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Survivor Animal
Woodhouse’s toad
National and State Standards
National Standards: NS: 5-8.3, 5-8.6; NL-ENG: K-12.1, K-12.3, K-12.4, K-12.5, K-12.7,
K-12.8, K-12.11, K-12.12; NM: N&O 1, 2, 3; DA&P 1, 4; CN 3; CM 1, 2; NA-VA: 5-8.6
Nebraska Standards: S: 8.1.1, 8.4.1, 8.4.3, 8.4.4, 8.4.5; LA: 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4; M: 7.1.3,
8.4; VPA: K-12.6.1
Objectives
Students will:
• understand the terms “adaptation” and “survival
of the fittest.”
• discover amphibian adaptations.
animals can be found on every continent except for
Antarctica and cover a wide variety of habitats. This
makes amphibians so interesting, because each
species has developed special adaptations that
allow them to thrive in their habitat. Adaptations are
behaviors or features that an animal or plant develops
to help them survive in a specific habitat.
Duration
Procedure
One to several class periods
Students can do some or all of the Build-anAnimal activity in class, or at home to save time.
Ask the students: What is an animal adaptation?
An adaptation is a feature or behavior certain
animals develop that helps them to survive in their
environment. Ask the students to think of different
adaptations in animals (example – the hard shell of
some turtles into which they can tuck their head and
legs if they are threatened by a predator).
Background
Amphibians are amazing creatures! They
include frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and
caecilians, which are limbless, mostly tropical
amphibians that burrow in the ground. These
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Follow this discussion with the following activities.
© The Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska on behalf of Nebraska 4-H. All rights reserved.
ity 1 –
Activ
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Materials
• Goofy glasses
• Mesh shirt
• Ear muffs
• Empty over-the-counter pain medication bottle
• Tube of antibiotic cream
• Bottle of lotion
• Poison bottle (Make a poison label and tape it to an
empty bottle.)
• Diving fins (You can make some out of construction
paper or poster board if none are available.)
• Thermometer
• Birthday noisemakers (the type that unrolls)
• Fake plastic teeth
• Antifreeze (Make a label for antifreeze and tape it to
an empty bottle.)
Procedure
1. Tell the students that they will be learning about
adaptations of different frogs. Lay the items on the
materials list on a table. Give the students a minute to
look at the different objects.
2. Ask for a volunteer to come to the front of the
class.
3. Have the students infer which adaptation each
of the objects represents. Students most likely know a
few different adaptations that frogs possess already. As
they guess, you will gradually turn your volunteer into a
frog! Discuss each of the adaptations as you go.
4. Adaptations:
• Eyes (goofy glasses) – Frogs actually use their
eyeballs to help them swallow. They push their
eyes into their head, which helps move food down
their throat. Frogs also have transparent nictitating
membranes over their eyes, which protect their eyes.
• Permeable skin (mesh shirt) – Amphibians have
permeable skin, which means that it has small pores
or holes. These pores allow molecules such as
water and oxygen to pass through. This also makes
amphibians more susceptible to pollution in their
environment.
• Tympanic membrane (ear muffs) – This is the
membrane that allows frogs to hear.
• Medicine (over-the-counter pain reliever and
antibiotic cream) – Many amphibians have properties
that are beneficial in medicine. The skin of some
amphibians has chemicals that act as a painkillers or
antibiotics.
• Mucous glands (lotion) – Amphibians have mucous
glands in their skin to keep it moist.
• Poison glands (poison bottle) – Some amphibians
have poison glands in their skin. Other amphibians
(like dart frogs) get their poison from the food they
eat.
• Webbed feet (diving fins) – Frogs and salamanders
have webbed feet that help them swim.
• Cold-blooded (thermometer) – Amphibians are
cold-blooded, meaning they cannot generate their
own heat like we do. They rely on the environment to
regulate their body temperature. This also means that
they save a lot of energy. When it is cold out, they are
less active.
• Tongue (birthday noisemakers) – Frog’s tongues
are attached at the front of the mouth (opposite from
us) so the tip of the tongue points toward the back of
the throat. This allows them to quickly flip their tongue
out to catch an insect. Frogs also have a sticky
mucous in their mouth that helps them grab prey.
• Teeth (fake plastic teeth) – Amphibians have coneshaped teeth in their upper jaw. Some amphibians
have special teeth on the roof of their mouth that allow
them to hold prey.
• Glucose (antifreeze) – Some frogs generate
glucose in their liver, which circulates through their
bodies, acting like antifreeze. This adaptation allows
frogs that live in areas with frigid winters to survive the
cold without their organs freezing.
© The Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska on behalf of Nebraska 4-H. All rights reserved.
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