Building Beasts - Saunders Middle School

Building Beasts:
An Evolutionary Activity
Students will randomly create an organism and its
environment with a roll of the die. Be creative - but stick to
the rules of nature so you can demonstrate that you
understand what adaptations are and how they help an
organism survive in its environment.
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Evolution:
Building Beasts
Name: __________________________
Background:
Adaptations are structures or behaviors by which a
species or individual improves its ability to survive in its
environment. For example, bats have large ears and
aerodynamically shaped noses to allow their highpitched screeches to reach their ears easily. Zebra’s
stripes help them to confuse predators when travelling
in large groups. Plants that live in dry environments
have a thick layer called a cuticle to help them to retain
water. In fact, nearly everything about an organism is
an adaptation of one kind or another. Think of a trait
that an animal has, and then think of how that trait
helps it to survive and reproduce in its environment.
Different adaptations are helpful for different
environments: the white peppered moth was able to
survive easily against the white bark of the tree; however, after the Industrial Revolution, the
white coloration of the moth made it more easily seen by predators when against the sootcovered trunks of the trees, and their population began to decline.
Objective:
To show your understanding of adaptations and how they drive evolution.
What You do:
Randomly create an organism and its environment with a roll of the die. Be creative - but try
and stick to the rules of nature so you can demonstrate that you understand what adaptations
are and how they help an organism survive in its environment. Adaptations must be realistic
and exist in nature. No bionic hearing or laser vision!
Part 1: ROLL
Roll a die for each category to determine the conditions of your environment. Then roll it to
determine the qualities of your beast. You must use these qualities; however, you may add
more adaptations to ensure that your beast will survive with its adaptations within its
environment. Each time you roll the dice (A-C) think about how this roll affects your beast.
Create an adaptation for A-C that helps your beast survive in those environmental conditions.
For roll E, be sure to describe what your beast eats based on the mouthparts you were assigned.
© Getting Nerdy, LLC
Part 2: CHOOSE ONE
Choose either the Drawing or the Essay to complete your project. Circle the option you choose.
The Drawing:
Your drawing must be colorful and include all of the following criteria:
1. Draw the environment with all of its qualities in rolls A-C. At the bottom of your picture,
write three lines describing your environment.
2. Name and draw your animal in this environment and don’t forget to include the three
additional adaptations it needs to survive for rolls A-C. Please label each adaptation
with a sentence describing how it helps your organism within your environment
3. Create, draw, and label an organism that your beast could eat based on its mouthparts
(roll E). Also create, draw, and label the organism that eats your beast (roll F).
The Essay:
Your essay must be at least THREE paragraphs with a minimum of FIVE sentences each and
must be written according to the following format:
1. Environment: Describe your environment in full detail. You should feel like you are
standing in your environment as you describe the sights, sounds, smells, etc.
2. Introduce your beast and its adaptations: What is its name? What physical
characteristics were predetermined (roll D-F)? Which characteristics did you add on to
your beast to help it live in its environment (rolls A-C)?
3. Introduce your predator and prey items: What characteristics did you add to your beast
to help it catch its prey (roll F) and escape from predators (roll G)? Describe the predator
and prey that your beast interacts with in its environment in detail.
Part 3: THE PRESENTATION
You will present your beast in its environment to the class. Read your essay about your animal
and how it’s adapted to your environment OR Show your picture to the class and explain the
environment and your beast’s adaptations you have drawn.
© Getting Nerdy, LLC
Evolution:
Building Beasts
Name: __________________________
Roll the dice and circle the number shown on the dice for each of the following conditions or traits:
A) WHERE DOES IT LIVE?
1 – mountains covered in ice and snow with cold, blustery winds
2 – dry desert with scorching hot days and freezing cold nights
3 – in the ocean or on the beach with frequent storms and warm weather
4 – on a small volcanic island with frequent eruptions and tropical climate
5 – swamp with standing water and sticky, humid air
6 - in a cave that is dark, damp, and cool
B) WHAT IS THE SOIL?
1 – large, jagged, loose rocks
2 – sandy soil with pools of quicksand everywhere
3 – solid densely packed soil that is difficult for beasts to burrow through
4 – dry, crunchy mud that caves in under foot
5 – sticky red clay that beasts sink in to and get stuck in
6 – slimy, slippery mud that is difficult to walk on
C) WHAT KIND OF VEGETATION IS PRESENT?
1 – tall trees with long branches and big leaves
2 – small dwarf trees and shrubs with tiny leaves and colorful flowers
3 – vines with thorns that grow along the ground
4 – short plants with thick succulent leaves to retain water
5 – low lying mosses and grasses
6 – thin tall straw-like grasses
D) WHAT KIND OF BEAST IS IT?
1 – a soft-bodied invertebrate
2 – a bird
3 – a reptile
4 – a large mammal
5 – a flying insect
6 – an amphibian
E) WHAT KIND OF EXOSKELETON/SKIN/FUR/FEATHER DOES IT HAVE?
1 – very thick
2 – colorful
3 – blended into the surroundings (camouflaged)
4 – layer of slime on top
5 – spikes or spines
6 – very thin
F) WHAT KIND OF MOUTHPARTS DOES IT HAVE/WHAT DOES IT EAT?
1 – piercing, sucking mosquito like mouth
2 – fangs that deliver venom
3 – flat teeth for grinding
4 – sharp pointy teeth for tearing and shredding
5 – large front teeth for clipping leaves
6 – no teeth for swallowing things whole
G) WHAT EATS IT/WHAT ARE ITS PREDATORS?
1 – footeous maximus: big footed creatures that chase and stomp beast flat
2 – vampiro motheus: lands on beast and sucks blood until dry
3 – injectesect parasitus: lays eggs on beast that burrow into and devour from inside out
4 – vomitous spidereus: vomits on beast and melts it with digestive fluids
5 – steameus rolleus: chases, rolls over and then devours beast
6 – megamaggot grubbeus: leaps out of the ground and swallows beast whole
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USE THIS SPACE TO JOT DOWN IDEAS FOR YOUR BEAST!
Building Beasts: CATASTROPHE!
Your beast has enjoyed a life of leisure in your current environment – playing with other beasts,
frolicking in the lovely weather, eating lots of food and evading the predators in the area.
Unfortunately, times are changing, and your beast must inherit a beneficial mutation or its
species will die! Based on your first roll (A), choose the appropriate catastrophe that will now
affect your beast’s environment.
Environment 1: The mountains that were once covered in ice and snow have experienced
an unusually warm season caused by global warming. The snow and ice have melted
creating raging rivers and streams all over the mountain as the water flows toward the
valley below.
Environment 2: The polar ice caps have melted causing the sea levels to rise. The desert is
now flooded with several inches of saltwater from nearby seas and saltwater organisms
such as small clams and sea cucumbers now inhabit the sand.
Environment 3: Pollution from a nearby Cruise Ship collision has severely affected the
quality of water in your environment, spilling oil everywhere, washing passenger’s luggage
and trash onto the beaches and creating floating “rafts” of debris.
Environment 4: The volcano on the island goes dormant and due to its location in the
Northern Hemisphere, the island experiences an ice age. The island is blanketed in a thick
layer of frigid ice, killing all vegetation.
Environment 5: A drought has come, causing all standing water to evaporate. The swamps
and marshes in the area dry up and cause the sticky humidity of the air to disappear.
Environment 6: A rare meteor shower rains down on the land, opening a giant hole in the
roof of the cave. The hole allows sunlight, fresh air, and other weather conditions to affect
the interior of the cave.
Luckily, your beast population is growing in numbers, and new mutations
are being introduced into the species often. Maybe they can survive!
Your Task:
Introduce a new mutation adapted to the new environmental conditions that may help your
beast’s species continue on for generations to come. You must complete BOTH portions below:
1. Draw a picture of your newly created beast and the environment AFTER the
catastrophe.
2. Write two paragraphs with at least five sentences each.
a. Paragraph 1: Explain what has happened to your environment. What has
happened to the vegetation? How about the predators and prey in the
environment? Is the climate the same?
b. Paragraph 2: Give a detailed description of the new mutation you have given to
your beast. How is this mutation beneficial to the survival of your beast? Explain
how this adaptation is aligned with the new conditions in your environment.
© Getting Nerdy, LLC
Evolution:
Building Beasts - Questions
Name: __________________________
1. What does the dice in this activity represent?
__________________________________________________________________________
2. Explain how mutation leads to adaptation.
__________________________________________________________________________
3. How does natural selection “drive” evolution?
__________________________________________________________________________
4. a. What do you think prefix “co” in coevolution means? (Think of words like cooperate, coed sports.)
__________________________________________________________________________
b. What do you think coevolution is?
__________________________________________________________________________
c. Provide an example of coevolution.
_________________________________________________________________________
5. Give an adaptation found in nature for each organism and explain how this adaptation
helps this organism to survive and reproduce in the following environments:
a. A Saguaro cactus:
b. A grizzly bear:
c. An orb spider:
d. A robin:
e. A jellyfish:
6. When looking out of my back door, I see robins, blue jays, finches, crows, hawks and owls
all living in the same area. How is it possible that all of the birds can live in the same area
of one another without starving? Be specific.
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
© Getting Nerdy, LLC
Evolution:
Name: __________________________
Building Beasts – Student Examples
© Getting Nerdy, LLC
Evolution:
Name: __________________________
Building Beasts – Student Examples
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