Budding Biologists
Participants learn about the form and function of insects and birds through hands-on activities.
In this workshop, participants learn about the five basic needs of living things. They will participate in role-playing games to learn about the different types of bird beaks and how insects move. They will read a book about insects and use what they learned to design their own special insect. They will be introduced to the terms “habitat” and “adaptation”. Lastly, participants will discuss the different adaptations wetland animals have and how the wetland provides for their needs.
What You Need
Physical Requirements
- An area for gathering with the full class together for the Introduction.
- Access to water is required for Activity 2: Bird Beaks.
Introduction
- Laminated “Needs” cards
- Song lyrics poster
Activity 2: Bird Beaks
- Tools (6 or more of each):
- Tweezers
- Slotted spoons
- Long pipettes
- Tongs
- Food (6 or more of each)
- Sponges with small insects buried in it
- Tubs of water with floating fish
- Tubs filled with sand with buried creatures
- Tubs of red coloured water
- Coloured pictures of birds
- Paper towel
Activity 3: Big Insect Book
- Big Insect Book
Activity 4
- Information task cards (6)
- Insect models (6 or more)
- “What do I eat?” pieces (6 or more zip bags)
- “How do I move?” pieces (6 or more zip bags)
- “Special parts” pieces (6 or more zip bags)
Activity 5: Insect Role Play
No materials required.
Activity 6: Hooray for Habitats
- Wetland poster (or drawn on board)
- Wetland life cut-outs:
- Moose
- Beaver
- Dragonfly
- Red-winged blackbird
- Mallards
- Cattails
- Fish
- Common loon
- Frog
- Salamander
Guide:
Safety Notes
This workshop involves the use of water. Keep paper towels on hand to clean up any spills and keep away from electronics.
What To Do
Choose at least 3 or more activities depending on the age level of the participants and the time available. You should do either Activity #4 or Activity #5 – not both.
Introduction
- Explain that biology is the study of life (bio=life, logy=study).
- Discuss habitats and how a habitat provides for the needs of living things.
- Use the laminated needs cards to discuss the following terms:
- Water: Where living things get water? What about in the winter?
- Food: What is the difference between herbivores, carnivores and omnivores?
- Shelter/Protection: Why is shelter important?
- Sun: Why do plants and animals need sunlight?
- Space: Why do living things need space?
- Explain what the term “adapt” means and provide examples of animal adaptations.
Activity 1: Song
- The song is in the tune to The Farmer in the Dell.
- Hold up each card as you sing the corresponding verse.
- Go through each card and read it aloud, so the children can be familiar with each of the five needs before you start the song.
- Note: use either the shelter or the protection verse.
- Discuss the different needs of common household pets.
Activity 2: Birds Beaks
- Set up each table with “bird food” and “bird beaks”.
- Ask “What kind of foods do birds eat? How do they eat?”.
- They will test picking up each type of “bird food” with the different type of “bird beak” and figure out which tool and food is easiest to “eat”.
- Explain that each tool represents a real-life bird’s beak. Hold up a picture of each bird to help explain.
- Tweezers are like a Downy Woodpecker’s beak
- Long pipettes are like the beaks of a Ruby Throated Hummingbird, San-probing birds or a Marbled Godwit.
- Tongs are like a Sandhill Crane, duck or goose’s beak.
- Slotted spoons are like a Brown Pelican’s beak.
Activity 3: Big Insect Book
- Read the book and refer back to what has been discussed in the workshop.
Activity 4: Insect Bee-haviour
- Set-up six insect models. In front of each model, place three zip-bags full of colour-coded parts (How do I move?, How do I eat? and Special Parts).
- Separate participants into groups of 4-5 per model.
- Explain that each group will need to design their own insect (can be real or imaginary) that can do special things with its different parts.
- They can pick one part from each bag.
- Let each group present their insect to the rest of the class. They should name their insect and be able to describe the special ways that their insect moves and eats using its special parts.
Activity 5: Insect Role Play
- Have participants put on their “insect eyes” by holding up their hands in front of their eyes and look through their fingers.
- Ask them how many legs they will need (6).
- Make actions like you are putting on extra legs at your hips.
- Have them walk on their legs like insects.
- Tell them to “jump like an insect with strong legs that need to get out of the way of a bird trying to eat it”.
- Go through the different parts of insects that help the insect to survive.
- See pages 19 and 20 of the Budding Biologists manual for the Reference Chart for Insect Parts.
- Ask for examples of other animals that have special feet or legs that help them paddle.
- Continue the role-play b with different insect parts, covering movements, obtaining food and other specializations (i.e. camouflage).
Activity 6: Hooray for Habitats
- Review the five needs of living things and habitats.
- Point to the wetlands poster or draw a sample wetland on the board.
- Briefly discuss the different parts of a wetland and have students brainstorm the types of living things that live there.
- One at a time, place the cut out animals on the wetland poster. Discuss the special tools each animal has to get what they need from the wetland.
- After all the animals have been placed on the poster, ask students if all the needs for each animal is met, or,
- Choose one animal and go through all the five needs of the one animal and the tools that the animal has to help it live in the wetland.
Wrap-Up
- Discuss possible careers related to the topics covered and what they would need to do (schooling, experience, etc…) to get into those careers.
Discovery
Living things have special tools (adaptations) that help to get what they need from their habitat. For example, the shape of a bird’s beak is based on the type of food they eat. For example, some beaks are like tweezers to get insects out of bark (Downy Woodpecker) whereas some act like a pipette to suck nectar from plants (Ruby Throated Hummingbird).
Insects also have many different types of adaptations to get food and avoid being eaten. Insects have special parts that help them move in different ways, such as wings for flying, legs for swimming and strong legs for jumping. They also have many types of mouthparts to eat different types of food. Some insects have specialized tools that help them touch (i.e. cerci in cockroaches), smell things from far away (i.e. feathery antennae in moths), warn others (i.e. black and yellow stripes in bees), and blend into the environment (i.e. leaf-like wings for camouflage in mantis, leaf insects, etc…).
A habitat provides a living thing with everything it needs to survive. For example, a wetland has lots of wood for a beaver to cut down with its sharp front teeth. The beaver uses the wood to build a shelter. A beaver also has a large flat tail that it uses to slap on the water to warn and confuse predators. They also have two types of fur to keep warm in the water. A beaver is well adapted to its habitat!
Some animals are so well adapted to their habitat that they are unable to live anywhere else. Quick changes to an environment can take away things that are necessary for an animal or living thing to survive. It is important to protect animal habitats and try to limit our impact on the environment so all living things have a home!
Animal Adaptations (Lessons): includes a detailed lesson plan and additional media links to support the themes of this workshop.
It’s Alive… Or is It? (Lessons): includes a detailed lesson plan and additional media links for students to explore living vs. non-living things.
What's Happening?
Living things have special tools (adaptations) that help to get what they need from their habitat. For example, the shape of a bird’s beak is based on the type of food they eat. For example, some beaks are like tweezers to get insects out of bark (Downy Woodpecker) whereas some act like a pipette to suck nectar from plants (Ruby Throated Hummingbird).
Insects also have many different types of adaptations to get food and avoid being eaten. Insects have special parts that help them move in different ways, such as wings for flying, legs for swimming and strong legs for jumping. They also have many types of mouthparts to eat different types of food. Some insects have specialized tools that help them touch (i.e. cerci in cockroaches), smell things from far away (i.e. feathery antennae in moths), warn others (i.e. black and yellow stripes in bees), and blend into the environment (i.e. leaf-like wings for camouflage in mantis, leaf insects, etc…).
A habitat provides a living thing with everything it needs to survive. For example, a wetland has lots of wood for a beaver to cut down with its sharp front teeth. The beaver uses the wood to build a shelter. A beaver also has a large flat tail that it uses to slap on the water to warn and confuse predators. They also have two types of fur to keep warm in the water. A beaver is well adapted to its habitat!
Why Does it Matter?
Some animals are so well adapted to their habitat that they are unable to live anywhere else. Quick changes to an environment can take away things that are necessary for an animal or living thing to survive. It is important to protect animal habitats and try to limit our impact on the environment so all living things have a home!
Investigate Further
Animal Adaptations (Lessons): includes a detailed lesson plan and additional media links to support the themes of this workshop.
It’s Alive… Or is It? (Lessons): includes a detailed lesson plan and additional media links for students to explore living vs. non-living things.
