Question
Students will encounter surprising examples of animal adaptations, generate and refine comparative research questions about a local and non-local species, and develop a focused, investigable question with a clear hypothesis that will guide their week-long investigation.
Day 1
🧭 Adaptation Adventure Challenge
Launch 15m
🧠 From Wonderings to Investigable Questions
Knowledge/Skill Building 10m
πŸ”Ž Species Pair Selection & Quick Scan
Research 10m
✍️ Comparative Question & Hypothesis Draft
Deliverable 10m
Design
Students will design a clear, systematic methodology to investigate their comparative animal adaptation question, ensuring their approach matches the question type, uses credible sources, and includes quality controls before beginning data collection.
Day 2
🧭 Matching Questions to Methods
Knowledge/Skill Building 15m
πŸ“š Credible Sources for Adaptation Research
Knowledge/Skill Building 15m
πŸ—ΊοΈ Comparative Methodology Blueprint
Deliverable 15m
Collect
Students will systematically gather and document high-quality comparative adaptation data for their selected local and non-local species, following their approved methodology plans and recording conditions, anomalies, and source details to build a reliable evidence base for later analysis.
Day 3
πŸ§ͺ Data Logging Protocol Mini-Lab
Knowledge/Skill Building 15m
πŸ“š Comparative Adaptation Data Collection
Deliverable 20m
πŸ” Mid-Collection Quality Check
Deliverable 5m
βœ… Methodology & Data Integrity Check
Assessment 5m
Analyze
Students will interpret their comparative adaptation data by creating meaningful visualizations, identifying patterns and anomalies, and developing evidence-based preliminary findings that connect directly to their original research questions and hypotheses.
Day 4
15 min over capacity (45 min available across 1 day)
πŸ“Š Choosing Graphs for Adaptation Data
Knowledge/Skill Building 15m
🧠 Preliminary Findings Summary
Deliverable 45m
Conclude
Students will synthesize their comparative adaptation research by writing evidence-based conclusions, explicitly acknowledging limitations, generating new investigable questions, and presenting their full investigation to an authentic audience at the Eco-Exchange Fair and Survival Tales Story Hour.
Day 5
✍️ Conclusions & Limitations Draft
Deliverable 13m
πŸ” Peer Review: Evidence & Claims
Deliverable 8m
🌍 Eco-Exchange Fair Presentations
Assessment 9m