Living underground

Living underground

Pencil and paper
Overview
Using this Resource
Connecting to the Curriculum
Marking Student Responses
Working with Students
Further Resources
Earthworms, ants, and grass grubs live some or all of the time under the ground in the soil.
 
a)
On each animal label at least 2 parts of its body that help it to live in the soil. Describe how each part you have labelled helps the animal live in the soil. Hint: Features include size, shape, legs, covering, mouth, etc. The first has been started for you.
 

  
 
 
 

Earthworm (Toke)

 
A long thin body for easy movement through narrow spaces.  
 
  
 
 

Ant (Popokorua)

 
  
 
 
  
 
 

Grass grub
  
 
 


 
b)
Imagine that you have found a new species of animal that lives its whole life underground in the soil. Make a detailed drawing to share your discovery with other scientists. Label all the parts that help it live underground. Hint: think about what sort of features it would need to live in the soil.   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Now use one of the self-assessment sheets to evaluate your animal.
Use this self-assessment sheet if your animal is an invertebrate (has no backbone). (Insects, worms and spiders are examples of invertebrates.)
 
The following features are useful for living in the soil.
Tick the features that your animal has.
The following features are not useful for living in soil.
Cross the features that your animal has.

tick_box.png A long thin body for easy movement through narrow spaces.
tick_box.png No legs or small legs for easy movement through narrow spaces.
tick_box.png Slimy covering to help slide through soil.
tick_box.png Tiny bristles or hairs to help move through soil.
tick_box.png Strong jaws for eating roots under the soil.
tick_box.png Strong mouth muscles for eating soil.
tick_box.png A way of carrying soil.
tick_box.png Able to bend easily for moving through tunnels, e.g., a segmented body.
tick_box.png Small size to live in small spaces in soil.
tick_box.png Antennae or other sense organs for smelling or feeling.

tick_box.png Eyes. They are only useful when there is light to see.
tick_box.png Long legs. They are likely to get in the way.
tick_box.png Big size. They would have to construct large tunnels to move through the soil.
tick_box.png Shaped like a ball. This is not a good shape for moving through soil.
tick_box.png Wings
  
Evaluation
An animal that lives underground will need more useful features than features that are not useful.
 
Has your animal got more ticks than crosses? Yes /  No
 
Is your animal well adapted to live in the soil? Yes /  No
 
Name 2 things you would now change about your animal.
 
1.
 
 
 
 
 
2.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Use this self-assessment sheet if your animal is a vertebrate (has a backbone).  
(Rabbits, birds, snakes, and lizards are examples of vertebrates.)
 
The following features are useful for living in the soil.
Tick the features that your animal has.
The following features are not useful for living in soil.
Cross the features that your animal has.

tick_box.png A long thin body for easy movement through narrow spaces.
tick_box.png Strong front legs for digging.
tick_box.png Short legs, or no legs.
tick_box.png Sharp claws for digging.
tick_box.png Pointy nose.
tick_box.png Some way of sensing their environment (such as whiskers, a good sense of smell).

tick_box.png Very hairy coat. This would affect its ability to move freely.
tick_box.png Long legs. They are likely to get in the way.
tick_box.png Big size. They would have to construct large tunnels to move through the soil.
tick_box.png Shaped like a ball. This is not a good shape for moving through soil.
tick_box.png Good eyesight. (Eyes cannot see in the dark).
 
  

Evaluation
 
An animal that lives underground will need more useful features than features that are not useful.

Has your animal got more ticks than crosses? Yes /  No

Is your animal well adapted to live in the soil? Yes /  No

Name 2 things you would now change about your animal.
 
1.
 
 
 
 
 
2.
 
 
 
Copyright: 
Source: Illustrations by Tim Galloway, 'Building Science Concepts: Soil Animals', Ministry of Education.  
Level:
3
Curriculum info: 
Science, Knowledge, Living World
Keywords: 
ecology, adaptation, animals, soil, self assessment, work samples, model construction, drawing
Description of task: 
Task: Identify adaptations of 3 animals that live under the soil, and design an animal that could live underground. Self-assess the design by considering given criteria. Assessment focus: adaptations that enable an animal to live underground.
Curriculum Links: 
Science capabilities
The capabilities focus is brought about by the conversations you have and the questions you ask.
 
Capability: Interpret representations
This resource provides opportunities to discuss:
  • the conventions of diagrams and how they clarify the meaning for the reader.
  • the advantages and disadvantages of using diagrams to communicate science information.
 
Science capabilities: 
Interpret representations
Making Better Sense: 
Invertebrates
Answers/responses: 
 

Y6 (07/1997)
a) Earthworm

  • A long thin body for easy movement through narrow spaces (given).

Any of:

  • No legs for easy movement through narrow spaces.
  • Tiny bristles or hairs to help move through soil.
  • Strong mouth muscles for eating soil.
  • Able to bend easily for moving through tunnels/segmented body/flexible body.
  • Moist skin helps reduce friction.

1 additional correct - difficult.
  Ant
Any of:

  • Small size to live in small spaces in soil.
  • Small legs for easy movement through narrow spaces.
  • Antennae for sensing.
  • A mouth that can carry soil.

1 correct - moderate

2 or more correct - difficult
 

Grass grub
Any of

  • Strong jaws for eating roots under the soil.
  • A cylindrical/round body for easy movement through narrow tunnels.
  • Small legs for easy movement through narrow spaces.
  • Able to bend easily for moving through tunnels/flexible body.

1 correct - difficult

2 or more correct - very difficult

b)

Animal displays some of the above features

3 or more features - moderate

Trial notes

  • This resource was trialled in two different ways; a national trial involving 132 Year 6 students, and face-to-face with a group of 8 Year 5 and 6 students. The self-assessment was not trialled in the national test.
  • The hint about features was added after the national trial. The classroom trial showed that some students were not sure what "features" meant. Remove this from the resource if you want to compare the performance of your students with the data from this trial.
Diagnostic and formative information: 
  • For question a) a common error was to identify features that were irrelevant to living underground; for example, it will be hard to catch them because they move fast.
  • The face-to-face trial confirmed that many students were unfamiliar with grass grubs. This is probably why students performed less well with this animal.
  • For question b), in the national trial of 132 students, 40 drew an animal that had none of the features of an underground animal, 15 included 1 feature, 19 included 2 features, and 58 included 3 or more appropriate features.
  • It was common for students to draw eyes as the only sense organ. It seems likely that students either were unaware that light is necessary for seeing, or did not consider this idea when designing their animal.
Self-assessment
In the classroom trial, students were asked to redraw their animal after they had completed the self-assessment. Students had some interesting insights into how the self-assessment helped their learning:

  • It was much better than the first time because you could change it the second time and you had more ideas and you thought more about it.
  • The second time was not as imaginative because you were thinking about making it better to live underground.

See below for examples of student work samples.

Links to research

  • NEMP report 13: Science 1999: describing the structural features of an animal was reported to be more disliked than liked by year 8 students; many students could not identify more than two adaptive features. Our trial backed up this analysis, although the classroom trial showed that some students could identify more features if they were prompted. However, the addition of the creative activity increased the enjoyment factor.
  • A common misconception about adaptation is that students often think that an animal or plant can choose to change its features. The science theory is that relationships between structure and function evolve over many generations in response to the challenges of survival in the environment of the time.

Student work samples

Oliver

1) Smooth skin to move easy

An eye to see

To move around easy

Little feet to move around

It is about one cm long

To get big rocks away
After completing self-assessment

2) It's about 1 cm long

It's all slimy around the outside

To move around easy and to suck

A mouth to eat

Legs to move

To get big rocks away
 

First drawing

Improvements after completing self-assessment

Feedback

Features included:
Small size;
Ways to move;
A feature for removing obstacles;
An eye to see.

Removed the eye;
Added a mouth
Added on label "to suck" (this may be to remove soil);
Changed smooth skin to slimy covering.

Clarify what the purpose of being able to suck is.
Ask how it will find its way about.
   
Emily

1) Very small size of a baby's pinky finger

Big eyes for looking where to dig a tunnel

Can dig good tunnels to get from one place to another

Slimy to help move

Bird's eye view

Heaps of tiny wee legs to help move faster

Can break and grow back so if someone hurts it, it can recover better
After completing self-assessment

2) Hurt stuff

Bird's eye view

Smelling and feeling

Cute little legs

The circle that carries soil

Tiny wee hairs

Jaw with sharp teeth

This small

Teeth look like

Can carry 6 × its own weight

First drawing

Improvements after completing self-assessment

Feedback

Features included:
Small size;
Ways to move;
A feature for protection;
Eyes to see.

Removed eyes and replaced with antennae for smelling and feeling;
Added a mouth with sharp teeth;
Added a means of removing dirt;
Replaced slime with hairs.
Had less detail about function.

Ask how the animal puts the dirt on its back, and what it does with the dirt.
Acknowledge that the two drawings should be discussed together.

NOTE: Emily is beginning to use some conventions for drawing diagrams. She labelled her diagrams as bird's eye views. In the second she added an enlarged view of the mouth, and showed the real size of her animal.
   
Devon

1)

  • Lots of little legs to get through the thick mud
  • Spiky tail for self-defence
  • Patterns on back for camouflage
  • Eyes to see if there is anything dangerous and to see in the dark
  • Pincers to snap through hard rocks
  • Feelers to feel what's ahead of them
2) After completing self-assessment

  • Spikes that fling out when it thinks it is in danger
  • This side up
  • Sensors to feel its way
  • Little feet to go through the soil
  • Spikes to keep bugs off
  • Hard case for protection

First drawing

Improvements after completing self-assessment

Feedback

Features included:
A way of moving;
Feelers for sensing;
Pincers for rock clearing and boring;
Eyes;
Markings for camouflage.

Removed the eyes;
Added an exoskeleton to provide a more rigid structure;
Changed feelers to sensors;
Made legs slimmer.

Ask how effective camouflage is in the dark.
Discuss what impact the protective spikes might have on movement through small spaces.
Next steps: 

If students address a limited number of features, explore an underground animal's needs, for example:

  • movement;
  • eating;
  • tunnelling through soil;
  • removing soil;
  • sensing their way around in the dark.

Compare how different animals' adaptations help them meet these needs, for example, a worm and an ant. If students include features such as eyes and camouflage:

  • Ask students to think about what the conditions would be like underground.
  • Investigate the relationship between light and seeing (go to Further resources).
  • Ask why camouflage would be unnecessary for an animal that always lives under the ground.

Many animals only spend some of their time underground. For example, grass grubs live underground only during the larval stage, rabbits to sleep and keep babies safe, worms come up to avoid drowning. Investigate a variety of soil animals to find out

  • why they spend that part of their lives underground (this relates to needs);
  • and how they are adapted to spend parts of their lives above and below ground.
  • Ministry of Education (2001). Building Science Concepts Book 6, Soil Animals. Wellington: Learning Media. The focus of this book is diversity, so the assessment extends the book by addressing adaptations of soil animals.
  • Ministry of Education (2001). Making better sense of the Living World. Wellington: Learning Media. Refer to bird activities in the section on structure and function.
  • Ministry of Education (2002). Connected 1. Wellington: Learning Media. The article The paddling pigs of Fakaofo explores both structural and behavioural adaptations.
ARB resources that assess the concept of adaptations to suit environment, but in a different context:

  • Features of a sea lion – features that allow a sea lion to live in the ocean;
  • Birds' feet – how birds' feet are adapted to the habitat they live in;
  • A chiton – how a chiton is adapted to living in the inter-tidal zone;
Ministry of Education (2001). Building Science Concepts Book 10, Light and colour. Wellington: Learning Media. This book includes some activities to explore the idea that we need light to see.