Creatures: Classroom Activities
the Infrared Zoo: Images Capture Warm and Cold-Blooded
Journal: My Day as a Cold Blooded Creature
Imagine you suddenly became cold-blooded. In fact, like a monarch, you can't move at all at temperatures below 41 degrees F. At that temperature, you can just begin to move. But it needs to be at least 55 F for you to have a normal activity level. How would your life be different? Write a short story about the day your warm-blooded body went cold. Imagine that you had to plan your activities around the day's temperature changes. Describe how this affected your plans, and what warm-blooded people had to do to help you!
Imagine: What Does it Feel Like?
Close your eyes and imagine you're in a big swimming pool filled with thick molasses up to your neck. You have to work very hard to get anywhere. Your movements are very slow. You're a cold-blooded creature, such as a monarch.
Watch out! Here comes a predator!
Move Like a Cold-Blooded Monarch
1. Post this chart on the board or on chart paper:
Imagine you are a room full of monarch butterflies. The teacher
or a student volunteer should call out a temperature from 1 degree F to
100 degrees F. Everyone in the class should act out monarch movements
that "fit" with the selected temperature. The leader should
explain why he or she will call out temperatures above 55 F:
3. Repeat several times. Discuss what it "felt" like to have your movements limited. (Also discuss the fact that cold-blooded creatures don't have feelings like humans do! They are simply adapted to survive in their environments.)
Comparing Food Energy Expenses: Cold-blooded and Warm-blooded Animals
Journal, Discuss, and Dig Deeper