Asian Elephant and African Elephant diagram
Upper ES / Science
Adaptation, Discovery, Distinctions, Form and Function,
Study
Ask students to write down 5 words that come to their minds when they hear the word
elephant.
Next, have them write 5 differences that they think might exist between an Asian
elephant and an African elephant.
Distribute the text. Ask students to anticipate what they expect it will take to fully
understand this text. How can students help one another better understand the text?
How is it organized?
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There are two distinct species of elephants: African elephants (Loxodonta africana) and
Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). (Within the African species, the elephants can be
further distinguished by forest or savannah habitat.)
Both species live in hot, somewhat inhospitable environments, with occasional drought
and plenty of predators to threaten prey animals, but their adaptations have helped
them to survive these conditions.
One of the many differences between the two species is the tusks, and not all Asian
elephants have tusks. Tusks help elephants dig beneath the ground’s surface for water
and minerals, and African elephants certainly benefit from having tusks, as water can be
harder to find in their environment.
The text vocabulary should be approachable for most upper-elementary students.
Words within the discipline that will greatly aid in the dialogue if they are defined
beforehand include adaptation, characteristics and distinctions, environment, form and
function, reasoning.
As students study the diagram, read the labels whole-class. Have students consider
possible advantages or disadvantages of each of the two kinds of elephants. Using
labeling and their own wording, students should name at least three differences,
explaining on paper with words and arrows what makes each difference an advantage
(eg. Asian=smaller body=less food needed) or a possible detriment (eg. Asian=smaller
body=less able to fend off attack).
Lastly, have students study the diagram one last time before seminar, crafting a
question regarding the body of an elephant that they could ask of their classmates.
Practice questions that require more than a one word/phrase response.
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 What is a word that best describes an African elephant and another word
that best describes an Asian elephant? As you share your two words, do
not tell us which is which. (round-robin response)
 Explain your thinking. (spontaneous discussion)
OR
 In one sentence, “What is an elephant?”
 How would you divide the elephant up into parts in order to explain it to
someone who has never seen one before?
 What connections can you make between the environment and needs of
an African or Asian elephant; and the body of that elephant?
 Based on the distinctions between the two kinds of elephants, what
questions are raised for you regarding adaptations?
 Being specific, what part of the elephant do you think is least like and most
like other animals?
 If you were to redesign the elephant, what modifications might you
suggest and why?
 What characteristic of either kind of elephant (eg. lobes on trunk tip) would
you go on to study further and why?
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Have students think back to the Launch and the seminar discussion. Ask students to jot
down any new ideas, and new distinctions they can now draw between the two kinds of
elephants.
Consider your audience to be young scientists who are compiling data as they study the
differences between Asian and African elephants.
After reading and discussing the Asian Elephant and African Elephant diagram, do
some beginning research on the characteristic you identified in the closing question.
Write a description of the characteristic you studied in one kind of elephant, how the
elephant might use that characteristic, and compare it to the same part of the other kind
of elephant. Use your research and the seminar text as evidence. (Informational or
Explanatory/Comparison)
(LDC Task#:
23 )
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Go back to the Launch and the Transition to Writing notes. What clear characteristics
differ between the two kinds of elephants (distinctions) and what purpose might that
characteristic serve? What kinds of questions can you ask in your beginning research?
Students should be increasingly clear on the distinctions between the two elephants, as
well as beginning to see that characteristics in general serve some kind of purpose.
Help students craft questions for a short research segment into their specific
characteristics of interest. Keep the prompt in the forefront. After some beginning
research, students should be able to tackle the prompt in parts:
 Write a description of the characteristic you studied in one kind of elephant
 Answer how the elephant might use that characteristic
 Compare it to the same part of the other kind of elephant
 Use your research and the seminar text as evidence.
Challenge students to prepare a draft by responding to the bulleted prompts from
Structuring the Writing.
Have students read their rough drafts to an elbow partner. Encourage the listener to tell
the reader once the following points are clear from the point of view of the writer:
 This writer is describing the following characteristic from the ____ elephant….
 This writer thinks (based on research and reasoning) the elephant might use
this characteristic in this way…
 This writer makes a distinction between this characteristic and the “other”
elephant (based on research and reasoning) in this way…
Once the second draft is complete, have participants work in groups of three-four and
this time take turns reading each other’s second drafts slowly and silently, marking any
spelling or grammar errors they find. (Have dictionaries and grammar handbooks
available for reference.) Take this opportunity to clarify/reteach any specific grammar
strategies you have identified your students needing. Give time for full revisions
resulting in a third and final draft.
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Students should consider sharing the research and descriptions online, for other
classes to see, as a study into adaptations, distinctions, and the functional
characteristics of parts of the elephant—African or Asian.
Kelly Foster
National Paideia Center
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Asian Elephant and African Elephant diagram
Figure 1Retrieved May 2015 from: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/319192692313878021/
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