6th Grade Science Planning Guide

Quarter 4: Structure, Processes & Responses of Animals

6Sc: The student will demonstrate an understanding of structures, processes, and responses of animals
that allow them to survive and reproduce. (Life Science)
Indicator

Essential Understandings

6Sc.1:
Compare the
characteristic
structures of
invertebrate

animals
(including
sponges,
segmented
worms,
echinoderms,
mollusks, and
arthropods) and
vertebrate
animals (fish,
amphibians,
reptiles, birds,
and mammals).

It is essential for students to know that the Animal Kingdom is

divided into 35 different phyla.
These phyla can be classified into two groups (vertebrates or
invertebrates) based on external and internal physical
characteristics.
However, all animals share several common characteristics:
o Their bodies are multi-cellular.
o They are heterotrophs (cannot make their own food) and must
get their energy by eating plants or other animals.
o Their major functions are to obtain food and oxygen for energy,
keep their internal conditions in balance, move, and reproduce.

Vertebrates comprise only one phylum of animals. They include

fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Vertebrates share
certain physical characteristics:
They have backbones, an internal skeleton (endoskeleton), and
muscles.
They have blood that circulates through blood vessels and lungs (or
gills) for breathing.
They have a protective skin covering.
Most have legs, wings, or fins for movement.
They have a nervous system with a brain that processes
information from their environment through sensory organs.
Vertebrates differ in the way that they control their body
temperature.
In some (fishes, amphibians, and reptiles), their body temperature
is close to that of their environment. They are considered coldblooded, or ectothermic.
In others (birds and mammals), their body temperature stays

Assessment
Guidelines:
The objective of this
indicator is to compare

the characteristic
structures of
vertebrates and
invertebrates;

therefore, the primary

focus of assessment
should be to detect
ways that these
organisms are alike

and different.
However, appropriate
assessments should
also require students to
identify specific
invertebrate and
vertebrate groups
based on a description

of characteristics;
illustrate the different
kinds of vertebrates
and invertebrates by
their distinctive
differences; or classify

an animal into a
particular group based
on its characteristics.

Additional
Resources:
Glencoe Alignment:
LR: Chapter 6-Section 1:
An Overview of Plants
(Pgs 118-123)
LR: Chapter 6-Section 2:
Sponges, Cnidarians,
Flatworms, and Ringworms
(Pgs 153-157)
LR: Chapter 6-Section 3:
Mollusks and Segmented
Worms
(Pgs 158-163)
LR: Chapter 6-Section 4:
Arthropods and
Echinoderms
(Pgs 158-163)
LR: Chapter 7-Section 1:
Chordate Animals
(Pgs 182-186)
Presentation:
Vertebrates and
Invertebrates (ppt)
Vertebrate or
Invertebrate (SMART Notebook
lesson)

6th Grade Science Planning Guide

constant regardless of the temperature of the environment. They
are called warm-blooded, or endothermic.
Examples of vertebrates include:
Fish
Are cold-blooded (ectothermic); obtain dissolved oxygen in water
through gills; most lay eggs; have scales; have fins; and live in
water.
Amphibians
Are cold-blooded (ectothermic); most can breathe in water with gills
as young, and breathe on land with lungs as adults; go through
metamorphosis; lay jelly-like eggs.
The major groups of amphibians are frogs, toads, and
salamanders.
Frogs and salamanders have smooth, moist skin, through which
they can breathe and live part of their life in water and part on
land.
Toads have thicker, bumpy skin and live on land.
Reptiles
Are cold-blooded (ectothermic); breathe with lungs; most lay eggs,
although in some the eggs hatch inside the female; and have
scales or plates.

Classifying Animals (brain pop)

Animal Classification Activity
Common Core (SMART

Notebook lesson)

Vertebrate Animals
(YouTube 3:52)

Invertebrate Animals
(YouTube 5:25)
Amphibians (YouTube 4:30)
Mammals (YouTube 5:40)
Echinoderms: The Ultimate
Animal (Vimeo 13:54)
Animal Jeopardy
Formative:
Animals (quizlet)
Invertebrate Animals a
(self-check)

Invertebrate Animals b
(self-check)

Invertebrate Animals c
(self-check)

Invertebrate Animals d
(self-check)

Vertebrate Animals I
(self-check)

Birds
Are warm-blooded (endothermic); breathe with lungs; lay eggs;
have feathers; and have a beak, two wings, and two feet.

Vertebrate Animals II

Mammals
Are warm-blooded (endothermic); breathe with lungs; most have
babies that are born live; have fur or hair; and produce milk to
feed their young.
Invertebrates comprise the remaining phyla of the Animal Kingdom.
They include sponges, segmented worms, echinoderms,
mollusks, and arthropods.

Vertebrate Animals IV

Invertebrates share certain characteristics:

They do not have backbones or internal skeletons.

Vertebrates

(self-check)

Vertebrate Animals III

(self-check)
(self-check)

Invertebrates
(ck-12)

Invertebrates
Lesson Plan Resources:

6th Grade Science Planning Guide

Some have external skeletons, called exoskeletons.
Examples of invertebrates include:

Sponges
Very simple animals that have many pores (holes) through which
water flows.
Water moves into a central cavity and out through a hole in the top.
Sponges obtain their food and eliminate wastes through this
passage of water.
They have specialized cells for obtaining food and oxygen from the
water.

Segmented worms
Have long tube-like bodies that are divided into segments.
They are the simplest organisms with a true nervous system and
blood contained in vessels.
A long digestive tube runs down the length of the worms inner
body.
Worms take in dissolved oxygen from the water through their skin.
Examples of segmented worms may be earthworms and leeches.
Echinoderms
Have arms that extend from the middle body outwards.
They have tube feet that take in oxygen from the water and spines.
Examples may be sea stars, brittle stars, sea cucumbers, or sea
urchins.
Mollusks
Have soft bodies; most have a thick muscular foot for movement or
to open and close their shells.
They have more developed body systems than sponges or worms.
They take in oxygen through gills or lungs, and some have shells.
Examples may be slugs, snails, clams, and octopuses.
Arthropods
Have jointed legs, segmented bodies, and some have wings.
They have hard outer coverings called exoskeletons.
3

Kingdom Animalia
Classifying Animals
6Sc.1 Animal Review
(student notes)
Exploring Vertebrate
Classification (National
Geographic)

Hoofin' It! - Vertebrate Grab

Game (National Park Service)
Hoofin' It! - Vertebrate Grab
Game (National Park Service)
Vertebrates or Invertebrates

What are Echinoderms?

9.1: Invertebrates

A bouillabaisse of fascinating
facts about fish

(alex)
(ck-12)
(ck-12)

Informational Text:
This bull goes way back - to
the future (Washington Post)
Many types of frogs are
going extinct (Washington Post)
Supersize it! Study shows
evolution (San Jose Mercury

News)

Inquiry Based:
5Es Lesson A Classification of
Vertebrates and
Invertebrates
5Es Lesson B - Ectothermic
or Endothermic Vertebrate
Animals
5Es Lesson C -

6th Grade Science Planning Guide

They obtain oxygen from the air through gills or air tubes.
Examples may be insects, arachnids, and crustaceans.

Invertebrates
Web-based Activities:
How are mollusks, worms,
arthropods, and
echinoderms classified?
(virtual lab)

How are fish adapted to their

environment? (virtual lab)
How are birds adapted to
their habitat? (virtual lab)
How do sponges, cnidarians,
flatworms, and
roundwarms obtain food?

It is not necessary for students to know the classification

systems for the vertebrates and invertebrates, life cycles of the
various animal groups, other types of worms, other groups of
invertebrates, or the major organs, systems or complete anatomy of
each group of animals.

(virtual lab)

Vertebrates (Study Jams)

Invertebrates (Study Jams)
Arthropods (Study Jams)
It is essential for students to know that animals have special
6Sc.2:
structures that enable them to survive in their environment. These
Summarize the
structures allow them to defend themselves, to move, and to obtain
basic functions
of the structures resources.
of animals that
Structures for defense
allow them to Allow an animal to hide from a predator or warn a predator (for
defend
example skin color (camouflage) or patterns (mimicry)
themselves, to Allow an animal to make a direct attack painful (for example
move, and to
horns, claws, quills, stingers, or venom)
obtain
Allow an animal to change its size prevent a direct attack (for
resources.
example shells, emitting smells or body fluids (ink), or

mechanisms)
Allow an animal to flee or hide from predators (for example body
design), sensory organs, legs (for example for speed or for
jumping), wings, or light-weight skeletons (for example flight)
Allow an animal to construct holes or tunnels to run into and hide
or to climb (for example paws or toenails)
Structures for movement

The objective of this

indicator is to

summarize basic
functions of structures
for defense,

movement, and
resource obtainment;
therefore, the primary
focus of assessment
should be to generalize
major points about the
parts of an organism
that allow for these

functions.
However, appropriate
assessments should

Glencoe Alignment:
LR: Chapter 7-Section 2:
Amphibians and Reptiles
(Pgs 187-192)
LR: Chapter 7-Section 3:
Birds
(Pgs 193-196)
LR: Chapter 7-Section 4:
Mammals
(Pgs 193-196)
LR: Chapter 8-Section 1:
The Environment
(Pgs 216-221)
LR: Chapter 8-Section 2:
Interactions Among Living
Organisms
(Pgs 222-223)

6th Grade Science Planning Guide

Allow animals to move to fulfill their needs such as finding food

and escaping predators (for example legs, feet and arms, tails,
fins, wings, body design, skeleton)

Structures to obtain resources

Allow an animal to chew, tear, and eat its food or drink (for
example mouth parts including beaks, teeth, flexible jaws,
tongues, tube-shaped)
Allow an animal to grab and hold its food (for example tentacles,
pincers, claws, fangs)
Allow an animal to consume food found in the water(for example
filtering structures for filter feeders in sponges or clams)

also require students to

identify individual

structures and their

primary functions;

exemplify or illustrate

structures using words,

pictures, or diagrams;
or classify structures
by their functions.

Presentation:
Animal Structures: Nest Real
Estate (PBS)
Animal Adaptations
Animal Structures (ppt)
(6Sc.1-6Sc.3) Animal
Presentation with video
links (ppt)
Formative:

Intro Animals (quizlet)

Intro Animals 2 (quizlet)
Lesson Plan Resources:
Camouflage and Adaptations
10 of the Most Bizarre
Animal Defense
Mechanisms
Animal Adaptations
Animal Diversity
Amusing Animal Adaptations
Animals and their
Adaptations to the
environment
Camouflage and Adaptations
Predators and their prey why we need them both
Informational Text:
In Chernobyl's postapocalyptic exclusion
zone, animals are thriving
Inquiry Based:
5Es Lesson A - Moving,

6th Grade Science Planning Guide

Defending, and Obtaining
Resources
5Es Lesson B - Birds Beaks
Activity
10 of the Most Bizarre
Animal Defense
Mechanisms

It is not essential for students to know the complete anatomy or

any specialized structures for the various groups of animals.

Web-based Activities:
A Virtual Pond Dip

6Sc.3:
Compare the
response that a
warm-blooded
(endothermic)
animal makes to
a fluctuation in

environmental
temperature
with the

response that a
cold-blooded
(ectothermic)
animal makes to
such a

fluctuation.

It is essential for students to know the characteristics of

endothermic and ectothermic animals and how these animals
respond to changes in their environmental temperatures. Animals
that are vertebrates differ in their abilities to regulate body
temperature.
Warm-blooded (endothermic)
Animals, including birds and mammals, which maintain a nearly
constant internal temperature and do not change with the
temperature of the environment.
When the outside temperature is too hot, an endothermic
animal can cool off by sweating, panting, changing position, or
changing location. Sweating and panting generate heat loss
through evaporating water. Changing position and location allow
the animal to find a cooler environment in the shade or shelter.
Endothermic animals must eat much more often than
ectothermic animals since it takes energy to maintain a constant
body temperature. For example, a lion must eat its weight in food
every seven to ten days.

Cold-blooded (ectothermic)
Animals, including fish, amphibians, and reptiles, which have an
internal body temperature that changes with the temperature of
the environment.

They must gain heat to perform internal activities (for example

digestion).

If the environment is cold, ectothermic animals become slow

Assessment
Guidelines:

Glencoe Alignment:

The objective of this

indicator is to compare
responses of cold
blooded (ectothermic)
and warm-blooded

(endothermic)
organisms to their
environment; therefore,
the primary focus of
assessment should be
to detect similarities

and differences in
ectothermic to

endothermic

LR: Chapter 7-Section 2:

Amphibians and Reptiles
(Pgs 187-192)
LR: Chapter 7-Section 3:
Birds
(Pgs 193-196)
LR: Chapter 7-Section 4:
Mammals
(Pgs 193-196)
Presentation:
(6Sc.1-6Sc.3) Animal
Presentation with video
links (ppt)
Animals are either WarmBlooded or Cold-Blooded

organisms. However,
(ppt)
appropriate
assessments should
Formative:
also require students to
identify organisms that Ectothermic (Cold Blooded)
are cold-blooded and
Vertebrates (Quia)
those that are warm-

6th Grade Science Planning Guide

moving and sluggish. Some animals must bask in the Sun (for
example snakes or lizards) or move to a warmer area (for
example some fish) before they can move about to hunt for food.
If the temperature gets too hot, ectothermic animals will need to
find a cooler temperature or burrow in the ground to keep its body
cool.
If an animal is cold blooded, they take on the temperature of
their surroundings so they don't have to use food energy to keep
warm. This means they don't have to eat as often.

blooded; exemplify
Lesson Plan Resources:
responses that would
occur due to changes Beat the Heat!!!
in the environment; or (6Sc.2-6Sc.3) Study Guide
Students
classify organisms as
(6Sc.2-6Sc.3) Study Guide
endothermic or
with Key
ectothermic.
Animal Characteristics
Animal Diversity Web Quest
Informational Text:
Chilling Out, Warming Up:
How Animals Survive
Temperature Extremes
Slow, cold reptiles may
breathe like energetic birds
Warm-blooded? Coldblooded? Dinosaurs were
apparently 'just right'

It is not essential for students to understand the chemical

processes involved with warm-blooded and cold-blooded animals.

Inquiry Based:
5Es Lesson A - Endothermic
and Ectothermic
Organisms

6Sc.4: Explain
how
environmental
stimuli cause
physical
responses in

animals
(including
shedding,
blinking,
7

It is essential for students to know that animals have physical

responses that are caused by environmental stimuli. Examples of
animal responses to temperature changes that help maintain
internal temperature include:
Shedding
To maintain internal temperatures, animals may form thick coats
of fur or feathers to insulate their body from cold weather; in hot
weather animals will shed this extra covering, providing a cooling
effect.
Sweating

The objective of this

Glencoe Alignment:
indicator is to explain
how environmental
LR: Chapter 7-Section 2:
stimuli cause physical
Amphibians and Reptiles
responses in animals;
(Pgs 187-192)
therefore, the primary LR: Chapter 7-Section 3:
focus of assessment
Birds
should be to construct
(Pgs 193-196)
a cause-and effect
LR: Chapter 7-Section 4:
model of the various
Mammals
physical responses
(Pgs 193-196)

6th Grade Science Planning Guide

shivering,
sweating,

panting, and
food gathering).

Sweating is an organisms major way of getting rid of excess

body heat.
When sweat evaporates from the surface of the skin, it cools
the animal.

Panting
Panting is another way of getting rid of excess body heat.
When an animal pants (breathes heavily), increased air flow
causes an increase in evaporation from the animals mouth and
lungs, cooling the animal.
Shivering
Shivering is a mammals mechanism to increase heat
production.
Shivering is an involuntary response to a drop in the
temperature outside or within the body.
It is a method that the body uses to increase the rate at which
energy is transformed into heat.
Examples of common responses to changes in environmental
stimuli include:

Blinking
Blinking is an automatic response that helps to protect the eye.
Some animals need to blink to keep their eyes covered with a
tear
film.
This tear film serves to protect the eye from drying out and from
potential infection.

The blink response also serves to protect the eye from being
injured if a foreign object comes near the eye.
Food gathering

The process of finding food by hunting or fishing or the

gathering of seeds, berries, or roots, may be seasonal.
o
Storing food: Many animals will begin to gather and
store food for the winter. Examples of such animals may be
squirrels, mice, or beavers.

that animals have due LR: Chapter 8-Section 1:

The Environment
to environmental
(Pgs 216-221)
stimuli.

LR:
Chapter 8-Section 2:
However, appropriate
Interactions Among Living
assessments should
Organisms
also require students to
(Pgs 222-223)
recall physical
responses of various
animals; summarize
responses that occur
due to environmental
stimuli; or exemplify
ways that the
environment affects
animals.

Presentation:
(6Sc.4-6Sc.5) Animal
Presentation (ppt)
Environmental Stimuli Physical Response (ppt)
Animals (6Sc.4) (ppt)
Formative:
Animal Adaptation (quizlet)
Lesson Plan Resources:
The Desert Adaptations of
Birds & Mammals
Endothermy in Mammals Advanced (ck-12)
Snuggly Science: How
Puppies Keep Warm (ck-12)
Informational Text:
Penguins keep warm with
fancy footwork, study says

Inquiry Based:

6th Grade Science Planning Guide

o

Storing nutrition in the form of fat: Many animals will

overeat and reduce their physical activity to conserve energy in
response to environmental stimuli such as cold weather or
drought. Examples of such animals may be bears, penguins,
walruses, chipmunks, or ants.

5Es Lesson A Environmental Stimuli

It is not essential for students to know the chemical mechanisms

for the responses studied here.

6Sc.5: Illustrate
animal
behavioral
responses
(including
hibernation,
migration,

defense,
and courtship)
to
environmental
stimuli.

It is essential for students to know that a complex set of

responses to stimuli is called behavior. Behavioral responses refer
to how animals cope with changes in their environments. Animals
may respond to environmental stimuli through behaviors that
include hibernation, migration, defense, and courtship.

Hibernation
As a result of cold, winter weather (stimulus) some animals will
hibernate.
Hibernation is a state of greatly reduced body activity, used to
conserve food stored in the body.
Some animals hibernate for part or all of the winter.
The animal's body temperature drops, its heartbeat and
breathing slow down, and it uses very little energy.

Examples of hibernating animals may be ants, snakes, black

bears, beavers, and ground squirrels.

Migration
Migration is the movement of animals from one place to another
in response to seasonal changes. They travel to other places
where food is available.
Migrating animals usually use the same routes year after year.
The cycle is controlled by changes in the amount of daylight
and the weather.
Examples of animals that migrate are monarch butterflies,
orcas, caribou, and ducks.

Defense

Defense mechanisms vary with different types of animals. Some

examples are:
9

However, appropriate
assessments should

also require students to

recall information about
behavioral responses;

explain how
environmental stimuli
result in animal
behaviors; or

summarize animal
behaviors that result
from environmental

stimuli.

Glencoe Alignment:
LR: Chapter 6-Section 1:
An Overview of Plants
(Pgs 118-123)
LR: Chapter 6-Section 2:
Sponges, Cnidarians,
Flatworms, and Ringworms
(Pgs 153-157)
LR: Chapter 6-Section 3:
Mollusks and Segmented
Worms (Pgs 158-163)
LR: Chapter 6-Section 4:
Arthropods and
Echinoderms (Pgs 158163)
LR: Chapter 7-Section 2:
Amphibians and Reptiles
(Pgs 187-192)
LR: Chapter 7-Section 3:
Birds
(Pgs 193-196)
LR: Chapter 7-Section 4:
Mammals
(Pgs 193-196)
LR: Chapter 8-Section 1:
The Environment
(Pgs 216-221)
LR: Chapter 8-Section 2:
Interactions Among Living
Organisms

6th Grade Science Planning Guide

o

o
o

Camouflage: Some animals have protective

coloration to survive changes in its environment. Some
animals develop their camouflage in response to the weather;
for example the artic fox and snowshoe hare. They develop a
white coat for the winter to blend in with the snow and a gray
coat in the summer to blend in with the forest. Chameleons and
other lizards change colors to blend into the environment to
avoid predators.
Smells: Skunks use an offensive odor in response
to fear. The skunk turns the predator's sense of smell against it
by issuing a stream of oily, foul smelling musk.
Stingers: Wasps and bees use a stinger for
protection when frightened or threatened.
Ejection: The black ink cloud of an octopus is a
defense mechanism because it gives the animal a chance to
escape from a predator. When the horned lizard gets really
scared, it shoots blood out of its eyes allowing it time to
escape.
Mimicry: When a weaker animal copies stronger
animals' characteristics to warn off predators. Some animals
may look like another more poisonous or dangerous animal
that give it protection, such as a false coral snake or hawk
moth caterpillar that looks like a snake. Certain moths have
markings that look like eyes and some flower flies resemble
black and yellow wasps that have a powerful sting and use this
disguise to ward off predators.
Grouping: This social behavior occurs when certain
animals travel together in groups to protect individuals within
the group or to fool a predator into thinking the group is one
large organism. Examples may include herds (buffalo, zebra,
cattle), packs (wolves), or schools of fish.

Courtship

10

Courtship in animals is usually a behavioral process

whereby adults of a species try to attract a potential mate.
Courtship behaviors ensure that males and females of
the same species recognize each other.
Environmental stimuli, such as seasonal changes, will
stimulate courtship.

(Pgs 222-223)
Presentation:
(6Sc.4-6Sc.5) Animal
Presentation (ppt)
Animal Instincts (SMART
Notebook lesson)

Animal Instincts (YouTube 2:20)

25 Coolest Ways That
Animals Adapt To Their
Environments (YouTube 5:07)
Japanese Crane Courtship
Dances (PBS 1:07)
Cape Gannets and the
Great Sardine Run
(PBS 3:38)

Squirrel Masks Scent with

Rattlesnake Skin
(PBS 1:58)

Baby Skunks
(PBS 3:55)

Formative:
Types of Animal Behaviors
(self-check)

Lesson Plan Resources:

Reptile Adaptations (Discovery
Education)

Animal Behaviors (cK-12)

Social Behavior of Animals
(cK-12)

Understanding Animal
Behavior (ck-12)
Types of Animal Behavior (ck12)

Springtime Science: What's

Home Sweet Home to a

6th Grade Science Planning Guide

Bug? (Scientific American)

Often sensory cues (for example, chemical odor cues,

sounds, or color) will serve as courtship attractants in animals.

Informational Text:
Mapping out biodiversity in
the tropics
Wild, open migration spaces
dwindle, but zebras have
one in Africa
Inquiry Based:
5Es Lesson A - Behavioral
Responses
Web-based Activities:
How do mealworms behave
in response to various
stimuli? (virtual lab)
Animal Adaptations (Study
Jams)

It is not essential for students to know the chemical mechanisms

for the behaviors studied here, technologies for tracking the
migration of animals, or other types of animal behaviors.

6Sc.6:
Summarize how
the internal
stimuli
(including

hunger, thirst,
and sleep) of
animals ensure
their survival.

It is essential for students to know that animals have internal

stimuli, or cues, including hunger, thirst, and sleep, that ensure their
survival.
Hunger
The importance of hunger is that it cues animals to eat.
Animals need food for energy and, therefore, for survival.

Thirst
The importance of thirst is that it cues animals to take in water.
Animals need water since their bodies are mostly made of water.
Sleep
The importance of sleepiness is that it cues the animal to sleep.
Sleep is required to restore the bodys ability to function.

American Robin
The objective of this
indicator is to
summarize how
internal stimuli of
animals ensure their
survival; therefore, the
primary focus of
assessment should be
to generalize the main
points about internal
stimuli (including
hunger, thirst, and
sleep) and their affects
on animal behavior.
However, appropriate
assessments should

11

(learner.org)

Glencoe Alignment:
LR: Chapter 7-Section 2:
Amphibians and Reptiles
(Pgs 187-192)
LR: Chapter 7-Section 3:
Birds (Pgs 193-196)
LR: Chapter 7-Section 4:
Mammals
(Pgs 193-196)
Presentation:
Physical and Internal
Responses (screen cast 12:40)

6th Grade Science Planning Guide

also require students to
identify internal stimuli
(cues); exemplify

responses to internal
stimuli; or compare
animals survival

responses to internal
stimuli.

Lesson Plan Resources:

Squirrelly Behavior
Animal Tracks What do
they Reveal?
Birds Cooperating to Find
Food and Raise Offspring
(PBS 3:53)

Inquiry Based:
It is not essential for students to know the internal chemical
mechanisms for the stimuli studied here.

5Es Lesson A - Internal

Stimuli
Web-based Activities:
Animal Fact Guide
Lizard Island:
Thermodynamics

6Sc.7:
Compare
learned to
inherited
behaviors in
animals.

It is essential for students to know that a behavior is an activity or

action, in response to changes in the environment, which helps an
organism survive.
Some animal behaviors result from direct observations or
experiences and are called learned behaviors.

Imprinting is a behavior in which newborn animals recognize

and follow the first moving object they see. Usually, this moving
object is the mother. The imprinting behavior cannot be reversed.

Conditioning (which includes trial-and-error learning) is a

behavior in which an animal learns that a particular stimulus and
its response to that stimulus will lead to a good or bad result. For
example, chimpanzees learn to use small sticks to dig in the soil
for insects, or a child learns that touching a hot object will cause
pain.
Some animal behaviors are passed from the parent to the offspring
and are with the animal from birth. These are called inherited
behaviors, or instincts. Some examples of instincts are:

The ability to swim, for example in whales or fish, is an inherited

behavior. Whales and fish do not need to be taught how to swim.

12

Glencoe Alignment:
The objective of this
indicator is to compare
LR: Chapter 7-Section 2:
learned to inherited
behaviors in animals;
Amphibians and Reptiles
therefore, the primary
(Pgs 187-192)
focus of assessment LR: Chapter 7-Section 3:
should be to detect
Birds
similarities and
(Pgs 193-196)
differences between
LR: Chapter 7-Section 4:
behaviors that animals
Mammals
learn and those they
(Pgs 193-196)
are born knowing how
to do.
Presentation:
However, appropriate Physical and Internal
assessments should
Responses (screen cast 12:40)
also require students to Nature: Imprinting Hatchling
identify a particular
Geese (PBS1:33)
behavior as learned or Condor Flight School
(PBS 2:46)
inherited; summarize

6th Grade Science Planning Guide

Crying in babies is an inherited behavior that is often a

response to hunger, thirst, or sleepiness.
When a snail digs a hole to lay its eggs, a bird builds a special
kind of nest, or when a fiddler crab waves its claw to attract a
female, the animals are acting on instinct.

behaviors that are

learned and behaviors

that are inherited;

exemplify behaviors
that would occur due to
learning or inheritance;
or classify behaviors as
learned or inherited.

Animals Responses and

Behaviors (pptx)
How Penguin Moms Find
Their Chicks
(PBS 2:46)

Formative:
Animal Behaviors (quizlet)

Chap 33 Animal Behavior

(self-check quiz)

Lesson Plan Resources:

Your Dog's Personality
Grand Canyon: Meeting the
Natives
Chap 33: Animal Behaviors
Exploring Learned and
Innate Behavior (SciLinks)
Inherited Traits Vs Learned
Behavior (project)
Pets: Oh Behave

(SciLinks)

Crash Course: Animal

Behavior (Khan Teacher
Resources 10:22)

Informational Text:
Yale study may be barking
up the right tree
Inquiry Based:
It is not essential for students to know how inherited traits are
passed from parents to offspring through genetics.
13

5Es Lesson A - Inherited

and Learned Behaviors

6th Grade Science Planning Guide

Web-based Activities:
Animal Behaviors (game)
Pavlov's Dog (game)
Behaviour (game)

6Sc: The student will demonstrate an understanding of structures, processes, and responses of animals
that allow them to survive and reproduce. (Life Science)
Animal Behavior: Independent Research Project

Project Based Learning in Support of 6Sc:

Common Assess
Ament Options:
Standard 6Sc - Structure, Processes & Responses of Animals (pdf)
Standard 6Sc - Structure, Processes & Responses of Animals (.tst file)
Standard 6Sc - EXAM VIEW Test Bank (editable)
Standards-Based Tracking - Structure, Processes & Responses of Animals

14

DOWNLOADING THE EXAMVIEW FILE:

(you can alter the test or give the test over your local LAN)
Science Explorations (schoology)
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