Life Science · Animal Behavior
Instinct vs. Learned Behavior: How Animals Respond
Compare animal behaviors that appear without training with behaviors shaped by experience, practice, or learning.
Lesson plan
Instinct vs. Learned Behavior: How Animals Respond
A step-by-step guide to help you teach this lesson.
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Lesson overview
What students will learn
- Distinguish mostly instinctive behavior from behavior learned through experience or training.
- Use evidence from an animal's history and situation to classify a behavior.
Key science ideas
- Some behaviors appear the first time an animal faces a situation, even without practice.
- Other behaviors change after experience, observation, or training.
- An animal's history is useful evidence when deciding whether a behavior was learned.
Lesson at a glance
- Grade 4
- 45 min
- ~8 min prep
- 3 materials
What’s included
- Lesson Plan
- Investigation
- Teacher Slides
- Printable Worksheet
- Teacher Answer Key
- Interactive Activity
- Vocabulary