Woodrats: Forest Engineers

Description

Students will watch this brief informative video which shows how woodrats build their shelters. Afterwords engage students further learning and check comprehension with supplemental questions. 

Image_List

Lesson

Printable Materials

Forest Engineers (PDF) Lesson Plans

Discussion

1. What tools can wood rats use to build shelters?

2. What tools do humans use to build shelters?

3. Why do wood rats have different rooms in their nests?

4. What other animals use sticks to build shelters?

5. What kind of houses do animals live in?

6. Why do some animals build homes?

7. Why do some animals need shelter?

8. What kind of shelter do you live in?

9. What is your shelter made of?

10. If you were a wild animal, what kind of house would you build?

Standard

1-LS1-1 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

Students who demonstrate understanding can: Use materials to design a solution to a human problem by mimicking how plants and/or animals use their external parts to help them survive, grow, and meet their needs.

Disciplinary Core Ideas LS1.A: Structure and Function

All organisms have external parts. Different animals use their body parts in different ways to see, hear, grasp objects, protect themselves, move from place to place, and seek, find, and take in food, water, and air. Plants also have different parts (roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits, seeds) that help them survive and grow.

Crosscutting Concepts: Structure and Function

The shape and stability of structures of natural and designed objects are related to their function(s).

Science and Engineering Practices: Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions

Constructing explanations and designing solutions in K-2 builds on prior experiences and progresses to the use of evidence and ideas in constructing evidence-based accounts or natural phenomena and designing solutions. Use materials to design a device that solves a specific problem or a solution to a specific problem.