Lesson 2: Animal Behaviors for Survival

Display: Show “Think About It” slide

Do This: Read the two questions out loud. Allow students 2-4 minutes to think or write independently.

Prompts:

• What are these animals doing?
• What do the pictures have in common?

Goal: Students should start to notice that both pictures show animals moving in groups. This is a behavior for survival!

Display: Show “Turn & Talk” slide

Discuss:

• Why is this school of sardines acting like this?

Discussion Goals: Students should create an argument for why there is strength in numbers. This could include facts about how small sardines are, how easy it would be to catch a sardine on its own, how this swarming behavior confuses its predators, and that there is a smaller chance of being eaten or caught when they swarm.

Display: Show “Science & Coding” slide

Last class, we learned about how over time, animals adapted special features to allow them to survive. In this class, we learn about special behaviors that animals adapted in order to survive.

Today, you will use sprite behaviors in code to model different animal behaviors.

Do This: Have students move to their computers and sign in. Students will work through the levels at their own speed.

Circulate the room to support students. Encourage them to read the instructions carefully and click on the lightbulb for hints on each level if they get stuck.

Level 1 is designed to ensure that students are staying with the class and does not contain any code.

The slides for Levels 2-10 can be used to preview or review the students' independent work time. Or it may be helpful to advance the slides throughout the lesson to match the pace of your students as they work independently.

Display: Show “Level 1 - Behaviors Intro" slide

Level 1: Level 1 is an informational level comparing behaviors in nature with behaviors in computer science. Consider asking a student to read each section aloud and describe the pictures. Highlight for students that the behavior block is a green block connected to a sprite begins block. In this case, the block on screen shows the sprite moving swimming left and right.

Display: Show “Level 2 - Migration" slide

Level 2: Level 2 models whale migration. Students add a new block to the program that begins the behavior ‘moving NSEW with arrow keys’ After clicking the run button, the whale will move in the direction of the arrow keys pressed. Students can use the arrow keys below the playspace or on their keyboard. In order to pass the level, students should model that whales migrate north (up arrow key).

Display: Show “Level 3 - 4 - Behaviors in CS " slide

Levels 3-4: In Levels 3 - 4, students experiment with beginning and stopping behaviors. They can test out different behaviors to gain an understanding of how changing the code changes the animation of the bug sprites.

Display: Show “Level 5-7 - Dancing Birds " slide

Levels 5-7: Levels 5-7 use the natural bird dancing behavior to explore layering different behaviors with code. These three levels are linked, meaning students’ code will carry over from level to level so they can build on it. In level 5, students begin one behavior for the bird sprite. In level 6, they add a second behavior so the sprite is doing both behaviors at the same time. In level 7, students add a when key pressed event that triggers a third behavior for the bird sprite.

If students modify the code beyond repair they can use the Version History button and click Start Over to reset the code for that specific level. If the version history is started over on a linked level, the code will reset to the original code from the first linked level.

Display: Show “Level 8 - Speed" slide

Level 8: In Level 8, students can modify the speed of the behavior for each sprite. Although both sprites are using the same behavior, they are moving at the speed set in the code. This level compares the difference in behavior between the turtle and the cheetah to highlight the different needs of each animal.

Display: Show “Level 9 - Many Sprites" slide

Level 9: Level 9 demonstrates that when a behavior is assigned to one sprite, it applies to all sprites with the same costume. In this example, when one butterfly begins migrating, they all begin migrating.

Display: Show “Level 10 - Survival in Groups " slide

Level 10: In Level 10, students are able to set one sprite as the leader which other sprites will follow. This models a school of fish swimming together in a group for survival.

Display: Show “Wrap Up” slide

Discuss:

• Why do bears hibernate in the winter?
• If these bears lived in areas without a winter, how might they adapt to their new environment?
• What would change about the bear?

Discussion Goal: Students should make the connection that bear hibernate because of less food in the winter, and if they lived in an area without winter, they probably would not hibernate. Example: The bear would get stronger because it won't lose weight hibernating during the winter.

Do This: Have students examine the picture of the hibernating bear. Read the prompt as well as the words in the word bank, out loud. Allow students 3-5 minutes to write their responses. Choose to share in partners or as a group.

The wrap-up includes a prompt for students to write a sentence. They can write in a journal, respond to a prompt in an online document or form, or even on a scrap paper or whiteboard. You might choose to collect their responses or discuss in pairs, small groups or as a whole class.

Well done, coders!

Next time, we’ll learn how to edit behaviors and make our own. By the end of the next lesson, you will take on the challenge of imagining and coding a new animal adaptation!

This module is a great introduction to computer science through the lens of science. Here are a few options to continue learning more about the CS concepts introduced in this module. We recommend pursuing these extensions after completing Lesson 3 in this module.

Science Content:

• CSC Module: Simulating a Marine Ecosystem Lessons 1-3
• Project: Modeling Life Cycles in Sprite Lab
• AI for Oceans
• Play the peppered moth game to simulate changes in moth population due to pollution and predation and observe how a species can change over time.

Computer Science Concepts:

• Sprite Lab Basics: Hello World
• Simulations: Simulating Experiments & Outbreak
• Events: Dance Party