Community:

• If you have a number of English Language Learners speaking the same native language, invite family members to come in and talk about the original student investigations and/or the animal design challenge.
• If you have students who have lived or have family members who have lived in a tundra, desert, or grassland ecosystem, invite them to give a first-hand account of the characteristics of the ecosystem.
• After students have completed their animal design challenge, allow them to share their explanatory model and learning to a first-grade classroom.

Experts:

• Invite a biologist or zoologist to come in to talk with the students about specialized structures in animals or plants.
• Invite an illustrator, artist, or animator to come in and talk with students about how closely observing real animals and plants informs his or her work.

Fieldwork:

• Visit a local zoo, nature center, or botanical garden to observe structures and their function in animals and plants.

Service:

• Invite students to volunteer at a local zoo as animal ambassadors. They could explain the specialized structures of animals from the grassland, desert, or tundra ecosystems to zoo guests.
• Invite students to volunteer at a local botanical garden as plant ambassadors. They could explain the specialized structures of plants from the grassland, desert, or tundra ecosystems to botanical garden guests.

Extension Opportunities for students seeking more challenge:

• In each lesson sequence, there are optional extensions.
• Lesson Sequence 10 is an optional extension for teachers who have more than 24 hours of science instruction for this module.
• For schools with the necessary technology, Lesson Sequence 11 could include a 3D model of the fictional animal.