Year 6: Evolution and inheritance
Adaptation to suit environment
Curriculum Requirement
Identify how animals and plants are adapted to suit their environment in different ways and that adaptation may lead to evolution.
Nature Examples
Arctic Fox
A small fox found in the Arctic, perfectly suited to its frozen environment.
Adaptations: Has a thick white coat for camouflage and warmth, and small ears to reduce heat loss.
💡 Fun Facts
- Coat: The Arctic fox is a master of disguise. Its coat is brilliant white in winter to blend in with snow, but it changes to a brownish-grey in summer to match the tundra rocks.
- Warmth: Its fur is the best insulating fur of any mammal. The fox can survive temperatures as low as -50°C (-58°F) before it even needs to start shivering.
- Ears & Paws: The fox has fur on the bottom of its paws to protect them from the cold ground and provide grip on the ice. Its small ears and short nose also help prevent heat loss.
Cactus
A succulent plant that thrives in dry, desert climates.
Adaptations: A desert plant with a thick, waxy stem to store water and sharp spines instead of leaves for protection.
💡 Fun Facts
- Stem: The thick, waxy skin on a cactus stem acts like a waterproof layer to stop the water inside from evaporating. The stem's pleated shape allows it to expand like an accordion to hold more water when it rains.
- Spines: Cactus spines are actually highly modified leaves. They defend the plant from thirsty animals and also provide a bit of shade.
- Roots: The roots of a cactus are very shallow but spread out over a large area, allowing the plant to quickly soak up any rainwater before it dries up.
Giraffe
The world's tallest mammal, native to the African savanna.
Adaptations: A very long neck allows it to browse on leaves high up on acacia trees, a food source other animals can't reach.
💡 Fun Facts
- Neck: A giraffe has the same number of neck bones as a human—just seven! Each vertebra, however, is extremely long, measuring up to 25 cm (10 inches).
- Tongue: To eat from thorny acacia trees, a giraffe uses its tough, 45 cm (18-inch) long prehensile tongue to delicately strip the leaves from between the spikes.
- Heart: To pump blood all the way up its long neck to its brain, a giraffe has a massive heart that can be 60 cm (2 feet) long and weigh over 11 kg (25 lbs).
Peppered Moth
A common moth from Britain, famous for changing its colour to stay hidden as its surroundings changed.
Adaptations: A famous example of natural selection, where the darker form of the moth became more common on soot-covered trees during the Industrial Revolution because it was better camouflaged.
💡 Fun Facts
- Camouflage: Before pollution, the light, speckled form of the peppered moth was most common because it blended in perfectly with lichen on tree bark. The rare dark form was easily spotted and eaten by birds.
- Industrial Melanism: During the Industrial Revolution, soot from factories killed the lichen and blackened the tree trunks. Suddenly, the dark moths were camouflaged, and the light ones were easily spotted.
- Evolution in Action: As air quality has improved in recent decades, the lichens have returned and tree trunks are cleaner. The light-coloured peppered moth has now become the more common form again, providing a perfect example of evolution that scientists have observed.
Activities
Design a Creature
Give children a challenging environment (e.g., a dark cave, a windy mountain top, a deep-sea volcanic vent). They must design an animal or plant that is perfectly adapted to survive there, drawing and labelling its unique features.
Bird Beak Buffet
Set up a tray with different 'foods' (e.g., rice grains in sand, gummy worms in 'soil', sunflower seeds). Provide different 'beaks' (e.g., tweezers, pegs, spoons, chopsticks). Children test which beak is best for gathering each type of food, demonstrating how bird beaks are adapted for their specific diets.
Fossil Detectives
Provide pictures of fossils (or real ones if available). Discuss how fossils show that life in the past was different from today, providing evidence for evolution. Research the work of Mary Anning, the famous and pioneering fossil hunter from Lyme Regis, who made some of the most important geological discoveries of all time.
Reflections
Use these prompts to help pupils connect the specific examples of adaptation to the bigger concept of evolution.
Self-Reflection (Two Stars and a Wish)
Write down: ⭐ Two adaptations from today's lesson they found clever or surprising. 🌠 One question they still have about how animals or plants survive in their environment.
Paired Reflection (Think-Pair-Share)
Discuss with a partner: What is the most important difference between the adaptations of an Arctic fox and a giraffe? How does it relate to where they live?
Group Reflection
After the 'Design a Creature' activity, have groups pair up and present their creatures to each other. They must explain the most important adaptation their creature has and why it is so vital for survival in its challenging environment.
Whole Class Share-Out
Question for the whole class to prompt thinking about evolution: The peppered moth adapted to its environment when the trees changed colour. What do you think might happen to an animal like a polar bear, which is adapted for snow, if its environment warms up and the snow melts?
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