Features of mallard ducks and wētā

Features of mallard ducks and wētā

Pencil and paper
Overview
Using this Resource
Connecting to the Curriculum
Marking Student Responses
Working with Students
Further Resources
Instructions:
You will work with a partner. 
  1. One person takes the picture of the duck, the other the wētā.
  2. Explain to your partner how all the labelled parts of your animal help it to survive in the wild. 
  3. Next, ask your partner to explain how all the labelled parts of the other animal help it to survive in the wild.
  4. Mark each other's work using the answer guide.
 
 
 
 
Peer assessment sheet
 
Student assessment marking sheet for the Mallard duck  
 
Name of student: ____________________  Date: __________
 
Assessment done by: ____________________
 
My partner clearly explained how each labelled part helps the duck survive. (Tick Yes, No, or Partly).
 
 
Yes
No
Partly
Eye
Bill
Feathers
Webbed feet
Tail feathers
Wing
 
Notes:
 
 
 
 
Answers for mallard duck
  • Eye: On the side of the head so it can see predators.
  • Bill: The right shape for scooping up water and straining out its food
  • Feathers: Keep the duck warm, or used for flight, or provide camouflage.
  • Webbed feet: Help move the bird through the water.
  • Tail feathers: Used in flight for steering or keeping balance.
  • Wing: Used for flying to different places for food, or to escape its enemies.  
 
 
Peer assessment sheet
Student assessment marking sheet for the wētā  
 
Name of student: _______________________  Date: __________
 
Assessment done by: ____________________
 
My partner clearly explained how each labelled part helps the wētā survive. (Tick Yes, No, or Partly).
 
Yes
No
Partly
Antennae
Armour-like body
Large back legs
Hook-like structures
Mouth parts
Notes:
 
 
 
 
Answers for wētā
  • Antennae: Used for feeling its way in the dark (it is nocturnal)
  • Armour-like body: Used for protection against predators, or it helps prevent crushing.
  • Large back legs: Used for jumping to escape predators.  Some wētā will raise their back legs to frighten off predators.
  • Hook-like structures: These are used for gripping or climbing.
  • Mouth parts: Strong jaws for biting or crushing hard food.  Sometimes some wētā will bite as a means of defence.
Task administration: 
Preparation
Prepare from student page:
  • colour copies of the animal cards (These could be made into a class set and, if desired, laminated prior to the activity.)
  • copies of the peer assessment sheets
  • copies of the answer cards.
Students work in pairs.
Each pair will need:
  • a wētā and a mallard duck picture card
  • a wētā and a mallard duck peer assessment sheet
  • a wētā and a mallard duck answer card.
What to do.
  1. For each pair, give students one card each and the assessment sheet for their partner's picture
  2. Each student explains to the other how the labelled parts of their animal help it to survive in the wild. The second student fills in the peer assessment sheet.
  3. Hand out the answer sheets.
  4. Students discuss the answers given then make any adjustment to the assessment sheet.
  5. Alternatively, you could distribute the answer sheets with the other material so students can refer to it as they mark. (Note that there may be a tendency for students to share the answers before they have attempted the task.)
Copyright: 

Photo source: Wikipedia.org
Photo source: Crown copyright, DOC
Level:
3
Curriculum info: 
Science, Investigating in science, Living World
Keywords: 
ecology, adaptation, features, ducks, weta, peer assessment, oral assessment
Description of task: 
Task: Students give oral explanations about how the features of a weta or a mallard duck help it survive in its environment. Peer assessment sheets are included. Assessment focus: structure and function.
Curriculum Links: 
Science capabilities
The capabilities focus is brought about by the conversations you have and the questions you ask.
 
Capability: Use evidence
This resource provides opportunities to discuss using evidence (labelled diagrams) to make an inference, e.g., how features are used for survival.
 
Science capabilities: 
Use evidence
Making Better Sense: 
Birds
Answers/responses: 

Mallard duck

  • Eye: On the side of the head so it can see predators
  • Bill: The right shape for scooping up water and straining out its food
  • Feathers: Keep the duck warm, or used for flight, or provide camouflage
  • Webbed feet: Help move the bird through the water
  • Tail feathers: Used in flight for steering or keeping balance
  • Wing: Used for flying to different places for food, or to escape its enemies

Wētā

  • Antennae: Used for feeling its way in the dark (it is nocturnal)
  • Armour-like body: Used for protection against predators, or it helps prevent crushing
  • Large back legs: Used for jumping to escape predators.  Some wētā will raise their back legs to frighten off predators.
  • Hook-like structures: These are used for gripping or climbing
  • Mouth parts: Strong jaws for biting or crushing hard food.  Sometimes some wētā will bite as a means of defence.

NOTE: Different types of wētā have differences in their structure and behaviour. The example shown is a giant wētā, but answers that could apply to other wētā are acceptable at this level, unless students have had a learning focus on a particular species.

Diagnostic and formative information: 

Common response
Students give a generalised answer, for example, the eyes are for seeing. While this is not incorrect, the question is about how the feature helps it survive. This requires a more specific answer that addresses why the feature is structured the way it is.

Next steps

  • Encourage students to think about the structure of the animal in relation to the food it eats and the environment it lives in.
  • Compare the features of the wētā and duck and discuss how they are suited to the different environments they live in.
  • Compare different sorts of wētā and/or ducks, the variations of structure within the group, and why they might have these particular features. For example, a cave wētā has very long legs and antennae, and a slight body. The native blue duck has some special adaptations to allow it to survive in fast flowing streams.
  • Compare wētā with closely related insects such as grasshoppers.

Wētā (LW0055)
Is a wētā a spider or insect?(LW0009)

Ministry of Education (2001). Building Science Concepts Book 3, Birds. Wellington: Learning Media.
Ministry of Education (2001). Making Better Sense of the Living World. Wellington: Learning Media. In the chapter Structure and Function there are some activities on birds' features.

The wickED website provides links to websites about wētā.