1. Adaptive Characteristics 5.10A Engage

2. Materials  Duct, packaging, or masking tape  Pinto beans  Black beans  Kidney beans  Small cups

3. Procedure/Questions  Give each group of students 3 cups and a hand full of kidney, black, and pinto beans.

4. Procedure/Questions  Tell students that their task is to sort the beans into the cups.

5. Procedure/Questions Ask: 1.How did you complete the task? 2.Was this activity easy for you? Why?

6. Procedure/Questions  Wrap one thumb on each student loosely with tape.  Tell the students to empty their cups and complete the task again. This time they are only to use the hand with the taped thumb.

7. Procedure/Questions Ask: 1.How did you change your actions to accomplish this task? 2.How was this a challenge for you? Tell the students that our thumbs are an adaptive characteristic that help us survive in our environment.

8. Connecting to Explore  Tell the students that they will be studying how plants and animals use adaptive characteristics to survive in their environment.  If time permits, tell the students to create a list of all the things they would not be able to do if they didn’t have thumbs.

9. Interfacing Inquiry  What plant and animal adaptations would you like to explore?