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Grade 4 · Printables

Built for the job

Structure and function. Part of looking closely.

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Built for the job

Structure and function · Alberta Grade 4 · maddyhelps.com

Name
Date

Draw a line from each body part to what it is for. Then pick an animal from home or the park and do one of your own.

  • An owl's big forward-facing eyes
  • A cat's whiskers
  • A beaver's webbed back feet
  • A porcupine's quills
  • A moose's long legs
  • A snake's flicking tongue
  • picking up smells from the air
  • walking through deep snow
  • keeping predators away
  • pushing through water
  • feeling whether a gap is wide enough
  • judging distance in dim light

My own: an animal, a body part, and what it is for

Animal
Body part
What it is for

For the grown-up

Built for the job

An owl's big forward-facing eyes — judging distance in dim light; A cat's whiskers — feeling whether a gap is wide enough; A beaver's webbed back feet — pushing through water; A porcupine's quills — keeping predators away; A moose's long legs — walking through deep snow; A snake's flicking tongue — picking up smells from the air. All six animals live in Alberta.

The snake is the one that surprises people: a snake's tongue does not taste in the ordinary way. It collects scent particles from the air and carries them to an organ in the roof of the mouth, which is why it flicks.

Why this matters is on the looking closely page. More sheets