A Little Bit More
Amphibians are too slow to migrate any great distance, and cannot maintain their body temperature in cold weather. Therefore, amphibians living in cold climates must hibernate if they are to survive the winter. And it must not only find a place to escape freezing temperatures (an exception is the Wood Frog), but it must also be able to live in that location for months at a time until warm weather returns.
Although the metabolism of a hibernating animal is greatly slowed, hibernators still need oxygen through the winter months. Frogs and salamanders, with their moist skins, are able to absorb enough oxygen directly from the water through their skin, so a watery site – the bottom of a pond, for instance – is reasonable. But toads, with their drier skin, are unable to do this and must locate terrestrial sites for their hibernation.
Toads living in Oklahoma or northern Alabama, for instance, have a less demanding hibernation requirement than those living in Alberta and Quebec but they still need to avoid freezing temperatures. The Canadian Toad (Bufo hemiophrys) that lives in extreme north central U.S. and south central Canada, where the winter temperatures get quite low, is an adept burrower and manages to make it through the long and cold winter weather each year.
Activities
Science & Social Studies – Temperature Map
Objectives: A clearer understanding how temperature varies across the continent
Materials: Print out the map of North America, pencil, paper, and access to the internet
Although we’re making this unit activity available in January, no matter what time of year you participate, you can follow these instructions and have interesting results. We all know that temperatures in the northern portions of North America are colder/cooler than those in southern areas – usually anyway. But, it’s not always obvious how those temperatures can vary across the entire continent from day to day and month to month. This exercise will give students a better appreciation of how weather maps look and how temperatures vary from one area to another. This would be especially interesting to look at on multiple days to get a sense how temperatures can and do change across the continent over time.
1. Print out the map of North America that is provided so each student (or group of students) can construct their own temperature map.
2. Have your students access the web site below for “Current Temperatures of North America”
3. Students will need to look at the colors on the online map and compare these with the legend of temperature scale at the top. Have them draw a line on the 0º-10º-20º-30º-40º-50º-60º-etc lines for Fahrenheit or Celsius temperatures
4. Once they’ve drawn in the temperature lines across the continent, they should label the lines with degree temperatures (Fº or Cº) so it’s obvious what each line/area represents
5. Once the temperature map has been drawn for the continent, make sure that your community’s location is marked on the map so students can see how their own community relates to the rest of the area
Once this is completed, it should be obvious how temperatures vary across the continent and depending on the day, areas in the north may actually be warmer than areas in the south. You may also want to discuss mountain ranges in North America and how these also affect temperature.
Current Temperatures of North America
Key Concepts
Life Cycles, Behavior and Regulation, Adaptations and Diversity
Questions
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