Category: Predators and Prey

Predators and Prey – Background

What makes the fox clever and the deer swift, and why do both have a keen sense of smell?  Predators and prey face different challenges in getting their food. Predators must find their prey, chase and catch it, subdue it if it fights back, all before they eat it. Prey animals must forage for food cautiously, always on the lookout for predators. The anatomy and the behavior of predator and prey animals reflect each species’ needs and way of life.

Both predators and prey need keen senses, but the position of eyes and ears, the functioning of noses and sense of smell, can be very different. Continue reading Predators and Prey – Background

Predators and Prey – Activities

FOCUS: Both predators and prey need to eat, but they face different challenges in getting their food. Predators must find their prey, chase and catch it, subdue it if it fights back, and eat it. Prey animals must forage for food cautiously, always on the lookout for predators. The physical and behavioral characteristics of predators and prey reflect their needs and ways of life.

INTRODUCTION
Objective: To begin to explore and ask questions about predators and prey.

Ask children to take a moment to imagine or act out being either a stalking cat or a squirrel alert to danger. Then ask them to share what they were thinking as they were imagining life as their character.

LOOK OUT! SCENARIOS
Objective: To model some behavioral adaptations that help predators and prey survive.

Have children work in small groups and give each a Look Out! Scenario card. They will rehearse and act out vignettes about animal life in the wild. Continue reading Predators and Prey – Activities

Predators and Prey – Puppet Show

Little Red Riding Rabbit

Characters: Mother Rabbit, Bunny, Grandma Rabbit, Fox

Props: a thorny raspberry thicket, Grandma’s shawl, sign saying “Meanwhile in Grandma Rabbit’s Thicket”

Mother Rabbit    Listen, Bunny Dear. Grandma Rabbit is not feeling well today. Why don’t you go and visit her? Maybe that will make her feel better.

Bunny    Sure. I’ll cut right through the woods because that’s a faster way to get to Grandma Rabbit’s thicket.

Rabbit   OK, but remember to keep a lookout for danger. Continue reading Predators and Prey – Puppet Show

Predators and Prey – Standards

PREDATORS AND PREY ALIGNMENT WITH
NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS

The activities in this unit help children understand the basic concepts in the Disciplinary Core Ideas listed here. You can use the following list as a guide for lesson planning. These Disciplinary Core Ideas are taken from Grade Band Endpoints in A Framework for K-12 Science Education. Additionally, our activities give children opportunities to engage in many of the Science and Engineering Practices and reflect on the Crosscutting Concepts as identified in the Next Generation Science Standards. Continue reading Predators and Prey – Standards