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The Animals of the Forest

Students

Teachers

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Audience

4th grade science students

Indiana or other mid-west classroom

Can be a great intro activity to a unit on the different ecosystems

Environment

Students will work individually on this activity

They will be in a location where each student has access to a computer

Objectives

After learning about adaptations of bears, eagles, ants, and rabbits, students will be able to correctly identify which adaptations belong to each animal.

Welcome to the forest! Select which animal you

want to learn about! Once you have learned about

each animal, take the final quiz.

Bear

EagleRabbit

Ant

Final Quiz

I’m glad you want to learn about bears! Click the arrow to continue.

As you may know, the forest can be a very crazy place. Bears must have special features that allow them to

survive. Before we begin, what types of things do you think make bears successful in the forest? Type your

ideas in the box below.

Read through the following adaptations that bears have then answer the question at the end.

Bears are extremely strong. In order to survive in the wild, they must hunt and kill their own prey. By being strong, bears can break the neck of their prey in one hit.

Strength

Not only do bears have to be strong, they also need sharp claws and teeth to kill their prey. These claws and teeth can also be used to protect their young cubs.

Sharp Claws

Bears have a really thick coat of skin and fur that insulates them during the winter so they can stay warm.

Thick Fur

Now that you have learned about some bear adaptations, see if you can

answer this next question correctly.

Is it important for bears to do a lot of hunting during

the winter?

YesNo

Awesome job! The answer is no. Bears do their hunting during other

times of the year so they can hibernate during the winter.

Oh sorry! Bears do not hunt during the winter because that’s when they hibernate. Don’t worry you’ll get the

hang of it.

Howdy! I’m an eagle. Glad you want to learn about me. Follow through this brief lesson to learn about some of my

special features.

Did you know that bald eagles are the national bird of the United States? Before we begin, type some special

features you think help eagles survive in the forest in the space

below.

Read through the next couple slides to learn about the special adaptations that allow eagles to survive in the

forest. Then answer the question at the end.

Eagles have exceptional eyesight. In fact, their eyes are nearly as big as humans and their vision is nearly 4 times sharper than ours! They need to have good eyesight for hunting as they often fly over the water looking for fish.

Eyesight

The wings of an eagle are very long and wide. This is important because it allows the eagle to glide through the air without beating their wings. While they glide, they can use their eyesight to find prey.

Large Wings

Eagle’s talons are extremely powerful. The talons can be used to kill it’s prey. The eagle simply closes it’s talons around it’s food and kills it instantly. In some cases, the talons can be used for defense when the eagle gets in a fight.

Strong Talons

Eagle’s beaks are important when it comes to eating the food they catch. The beak has a hook at the front which is used for tearing. Behind the hook is a section that is very sharp. When the beak opens and closes it acts like scissors and chops the food into pieces.

Good Beak

Eagles are pretty cool huh? See if you can answer this next question

correctly.

Which of the following is NOT a special adaptation

of an eagle?A. Eyesight

B. Hearing

C. Strong talons

Sorry that’s not correct. It is important that eagles have good

eyesight for hunting.

Great answer! Increased hearing ability is not a special adaptation of

eagles.

Oops! That is not correct. Eagles have very strong talons that allow

them to kill their prey instantly.

What’s up! I’m a rabbit. To learn about some of my special features

that allow me to survive in the forest, continue to the next page.

Over half of the rabbits in the world live right here in the United States.

Before you begin, think of some features that rabbits have that allow them to survive in the forest. Write

your answer below.

Follow along to learn about some adaptations rabbits have. At the end, answer the question to see if you were

paying attention.

Rabbits have very strong legs that allow them to hop through the forest very rapidly. They can also switch directions very easily which allows them to get out of dangerous situations when they are being chased. Their feet are very soft which allows them to have a nice cushiony landing as they hop along.

Strong Legs

The teeth of rabbits stick out the front of their mouth. Kinda like Bugs Bunny! These teeth keep growing for their entire life and are very sharp. Since rabbits eat plants, these teeth are great for snapping off branches. They can also be used during a fight if needed.

Front Teeth

As you have probably seen, rabbit’s fur is a grayish-brown color. This is no accident. Being this color allows them to blend into the forest so they are not as likely to be seen by other animals who want to eat them.

Fur Color

One of the most obvious features rabbits have is their very long ears. These help the rabbit hear some of the quietest sounds. The curvature of the ear helps to draw in sounds from very long distances. Those big floppy ears aren’t just for looks!

Long Ears

I hope you have learned a lot about my special adaptations as a rabbit.

See if you can answer a question correctly.

Which of the following adaptations belongs to

rabbits?A. Thick fur coat

B. Strong talons

C. Strong front teeth

Not quite! A thick fur coat may be great for bears but not rabbits. Try

again.

Sorry! Rabbits actually don’t have talons. They have something more

like a paw. Try another answer.

Right on! Rabbits need strong and sharp front teeth in order to cut

through the branches and leaves they eat.

Ready to learn about ants? Follow the steps and then answer a question at

the end to see how well you paid attention.

As you probably already know, ants are really small insects. You’ve

probably seen them around your house at some point. Ants have

special adaptations that allow them to survive. Can you think of any before we begin? Write them in the space

below.

Ants have a system called division of labor in which a group of ants work together to get a large project done. This is a very important adaptation because they can move much larger things than a single ant could.

Division of labor

Ants have a type of navigation system in their heads. Similar to a map you may have in your car, the system tells the ant how to get back to their nest after a long day of work. This is important because ants are very small and could get lost very easily.

Navigation

In an ant colony, older ants can actually teach younger ants how to do things. For example, the older ant will lead the younger ant to some food. This is important because the younger ant will learn how to be successful in the colony.

Ant Teachers

Ants are pretty smart! Now that you know a little bit about us, see if you

can answer a question correctly.

Do ants work alone or in groups?

A. AloneB. Groups

No sorry! Ants always work in groups so they can help each other do things.

Correct! Ants always work in groups in order to accomplish big tasks.

Final Quiz

Now that you have learned about each animals adaptations, it’s time to take a final quiz. Before you begin, you can watch this quick review video

to make sure you are ready for the quiz. Once you are ready, click the arrow to begin.

Number One

1) One of bears most important adaptations is their eyesight. True or False?

True False

Number One

Sorry! That’s incorrect. Better luck on the next question.

Number One

Congrats! That is the correct answer.

Number Two

2) Which of the following adaptations belongs to rabbits?

A. Strong TalonsB. Ability to work together in groupsC. Great eyesight

D. Strong and sharp front teeth

Number Two

Sorry that is incorrect.

Back to questionHint

Number Two

That is right! Good job

The teeth of rabbits stick out the front of their mouth. Kinda like Bugs Bunny! These teeth keep growing for their entire life and are very sharp. Since rabbits eat plants, these teeth are great for snapping off branches. They can also be used during a fight if needed.

Front Teeth

Number Three

Do ants get more done when they work alone or in large groups?

AloneGroups

Number Three

That is right! Good job

Number Three

Sorry that is incorrect. Ants get more done when they work in large groups.

Number Four

4) Which of the following adaptations allows eagles to quickly kill their prey?

A. Strong talonsB. Wide wingspanC. Good eyesight

Number Four

Yes! That is correct!

Number Four

Sorry that is incorrect.

Back to questionHint

Eagle’s talons are extremely powerful. The talons can be used to kill it’s prey. The eagle simply closes it’s talons around it’s food and kills it instantly. In some cases, the talons can be used for defense when the eagle gets in a fight.

Strong Talons

Number Five

5) Why is it important for rabbits to have really strong hind legs?

A. Digging B. Fast hopping

C. Swimming

Number Five

Yes! That is correct!

Number Five

Sorry that is incorrect.

Back to questionHint

Rabbits have very strong legs that allow them to hop through the forest very rapidly. They can also switch directions very easily which allows them to get out of dangerous situations when they are being chased. Their feet are very soft which allows them to have a nice cushiony landing as they hop along.

Strong Legs

Finish

That is the end of the quiz! If you want to look back over the animals or take the quiz again, go back to the home

page.