian) and two
hump (Bactrian) c. The Hump: Contains fat which supplies the camel
with nutrition; he does not have to
eat for 3 to 4 days
at a time. d. Diet: Camels are
plant eaters or are HERBIVORES. C
ommon food includes plants, oats, dates, and
wheat. e. Important parts of
the body: The
leathery pads on knees and chest to protect them from sand; Nostrils open and close and protect
them as well from the desert environment; Very bushy eyebrows and two rows of eyelashes which
protect the eyes from sand. 2. Sing the “Alice the Camel” song: Lyrics, Tune (video). Teach
the tune and lyrics, and have students sing along. a. When done in a group, everyone should get in as
close to a circle as possible and put their arms over the shoulders of the people next to them. Then, while they say each number of humps everyone bends at the knees. During the lines "Boom, Boom, Boom," then everyone bangs hips against each other. Nothing dangerous of course.
b. Or to do individually, show five fingers when you sing "5 humps," then four, three, etc. Sway your hips from side to side on the "boom, boom, boom."
3. Tell students that camels in the Arabian Desert have ONE hump.
Passport Around the World: Discover the Animals of the World NC Migrant Education: Science Curriculum
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4. Drink Up Camel: Field/Gym Activity- a. Tell you students that when it is very hot out
animals (and humans) have to drink water to stay hydrated. It is hard to find water in the desert, but when camels find water they can drink up to thirty-two gallons of water at one time. This means camels can drink 512 cups of water at once.
b. Then proceed to play this game: Split your students up into two teams. Tell them that they are camels and must collect as much water as they can. Place a bucket at the start of both team's lines and on the opposite side of the playing field. Give the first person on both teams a sponge. When you yell go the first person on both teams gets as much water from the bucket in their sponge as possible and runs to squeeze it out in the bucket on the opposite side of the playing field. Then they run back and tag the next person in line and hands them the sponge. This keeps going until everyone has gone. Then whoever has the most water in the bucket at the opposite side of the playing field wins!
5. Ask students where they think the camel stores all that water?
a. Students will probably answer: The hump. b. Camels actually do NOT store water in their humps!
They store fat in their humps to give them energy to survive in the desert.
c. So how do camels stay hydrated? i. They drink a lot of water and store water in
their bloodstream and their stomachs. ii. Camels have very large nostrils that they can
open and close. They open their nostrils to let in water, and can use their nostrils to sponge up the moisture from the air they breathe out. When there is a sandstorm, they close their nostrils so they won’t get sand in their noses.
Lesson Plan Source: http://voices.yahoo.com/camel-lesson-plans-children-3933282.html?cat=4
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Duration: 20-25 minutes Student Objectives: To design a camel mask
to include the key features of a camel’s face
To discover the key adaptations on the camel’s face that help it survive
Key Vocabulary: Adaptation Herbivores Eyebrows Eyelashes Nostrils Materials Needed: Paper plates Construction paper Yarn or pom pom balls Pipe Cleaners Crayons or markers Scissors Glue Hole puncher Wooden Popsicle sticks
Activity 5: Make a Camel Mask (all ages)
Lesson Plan: 1. Go over Camel Facts:
a. Habitat: Deserts, dry area b. Two types of camels: One hump (Arabian) and
two hump (Bactrian) c. The Hump: Contains fat which supplies the
camel with nutrition; he does not have to eat for 3 to 4 days at a time.
d. Diet: Camels are plant eaters or are HERBIVORES. Common food includes plants, oats, dates, and wheat.
e. Important parts of the body: The leathery pads on knees and chest to protect them from sand; Nostrils open and close and protect them as well from the desert environment; Very bushy eyebrows and two rows of eyelashes which protect the eyes from sand.
2. After speaking to the children about the furry eyebrows and long rows of eyelashes, have the children make their very own camel masks which resemble real camels.
3. The teacher should show the children pictures of camel faces to help them understand how the face is situated: big rounded nose, large nostrils, eyes with long eyelashes and eyebrows. Allow the students to draw their camel faces onto paper plates. Have the color and prepare the camel faces for the next steps. Where the eyebrows should go have children glue either yarn or pom poms to make them nice and bushy!
4. The teacher will then use a hole-puncher to make holes where the eyelashes should go. Make several holes then help children lace the eyelashes into the holes. Use one pipe cleaner for every two holes. You will bend the pipe cleaner to make a V and insert both sides of pipe cleaner straight through two holes (one side for each hole). Once the pipe cleaner has entered both holes twist the pipe cleaners so that they stay. Twist 3-4 times around each other. Proceed several more time depending on how many holes you have punched. This should be done going from the back to the front (so the twisting will be done on the front). If you punched 10 holes then you will be using 5 pipe cleaners.
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5. You can now cut open holes where the eyes would be so the child can see out of the mask. The last step is to glue a wooden Popsicle stick to the bottom so that the child can hold the mask in front of his face.
6. This craft will help the children with fine motor skills, and is also a great opportunity to assess the children about the face anatomy of the camel. Ask the students:
o Why do they have bushy eyebrows? o Why do they have long eyelashes? o Why do they have large nostrils?
Lesson Plan Source: http://www.brighthubeducation.com/pre-k-and-k-lesson-plans/57181-is-a-camel-a-mammal-lesson-plan/