Topic: Life Science - Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
Software: Studio
Animal Defenses
Lesson Overview
Plants and animals have many different adaptations to survive in their
particular environments. These adaptations may be structural or behavioral
and serve a variety of purposes: to acquire and store water, to capture prey, to
defend against predators, to help survive in extreme weather conditions, and
so on. In this lesson, students will explore some of the structural adaptations
that animals use for defensive purposes.
Grade level: 3rd-5th
Lesson Time: 90 Minutes
Key Terms:
Adaptation
Behavioral
Defense
Predator
Prey
Objectives
○○ Identify common body parts that animals use for defense
○○ Analyze the structures of these body parts to determine their functions for
survival
○○ Make connections to the predator/prey relationships
○○ Investigate the difference between structural and behavioral defenses
Structural
Resources:
Answer Key
Animal Defenses worksheet
Create Your Own Animal worksheet
Materials needed:
Poster boards (optional)
Markers (optional)
Standards (NGSS and Common Core)
For state specific standards visit edu.zspace.com
Next Generation Science Standards
○○ Life Science - From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
• 4-LS1-1 Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that
function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.
Common Core Connections
○○ Language Arts
• W.4.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
• SL.4.4 Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner, using
appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an
understandable pace.
Differentiation (Δ)
○○ Give students a variety of presentation styles to choose from (using charts/graphs, PowerPoint, making
3D presentations, creating videos/movies, making posters)
Animal Defenses
1
Topic: Life Science - Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
Software: Studio
Introduction
The teacher will start the lesson by asking the question: How do animals in the wild protect
themselves against enemies? The teacher will ask the students to name some things that animals do
in the wild in order to survive. Possible answers include: fighting, playing dead, fleeing, hiding, biting,
stinging, or losing a limb. After listening to a few suggestions, the teacher will explain that these are
all examples of defensive behavioral adaptations. The teacher will then explain to the students that
they will now be taking a closer look at some defensive structural adaptations, or body parts that
animals have for protection against enemies.
Activity
Animal Defenses
This section will be completed in Studio along with the Animal Defenses worksheet.
Scene 1
Animals have many different structural defenses in order to survive.
○○
Let’s take a look at a few of these defenses.
Scene 2
Here is a Golden Eagle and a Great Horned Owl. They both have long, sharp talons on their feet to
capture their prey. They have sharp beaks to peck and tear away the flesh of their prey. They also
have large, feathered wings to fly away if in danger.
○○ Open the Model Gallery and find models of other animals with these same defenses. Add them to the
scene.
○○ Click on the Show/Hide Scale icon and select Relative Size. Take a screenshot.
Scene 3
Some animals have long, sharp tusks, horns, or antlers to protect themselves against predators. Here
is an elephant with long tusks and a stag with sharp antlers.
○○ Find models of other animals with long, sharp tusks, horns, or antlers and add them to the scene.
○○ Make the animals relative size and take a screenshot.
Scene 4
Some animals like this wolf and lion have long, sharp teeth and claws to attack their prey and protect
themselves from predators.
○○ Find models of other animals with sharp teeth and claws. Add them to the scene.
○○ Make the animals relative size and take a screenshot.
Animal Defenses
2
Topic: Life Science - Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
Software: Studio
Scene 5
In addition to sharp teeth, this T-Rex also has tough, thick skin like armor and a large powerful tail
for defense.
○○ Find a model of another animal with thick skin and a powerful tail. Add it to the scene.
○○ Make the animals relative size and take a screenshot.
Scene 6
This mollusk has a tough outer shell for protection.
○○ Find a model of another animal that has a protective outer shell. Add it to the scene.
○○ Make the animals relative size and take a screenshot.
Create Your Own Animal
Students will create their own new animal with various adaptations to survive in the wild. First,
students will choose a habitat for their animal to live in, such as the desert, rainforest, or ocean.
Next, students will decide what their animal will look like, what type of animal it will be (for example,
mammal, insect, reptile, fish), and what structural adaptations it will have to protect itself from
enemies. Students will decide which animals will be its predators and prey. And finally, students will
name their new animal and draw a detailed picture of it. Students will record their information on
the Create Your Own Animal worksheet. Students will also create large posters (optional) and give
presentations to the class about their new wild animals.
Closing
After listening to all student presentations, students will share what they liked about each other’s
new animal.
Questions for Discussion
1. What are some common structural adaptations that many animals have?
Answers will vary. Sample Answer: Many animals have sharp body parts like claws, talons, teeth, or
horns for defense against enemies.
2. Did you find that animals have many structural adaptations or just one? Why?
Answers will vary. Sample Answer: Animals have many different structural adaptations, not just one.
Having many different defensive options give animals a better chance at survival.
3. How do structural adaptations play a role in the predator/prey relationship?
Answers will vary. Sample Answer: Animals have many structural adaptations that help defend
themselves against predators or capture their prey.
Animal Defenses
3
Topic: Life Science - Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
Software: Studio
4. What is the difference between structural and behavioral adaptations?
Answers will vary. Sample Answer: Structural adaptations are body parts that animals have to help
them survive. Behavioral adaptations are things that animals do to help them survive.
Δ Investigate Further
Follow-up Activity: Students could complete other related Studio lessons including: Animal Teeth
and Diet, Predators and Prey, Flow of Energy in an Ecosystem, and Surviving Your Habitat.
Extension Activity: Students could build clay models of their new animals that clearly show their
defensive structures.
Extension Activity: Students could use their newly created animals to build an imaginary food chain/
energy web. Based on each animal’s defensive structures, students would need to first decide which
animals are the prey and which are the predators.
Answer Key
Activity Questions Provided in Studio
1. Make a list of animals that have each defensive structure.
Answers will vary. Sample Answer:
Talons: Eagles, Hawks, Owls
Beaks: Seagulls, Robins, Chickens, Toucans
Tusks: Elephants, Walruses, Hogs
Horns: Elk, Bighorn sheep, Bison
Antlers: Reindeer, Moose, Caribou
Claws: Raccoons, Bears, Tigers, Cats
Sharp Teeth: Sharks, Alligators, Wolves
Thick Skin: Crocodiles, Rhinoceroses, Hippos
Powerful Tail: Kangaroos, Whales, Tyrannosaurus Rex
Outer Shell: Snails, Crabs, Lobsters, Turtles
2. Can you think of any other defensive animal structures not listed here? What are they?
Answers will vary. Sample Answer: A few other animal defenses are pinchers (crabs), stingers (bees),
fangs (snakes), and scent glands (skunks). There are many more.
Animal Defenses
4
Name
Date
Animal Defenses
Complete this worksheet as you view the Animals Defenses tour in Studio.
Make a list of animals that have each defensive structure.
Try to think of different animals for each section.
Talons
Tusks
Antlers
Sharp Teeth
Powerful Tail
Beaks
Horns
Claws
Thick Skin
Outer Shell
Can you think of any other defensive animal structures not listed here? What are they?
____________________________________________________________________________________
Name
Date
Create Your Own Animal
Write details about your new animal in the circles below.
Habitat
Type of
Animal
Physical
Description
Animal Name
Predators
Prey
Defensive
Structures
Draw a detailed picture of your new animal on the other side of this worksheet.