KS3 ~ Year 8 ~ Adapting to Change

This lesson is designed for the KS3 Year 8 Science course, specifically the B2 1.3 unit on Adaptation & Inheritance.

For more lessons designed for KS3 and KS4 please visit my shop at: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/SWiftScience.

This lesson begins with a video, students will watch the video and they will need to note down the ways in which animals cope with changes in seasons. After students have watched this video, they can then mark and assess their work using the mark scheme provided.

Students will now be shown a photo of a snowshoe hare in the winter and in the summer, students should ‘Think>Pair>Share’ their ideas about why the hare changes its coat between the summer and winter, what advantage is this to the hare? After students have had chance to discuss their ideas, the answer can then be revealed so students can check their work.

Next, students will be given some information and data about Jack Rabbits and Coyotes. Students will need to use the image of these organisms (on the board) and the data to answer a set of questions. Once students have completed this task, the work can be self-assessed using the mark scheme provided.

This leads into the next part of the lesson on predator-prey relationships, students will need to fill in the blanks on a worksheet which describes the changes which occur to predator and prey populations as one increases/decreases. The paragraph summarises the interdependence between predator and prey populations.

Lastly, students will watch a video on the types of threats organisms may face in their natural environment and how organisms cope with these. Students will be asked to summarise the ways in which organisms cope with a changing environment whilst they watch the video. Their work can then be marked and corrected using the mark scheme provided on the PowerPoint presentation.

The plenary task requires students to write a twitter message about what they have learned today, including #keywords.

All resources are included at the end of the presentation. Thanks for looking, if you have any questions please let me know in the comments section and any feedback would be appreciated :)