Ultimate Guide: Octopus: Teacher’s Guide
Grade Level: 6-8
Curriculum Focus: Animals
Lesson Duration: Two class periods
Program Description
Eight legs, three hearts, and a wealth of suction cups — the octopus is one of nature's most curious
creations. Color-blind, it still can mimic multicolored backgrounds, and even use color to
communicate. Shy and retiring, these cephalopods are hard to find and study, but Ultimate Guide:
Octopus reveals their secrets, with amazing, up-close footage of a creature that prefers not to be
seen.
Video Comprehension Questions
•
What allows octopuses to hide in such small spaces? (They have soft, flexible bodies that allow them
to squeeze into small spaces.)
•
What is the octopus’s main sense? What organs provide this heightened sense? (The octopus’s
main sense is touch. It has more than 1,600 suckers, each as sensitive as a tongue. In each sucker’s skin
are different cells. Some feel stretch and pressure, while others detect chemicals like taste buds.)
•
What happens when an octopus loses one of its tentacles? (When an octopus loses one of its
tentacles, blood flow to the area is cut off immediately so that the octopus doesn't lose any blood through
the wound. Then, over the course of a few months, the lost limb slowly grows again.)
•
What methods do octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish use to defend themselves from predators?
(Octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish are all experts at camouflaging themselves, changing colors to match
the colors of their surroundings or creating false eyespots on their skin so predators don’t’ know which
way they’re going. Some octopuses compress their bodies into tiny, safe openings in the sea floor.
Furthermore, when a predator attacks a squid or an octopus, they can release a burst of ink in the
predator's face and then jet off in the opposite direction. Predators, confused by the display, usually bite
into the cloud of foul-tasting ink instead of chasing the squid or octopus further.)
•
How do octopuses move themselves through the water? (Octopuses generally use their tentacles
like legs, walking along the seafloor. When they need to move quickly, however, they can contract their
bodies quickly, creating a burst of motion in a single direction.)
•
What do scientists know about how cuttlefish communicate? (Cuttlefish communicate by rapidly
changing the color and texture of their skin. They change colors rapidly to assert their dominance over
other cuttlefish. They also flash quick color changes to attract and confuse their prey, stunning them just
long enough to make them easy to catch.)
Ultimate Guide: Octopus: Teacher’s Guide
2
•
How do the squid’s eyes help it survive? (The eyes are big and well-developed. They’re also set far
apart for a wide field of view, so that a squid can almost see in front and behind at the same time. This
makes them able to avoid nearby predators more easily.)
•
What is the function of the bright blue rings on the blue-ringed octopus? (The rings are a warning
to predators that the blue-ringed octopus is very poisonous.)
Lesson Plan
Student Objectives
Students will understand:
•
Some animals, including the octopus and other cephalopods, have the ability to change their
body color to blend in with their environments.
•
This ability, known as camouflage, protects them from predators by making them practically
invisible.
Materials
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Ultimate Guide: Octopus video and VCR, or DVD and DVD player
•
Computer with Internet access (for further research on camouflage and cephalopods)
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Books and articles about camouflage and cephalopods
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Large sheets of construction paper (48" X 56" recommended)
•
Construction paper in a variety of colors
For each group:
•
Additional pieces of construction paper in a variety of colors
•
Scissors
•
Tape
•
Glue
Procedures
1. Before beginning the activity, prepare several imaginary “background environments” by
cutting and gluing patterns onto large sheets of construction paper (48" X 56" recommended).
For example, one background might have one-inch-diameter black circles on a white
background; another might have brown stripes on a blue background.
2. To begin the activity, ask your students whether they know of any animals that blend in with
their environment. Students might mention animals such as the tiger, praying mantis, and polar
bear. At this point, introduce the term camouflage.
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Ultimate Guide: Octopus: Teacher’s Guide
3
3. Continue the discussion by asking students if they know of any animals that can change color to
blend in with their environments. Students might mention the chameleon. Let them know that
the octopus and other cephalopods also have that ability.
4. Conclude the introductory discussion by asking students how the ability to blend in with the
environment benefits an animal. Students should understand that camouflage, which helps an
animal to hide from predators and prey, is a means of defense and survival.
5. Divide the class into groups, giving each group one of the “background environments” you
have prepared.
6. Challenge groups to use the materials provided to create imaginary animals that will blend in
with their environment and place them in their “environments.”
7. Have each group choose a student to serve as “predator.” These predators will try to find the
animals hiding in the other groups’ “environments.”
8. Each predator, in turn, can stand on a steady chair, looking down at the “environment,” trying
to spot as many “animals” as possible in five seconds.
9. After the activity, hold a discussion about what made the camouflaged “animals” difficult to
spot. Was it their shape, patterns, colors, or a combination of all three?
Discussion Questions
1. Throughout human history, sailors have told stories about ships and crewmen being attacked
by giant octopuses. Do you think these stories are realistic? Based on what you know of
octopuses’ temperament and behavior, should people be afraid of them? Explain your thinking.
2. Scientists often distinguish between intelligent animal behaviors (which involve reason and
problem solving) and complex animal behaviors (which are based on instinct, no matter how
intelligent they might seem). Discuss whether the behaviors of octopuses—camouflage, ink
squirting, and hiding in small crevasses, among others—are intelligent or complex. What
evidence do you have for your opinion?
3. As humans, we have designed our tools to work well with our limbs and hands. Scissors, for
instance, fit nicely into a human hand; we can use them because our thumbs and forefingers are
perfectly suited for the task. Imagine you’re an octopus, and you’d like to have tools to use in
your everyday life. What kinds of tools might you like to have? How would you design them to
work well with your complex body? What factors would you have to take into consideration?
4. Octopuses are very good at finding their way back to their dens, no matter how far away they
have wandered. Develop a hypothesis that explains how octopuses are able to find their way
home.
5. Every year, millions of public and private dollars are spent to study animals like the octopus.
This research sometimes results in a great understanding of animal behavior and biology, but
little financial return. With that in mind, should we continue to spend money on animal
research? Should we spend more money? Defend your answer.
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Ultimate Guide: Octopus: Teacher’s Guide
4
6. Explain how human society might be different if people were able to change their color and
skin texture as quickly and effectively as cuttlefish. What effects would this have on clothing
and makeup? On technology? On racism?
Assessment
Use the following three-point rubric to evaluate students' work during this lesson.
•
3 points: Students were active in class discussions; demonstrated strong understanding of
camouflage and how it helps animals survive; worked well in their groups to develop an
imaginary animal.
•
2 points: Students participated in class discussions; demonstrated satisfactory understanding of
camouflage and how it helps animals survive; worked well in their groups to develop an
imaginary animal.
•
1 point: Students did not participate in class discussions; demonstrated weak understanding of
camouflage and how it helps animals survive; did not work well in their groups to develop an
imaginary animal.
Vocabulary
camouflage
Definition: Concealment by means of disguise; behavior or artifice designed to deceive or hide.
Context: The octopus was camouflaged so well among the rocks that I almost stepped on it.
cephalopod
Definition: Any of a class of marine mollusks that move by expelling water from a tubular
siphon under the head and that have a group of muscular, sucker-bearing arms around the
front of the head, highly developed eyes, and a sac containing ink that is ejected for defense or
concealment.
Context: The octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish belong to a group of animals called cephalopods.
chromatophore
Definition: A pigment-bearing cell; one of the cells of an animal capable of causing color changes
by expanding or contracting.
Context: When the squid climbed on the dark-colored rock, chromatophores in its skin turned
the animal jet-black.
tentacle
Definition: Any of various long, flexible organs found on some animals, especially invertebrates.
Context: The octopus tucks its eight long tentacles behind it as it swims.
variegated
Definition: Diversified in external appearance, especially with different colors.
Context: The plant’s leaves were variegated, with spots of white on a green background.
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Ultimate Guide: Octopus: Teacher’s Guide
5
Academic Standards
Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL)
McREL's Content Knowledge: A Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K-12 Education
addresses 14 content areas. To view the standards and benchmarks, visit
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/browse.asp.
This lesson plan addresses the following national standards:
•
Science—Life Science: Understands the structure and function of cells and organisms.
•
Science—Life Science: Understands relationships among organisms and their physical
environment.
•
Science—Life Science: Understands biological evolution and the diversity of life.
National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences provides guidelines for teaching science in grades K-12 to promote
scientific literacy. To view the standards, visit this Web site:
http://books.nap.edu/html/nses/html/overview.html#content.
This lesson plan addresses the following national standards:
•
Life Science: Populations and ecosystems; Diversity and adaptations of organisms
Support Materials
Develop custom worksheets, educational puzzles, online quizzes, and more with the free teaching tools
offered on the Discoveryschool.com Web site. Create and print support materials, or save them to a
Custom Classroom account for future use. To learn more, visit
•
http://school.discovery.com/teachingtools/teachingtools.html
Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved.