Explore and Look: Camouflage | Color: Full Curriculum | Educators

Explore and Look: Camouflage

Look at photographs of animals that disguise themselves by using color as camouflage.

Materials

Animal Disguises by Belinda Weber

Vocabulary

Use the words blend, contrast, environment, disguise, and introduce the word camouflage.

Directions

Explain that camouflage is a way animals blend into their environment so they can’t be seen. Color is a good way to help them hide, or disguise, themselves. Ask children, Why do you think an animal might not want to be seen? Remind them of Mouse Paint, and ask, Why didn’t the three white mice want the cat to see them?
Then show children the photographs from Animal Disguises, focusing on the photos that are examples of color camouflage. At each example, ask, Can you describe how this animal’s color makes it blend into its environment?
Be sure to show them snakes (p. 17–18), chameleons (p. 26–27), and insects (many photos throughout). Children will be doing activities and reading about them in their explorations.

Have children add their ideas to the “Blending Colors/Contrasting Colors” chart. Add camouflage under “Blending Colors” or create a separate part of the chart devoted to color and camouflage.

Week 3, Day 1

Morning Circle

Indoor

10 - 15 minutes

Accommodations

For younger children as well as English Language Learners, use the words disguise and camouflage, but also explain these concepts using simpler vocabulary and explaining it in a variety of ways:

How do the animals disguise themselves? How do they hide so they can’t be seen?

The animals blend into their environment—the grass is green and the grasshopper is also green. They look the same. That makes it hard to see the green grasshopper on the green grass. The grasshopper blends into the grass—it looks like it’s hiding. When animals and insects hide by blending in, it’s called camouflage.

But that yellow butterfly on the green grass is not hiding—you can see the yellow because it’s a different color from the green. It is a contrasting color—a very different color. It is easy to see the yellow butterfly on the green grass—it does not blend in; it stands out.

It’s not important for either younger children or English Language Learners to use the word camouflage. The goal is to have them begin to understand the concept.