Desert Discovery Quest: Adaptations - Arizona-Sonora Desert ...

Desert Discovery Quest: Adaptations
A 120 minute Desert Discovery Quest
To the Teacher:
Thank you for making the Desert Discovery Quest: Adaptations a part of your curriculum.
During this exciting educational program, student teams will follow clues to museum locations
and complete activities to explore plant and animal adaptations. This Teacher Information
Packet provides resources to help you prepare for the quest and integrate these concepts into
your classroom curriculum.
This packet contains resources for pre- and post- program information and activities along with a
vocabulary list and suggested further resources. These materials were developed to help you
extend this class topic with both introductory and follow-up lessons and help prepare students for
the quest experience. We hope you’ll find this information useful and easy to incorporate into
your science curriculum.
When you arrive at the museum for your Desert Discovery Quest, the ASDM education staff will
provide information to your chaperones as well as your students on how to complete the quest
activity. Please consider dividing your class into a maximum of 6 chaperoned teams before
attending the quest. Please make sure students are aware that this program is an in-depth,
hands-on, two-hour session that will require their utmost cooperation to complete successfully.
For more information about the Desert Museum and the Sonoran Desert, visit our website at
www.desertmuseum.org. We look forward to working with you and your students.
Sincerely,
ASDM Conservation Education and Science Department
DESERT DISCOVERY QUEST: ADAPTATIONS
Desert plants and animals display a fascinating variety of adaptations that help them thrive here.
Enhance your field trip for grades 3-5 with a field investigation to explore how plants and
animals deal with the temperature extremes and aridity of their desert home. Armed with a
backpack of supplies and scientific equipment, student teams follow clues to museum locations
and complete activities to explore plant and animal adaptations. Your quest wraps up with expert
team reports and a live animal presentation.
QUEST OBJECTIVES:
Through data collection and quest clues, students will identify physical and behavioral
adaptations of desert plants and animals.
Through data collection and field report, students will explain connections between
structure, function and the environment.
Through oral report and analogies, students will explain how adaptations enable plants
and animals to survive in the desert.
Desert Discovery Quest: Adaptations Teacher Information 2012, ASDM

ARIZONA ACADEMIC STANDARDS IN SCIENCE CORRELATION
The Desert Discovery Quest: Adaptations and supplemental activities correlate to these Arizona
Academic Science Standards. See each activity for specific standards and performance
objectives.
Life Science
SC03-S4C1-01
SC04-S4C1-01&02
SC03-S4C3-01,03&05
SC04-S4C3-01&03
SC03-S4C4-01&02
SC04-S4C4-01&02
Inquiry Process
SC03-S1C1-01
SC04-S1C1-03
SC05-S1C1-02
SC03-S1C2-01,03,04&05
SC04-S1C2-01,03,04&05
SC05-S1C2-01,04&05
SC03-S1C3-01&02
SC04-S1C3-05
SC05-S1C3-05
SC03-S1C4-01&03
SC04-S1C4-01&03
SC05-S1C4--01&03
Social Studies
SS03-S4C1-02
SS04-S4C1-01&02
Arizona State Science Standards
Strand 1: Inquiry Process
Concept 1: Observations, Questions, and Hypotheses
Concept 2: Scientific Testing (Investigating and Modeling)
Concept 3: Analysis and Conclusions
Concept 4: Communication
Strand 4: Life Science
Concept 1: Characteristics of Organisms
Concept 3: Organisms and Environments
Concept 4: Diversity, Adaptation and Behavior
Arizona State Social Studies Standards
Strand 4: Geography
Concept 1: The World in Spatial Terms
RESOURCES
Literature:
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. A Natural History of the Sonoran Desert. Tucson:
ASDM Press, 1999.
Gibbons, Gail. Deserts. New York: Holiday House, 1996.
Kalman,, Bobbie. How do animals adapt The science of living things. NewYork:
Crabtree Publishing, 2000
Mc Carthy, C. Eyewitness Books: Desert. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1991. (Many
other books in the Eyewitness series contain information on desert species.)
Murphy, Julie. Desert animal adaptations. Capstone Press, 2011
Silver, Donald M. One Small Square: Cactus Desert: New York:Learning Triangle Press
1995
Slade, Suzanne. What do you know about animal adaptations Powerkids Press, 2008
Townsend, John. Would you survive Animal and plant adaptations. New York Raintree
Fusion, 2005
Wallace, Marianne D. America’s Deserts: Guide to Plants and Animals. Colorado:
Fulcrum Publishing 1996
Desert Discovery Quest: Adaptations Teacher Information 2012, ASDM

Websites/Organizations
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum: 2021 N. Kinney Rd., Tucson, AZ 85743. Phone:
(520)883-3025. www.desertmuseum.org
ASDM Fact pages: http://desertmuseum.org/kids/oz/long-fact-sheets/
ASDM Digital Library: http://www.desertmuseumdigitallibrary.org/public/index.php
ARKive: http://www.arkive.org/
DesertUSA: http://www.desertusa.com/
_________________________________________________________________
VOCABULARY
Adaptation: A body part or behavior of an animal or plant that helps it survive in its
environment (i.e. an eagle has sharp talons that help it grab and hold its prey)
Behavior: The response of an individual, group, or species to its environment
Burrow: A hole or excavation in the ground made by an animal (as a rabbit) for shelter and
habitation
Camouflage: Concealment by means of disguise or a behavior designed to deceive or hide
Crepuscular: Usually active at dawn or dusk
Deciduous: Falling off or shed seasonally or at a certain stage of development in the life cycle
such as deciduous leaves on a plant
Diurnal: Active mainly in the daytime
Drought: A period of dryness especially when prolonged; specifically: one that causes
extensive damage to crops or prevents their successful growth
Estivate: To pass a significant part of the summer in a state of torpor
Migrate: To pass usually periodically from one region or climate to another for feeding or
breeding
Nocturnal: Active chiefly at night
Omnivore: An animal that feeds upon both plants and animals
Photosynthesis - Formation of carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and a source of hydrogen (as
water) in the chlorophyll-containing cells (as of green plants) exposed to light
Predator: An animal that kills to obtain its food
Torpor: A state of lowered physiological activity typically characterized by reduced
metabolism, heart rate, respiration, and body temperature that occurs in varying degrees
especially in hibernating and estivating animals
_____________________________________________________________________________
PRE-PROGRAM INFORMATION & ACTIVITIES
ANTICIPATORY ACTIVITIES
A variety of activities to hook student interest in adaptations
Grades 3-5 Adaptations Game
Students play a card game to match adaptations to plant and animals.
Desert Discovery Quest: Adaptations Teacher Information 2012, ASDM

Grades 3-5 Animal vs. Human Olympics
Students measure and compare their own abilities to animal abilities.
EXPLORATION ACTIVITIES
A variety of activities for students to explore plant and animal adaptations
Grades 3-5 Mapping the Museum
Student investigation using ASDM visitor map to practice map skills
Grades 3-5 Plant and Animal Adaptations
Using everyday products, students design and carry out an investigation to help a desert
organism conserve water.
Grades 4 (3-5) Survival in Extreme Environments
Using everyday products, students design and carry out an investigation of which animal will
stay coolest in a hot environment (and which animal will stay warmest in a cold environment).
Grade 4 Adapting to Desert Living – Adaptionary
Students play a drawing and guessing game to learn how adaptations help plants and animals
survive in the desert.
POST-PROGRAM INFORMATION & ACTIVITIES
APPLICATION/ELABORATION ACTIVITIES
A variety of activities for students to apply quest concepts and elaborate on plant and animal
adaptations in the desert.
Grades 4 (3-5) Digital Story Task
Students create and present digital storyboard presentations to review adaptations. This resource
provides kid-friendly instructions, and applicable websites and worksheets that students can use
as guidelines for creating a Sonoran Desert Adaptations digital story.
Grades 4 (3-5) Hands-on Activity: Biomimicry: Natural Designs
Students learn about biomimicry and how engineers often imitate nature in the design of
innovative new products. They demonstrate their knowledge of biomimicry by practicing
brainstorming and designing a new product based on what they know about animals and nature.
Grades 7 (6-8) Hands-on Activity: Live like an Animal
Students design and present an innovative human shelter that is inspired and informed by an
animal structure, explaining what attribute of the animal structure influenced their design.
Desert Discovery Quest: Adaptations Teacher Information 2012, ASDM

Further Ideas:
Grades 3-5 Desert Adaptation Debates
Pair up students to debate which plants/animals have the best adaptations for storing or
conserving water, avoiding heat etc.
Grades 3-5 Desert Safari in the Classroom
Turn room into a desert landscape with students dressed as plants, animals and tour guides.
Have other classes visit.
FURTHER RESOURCES
More fun activities related to adaptations.
Grades 3-4 Beaks for What We Eat
Students gather of variety of “foods” with different tools that represent bird beaks.
Grades 3-4 Sonoran Desert Predators and Prey
Students classify Sonoran Desert animals as predators, prey or both; and describe their
adaptations for finding food and avoiding predators.
Grades 3-4 Lizard Dash
Students play a kinesthetic game simulating lizards’ adaptations as ectothermic animals while
feeding on insects.
Grades 6 – HS Lesson 1: The Lion as a Predator -Are You as Agile as a Cat
Students measure and compare their own abilities to mountain lion abilities to learn about the
mountain lion’s adaptations as predator.
Desert Discovery Quest: Adaptations Teacher Information 2012, ASDM