Teacher preparation:

Overarching learning goal: Through participating in this activity students will understand that animals have evolved physical features that help them survive in their habitat, and that this means that similar animals in different habitats have developed different adaptations according to the needs of their habitat. Students then learn that climate change may alter habitats and that this may affect animals that live in those habitats.

Teacher content information: Climate change is expected to impact animals in a variety of ways, including by altering, damaging or destroying habitats. While some animals will be able to move to new habitats others will be forced to adapt or face extinction. Unfortunately adapting is not an easy task: many animal adaptations have evolved over hundreds of years.

Imagine you are a possum living in a tropical rainforest in northern Queensland. At the moment you live in an environment that is shaded, damp and relatively cool. You can cope with changes such as moderate temperature rises and storm events because you live in a sheltered environment. However, climate change is expected to cause temperatures to rise and storms to increase in frequency and intensity. A big storm could damage the rainforest and in combination with rising temperatures, the rainforest will become hotter and drier. Suddenly you - the little possum - is hotter than you've ever been and you're finding it harder to find shade and water. What do you do? For more details on this story, click here.

About Earth Hour: Earth Hour is a WWF-Australia initiative, and is the world’s largest community-driven climate change campaign. At the centre of Earth Hour is switching off lights to show a commitment to taking action. Thousands of teachers use Earth Hour’s education program to enrich their curriculum and provide pathways for young people to create change in their world.

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Student and classroom organisation:

Step 1.

Begin this activity by asking students to share what they know about animal adaptations:

What does 'adaptation' mean? (Suggested answer: Animal adaptations are the physical features that animals have so they can live in their local habitat.)
Why do animals need to adapt to their local environment? (Suggested answer: Not all habitats are the same: some are very hot, some are very cold, some are wet etc. Animals need different physical features to help them survive in these different habitats.)
What are some examples of animal adaptations? (Suggested answer: Animals that live in trees - like possums or monkeys - have tails that can help them live in trees. Animals that live in cold climates often have lots of fur or blubber to keep them warm. Giraffes have long necks to reach the tall trees. Ant-eaters have long noses to get into ant nests. Birds have different shaped beaks for eating different types of food - insects, fruit, seeds etc.)
What do you think happens when animals are forced into a new habitat or when the habitat changes? Are they able to grow new features to help them adapt? (Suggested answer: Adaptations generally take some time to develop, so if the changes are great then the animal may struggle or be unable to live in that habitat.)

Record students suggestions on the board.

Step 2.

Explain to students that in the next part of this activity they will be acting as ecologists who are in charge of helping local animals adapt to habitat changes. They will be looking at one local animal (it can be local to your region or state) and investigating this animal in detail, looking at its habitat, its food and its adaptations.

The problem is that because of climate change, the habitat of this animal is changing. We don't know if it will be hotter or colder, or wetter or drier. It's up to the ecologists to research a range of potential adaptations for this animal, based on an unknown future climate. In order to do this the ecologists must look at similar animals that live in different parts of Australia and the world, and find out what adaptations they have to survive in different habitats.

Break the class into small groups and ask them to follow the instructions on the Student Worksheet.

Assessment/Reflection

1. Ask groups to share their presentations with the class, and ask groups to assess presentations using the Peer Assessment Rubric (also available on the Student Worksheet).

2. Ask students to create an image of their local animal with some of its new adaptations. Students can either draw their animal by hand or use Photoshop or another online photo editing tool.

Extension/Homework

Ask students to investigate the actual predicted impacts of climate change on their local animal (using the Cool Australia Climate Change Toolbox) and clarify which adaptations would be most suitable for their local animal.

Earth Hour - Animals Adapting to Climate Change

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