Every animal and plant you have ever seen looks the way they do because of adaptations.  This introductory course will discuss the Biology of animals in relation to the structural and behavioral adaptations that help these animals survive.  Students will engage in conversation about animals they have seen and have been curious about.  They will see examples of unique adaptations and use their critical thinking to understand why animals may have certain features or behave in a particular way. 

This lesson will introduce the topics:

Structural Adaptations: 
Why animals evolve to look a certain way.  Examples include unique adaptations (ex: an elephant’s trunk) as well as the more common features of large groups of animals (ex: legs of land mammals).
Behavioral Adaptations: 
What animals can do to aid in survival.  We will talk about feeding behaviors (carnivore vs. herbivore vs omnivore vs. detritivore) and broad topics like migration and hibernation.  We will also look at something quite unique in how some animals may have their behavior manipulated when infected with parasites.

These concepts will be discussed using lecture slides, images, short videos, and by relating this information to things students have experienced in their own lives through interactive discussion.

*This course combines both structural and behavioural adaptation topics in a 50 minute class.  There are two 25 minute versions of this course that discuss only the structural or behavioural aspects if that is preferable.