Exploring Desert Animal Adaptations though 
Creature Creations

After learning about the adaptations that animals have developed in order to help them to live in the desert, students can use this knowledge to create their own creature to survive in the desert.

Students will use different combinations of adaptations in creating their animal.  Working in groups, students can discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the body designs.  Students must first decide if they want to design a bird, mammal, or reptile.  

Students should plan and discuss all aspects of their animal, such as its habitat, the time of day that it is active, body size, alignment of legs (for reptiles), coloring, how they get water, what they eat, and how they get it, and any special adaptations they may that do not fit one of these categories (i.e.: speed, camouflage, etc).

When designing this new species, students need to understand the adaptations that different species have developed to deal with life in the desert.  They also must weigh the trade-offs between different adaptations.