Beacon Lesson Plan Library

Chip Off the Old Block

J Drag


Students use cards showing pictures of adult and baby animals to identify similar characteristics shared by parents and their offspring.


The student describes how organisms change as they grow and mature.

The student knows that living things have offspring that resemble their parents.

The student works as a team member on projects.


- One set of cards with pictures of baby animals. The number of cards should equal one half the total class number.
- One set of cards with pictures of adult animals that are the same kind as the babies. The number of cards should equal one half the total class number.


Cut out pictures of matching adult and baby animals and glue these pictures onto tag board cards. One side of the card should describe the animal (background, characteristics, habitat) and one side should show a picture of the animal. This would greatly enhance the activity. Old science books (e.g., zoology) might provide a number of pictures for the cards.


Initiate a discussion about parent and their children. Explain that many characteristics of an organism are inherited from the parent of the organism. Some animals will not change much in appearance as they grow. As adults, these animals look the same as when they were babies only bigger. Some animals, like the butterfly, change completely. This is called metamorphosis.
1. Divide the students into two groups. Have each group sit on opposite sides of the room. One group will be babies and one group will be adults.
2. Pass out the cards with pictures of baby animals to one group.
3. Pass out the cards with pictures of adult animals to the other group.
4. Have the group holding the cards with baby animals move across the room and find the the card that matches the baby to the adult.
5. Once a pair is matched (baby to adult), those students should sit down.
6. When all pairs have been successfully matched, each pair of students should be given time to discuss what kind of animal their cards show and what specific characteristics the baby and adult share.
7. Each student should share this information orally with the rest of the class.


During the oral sharing the teacher can use the following rubric to determine each student's depth of understanding.

Rubric for comparing specific characteristics shared by baby and adult animals:
5 or more correct similarities Thorough
3 or 4 correct similarities Satisfactory
1 or 2 correct similarities Limited
No similarities or mismatch Unsatisfactory
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