Below Zero Activities
Age: Grades 3 to 9
Subjects: Science, Biology
Skills: Physical education, discussion, psychomotor development,
generalization
Duration: 20 to 45 minutes
Group Size:
Setting: Indoors or outdoors
Conceptual Framework References: 2a; 3; 3b; 3c; 3d; 4; 4b
Key Vocabulary: Counter-current heat-exchange
Objectives
Students will understand what animals need in
order to survive the winter.
Method
Students play the part of animals and winter
"threats" in an exciting game of tag.
Background
Just like humans, wild creatures need water,
food, shelter and space in order to survive. The four basic
habitat elements also need to be arranged in a particular
way to suit each species. A moose, for instance, needs far
more space than a mouse. Some desert creatures can survive
very nicely without ever drinking water, but many species
would die without an abundant supply of H2O.
Winter complicates all this for wildlife. Snow
and ice cover up food and water; while biting winds, frigid
temperatures or blizzards drain animals of precious energy
and make it even more difficult to find crucial shelter.
Some animals adjust their habits in order to
cope with winter. Without tender plants to nibble, creatures
such as deer, rabbits and elk, make do with twigs and bark.
Beaver store bark in their lodges, while other animals stock
up and hide seeds and nuts in winter caches.
Keeping warm can be a big problem. Some species
migrate and others hibernate to escape the big freeze. Those
that stay active all winter, adapt in many ways. Mammals grow
thicker fur coats, and birds, like ptarmigan, fluff out with
more feathers for insulation. Ladybird beetles sometimes huddle
together in a sheltered spot for warmth, so do many other
animals.
Some bird species conserve heat with a counter
current heat exchange system. Arteries that carry warm blood
to the feet are very close to the veins that carry cooler
blood from the feet to the body. Because the two vessels are
so close together, the warm blood warms the cold blood so
that the bird loses very little heat. That's why a bird's
skinny feet and legs don't freeze in winter!
The colder it is, the more energy it takes to
stay warm. This means that if animals must use more energy
than usual to find food, or to run from predators, they are
in more danger of dying from the cold.
Materials
A bundle of coloured popsicle sticks: Food is
represented by green sticks; Water is blue; Energy is red;
Shelter is yellow; and Hiding Spots, orange; five pilons or
other objects to mark four corners and the centre of the playing
area; signs to identify Food, Water, Shelter, Energy, and
Hiding Spots; coloured headbands for students that play the
part of Big Freeze, Starvation, and Predators.
Procedure
- Playing area can be inside or out, but should be approximately
20 steps by 20 steps square.
- The four corners represent Food, Water, Energy and Shelter,
while the centre represents Hiding Spots. Place a supply
of coloured popsicle sticks at the appropriate five spots.
- Have each child decide which creature it would like to
be. You can supply them with a list of animals in your area
that remain active in winter, such as red fox, great horned
owl, snowshoe hare, coyote, deer mouse, and so on. The goal
of the game is for creatures to survive winter.
- Pick three to six students to represent Big Freeze, Starvation,
and Predation.
- First, have students move about the playing area collecting
the popsicle stick survival elements one at a time.
- Introduce into the game, one by one, and in the following
order: a) Predators (wearing red headbands); b) Big Freeze
(wearing blue), and c) Starvation (wearing green).
- Predators, Big Freeze and Starvation can "tag" animals,
one at a time. Big Freeze can then take one water or energy
token (popsicle stick) from the tagged animal; Starvation
can take one food token; and Predator can take a hiding
spot. The captured popsicle sticks are to be returned to
their respective posts on the playing area.
- Animals continue to collect as many popsicle sticks as
they can while being chased by the winter "threats".
- If any of the players step outside the boundary, they
are penalized one minute out of the game; or by running
once around the outside of the playing area.
- At the end of the game, each animal will need a minimum
of three each of Food, Water and Energy; at least one Shelter
and three to six Hiding Spots in order to have survived
winter.
Evaluation
- List some of the ways in which animals cope with winter.
- Describe some of the threats to winter survival of an
animal living in your area.
Copyright 1998 by the Canadian Wildlife Federation.
All rights reserved.
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