Location: Hillside Outdoor Education School

Students will have the opportunity to discover many adaptations of animals through hands-on investigation and exploration in nature.  A variety of activities will bring students closer to nature and may include feeding chickadees, looking for animals, homes and tracks.  The interaction with wild animals or their natural habitats is a great chance to help foster concern and respect for living things.

Itinerary: In this program, studeents will investigate how different species of animals, birds, and plants adapt to the season and their environment.  This trip may include visits to offsite locations.

Overall Expectations:

Science: 

• 2 investigate similarities and differences in the characteristics of various animals;

Specific Expectations:

Science

• 2.2 observe and compare the physical characteristics (e.g., fur or feathers; two legs or no legs) and the behavioural characteristics (e.g., predator or prey) of a variety of animals, includinginsects, using student-generated questions and a variety of methods and resources (e.g., observation of live animals in the schoolyard)
• 2.5 investigate the ways in which a variety of animals adapt to their environment and/or to changes in their environment, using various methods (e.g., read simple non-fiction texts and Aboriginal stories; observe animal activity in the schoolyard and surrounding areas, and record findings)
• 3.2 describe an adaptation as a characteristic body part, shape, or behaviour that helps a plant or animal survive in its environment (e.g., some birds migrate to a warmer climate for the winter; the design of a hawks feet and beak help them to catch and kill prey; the cecropia moth has the pattern of a snake’s head on its wings: the hypothesis is that this is to frighten its predators away)