Science.K.13.B

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The student is expected to

identify the different structures that animals have that allow them to interact with their environment such as seeing, hearing, moving, and grasping objects;

Organisms and Environments

Knowledge and Skills Statement

Organisms and environments. The student knows that organisms resemble their parents and have structures and undergo processes that help them interact and survive within their environments.

The following is an example of how to assess proficiency of this student expectation (SE) or a portion of the SE.

Provide each student with a different animal picture to glue in their notebooks. Have students label the different structures of their animal. Once students have labeled their pictures, have them find a partner, share their animals, discuss how each animal might use its structures, and trade notebooks. Repeat the mix-pair-share until all students have shared with each other. 

Students may explain that animals that have large eyes may be able to see better, allowing them to avoid predators more easily. They may also recognize that a predator that can hear its prey is more likely to catch it. Animals move in different ways, and students should be able to recognize some of the different ways animals move and how that helps them be successful in their environment. For example, birds move with legs or wings, depending on the situation. Fish move with fins, and worms crawl. Each of these movements helps the animal live successfully in their environment.

The further explanation is designed to be a resource for educators that helps them better understand the topic their students are learning. Further explanations may be written at a more complex level than would be expected for students at the grade level.

The structure that allows an animal to see is the eye. Different types of animals have different types of eyes

CatSpiderOctopus
Cat laying on deck, resting its head on its paws

Image by Doris Metternich from Pixabay

Small jumping spider sitting on a leaf

Image by Ronny Overhate from Pixabay

Closeup of octopus head with focus on one eye

Victor Micallef, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

The structure that allows an animal to hear is the ear. Different animals have different ear structures.

RabbitFrogHuman
Rabbit sitting in the grass looking at the camera

Image by David Mark from Pixabay

Side profile of a frog that shows their eye and ear

Daveleicuk, A Common frog, CC BY-SA 3.0

Profile of a man’s face that shows his ear

Genusfotografen (genusfotografen.se) & Wikimedia Sverige (wikimedia.se), Human right ear, CC BY-SA 4.0

Animals have different types of structures that allow them to move, such as hooves, fins, or wings. 

DeerCuttlefishButterfly
Deer with antlers standing in a field, looking towards the camera

Image by hashan from Pixabay

Cuttlefish sitting on the ocean floor

Image by Arhnue Tan from Pixabay

Butterfly sitting on a lantana leaf

Image by Wild Pixar from Pixabay

Animals have different kinds of structures that allow them to grasp objects. These structures can have multiple purposes. For example, dogs use their mouth to eat food and grasp objects. 

ChimpanzeeElephantDog
Chimpanzee is sitting down, holding a piece of straw to its mouth

Image from Pixabay

Side profile of an elephant holding some grass with its trunk

Image by Amar Hussain from Pixabay

Two dogs playing tug of war with a toy

Image by congerdesign from Pixabay

 

Glossary terms and definitions are consistent across kindergarten through high school in the TEKS Guide. The definitions are intended to give educators a common understanding of the terms regardless of what grade level they teach. Glossary definitions are not intended for use with students.

a classification of organisms whose cells are eukaryotic (have a nucleus and organelles), do not have cell walls, and which rely on consuming other organisms for food

the circumstances, objects, or conditions that surround an organism including abiotic (climate and soil) and biotic (living organisms) that act upon an organism or an ecological community and ultimately determine its form and survival

a natural phenomenon marked by gradual changes that lead toward a particular result; a continuing natural or biological activity or function

something arranged in a definite pattern of organization; the arrangement of particles or parts in a substance or body; the aggregate of elements of an entity in their relationships to each other

Research

Sinoradzki, Kristen, and TJ McKenna. 2021. “What's so Phenomenal about Animals?: Using Structure and Function to Explore Animal Diversity” Science and Children: Global Connections 58, no.6 (July/August 2021): 86-90. https://www.nsta.org/science-and-children/science-and-children-julyaugust-2021-0/whats-so-phenomenal-about-animals.

Summary: This article explains that allowing students to explore animal diversity and the different structures that allow them to survive can help increase student engagement. Discussions about this topic can help promote a broader vocabulary.