ALEX Classroom Resources

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (1) 5 :

5 ) Design a solution to a human problem by using materials to imitate how plants and/or animals use their external parts to help them survive, grow, and meet their needs (e.g., outerwear imitating animal furs for insulation, gear mimicking tree bark or shells for protection).*

In this lesson, students will be able to explain that wearing a coat helps keep you warm because it blocks your body’s heat from moving away from you to where it’s cold. The teacher discusses whether a thick or thin jacket helps students stay warmer in cold weather. Students see a demonstration in which a container with warm water is placed in cold water. The warm water cools down quickly. Students then design and test a “coat” for the container to keep the water warm longer. Students watch an animation explaining why a coat helps keep them warm in the cold.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (1) 5 :

5 ) Design a solution to a human problem by using materials to imitate how plants and/or animals use their external parts to help them survive, grow, and meet their needs (e.g., outerwear imitating animal furs for insulation, gear mimicking tree bark or shells for protection).*

In these Hero Elementary activities, children learn about animals’ body parts. This includes humans! Children observe different animals. They notice how animals’ bodies are alike and not alike. They compare animals’ body parts and notice patterns. They find a way to solve a problem by copying how animals use their body parts.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (0) 3 :

3 ) Distinguish between living and nonliving things and verify what living things need to survive (e.g., animals needing food, water, and air; plants needing nutrients, water, sunlight, and air).

[SC2015] (1) 5 :

5 ) Design a solution to a human problem by using materials to imitate how plants and/or animals use their external parts to help them survive, grow, and meet their needs (e.g., outerwear imitating animal furs for insulation, gear mimicking tree bark or shells for protection).*

In this lesson, students explore what lions, tigers, and leopards look like and analyze how the animals' coats help them survive in their different habitats. The students will discuss different big cats and their physical features, discuss the habitats of big cats, and how they survive in their habitat. 

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (1) 5 :

5 ) Design a solution to a human problem by using materials to imitate how plants and/or animals use their external parts to help them survive, grow, and meet their needs (e.g., outerwear imitating animal furs for insulation, gear mimicking tree bark or shells for protection).*

[ELA2021] (1) 22 :

22. Ask and answer questions about key details in literary and informational texts.

The teacher will present an informational text from the website, ReadWorks. The students and teacher can interact with this non-fiction text by annotating the text digitally. The students will answer the questions associated with the article as an assessment. This learning activity can be used to introduce students to ways that animals use external parts to help them survive, grow, and meet their needs in their environment. This could serve as a precursor to students designing their own survival solution using materials to imitate how animals have solved similar problems.