This interactive slide show illustrates the variety of animal babies that exist on earth -- some completely independent and others deeply reliant on parental care.

It takes a thick skin to withstand the hardships that life has to offer. This collection of images shows a variety of animals, each with a slightly different type of protective covering.

In nature, survival is the name of the game. This video segment explores the world of animal defense and shows that predators don't always have the upper hand.

This video segment discusses the physical adaptations that give several nocturnal animals a heightened sense of hearing. Footage from NOVA: "Mystery of the Senses: Hearing."

Students will be working with a partner to research a favorite animal. They will be required to use a wide variety of resources which include multimedia software packages, the Internet, and various books. The students will be looking up general information about their animal, such as its habitat, place on the food chain, size, etc. Ultimately the students will be responsible for presenting the information they have gathered in some form of multimedia presentation. This activity is primarily student-oriented rather than teacher-oriented in that the students will be selecting what animals they want to research and what materials they want to use in creating their report. The teacher will give some basic requirements and guidelines to ensure that students are on task.

In this lesson students will learn to observe special characteristics and senses which influence the life of an animal and become aware of threats to animals and their habitats and how this affects everyone.

Students are introduced to the classification of animals and animal interactions. Students also learn why engineers need to know about animals and how they use that knowledge to design technologies that help other animals and/or humans. This lesson is part of a series of six lessons in which students use their growing understanding of various environments and the engineering design process, to design and create their own model biodome ecosystems.

Students will choose an animal, draw the animal, write a sentence naming their animal and write a sentence about what their animal can do using inventive as well as conventional spelling.

Students learn about biomimicry and how engineers often imitate nature in the design of innovative new products. They demonstrate their knowledge of biomimicry by practicing brainstorming and designing a new product based on what they know about animals and nature.

Students will apply their knowledge of clarification writing and address "What Animal or Plant Would You Add to the NC Zoo." Students must research their plant or animal to determine if the zoo ecosystem could support the species.

Students investigate decomposers and the role of decomposers in maintaining the flow of nutrients in an environment. Students also learn how engineers use decomposers to help clean up wastes in a process known as bioremediation. This lesson concludes a series of six lessons in which students use their growing understanding of various environments and the engineering design process, to design and create their own model biodome ecosystems.

This lesson will introduce and reinforce learners' understanding of habitat components within an environment. This lesson is one in a series of lessons: Understanding Animal Adaptation: Day 1; Animal Environments: Day 2; Diamante Poetry Using Environments: Day 3. This is lesson two.

This lesson teaches basic print awareness along with animal names and sounds through guided reading and the use of a graphic organizer.

Almost everyone has wished at one time or another to be able to fly like a bird. Just the thought of soaring above your city or town without any mechanical device gives us a reason to envy these feathered animals. Also in: French | Spanish

This computer-assisted investigation allows students to explore the effect of variables on animal respiration using research-quality instrumentation. The model investigation is with a lizard (anole) exposed to a range of temperatures that are only moderately stressful and do no harm. The animal is contained in a transparent chamber with gas inlet and outlet ports and an electronic thermometer. Carbon dioxide-free air is pumped at a constant rate into the chamber. The outgoing air enriched in carbon dioxide passes in turn through an electronic oxygen sensor, a simple drying apparatus, and an electronic carbon dioxide sensor that measures concentration by absorption of infra-red light. Analog voltage signals from the sensors are electronically converted to digital with an interface device and displayed by computer software. Additional experimental questions students may ask and other animals students may use are suggested.

This challenge will deal with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of a common cow ailment, mastitis.

There are many different habitats on the Earth. These vary in the landforms, sources of water, and climate conditions. Plants and animals are specially adapted to live in their habitats. Animals suited to live in the desert (very dry, either hot or cold) would have a difficult time living in the tropical rain forest (warm and very wet). Grades K-2

As animals grow, their bodies usually change in size and shape. For some, their shape changes very little. For young amphibians, fish, and insects, the change is more dramatic and the young look very different from the adults. This process of change is called metamorphosis.

This Unit introduces students to several essential understandings. They will learn that plants and animals depend on one another for survival and organisms interact within nature to create a balance. They will also learn that humans can influence and manipulate nature.