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Winter Survival
Age: Grades 3–7
Subjects: Science, Biology, Physical Education
Skills: physical education, discussion, psychomotor development, generalization
Duration: 20 to 45 minutes
Group Size: 30 (class size)
Setting: indoors or outdoors
Vocabulary: Counter-current heat exchange Objective Students will understand what animals need to survive 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 to survive. These 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 water. Winter complicates all this for wildlife. Snow and ice cover up food and water. Biting winds, frigid temperatures, and blizzards drain animals of precious energy and make it even more difficult to find crucial shelter. Some animals adjust their habits to cope with winter. Without tender plants to nibble, creatures such as deer, rabbits, and elk make do with twigs and bark. Beavers 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; 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 the ptarmigan, fluff out with more feathers for insulation. Ladybird beetles sometimes huddle together in a sheltered spot for warmth, as do many other animals. Some bird species conserve heat with a countercurrent 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 if animals 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 represented as follows: - Food is represented by 50 green sticks;
- Water is represented by 50 blue sticks;
- Energy is represented by 50 red sticks;
- Shelter is represented by 50 yellow sticks; and
- Hiding Spots are represented by 150 orange sticks;
Five pylons 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 (red, blue, and green) for students that play the parts of Big Freeze, Starvation, and Predators, which represent winter “threats” Procedure - Playing area can be inside or out, but should be approximately 20 steps by 20 steps square. See diagram in this activity, which depicts the set-up of the playing area.
- 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 spots.
- Have each student pick a creature that she or he would like to role-play. If possible, supply students with a list of local wildlife that remain active in winter, such as the red fox, the great horned owl, the snowshoe hare, the coyote, and the deer mouse. The goal of the game is for the creatures to survive winter.
- Pick three to six students to represent winter “threats” to wildlife: Big Freeze, Starvation, and Predators.
- Have students move about the playing area collecting popsicle sticks (survival elements) one at a time as follows: First, students pick up one stick from any corner of their choice. Some might choose Food, others may select Water, and so on. Next, students “hide” before proceeding to another corner to collect a survival stick; that is, they must go into the middle of the play area and collect one Hiding Spot stick each time before they can collect another survival element. After collecting a Hiding Spot stick, they may proceed to another corner of their choice. After doing so, however, they must again collect a Hiding Spot stick. The idea is that students must go to the middle EVERY TIME before they can go to a corner for a survival stick.
- Introduce winter “threats” into the game, one by one, in the following order: a) Predators (wearing red headbands); b) Big Freeze (wearing blue headbands), and c) Starvation (wearing green headbands).
- Predators, Big Freeze, and Starvation can “tag” animals, one at a time. Big Freeze can then take one Water or Energy stick from the tagged animal; Starvation can take one Food stick; and Predators can take one Hiding Spot stick. The captured popsicle sticks are returned to their respective corners 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 of the playing area, they can be penalized by not playing for one minute or by running once around the outside of the playing area.
- At the end of the game, to have survived winter, each animal will need a minimum of three each of Food, Water, and Energy sticks; at least one Shelter stick, and three to six Hiding Spot sticks.
Extension Adjust the number of sticks to reflect how the start or end of the winter season may change the survival priorities of wildlife. For example, reduce the amount of Food and/or Shelter sticks. Evaluation Ask students to: - 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.
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