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Picky Eaters

Details
Activity Length
15 mins.
Topics
Animals
Ecology and Evolution
Activity Type
Exploration
Language
English
Print

In this match-up activity, students develop an appreciation for the varied diets of different animals.

Animals eat different things depending upon where they live, what else lives there, what time of year it is, what their mouth is shaped like, and if they use tools.

Each species living in an ecosystem has a specific combination of preferred food, time of day to find food, and method of finding food. If each species has a unique combination of these, competition for food is kept to a minimum, and the biodiversity in an ecosystem can be greater.

Objectives

  • Compare and contrast the features of other animals.

Materials

Key Questions

  • Why did you match that picky eater to that particular menu item?
  • Why do we eat what we eat?
  • How are we different than animals in terms of what we eat and how we obtain it? Would you eat that? Why/why not? Under which conditions might you change your mind?
  • Why do some animals eat at night and others during the day?

What To Do

  1. Introduce the concept of picky eating and its role in animal survival.
  2. Ask the students to complete the Picky Eaters Matching Sheet by drawing a line to connect the food with the eater.
  3. Go over the answers as a class.

Extensions

  • Investigate how varied a human diet is. What unusual foods do humans in other parts of the world eat?
  • What happens to the bodies of humans who eat a varied diet of nutritious food and keep junk food to a minimum? See TIME's Hungry Planet: What the World Eats photo series for examples of a week’s worth of groceries for families around the world.

About the sticker

Survivors

Artist: Jeff Kulak

Jeff is a senior graphic designer at Science World. His illustration work has been published in the Walrus, The National Post, Reader’s Digest and Chickadee Magazine. He loves to make music, ride bikes, and spend time in the forest.

About the sticker

Egg BB

Artist: Jeff Kulak

Jeff is a senior graphic designer at Science World. His illustration work has been published in the Walrus, The National Post, Reader’s Digest and Chickadee Magazine. He loves to make music, ride bikes, and spend time in the forest.

About the sticker

Comet Crisp

Artist: Jeff Kulak

Jeff is a senior graphic designer at Science World. His illustration work has been published in the Walrus, The National Post, Reader’s Digest and Chickadee Magazine. He loves to make music, ride bikes, and spend time in the forest.

About the sticker

T-Rex and Baby

Artist: Michelle Yong

Michelle is a designer with a focus on creating joyful digital experiences! She enjoys exploring the potential forms that an idea can express itself in and helping then take shape.

About the sticker

Buddy the T-Rex

Artist: Michelle Yong

Michelle is a designer with a focus on creating joyful digital experiences! She enjoys exploring the potential forms that an idea can express itself in and helping then take shape.

About the sticker

Geodessy

Artist: Michelle Yong

Michelle is a designer with a focus on creating joyful digital experiences! She enjoys exploring the potential forms that an idea can express itself in and helping then take shape.

About the sticker

Science Buddies

Artist: Ty Dale

From Canada, Ty was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1993. From his chaotic workspace he draws in several different illustrative styles with thick outlines, bold colours and quirky-child like drawings. Ty distils the world around him into its basic geometry, prompting us to look at the mundane in a different way.

About the sticker

Western Dinosaur

Artist: Ty Dale

From Canada, Ty was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1993. From his chaotic workspace he draws in several different illustrative styles with thick outlines, bold colours and quirky-child like drawings. Ty distils the world around him into its basic geometry, prompting us to look at the mundane in a different way.

About the sticker

Time-Travel T-Rex

Artist: Ty Dale

From Canada, Ty was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1993. From his chaotic workspace he draws in several different illustrative styles with thick outlines, bold colours and quirky-child like drawings. Ty distils the world around him into its basic geometry, prompting us to look at the mundane in a different way.

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