Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

15 minutes	Part B: Understanding Adaptation
15 minutes	Part C: Structural Adaptations of Australian Fauna
15 minutes	Part D: Fauna and Fires
60 minutes	Part E: Giving Animals A Helping Hand
10 minutes	Reflection

Part A: Activating Prior Knowledge

Step 1.

Begin by distributing one copy of the Student Worksheet to each student. Work together to read through the following statements (also available on the Student Worksheet):

Statement 1: It has been said that Australia is a land of fires
Statement 2: Over many thousands of years, the land has evolved with, and adapted to, fire
Statement 3: After fire, there is regeneration and renewal
Statement 4: It has been said that our bush relies on fire to thrive.

Invite students to reflect on these statements, either as a whole class or in small groups, prompted by the following questions (also available on the Student Worksheet):

What do you think about these statements?
Do you agree or disagree with these statements? Why or why not?
What questions or wonderings do you have about these statements?

Explain to students that it is true that many of the plants and animals in Australia have evolved adaptations to help them live with fire. In this lesson, students will be looking at some of these adaptations in more detail.

Part B: Understanding Adaptation

Step 1.

Explain to students that they are now going to spend some time exploring the term ‘adaptation’.

Share the following clip with students:

Living Things Change: Crash Course Kids (https://youtu.be/xDSFlRunlrU)

Step 2.

Invite students to work in pairs to develop their own definition for the term ‘adaptation’, recording their ideas on the Student Worksheet.

You can then share the following definition and help students make amendments to their own definitions in line with this one:

Adaptation is a characteristic that helps an organism live in its environment.

Step 3.

Now explain to students that there are two types of adaptations that they will be considering. These are structural adaptations and behavioural adaptations.

Again invite students to work in pairs to think about what these different types of adaptation might mean in relation to animals, recording their ideas on the Student Worksheet.

You can then use the following to help clarify student understanding:

Structural adaptations are the physical features of an organism
Behavioural adaptations are the things organisms do to survive.

Step 4.

Direct students to the Structural or Behavioural Adaptations table on the Student Worksheet and invite them to categorise each example as either structural or behavioural. The answers are below:

Example	Behavioural or structural adaptation
Some animals can put their bodies into torpor during hibernation	Behavioural
The big ears of an elephant (the blood vessels in the ears help the elephant to regulate its body temperature)	Structural
Some animals move from place to place with the seasons (migration)	Behavioural
Some feathers of a bird help to keep the bird warm while others are long and stiff to aid in flying	Structural
The fur of a kangaroo (the fur keeps the roo warm)	Structural
The tail of a fish (the tail helps the fish move through the water)	Structural

Part C: Structural Adaptations of Australian Fauna

Step 1.

Explain to students that they will be looking at some of the structural adaptations of our native Australian animals.

Invite students to suggest some examples of Australian animals. List these on the board.

Select several examples and work with students to identify some of the structural adaptations of these animals. For example:

the sharp teeth of a koala are used for eating tough gum leaves.
the dermal shield (plates of bone) in the backside of a wombat is used to defend itself and its burrow
the pouch of all marsupials is used to carry young
the talons of a wedge-tailed eagle are used for grasping food.

Optional: Did anyone suggest any Australian invertebrates, amphibians or fish? It’s sometimes easy to overlook these organisms because the marsupials are so much bigger, but they are of course essential to the health of all ecosystems, including those in Australia. It is estimated that 83% of mammals, 90% of fish and insects, 89% of reptiles, and 93% of amphibians are endemic to Australia, meaning they are only found here. You could share the following clip with students; the clip features a scientist who studies invertebrates in Australia:

Jess Marsh, Kangaroo Island Invertebrate Scientist - The importance of invertebrates (https://vimeo.com/537480061)

Part D: Fauna and Fires

Step 1.

Explain to students that it’s now time to explore how our native fauna lives with bushfires.

Independently, or in pairs, students read through the article Animal response to a bushfire is astounding. These are the tricks they use to survive - The Conversation

As they read, students should make notes about anything they find interesting or important, as well as any examples of adaptation to fire. They should record their ideas in the space provided on the Student Worksheet.

Step 2.

Watch:

How do native Australian animals survive Australia's harsh environment? | Ask An Expert (https://youtu.be/6eOTZGSd1U0)

Step 3.

Allow students some time to think about what they saw in this clip by answering the following question (also available on the Student Worksheet)

What did you find interesting or surprising in this clip?
What examples of adaptation to fire did you observe in this clip?

Step 4.

Invite students to share with the class what they observed in the clip, as well as whether the adaptations they observed were structural or behavioural.

Through this process, you could pose the following questions without inviting students to suggest any answers:

If our native fauna is so well adapted to fire, I wonder if there is anything people can do to help them survive bushfire events and recover after the fires?

Extension for Year 6 students: Direct students to the Flora, Fauna, Fire resource. Explain to students that this resource looks at how a range of native fauna and flora have been affected by the recent Black Saturday bushfires.

Independently, or in pairs, students explore the resource, stopping when they reach the page listing all the species that have been studied following the Black Saturday bushfires.

Students select one fauna species and read through the article about that species to answer the following questions:

What is the name of this animal? Record the common and scientific names.
What type of animal is this (e.g. amphibian or reptile)?
How has this animal been affected by the bushfires?
What actions could people take to help this animal?

Once complete, invite students to team up with another pair to share their findings. The aim of this exercise is not to scare students about the severity of the fires, but rather to focus on the actions that people can take to help animals affected by fires. You can explain to students that in the next part of the lesson, they will be looking at these actions in more detail.

Part E: Giving Animals A Helping Hand

Step 1.

Explain to students that even though many Australian animals have adaptations that help them live with fires, intense bushfires like the Black Saturday fires can create a lot of challenges for our native fauna that live in those areas. For those of us who live a long way away from the sites where the bushfires occur, it can feel like there’s not much we can do to help these animals.

But there is always something we can do to help our native fauna.

Invite students to read through the article Want to help save wildlife after the fires? You can do it in your own backyard - The Conversation.

They could also check through some of the following resources (also available on the Student Worksheet):

Step 2.

Students will now take action to improve the habitat of native animals in their area. Younger students could work collaboratively to plan actions at their school while older students could work independently to plan actions for their own backyards or neighbourhoods.

Option for Year 5: Students could work in pairs or small groups to create a one-page sheet to explain the details of the action they would like to take at their school. They could use this to convince people at their school to support and help them deliver this action. This could include:

What the action is
How this action will help local fauna
Why think it is suited to their school
The location for this action
Resources required
A rough sketch of the design for this action (if applicable).

Option for Year 6: Students should select an action for their own backyards or neighbourhoods, and should work independently to create a poster or brochure to explain the details of their proposed action. This could include:

What the action is
How this action will help local fauna (include details about where to find more information)
Why think it is suited to their home or neighbourhood
The location for this action and the resources required
How they will look after the final product (what maintenance is required and how will they do this?)
A rough sketch of the design for this action (if applicable).

Reflection

Finally, invite students to work independently to record their answers to the following question (also available on the Student Worksheet):

Even though many native animals have adaptations that help them live with bushfires, why do you think it might be important to help them?

Teacher Reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:

What did you learn about your teaching practice today?
What worked well?
What didn't work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

Beyond Bushfires - Animal Adaptations And Fire

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