Students will conduct research on real-world ecosystems to understand the diverse needs and challenges faced by organisms and their interactions, fostering empathy and setting the foundation for their creature design project.

Students will articulate their creature’s purpose within its ecosystem by defining the unique function and adaptation features it possesses, setting a clear project goal and discussing the relevance of these adaptations to broader ecological interactions.

Students will brainstorm and collaborate in teams to generate creative ideas for unique creatures, considering their ecological roles, adaptations necessary for survival, and how these creatures interact with their ecosystem, ensuring diverse voices contribute to the project's vision.

Students will draft and sketch preliminary outlines of their organisms, detailing their adaptations and ecological interactions to ensure a cohesive plan for the project's final ecosystem presentation.

Students will field-test their designed creatures within the simulated ecosystem diorama to evaluate the creatures' adaptations and survival strategies, gathering insights from peer interactions to refine their designs for deeper understanding and impact.

Students will engage in structured peer critique sessions to provide and receive constructive feedback on their creature designs, refining their creations in preparation for the final presentation.

Students will present their creatures in a classroom exhibition, noticing the impacts of their design decisions on ecosystem dynamics, while reflecting on what they learned and envisioning the adaptations' effects in a real-world context.