ALEX | Alabama Learning Exchange

Cats and Their Coats

Classroom Resource Information

Title:

Cats and Their Coats

URL:

https://www.nationalgeographic.org/activity/cats-and-their-coats/

Content Source:

National Geographic

Type:

Lesson/Unit Plan

Overview:

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.

Content Standard(s):

Science
SC2015 (2015)
Grade: K

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).

NAEP Framework

NAEP Statement::
E4.5: Natural materials have different properties that sustain plant and animal life.

NAEP Statement::
E4.7: The Sun warms the land, air, and water and helps plants grow.

NAEP Statement::
L4.1: Organisms need food, water, and air; a way to dispose of waste; and an environment in which they can live.*

NAEP Statement::
L4.2: Organisms have basic needs. Animals require air, water, and a source of energy and building material for growth and repair. Plants also require light.

NAEP Statement::
L4.3: Organisms interact and are interdependent in various ways, including providing food and shelter to one another. Organisms can survive only in environments in which their needs are met. Some interactions are beneficial; others are detrimental to the organism and other organisms.

NAEP Statement::
L4.4: When the environment changes, some plants and animals survive and reproduce; others die or move to new locations.

Unpacked Content

Scientific And Engineering Practices:

Analyzing and Interpreting Data

Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns

Disciplinary Core Idea: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

Evidence Of Student Attainment:

Students:

Distinguish between living and nonliving things.
Verify what living things need to survive
Use observations to distinguish between living and nonliving things and describe patterns of what plants and animals need to survive.

Teacher Vocabulary:

Distinguish
Living
Nonliving
Verify
Need
Survive
Animals
Plants
Nutrients
Water
Sunlight
Air
Food

Knowledge:

Students know:

All animals need food, water, and air in order to survive.
Animals obtain their food from plants and other animals.
Plants need water, light and air to survive.

Skills:

Students are able to:

Distinguish between living (including humans) and nonliving things.
Verify what living things, including plants and animals, need to survive.

Understanding:

Students understand that:

Patterns in the natural world can be observed and used as evidence when distinguishing between living and nonliving things and determining the needs of living things.

AMSTI Resources:

AMSTI Module:
Plants and Animals
*Exploring Plants and Animals, STC

Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards

AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.K.3- Sort a group of items based on whether the items are living or nonliving.

Science
SC2015 (2015)
Grade: 1

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).*

NAEP Framework

NAEP Statement::
L4.4: When the environment changes, some plants and animals survive and reproduce; others die or move to new locations.

NAEP Statement::
L4.7: Different kinds of organisms have characteristics that enable them to survive in different environments. Individuals of the same kind differ in their characteristics, and sometimes the differences give individuals an advantage in surviving and reproducing.

Unpacked Content

Scientific And Engineering Practices:

Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions

Crosscutting Concepts: Structure and Function

Disciplinary Core Idea: From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

Evidence Of Student Attainment:

Students:

Use given materials to design a device that imitates how plants and/or animals survive, grow and/or meet their needs.

Teacher Vocabulary:

materials
design
solution
human problem
imitate
external parts
survive
needs
insulation
mimicry
camouflage
protection
ask
plan
imagine
create
improve

Knowledge:

Students know:

How plants use their external parts to survive, grow and meet their needs.
How animals use their external parts to survive, grow and meet their needs.
People can imitate how plants and animals survive and grow to help us solve a human problem.

Skills:

Students are able to:

Design a device that attempts to solve a human problem.
Use materials to imitate external structures of plants and animals.

Understanding:

Students understand that:

The shape and stability of structures of natural and designed objects are related to their function.

AMSTI Resources:

AMSTI Module:
Organisms, STC
Wild Feet, ETA/hand2mind

Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards

AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.1.5- Match an environmental situation with an appropriate human action (e.g., wearing a jacket when it is cold; animals growing a thick coat during the winter; wearing protective gear like a turtle has a shell).

Tags:

habitat, leopards, lions, survive, tigers

License Type:

Custom Permission Type
See Terms: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/terms-of-service/
For full descriptions of license types and a guide to usage, visit :
https://creativecommons.org/licenses

Accessibility

Text Resources: Content is organized under headings and subheadings

Comments

This resource provided by:

Author:

Stephanie Carver

ALEX Classroom Resource

Cats and Their Coats