Get a free trial until June 30, 2026!
New members get access to our science units, hands-on activities, mini-lessons, & more!

New members get a free trial through June 2026!
Back > Share
Back > Share

Owl Ambush

Human Machine Unit
Anchor Phenomenon
System Models
4.6 (2487 reviews)
Scroll for prep

When you're hungry, you can just go to the refrigerator and grab a snack. But it's not so easy for other animals! They have to find or hunt for their food.

Check out two videos of owls hunting for food on the next slides.

Note: The next videos may be startling, but they are not graphic.

Video trouble?
Video trouble?

Wow, the owl's prey didn't even see it coming! Owls are so fast!

Check out the next slow-motion video for a closer look at an owl catching its prey.

Video trouble?

Get a See-Think-Wonder chart to record your ideas.

THINK-PAIR-SHARE:

What do you observe about how the owl catches its prey? What body parts do you notice it uses?

Record your answers in the SEE column of your chart. Talk to your partner about them and then share your ideas as a class. Your teacher will add your ideas to the class chart.

THINK-PAIR-SHARE:

How do the parts of the owl’s body work together to catch the prey? How is the owl’s body similar to ours?

Record your answers in the THINK column of your chart. Talk to your partner about them and then share your ideas as a class. Your teacher will add your ideas to the class chart.

THINK-PAIR-SHARE:

What do you wonder about how the owl catches its prey? What do you wonder about how the parts of your body work?

Record your answers in the WONDER column of your chart. Talk to your partner about them and then share your ideas as a class. Your teacher will add your ideas to the class chart.

In today's activity, you'll create a drawing to show how the owl’s body parts work together to catch the mouse. You’ll get a chance to compare your drawing with your classmate's.

It’s okay if you aren't sure of the right answer yet. After each Mystery, you'll have an opportunity to change or add to your drawing.

We'll walk you through it, step by step.

Video trouble?
Video trouble?
Video trouble?

Now it's time to do some investigations! During the next four Mysteries, you will learn about different body parts and how they sense and process information. You will use this information to support, add to, or change your owl system model. At the end of the unit, you will use your owl system model to explain how other animals sense and respond to their environment.

Have fun, and stay curious!

You've completed the Unit Starter!

Be sure to keep each student's Owl System Model worksheet accessible. They will revise it after each Mystery.

Teach Mystery 1 next: Why do your biceps bulge?

🎉 That’s it for this lesson! How did it go?

Extend this lesson

Assessments

Unit Teacher Guide

View all extensions
Sign up now for more great lessons!
Sign up

Image & Video Credits

Mystery Science respects the intellectual property rights of the owners of visual assets. We make every effort to use images and videos under appropriate licenses from the owner or by reaching out to the owner to get explicit permission. If you are the owner of a visual and believe we are using it without permission, please contact us—we will reply promptly and make things right.

Other
Common barn owl 4 months by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Eric Isselee
Little owl 50 days old Athene by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Eric Isselee
Owl ambush, takes hawk by Image used under license from Youtube.com: Camo Dave
Snowy Owl Head on Flying at Mouse by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: BlackBoxGuild
Snowy Owl catchin vole by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: PhotoRequests
Snowy Owl kills prey by Image used under license from Youtube.com: Kevin Jeffery
Ural Owl Strix Uralensis by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Rosa Jay
Young Eurasian Eagle Owl by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Eric Isselee
owl by Image used under license from Unsplash
Credits
Owl Ambush
Human Machine Unit
Anchor Phenomenon
System Models
4.6 (2487 reviews)

Featured Reviews

“the kids started connecting the brain sending signals to the owl's muscles to get the wings to move (System).”
· Colleen · Teacher
“Love the relation to our own body! I'm going to do owl pellets after the whole unit is over!:) ”
· Jennifer · Teacher
“What an amazing Unit Starter!!! The videos were perfect and really struck interest for my students!! ”
· Monica · Teacher
“LOVE LOVE LOVE the anchor layer! It was a big help for me. Kids couldn't get enough of the videos. By then end they did get how all the parts in & out work together. ”
· Pamela · Teacher
“Students did a nice job asking questions and working to determine how to begin to find answers.”
· Kathie · Teacher
“The opportunity for students to go back and re-evaluate their first thinking! And, of course the videos!!!! Truly kept my students' interest.”
· Janet · Teacher
“My students loved examining, explaining, and forming questions regarding the owl's body. ”
· Charlotte · Teacher
“Students did a really great job observing, thinking about what they saw and asking questions. I loved that the questions on the slides pushed them to think about connections to the human body as well! Awesome!”
· Erin · Teacher
“What a great way to get the students thinking about Body Systems. I can't wait to see the revisions that they make to their owl after each mystery.”
· Laurie · Teacher
“The students LOVED the videos! They grabbed the students' interest immediately. They enjoyed the Think-pair-share sheet and the making of the chart. That's as far as we got. Next time we will do the owl sheet to label the parts. I like this "anchor activity".”
· Joyce · Teacher
“I like how we link each mystery to one phenomenon and how at the end they do a project that combines it all.”
· Sara · Teacher
“My students enjoyed the videos. Rich discussion after watching the videos”
· Julie · Admin
“The kids enjoyed sharing their ideas about the parts and systems. Great way to get them thinking. Thank you”
· John · Teacher
“Loved the videos and the time to reflect and respond well organized and great resources”
· Chantal · Teacher
“Wow!Great lessons filled with exciting videos the kids love. ”
· Roxana · Teacher
“The students had lots of interesting ideas and comments.”
· Janet · Teacher
“Gave students an opportunity to think about how body systems are connected. Students could make connections to their own bodies.”
· Kyle · Teacher
“The video, discussions, and modeling using the owl template.”
· Sharyl · Teacher
“We loved the video-watched it many times in slow motion!”
· Beth · Teacher
“This was a great beginning to the unit! I can't wait to finish the "Human Machine" unit and tie all this together with my 4th graders!”
· Brittany · Teacher
“Excited to see how the students build their knowledge.”
· Colette · Teacher
“It was very engaging and the kids loved to see it in slow motion!!”
· Toni · Teacher
“The students really put a lot of thought into labeling and explaining their model. One student even did a cut-away to better draw each part of the eye.”
· Mary · Teacher
“Once students started brainstorming, they came up with lots of ideas.”
· Elizabeth · Teacher
“Students loved the videos and wrote a lot about what they saw. ”
· Jenny · Teacher
“The students were engaged and can't wait for the unit!”
· Sara · Teacher
“The videos were helpful.Students liked labeling the parts of the owl on the worksheet. ”
· Rebecca · Teacher

Activity Prep

Print Prep
Note: This lesson is part of this unit’s Anchor Layer. If you have the Anchor Layer turned on, we recommend teaching all lessons in the remainder of this unit in order.

The anchor phenomenon for this unit is an owl catching its prey. Students generate observations and questions about the phenomenon and create an initial model to explain how the owl's body systems work together to catch prey.
Preview activity

Assessments

Human Machine Teacher Guide teacher-only resource 1 copy
Owl System Model worksheet 30 copies
See-Think-Wonder worksheet 30 copies
Prep Instructions

Before starting this lesson, review the unit Teacher Guide for an overview of the Human Machine Anchor Layer.

This anchor phenomenon for this unit is the process of owls catching prey. In the activity, they create an initial conceptual model to explain how the owl's body parts work together to hunt. Students will re-visit their model after each Mystery to add new information to it.

It is important to encourage students to recognize that even if they don't know the perfect answer yet, they are going to learn a lot throughout the unit and have an opportunity to change or add to their first model.

Step 1: Set up your classroom Set up your classroom by creating a class "See-Think-Wonder" chart (the student version is linked below). We recommend using chart paper, or a space on your board that won't be erased since you will revisit it throughout the unit.

Step 2: Print out worksheets Each student needs a:

Standards

Jump to

Anchor Phenomenon

8 mins

Guided Inquiry

20 mins

Hands-On Activity

30 mins

Wrap-Up

2 mins

Share this lesson

Student link

Google Classroom

Email parents

Extend this lesson

Unit Teacher Guide

Slow internet or video problems?
 
Body Anchor Phenomenon: Owl Ambush

How did the lesson go?
Terrible OK Good Great Terrific!

How can we improve it?

If you'd like our team to reply to you, please Contact Support instead.

Thanks for your feedback! If you have a question or need help, please contact us. Please consider sharing your review:

Sorry the lesson didn't go well. We read every single review in an effort to improve our Mysteries.

Thanks for letting us know. We’ll wait to ask you for feedback until after you've actually taught it.

Thanks for the feedback! We read every single review in an effort to improve our Mysteries.

Is the video not playing properly?

Please follow these steps:

  1. Very rarely a video will fail to completely load in your browser. Try to reload this page to see if that fixes the problem.
  2. If reloading does not help, try our other video player .
  3. If the video still fails to play, open this video in a new tab and please let us know you’re having trouble. We want to fix this issue for you.

This episode is locked

This lesson is not included in your limited access.

View pricing

This episode is locked

Your membership is expired. The archive of past Mini Lessons is not included in your limited access.

View pricing