This PBS video highlights the impacts climate change and temperature rise have on the Pika, a small mammal that lives in high-altitude regions.
The video highlights how humans can learn from the fast behavioral adaptations Pikas are undertaking to adapt to climate change.
Teaching Tips
Positives
The video incorporates humor, engaging imagery, music, and clear explanations to ensure it's both engaging and informative.
Additional Prerequisites
The video has commercials at the beginning and the end. The information finishes at 4 minutes and 12 seconds.
Students will need to have a basic understanding of the concept of climate change.
Differentiation
Science teachers could use this video as a hook for learning about the topics of animal adaptation and climate change impacts.
The resource Adelie Penguins could be used beforehand for middle school students who require more background knowledge about the impacts of climate change on animals.
We are already seeing the adverse effects of climate change on animals around the world. While some have been driven to extinction or endangered status, others have been able to adapt, like the Pika. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Standards
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
LS4: Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity
MS-LS4-4 Construct an explanation based on evidence that describes how genetic variations of traits in a population increase some individuals’ probability of surviving and reproducing in a specific environment.
3-LS4-2 Use evidence to construct an explanation for how the variations in characteristics among individuals of the same species may provide advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing.
3-LS4-3 Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.
3-LS4-4 Make a claim about the merit of a solution to a problem caused when the environment changes and the types of plants and animals that live there may change.
