Birds and Worms
Many
animals are “color coordinated” or camouflaged with their surroundings.
Camouflage helps animals blend in and hide. Camouflage is an important survival
strategy in the animal kingdom. Both predators and prey animals are
camouflaged.
To do this
activity gather about 50 small, colored objects consisting of various colors.
For example, a bag of skittles, m&m’s, or fruit snacks work well because
they are small and have various colors including green. Various colored small
toys work well too. Start by asking children why they think bullfrogs are green
and polar bears are white? Ask if they know what it means when animals blend in
with their surroundings? Show them pictures of animals that are camouflaged
with their surroundings. Ask them how their coloration might help them?
Take the
children outside to a grassy location. Scatter the objects/food around the
grass in a designated area. Tell the children that they are hungry birds and
that there are “bugs” and “worms” scattered in the grass for them to find. Give
each child a cup or basket to put their “bugs” and “worms” in as they find
them. Describe what the bugs and worms look like so the children know what to
look for. When you say “Go!” tell the children to “fly” over the area and pick
up the first “bugs” or “worms” they see. Have them take turns or go in small
groups. When children are done “flying” over the area have them sort the
objects in their baskets by color. Record the colors and numbers that the
children have. Create a graph to show your results. Is there a pattern to the
order in which the bugs and worms were found? Which color was found the most?
The least? Why were some colors harder to find than others? What type of bug or
worm had the best camouflage for the grass?
Try
repeating the activity on another surface, such as concrete, sand or wood
chips. How does it change the results?
Book
List
Arnosky, J. 2000. I See Animals Hiding. Scholastic, Inc.
Dell, P. J. 2006. Why Do Tigers Have Stripes? A Book about
Camouflage. Capstone Press.
Fredericks, A. D., and K.
Povelite. 2000. Clever Camouflagers. T&N
Children’s Publishing.
Gilpin, D. 2010. 3-D Close Up: Animal Camouflage. Advantage
Publishers Group.
Heller, R. 1992. How to Hide a Butterfly: and other insects. Penguin
Group Inc (USA).
Heller, R. 1995. How to Hide a Meadow Frog: and other
amphibians. Penguin Group Inc (USA).
Helman, A., and G. Jecan. 2008. Hide and Seek: Nature’s Best Vanishing Acts.
Walker & Company.
Kalman, B. 2010. How do animals hide? Crabtree Publishing Company.
Mettler, R. 2001. Animal Camouflage. Moonlight Publishing
Co.
Otto, C. and M. Lloyd. 1996. What
Color is Camouflage?. HarperCollins Publishers.
Pledger, M. 2004. Hiding in
the Woods: A Maurice Pledger Nature Trails Book. Silver Dolphin Books.
Tildes, P. L. 2000. Animals in
Camouflage. San Val.
Whitehouse, P. 2003. Hiding in a
Forest. Demco Media.
Wood, A. J., and N. Palin. 1996. Hidden
Pictures: Find a Feast of Camouflaged Creatures. Lerner Publishing Group.
Links
National Geographic KIDS: Animal Camouflage
BrainPOP Jr – Camouflage
PBS Kids - The Cat in the Hat: Exploring Animal Camouflage
No comments:
Post a Comment