KS2

15part of a teaching pack

KS2 EVOLUTION & INHERITANCE and LIVING THINGS & THEIR ENVIRONMENTSLesson Time 1 hour

Learning Objectives:

Animals and plants are adapted to suit their environment in different waysAdaption leads to evolutionSpecific characteristics of animals Selecting from and using a wide range of components ( KS 2 Technology)Living things produce offspring of the same kind

Starter Activity (15 minutes):

Activity: Before the lesson set up a number of different coloured shapes cut out of paper, card or other materials, camouflaged (not hidden) to different effectiveness, on different surfaces around the room. Students search for these. Lead discussion on how effectively these were camouflaged, based on: colour, texture, shading, pattern etc.

Take suggestions and make a list of animals and other living things which are camouflaged, with questions about how and why this is necessary®

Activity Outcomes:

Class discussion about principles of camouflage and concealment.Completed Inspired Activity Sheet No 15 on Zebras and CuttlefishList different reasons for animals to change their colouration.Introduction to bio-mimicry and ways in which technology can learn from science

Things you’ll need:

Card and paper – variety of colours and shapes, images of mammals, amphibians, insects, birds, fish, reptiles, colouring pencils, paper, access to computers for research, Inspired Activity Sheet No 15

Main Activity - 30 minutes: Activities: Students complete three activities on Inspired Activity Worksheet No 15:Explain the reasons why camouflage is necessary to living thingsExplain how both zebras and cuttlefish are able to create effective camouflage in different ways.

Helping your Inspired Explanations...

1 ZebrasWhen all the zebras keep together as a big group, the pattern of each zebra's stripes blends in with the stripes of the zebras all around them. As a simple pattern-camouflage, much like the type the military uses camouflage, and disrupted patterns, the wavy lines of a zebra blend in with the tall grass around it as camouflage. It doesn't matter that the zebra's stripes are black and white and the lines of the grass are yellow, brown or green, because the zebra's main predator, the lion, is colourblind. The pattern of the camouflage is much more important than its colour when hiding from these predators. If a zebra is standing still in matching surroundings, a lion may overlook it completely.

Zebras usually travel in large groups, in which they stay very close to one another. Even with their camouflage pattern, it's highly unlikely a large gathering of zebras would be able to escape a lion's notice, but their stripes help them use this large size to their advantage. When all the zebras keep together as a big group, the pattern of each zebra's stripes blends in with the stripes of the zebras around it. This is confusing to the lion, seeing a large, moving, striped mass instead of many individual zebras. The lion has trouble picking out any one zebra, and so it doesn't have a good plan of attack. It's hard for the lion to even recognize which way each zebra is moving. The lion's inability to distinguish zebras also makes it more difficult for it to target and track weaker zebras in the herd.

Zebra stripes actually help zebras recognize one another. Stripe patterns are like zebra fingerprints. Zoologists believe this is how a zebra mare and her foal can keep track of each other in the large herd, for example, and how a zebra can very quickly distinguish its own herd from another.

Science Technology Engineering Maths

Helping your Inspired Explanations...(continued)

2 CuttlefishCuttlefish can manipulate their chromatophores to change their overall skin colour. These animals have a collection of chromatophores, each of which contains a single pigment. An individual chromatophore is surrounded by a circular muscle that can constrict and expand. When the cuttlefish constricts the muscle, all the pigment is squeezed to the top of the chromatophore. At the top, the cell is flattened out into a wide disc. When the muscle relaxes, the cell returns to its natural shape of a relatively small size, much harder to see than the wide disc of the squeezed cell. By constricting all the chromatophores with a certain pigment and relaxing ones with other pigments, the cuttlefish can change the overall colour of its body.

With this ability, this creature can generate a wide range of colours and many interesting patterns. By perceiving the colour of a backdrop and constricting the right combination of chromatophores, the animal can blend in with all sorts of surroundings. Cuttlefish may also use this ability to communicate with each other. The chameleon alters its skin colour using a similar mechanism, but not usually for camouflaging purposes but to express its mood changes, rather , it’s thought, than when they move into different surroundings.

3 Explain Bio-Mimicry and BAES Adaptiv Technology

A Cloak Of Invisibility: Technology is used to create invisibility from the Infra red spectrum

What Is ADAPTIV?Imagine looking at an image of a tank on an infrared screen. Then the tank suddenly disappears. It has become invisible. Your infrared camera can’t pick up the heat from the tank. Imagine the significant advantages this would hold on the battlefield. BAE Systems is making the reality possible by developing a unique camouflage system called ADAPTIV, that allows a vehicle to blendinto its surroundings, effectively becoming invisible to hostile thermal imaging systems.

How ADAPTIV WorksThe high tech camouflage system uses modules, which look like cells in a honeycomb, to cover the flanks of an armoured vehicle. The modules are made of elements that can be cooled or heated up very quickly as well as controlled individually, allowing different patterns to be created.

The vehicle essentially works like a chameleon, able to mimic its surroundings, or copy other objects such as trucks and cars that can be projected onto the panels from a detailed image bank. The vehicle is also able to signal peaceful intent through flashing text messages across its flank or by creating patterns that can easily be recognized by friendly forces.

Recap and Progression 15 minutes

Students design their own camouflage patterns to provide cover in at least three different environments: • in a desert • in a polar region • in an urban environment

KS2 EVOLUTION & INHERITANCE and LIVING THINGS & THEIR ENVIRONMENTS

Your Notes

KS2

15part of a teaching pack