Grade 4
Lesson 6: Animal Survival
Science Standard(s): Standard 5 Objective 1
Content Objective(s):
Students will identify the common animals found in Utah’s
environments and describe how these organisms are adapted to
the environment in which they live to their partners on their lab
sheets and independently on their exit tickets.
Puedo identificar los animales comunes encontrados en los
ecosistemas de Utah y describir de qué manera están
adaptados al ecosistema en el que viven con mi compañero en
mis hojas de laboratorio y por mi cuenta en una evaluación de
salida.
Essential Questions:
How are animals adapted to live in different environments?
Materials:
 Winter Clothing (coat, gloves, hat, etc.)

Summer Clothing (sandals, sunglasses, sun hat)

Large Box or Bag

Butcher Paper

Animal Picture Cards

Envelopes (1 per group)
Reference to English Interconnections Lesson
Language Objective(s):
Students will describe the adaptations of animals in different
environments that allow them to live there in an activity with
their partners.
Puedo describir a mi compañero las adaptaciones de los
animales en los distintos ecosistemas que les permiten vivir en
ellos.
Required Academic Vocabulary for Word Wall:
Listen: adaptaciones, características, sobrevivir, migración,
hibernación, almacenamiento, piel, humedales, desiertos,
bosques, montañas
Speak: adaptaciones, características, sobrevivir, migración,
hibernación, almacenamiento, piel, humedales, desiertos,
bosques, montañas
Read
Write: adaptaciones, migración, hibernación, almacenamiento,
piel, montañas
Sentence Frames:
¿Por qué este animal vive en ________ en lugar de en ________
o en ________?
Este animal vive en _________ en lugar de en _________ o en
_________ porque ___________.
¿Qué es lo que el humedal proporciona que este animal necesita
para sobrevivir?
Un ____________ le proporciona ___________ a este animal,
que lo/la necesita para sobrevivir.
Additional Lesson Vocabulary:
Various Animals
Lesson:
Instructional Time: 35 min
Opening: (3 minutes)
Review the objectives with your students. Make sure that they understand what they will learn. Have them ask questions about and
discuss what they hope to learn from the lesson.
 Place a variety of winter and summer clothing in a large box or bag.
Question:
“¿Ustedes usan la misma ropa todos los días?”
Have students talk with their partners or in small groups.
“No, nos cambiamos de ropa según el clima o la estación”.
 Remove one article of clothing from the box.
Question:
“¿Usamos esta prenda cuando hace calor o cuando hace frío? ¿Por qué?”
Have students talk with their partners or in small groups.
 Repeat with each article of clothing.
Talk about how sometimes, in the summer, if we go hiking or camping in the mountains, we might bring long pants and a sweatshirt
because it is colder in the mountains. That is because the mountains are at a higher elevation, so it is colder there than at our
houses. Humans use clothing to help them adapt to the changing weather and seasons. Animals don’t wear clothing.
Question:
“¿Cómo sobreviven ante las diferencias en el clima, las estaciones y la elevación? Piensen en diferentes respuestas todos juntos
como, por ejemplo, piel, escamas, etc.”
Have students talk with their partners or in small groups.
Introduction to New Material: (10 minutes)

Prepare a line drawing of a mountain and valley graphic on the board or a large piece of butcher paper hanging on the wall.
Mark elevations from 2,000 to 8,000 feet on the paper mountain.
Building on the concept from a previous lesson that elevation, precipitation, and temperature affect the location of Utah’s
environments, teach the students that they therefore, also affect where plants and animals live. When plants and animals live at
higher elevations, they might need to be able to survive in the cold. At lower elevations that contain deserts, the plants and animals
will change because only those that are able to survive will live there. Elevation, Precipitation, and temperature together give us
clues to where things live.
 Pass out the animal and plant cards with information that will help students determine, or match them up to different
elevations.
 Each student will share his information with the class and then decide where that animal might live. Place the card up on the
line drawing in the correct location.
 If a plant or animal can go in more than one location, you can either decide on the most common location, or make more than
one card to place on the mountain.
 Discuss the adaptations they have to live in the environments that you would find at those elevations.
Help students understand that many animals can adapt to live in a variety of different elevations depending on conditions. (Ex. If
there is a drought, deer, elk, and moose will move to a location, usually a lower elevation, where food is available - they move from
the mountain forests to your backyard.) The need to know about migration, hibernation, growing extra fur, and storing food.
 Divide the students into groups.
 Give each group a mixed up set of Animal Picture Cards in an envelope.
Question:
“¿Qué tan rápido pueden clasificar los animales según sus ecosistemas?”
 Review the environment categories of: wetland, forest, and desert.
 Have the students sort the animals into the correct environments as quickly as possible. Have them call out when they are
finished.
 When everyone is finished, correct the lists together.
Guided Practice: (10 minutes)
 Post your sentence frames.
 Pass out the Animal Survival sheets.
Using the animal cards, the students are going to work with partners to discuss the adaptations that allow them to live in each
environment.
Use the modeling cycle:
Teacher Does:
Use a puppet or other stuffed animal as a partner and model the discussion for the students. They should take turn asking the
questions with their partner. First, as the teacher, pick an animal from the wetland group and ask the class, “¿Por qué este animal
vive en un humedal en lugar de en un bosque o desierto?” Show the sentence frames students can use to help them respond. As
partner 1, model that you are talking with your partner 2, “Este animal vive en _________ en lugar de en _________ o en_________
porque ___________.” Then as the teacher ask, “¿Qué es lo que el humedal proporciona que este animal necesita para
sobrevivir?” As partner 2, model that you are talking with your partner 1, “Un ____________ le proporciona ___________ a este
animal, que lo/la necesita para sobrevivir”. Show them how to record their results on their Animal Survival sheet with short
abbreviated answers. Partner 1 and partner 2 will then switch roles for the next question.
Teacher and One Student Does
Repeat the process with the help of a student volunteer. You will model the questions the teacher will ask, as well as model as
partner 1. Your student volunteer will be partner 1. Refer to the sentence frames throughout this example to help your volunteer
work through it. Have them use an animal from the forest environment.
Two Students Do:
Choose two confident students and have them repeat the same section. You will ask the questions as the teacher and have the
students work as partners 1 and 2. Have them use an animal from the desert.
All Students Practice:
As the teacher, ask these questions about 4-5 animals or until you believe the students have adequate practice to continue this
activity on their own as part of the independent practice.
Independent Practice:(10 minutes)

Quickly model the procedure for students to work together independently to finish this activity. Focus on the new procedure of
taking turns asking the questions as well as responding to the questions. The entire modeling cycle may not be needed whereas
the procedure and language is nearly the same as the guided practice.
Use the modeling cycle:
Teacher Does:
Use a puppet or other stuffed animal as a partner and model the discussion for the students. They should take turn asking the
questions with their partner. First pick an animal from the wetland group and ask your “partner,” “¿Por qué este animal vive en un
humedal en lugar de en un bosque o en un desierto?” Have your partner answer using the sentence frame. Then have your partner
ask you “¿Qué es lo que el humedal proporciona que este animal necesita?” and then answer your partner using the sentence
frame.
Teacher and One Student Does
Repeat the process with the help of a student volunteer. Refer to the sentence frames throughout this example to help your
volunteer work through it. Have them use an animal from the forest environment.
Two Students Do:
Choose two confident students and have them repeat the same section. Have them use an animal from the desert.
All Students Practice:
Instruct the students to repeat the process until all of the animals have been discussed. Monitor their progress, checking for
understanding and ensuring they are using the target language. When they are finished, have a few partnerships share a couple of
the ideas that were discussed between them.
Questions:
“¿Qué características tienen en común los animales del grupo del desierto y que les ayudan a vivir allí?
¿Qué características tienen en común los animales del grupo del bosque y que les ayudan a vivir allí?
¿Qué características tienen en común los animales del grupo del humedal y que les ayudan a vivir allí?
Have students talk with their partners or in small groups.
Note: This is a good time to discuss cold blooded creatures and how they survive by using their environment to warm or cool their
bodies. Also, help student see how different animals in the desert survive by eating one another. There is very little food available in
the desert, so the animals depend on one another for food as well.
Use your document camera to help the students understand the directions for the exit tickets.
 Have the students draw and label an animal for each environment showing the adaptations that help it survive.
 Collect exit tickets to use as an assessment.
Closing: (2 minutes)
Have the students reread the objective with you as a class. Have them turn to their partners and tell them one thing that they
learned today that they wanted to learn. Give them a chance to share what part of the lesson they enjoyed the most.
Encourage students to look on the computer or watch Animal Planet on television to search for different animals that live in
different environments. Encourage students to talk with their families about where the animal lives and how its environment helps
it survive. Provide an opportunity in a future class period for students to share discussions they had at home.
Assessment:
Observe partner Discussions during guided and independent practice to assess mastery of content and language objectives.
Collect Lab Sheets to assess mastery of content and language objectives.
Collect Exit Tickets to assess mastery of content objectives.
Extra Ideas:
 Have larger pictures of more animals and discuss adaptations

Use the animal cards to do sorts that will help them practice classification.
Humedales:
Trucha
Bagre
Tarjetas de animales
Bosques:
Alce americano
Puma
Desiertos:
Halcón colirrojo
Chara piñonera
Rata almizclera
Venado bura
Tortuga
Carpa
Zorro rojo
Lagartija
Serpiente toro
Lince rojo
Castor
Alce
Rata canguro
Cuervo
Serpiente de cascabel
Petirrojo
Coyote
Rana
Salamandra
Conejo de cola de algodón
Lechuza común
Alondra
Liebre
Urraca
Ratón ciervo
Supervivencia animal
¿De qué manera sobreviven los animales en sus ecosistemas?
Humedal
Bosque
Desierto
Animales comunes:
Animales comunes:
Animales comunes:
Cómo sobreviven:
Cómo sobreviven:
Cómo sobreviven:
Evaluación de salida
Nombre:
Hagan un boceto de cada ecosistema. Dibujen un animal en cada uno y rotulen las adaptaciones que les
ayudan a sobrevivir en su ecosistema.
Humedal
Desierto
Bosque