The truth behind animal brawls
Students will answer questions based on the Science News article "Fight like an animal."
Educator Guide: Fight Like an Animal
In battles, some beetles use big horns to signal dominance, not kill. But for some unassuming creatures, duels are deadly.
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About this guide
The article “Fight like an animal” describes strategies that animals have developed to fight their same-species rivals. This experimental design–focused guide covers the steps required for developing a research question and testable hypothesis. In an activity that draws from Science News, Science News for Students and previous educator guides, students can design an experiment to investigate what makes an ideal sugar cookie.
This Guide Includes:
Pick your battles
These discussion prompts encourage students to put themselves in the shoes of researchers studying animal weaponry, by evaluating, proposing and mapping out an experiment.
Surveying animal weaponry
Students will explore articles about animal weaponry from the Science News archive.
Cookieology: Experimental design 101
To explore the steps of experimental design, students will plan an experiment to make an ideal sugar cookie.