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To encourage more inquiry I would break the students into groups of 3-4 to research what kind of animals live in the five biomes mentioned; forest, tundra, aquatic, desert, and grassland. Each group would have one biome and try to find 7-10 animals that live in that biome. I would then ask them to discuss in their groups what adaptations each animal has to survive in that biome. The groups would then come together as a class to discuss their findings. The teacher would draw a chart with each of the biomes and the animals listed by the groups. The class would then discuss similarities in biome animal populations.

I.C.1: Learners adapt, communicate, and exchange learning products with others in a cycle that includes interacting with content presented by others.

III.A.2: Learners identify collaborative opportunities by developing new understandings through engagement in a learning group.

III.A.3: Learners identify collaborative opportunities by deciding to solve problems informed by group interaction.

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I think this is a fun project that students could really be creative with. I would change having each individual student go through the process to making this a group /partner activity. Students could work in groups/pairs to share their favorite animals. These groups could record their ideas on a sheet of paper. They could share their group findings with the class.

Groups/partners could then be assigned different ecosystems to research. The photoshopped images could then be assigned to the groups, and they could design a creature that could live in the ecosystem they were assigned. Groups or partners could then present to the class, explaining the adaptations their creature needed to have to survive in the ecosystem. I think this could make it easier for those students who are not super creative.

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This lesson is loads of fun! The best place to visit the library would be in the early stages of this lesson. Before we create imaginary animals, let's learn about real animals and real habitats.

I envision that the librarian would set up learning stations about a few different ecosystems-- mountains, grasslands, rainforests, oceans, deserts, forests, polar, etc. Each station could have pictures, fact cards, and maybe be able to visit this National Geographic website. In small groups, students can visit these stations for a few minutes to familiarize themselves. Then, there could be a brief reminder about adaptations and some brainstorming about which adaptations you might see in different ecosystems. (Polar bears are white like snow. Desert animals often are awake at night.)

Then each kid receives a picture and the name of an animal they have to research. Their mission is to figure out 1) which ecosystem they live in, and 2) one adaptation they have to be able to live there. Students will write that information on the the picture they were given.

Before researching, the class would discuss how they might accomplish the task. Like, "While reading, what questions should you ask yourself?" "What are some clues you might look for?" The librarian would have books pulled, like 5,000 Amazing Facts about Animals, Wild Animal Atlas, The Animal Book, and/or this National Geographic website. Students can look things up in the books, on the websites, and visit the ecosystem stations again. When students have answered the two questions about their animal (where they live, and which adaptations they have), they'll place their animal at the correct ecosystem station. Finally, students can share out what they learned about their animal.

I.A.1 Learners display curiosity and initiative by formulating questions about a personal interest or a curricular topic.

I.B.1 Learners engage with new knowledge by following a process that includes using evidence to investigate questions.

I.C.4 Learners adapt, communicate, and exchange learning products with others in a cycle that includes sharing products with an authentic audience.

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Copyright © 1996-2015 National Geographic SocietyCopyright © 2015-2026 National Geographic Partners, LLC. All rights reserved

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As written, the lesson plan doesn't involve any library use, library resources or librarian involvement so its all uphill from here! It also very much simplifies the background information - almost to the point of potential misinformation - so I'd lean hard on adding some background knowledge via an introductory experience in the library. One option to make greater use of the library resources would be to provide a set of books to be used in an introductory activity. Three possible options of book set theme could be: 1) based-on-reality fiction stories set in a variety of environments where descriptions of local organisms were included in the narrative somewhere; 2) informational picture books on various types of organisms and/or environments around the world; or 3) non-fiction texts covering a selection of environmental types including the organisms that live in them. With any of the book set themes, students could be: doing 5-min book tastings rotating between tables and looking quickly through books, reading one for 1minute; selecting a book for a group study, pulling out environmental and organism feature information to share with the class in a variety of possible ways (e.g. carousel posters or slide presentations); or picking a book with a partner, and doing rotating pair shares with other's comparing and contrasting their environments and organisms. Another direction for an introductory activity that could take advantage of the space in the library would be sharing a lesson on a classic adaptation biology example - the pepper moth color change during the industrial revolution. Here is one good lesson plan on that example: https://www.nhm.ac.uk/schools/teaching-resources/key-stage-2/evolution-and-inheritance/species-variation-game-peppered-moth-lucky-landing.html and a solid video on it https://study.com/academy/lesson/video/artificial-selection-and-evolution-the-peppered-moths.html

If your group of students really gets into it, you can model what your library's population of moths would look like based on a multi-generational model created by having students color paper moths to blend into the library, taping them in place, and asking guest predators in to eat. After each generation, only the moth colors & patterns that remained "uneaten" can be used to create the next generation. After a few iterations, it starts to become very clear what the effective camoflauge patterns and colors of the space are and the students have a clear example of how adaptations can work.

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Species variation game: peppered moth lucky landing | Natural History Museum

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Learning resource for KS2 (ages 7-11) to help explain variation in species, using the peppered moth story.

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To make this lesson more information literacy-centered I would introduce the use of a research graphic organizer that prompts students to document their findings, require them to use source titles and author credentials, enter key facts, and note source reliability. Students will also need to have some prior knowledge of paraphrasing and the use of direct quotes. If the prior knowledge of this is not there, then I would conduct a mini lesson on ethical use of information to avoid plagiarism, have the proper use of paraphrasing and citing sources. Information literacy is all about what information we are seeking, how did we seek it, credibility, and how we can use the information ethically. Some knowledge of this needs to be built on prior to conducting this research project.

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My son did a similar project to this one in his classroom this year! It was a big hit with the kids. With high school students, from the information literacy advocate perspective, I would teach them about Creative Commons licensing and finding content that we can “remix.” Students can then practice editing their new creatures’ images in Canva. Another way to approach it would be to teach a lesson on using AI to edit images with specific directives.

For example, for the image above, I wanted to create a “Unicorn Moose.” I searched the Creative Commons to find this picture of a moose calf that I could use, then uploaded the picture into ChatGPT and told it “Give this moose a unicorn horn.”

I hope one conversation that would naturally occur during this process would be the need to give ChatGPT good directions. I also hope we would have reinforcement of citing our sources, and finding images that are ok to use.

The AASL standards that are addressed by this include VI.A.1 “Responsibly applying information, technology, and media to learning,” VI.B.1, “Ethically using and reproducing another’s work,” VI.B.2, “Acknowledging authorship and demonstrating respect for the intellectual property of others.”

"Moose calf (Explore 2014-05-09)" by Infomastern is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

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Content created using ChatGPT. if unsafe.

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In order to expand the literacy pieces of this lesson I would have the students get online and research "What is my biome" and other variations of this to see what they come up with. This will provide them a chance to see multiple sources and practice their discernment of credible cites and information. When I typed this into Ecosia, the top results are from National Geographic, NASA, and Arizona State University. A worksheet to explain why they know that their new resource is worth trusting would be simple to do. I liked the ASU link the best, as it takes you to a page called Ask a Biologist. This site allows the students to put names and faces behind the information that they are reading, which is a good piece in the exposure and validity of information.

I would also see if I could get local biologists to come in and speak to the students about what they do every day in their work with our local creatures.

If at all possible, I would love to see if local high school students who are in Biology classes could partner with the younger kids this lesson is made for and they could create creatures together.

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Tracey Smith, Culturally Responsive Analyst

The photo above is an AI rendition of an animal hybrid....an owx?

My school is a mix of nationalities, economic statuses, and languages. It has a Spanish Dual Language program, where one class in each grade is taught in Spanish and English. The students in this class are a mix of native Spanish speakers and native English speakers. Students would have an interesting range of biome experiences to share. Brainstorming or Think, Pair, Share when possible would help students get an idea of the various experiences that each of them have to share.

To start the unit, and help build a collective base of knowledge, I would take learners to visit the Coffee Lake Nature Park and wetlands. This is two blocks down the street from our school. CREST, our District’s Center for Research in Environmental Sciences and Technologies program, could accompany us and provide programming on the wildlife and their adaptations in the wetlands. They could also present information about the types of wetlands (forest, aquatic, or grassland), previously existed. The grasslands of Manassas National Battlefield Park will be unfamiliar to many students, so this is a way to introduce the concept of biomes and adaptations and make it more meaningful to students.

Coupled with personal experiences, it would spark discussion about why adaptations are necessary, what they accomplish, and provide a comparison between grasslands and wetlands, giving students different perspectives of the world around them.

During the creation of a well-adapted animal, I would encourage students to not only use pencil, paper, and markers but also to explore the various digital drawing programs we have available, write a descriptive piece about their animal, create a poem, use our vast collection of National Geographic and other animal magazines to create a graphic animal, and even develop a 3D printed animal to share with the class. This would allow students “voice and choice” when creating their well-adapted animal to share with the class.

These ideas relate to AASL’s foundational standard, Include, by:

II.A.1. Learners contribute a balanced perspective when participating in a learning community by articulating an awareness of the contributions of a range of learners.

and,

II.B.1,2&3 Learners adjust their awareness of the global learning community by: 1. Interacting with learners who reflect a range of perspectives. 2. Evaluating a variety of perspectives during learning activities. 3. Representing diverse perspectives during learning activities.

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For this unit plan, I am happy to be the Collaborative Instruction Strategist because I thought of a fun way for students (and teachers) to collaborate on this lesson! In my school, our second graders absolutely LOVE the Who Would Win series of books, and I thought it would be really fun to take the Create a Creature lesson to the next level by organizing a "Who Would Win" competition between my class and my partner teacher’s class! After each student created a creature, we could match them up with another student from the other classroom who made a different creature for the same ecosystem. (i.e desert creatures would face off, aquatic creatures would face off, etc.) I would have to give some thought to how exactly I would pair them up most fairly, but I would probably try to use a bracket system to eventually end up with one creature from each class who was the finalist to face off to see which newly-created creature is truly the best adapted to live in each ecosystem! I would ideally have a “winner” from each ecosystem. Then the students could discuss why certain animals beat other animals, and how that actually happens on earth (and has over time throughout evolution, to extend the lesson.) For the AASL library standards, I feel this activity would most support III.B.2: Establishing connections with other learners to build on their own prior knowledge and create new knowledge. This lesson also ties in to my second grade MT Science standard LS.3: Make observations of plants and animals to compare and contrast the diversity of life in different habitats.

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Meet Jerry Pallotta, Author of the Who Would Win? Series

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https://www.richardalois.com/symbolism/animal-symbols-native-american

I really love how creative and interactive this lesson is and feel it’s such a fun way for students to think about ecosystems and adaptations. However, looking at it through a culturally responsive lens, especially here in Montana, I think there’s a big opportunity to bring in more meaningful connections to our local Indigenous communities. For example, many Montana tribes view certain animals as sacred or as having spirits and deep symbolic meaning. Animals like the buffalo, eagle, and grizzly bear aren't just wildlife, they’re seen as teachers, protectors, or spiritual guides. So, while students are imagining new creatures and learning about survival traits, we could also introduce them to how animals are understood in different cultural contexts.

I would definitely incorporate the article I posted. It is one of the best that I have come across and it has an option to play the article. I would play this while showing a PowerPoint of pictures that coincide with the animals that are described throughout it. I think having a discussion afterward about what stood out in the article would be very beneficial. Discussing insights like how the Plains tribes, like the Blackfeet or the Crow, honor the buffalo, not just for its physical strength, but for the way it provides life (for example, food, shelter and tools). Or how the eagle is deeply respected by many tribes as a messenger between Earth and the Creator. These stories and teachings give students a broader view of nature, showing that adaptations aren’t just physical, they can also have cultural or spiritual significance. Adding in resources from Montana’s Indian Education for All (IEFA) standards, or even inviting in a tribal storyteller or Elder to share their perspective, would help all kids feel represented and respected.

This aligns really well with AASL’s “Include” standard by encouraging empathy, equity, and curiosity about how others view the natural world. Specifically, the AASL Competencies that are met are: I.A.1-Students recognize and respect diverse cultural perspectives in learning, I.B.2-Students build empathy and equity through inclusive knowledge sharing, I.C.1-Students engage with and learn from diverse voices and viewpoints, I.D.2-Students reflect on their place in a diverse, global learning community.