Why are polar bears white?

Why are polar bears white?
Lesson narration:
English Spanish
Scroll for prep
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tiger

tiger

katydid

katydid

toad

toad

all animals

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moths

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DISCUSS:

Why are polar bears white if they don’t have any predators (other animals that might want to eat them)?

Can you think of how this is helpful to them?

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Slide Image
Slide Image

habitat


1 of 7

the place where an animal or plant lives
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predator


2 of 7

an animal that hunts and eats other animals
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prey


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an animal that is hunted by and eaten by another animal
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survive


4 of 7

to stay alive

camouflage


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to blend in with the place around you
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model


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a pretend version of something that scientists use when the real thing is too big, small, or complicated to work with
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experiment


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a test used to discover new information about a question

Featured Reviews

“My students LOVED the camouflaged moth activity! I now have hidden paper moths all over my classroom! The lesson was fun, they will remember it, and it correlated with NGSS. Thanks!”
· Carol · Teacher
“The students were engaged the whole time! They enjoyed walking from tree to tree looking for moths. Their favorite part was getting to draw a moth and placing it somewhere to blend in with the class. I still have them up in random areas around the room! :)”
· Linda · Teacher
“My students found this activity and video series so engaging. They loved learning with the tree cut outs, and then were so excited to go and make their own moths to hide around the room. My favorite mystery science activity so far!”
· Sara · Teacher
“The children really enjoyed the engaging videos and had a great time hunting for moths and drawing their own moth. I love that the lessons are easy to follow and have explicit instructions for the students. Thanks!!”
· Mary · Teacher
“My kids LOVED being able to act as predators and spot the moths from different distances and locations. We talked about which moths would be eaten first and they were able to identify why. Then, my class got SO IN TO camouflaging their own moths and hiding them through out our classroom. So fun!”
· Alison · Teacher
“Students loved making their own moths to camouflage inside the classroom! Easy to follow directions- I did not have to do any additional explaining. ”
· Margaret · Teacher
“It all just went really well. I think the test squares on the kids' moth page was ingenious - the kids who used it got the best results. I teach science to my entire grade level - so I did this lesson 3 times yesterday and each time was great. Set up was much easier than I'd anticipated, too.”
· Kathi · Teacher
“My students loved hiding the moths around the room. I love how everything is completely laid out for us as teachers. There is some prep involved, but everything else is just there for us!”
· Miranda · Teacher
“This was an end-of-the-year activity that I shared with all of the primary classes in my school (6 classes). They really enjoyed learning about how animals blend in with their habitats. It was fun to watch them try to find the hidden creatures both on the video and the moths that were hidden on the trees. I loved having everything available quickly and easily. Thank you!”
· · Teacher
“The students loved all of the videos, they were so engaged! Finding the camouflaged moths on the trees were fun as well! Some of them could not believe they missed some of those moths. The students also really enjoying camouflaging their own moths. The other first grade class and I visited one another's classrooms and we searched for moths they hid and vise versa! Can't wait to explore other mysteries!”
· Joyce · Teacher
“I built the tree and had it on our door for a week or so before we did the activity. Students were super excited to find out what we were going to do. During the activity, my students LOVED being able to find the camouflage moths and creating their own. We left them up all over the room so they could be proud of their camouflage. They definitely understand why it's important for all animals to be camouflaged. The extension activities to find the hidden animals were also very helpful. Thanks!”
· ThuVan · Teacher
“My students had misconceptions which this video lesson helped address. They really enjoyed the activity.”
· Andrea · Admin
“The videos were excellent for my ELLs but they really enjoyed the activity with the moths. I had the trees up for a week beforehand and they were really excited when we started the activity. My other grade levels wanted to do the activity too!”
· Rebecca · Teacher
“Creating the camouflage moths and having another class come in and hunt for them.”
· Tara · Teacher
“The students truly use the vocabulary when discussing what we learned. The set up video kept their attention and gave them a visual of what was expected. ”
· Bridget · Teacher
“We get to hear Doug. The students enjoyed the video of the white fox catching the mouse and the octopus changing colors. The videos and extra activities help compliment the lesson beautifully. Great job everyone! I love teaching with Mystery Science.”
· Julie · Teacher
“The best part was the activity with the moths. It's a great way to give students an opportunity to see how camouflage benefits organisms. It also generated an interesting discussion as several students thought that only certain organisms possess the ability to camouflage themselves.”
· Elizabeth · Teacher
“Putting the trees & moths in the hallway, and hearing so many comments about it as students from K - 12 walk by.”
· Nancy · Teacher
Lesson narration:
English Spanish

Activity Prep

Print Prep
In this lesson, students make observations to construct an explanation of why camouflage is helpful to animals. In the activity, Moth Hide and Seek, students test their ability to spot camouflage moths, and then design a camouflage pattern for a moth of their own and hide it in the classroom!
Preview activity

I have a Mystery Pack

Color A Moth printout 1 per student
Look For Moths worksheet 1 per student
Moths For Teachers printout 1 per class
Stump #1 printout 1 per class
Stump #2 printout 1 per class
Tree #1 printout 1 per class
Tree #2 printout 1 per class
Tree #3 printout 1 per class
Crayons
Provide a variety of colors so students can create moths that camouflage in the classroom. Colored pencils or markers also work.
Details
3 crayons per student
Scissors
1 pair per student
Glue Dots
1 dot per student
Glue Dots
9 dots per class
Prep Instructions

Prepare Your Classroom Forest Before Class

Each tree takes a wall space measuring about 32" wide by 55" tall (about the size of a door). You can build your trees on an empty wall, a bulletin board, or on a door. The activity works best if you have three different bark patterns, but if you don’t have enough space (or time) to make three trees, you can make one tree and two stumps.

sample-tree-and-stump

To make your trees and/or stumps, follow these steps:

  • Cut out the pieces of each tree and stump by cutting on the dashed lines of the printouts. Then cut out the moths, following the instructions on the "Moths for Teachers" printouts.
  • Arrange the pieces on your wall to make trees and stumps, using glue dots or push pins to hold the paper in place. Watch this video to see how we did it.

Hide the Moths

You are going to hide paper moths for your students to find, and then your students will hide moths for you to find. Put a glue dot on the back of each moth and place it on a tree or stump — hide all nine moths. Put most of them on the bark that match, but put a few on the bark that don’t match, so that they are easy for your students to find.

moths-on-bark

Exploration

17 mins

Hands-On Activity

25 mins

Wrap-Up

8 mins

Extend this lesson

Vocabulary

Vocabulary

Student slideshow: English | Spanish

Teacher printout: English & Spanish

Activity

Activity

Check out this gallery of eight camouflaged animals from National Geographic. It includes slides that reveal the hidden critters. (Be sure to make the images full screen.)

Mini-lessons

Mini-lessons

You can elaborate student learning and engagement with Mystery Science mini-lessons.

If you are in an NGSS state, these mini-lessons support the DCI LS1.A: Structure and Function

Transcripts

Download this Lesson to your device so you can play it offline:
Credits
 
Animal Superpowers Lesson 4: Why are polar bears white?

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