Why animals form groups

General

To start off this lesson, students watch a short video on bats who stay together as a group. They then learn all about animals that live in groups, the names of some of these groups, and why they stay together as a group. The pros and cons of staying in a group are discussed. Finally, students learn about ant colonies and how this type of animal lives, as well as the different jobs each type of ant does for the benefit of the whole group.

Standards

3-LS2-1

Learning Objective

Students will be able to explain why some animals form groups to survive.

Introduction

Show your students how and why animals live in groups, using various examples from across the Animal Kingdom. Start off by watching a short video on a group of bats who stick together to find food. Next, have students practice naming different animal groups with a fun activity.

Instruction

Discuss the pros and cons of living in a group. Introduce the main reasons animals live in groups: defense, food, and mating. Discuss these main reasons with examples of different species. Finally, take an in-depth look at leafcutter ants living together in a colony. After learning about each ant’s job, students spin the wheel to give a description of the jobs of the different types of ants.

Quiz

Students respond to ten multiple-choice and true/false questions.

Closing

The final activity takes the class through an ant colony diagram where they can slide a worker ant through tunnels and into different chambers!

About Gynzy

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With a focus on elementary education, Gynzy’s Whiteboard, digital tools, and activities make it easy for teachers to save time building lessons, increase student engagement, and make classroom management more efficient.