Inherited Traits and Learned Behaviors
Background information: You are all a member of a species known as Narfus cillius, commonly known as the
Narfs. Narfs are very intelligent creatures with many amazing abilities. They are about 3 feet tall. They come
in a variety of colors, but the two most common varieties are blue and green. They live in rainforest
environments. Remarkably, they have the ability to learn skills very much like humans do. It is not uncommon
to see them painting or playing basketball. Narfs are typically gentle creatures, but are sometimes fierce when
challenged by a predator. Narfs are slow creatures, and they do not migrate unless forced out by unforeseen
circumstances. They typically stay in the lower branches of trees. Narfs are omnivorous and will eat nearly
anything. They have teeth very similar to human teeth. They prefer fruits from the trees, but can also eat
small animals. Small animals are sometimes difficult for them to eat if their teeth are not extremely sharp.
Rules of the game: You will draw four inherited traits. These are traits that are part of your DNA and cannot
be changed. Once they are drawn, there is nothing you can do about it. For each round, you may also draw
one learned behavior. Perhaps this newly acquired skill will allow for survival, perhaps not. A situation will be
read to you. Based on the situation, you will have to determine whether you will survive or not.
Traits:
Inherited traits Learned behavior
Situation 1:
Situation 2:
Situation 3:
Situation 4:
Situation 1:
Would your inherited traits help you survive? Why?
(yes or no)
Would your learned behavior help you Why?
survive?
(yes or no)
Is it likely that you would survive this situation?______________________________________
Situation 2:
Would your inherited traits help you survive? Why?
(yes or no)
Would your learned behavior help you Why?
survive?
(yes or no)
Is it likely that you would survive this situation?______________________________________
Situation 3:
Would your inherited traits help you survive? Why?
(yes or no)
Would your learned behavior help you Why?
survive?
(yes or no)
Is it likely that you would survive this situation?______________________________________
Situation 4:
Would your inherited traits help you survive? Why?
(yes or no)
Would your learned behavior help you Why?
survive?
(yes or no)
Is it likely that you would survive this situation?______________________________________
SITUATIONS (Teacher reads):
Situation 1:
All is well in the lush green rainforest. All narfs are enjoying a nice climate and abundant food sources. All
of a sudden, disaster strikes! A giant narf eating monster attacks! The monster is scientifically knows as
Killus narfus and commonly known as the sharp tooth. The sharp tooth is far superior to other animals
physically. It is extremely fast and very strong. It can jump high enough to reach the lower branches of
trees in a single leap. The sharp tooth, as its name suggests, has very large sharp teaching for its
carnivorous eating habits. The teeth look similar to that of a lion. The sharp tooth does, however, have
poor eyesight. It can see mostly differences in color, but cannot make out shapes very well. It has an
average sense of smell, but impeccable hearing. The sharp tooth does have one major weakness, music.
Any music will put the sharp tooth immediately to sleep for long periods of time.
Situation 2:
Unfortunately, things are not going well for the entire narf species. Human poachers have been killing narfs
for their incredibly soft fur. Many people enjoy narf fur coats, or even narf skin rugs. The green narfs have
been particularly targeted. The green narfs have much softer fur. The poachers typically hunt with bow and
arrow because guns will draw attention to their illegal poaching practices. Some narfs have extremely thick
skin, which is difficult to penetrate with an arrow.
Situation 3:
Deforestation practices have been destroying the trees where narfs live and the fruits that they commonly
eat. Some narfs are able to change food sources, but most narfs are not fast enough to catch live animals
nor do they have sharp enough teeth. Some narfs have learned to garden and grow food which has allowed
for the survival of some, but not the ones that do not know how to grow food.
Situation 4:
Many trees in the area where the narfs live have been destroyed. This has caused heavy flooding due to
high levels of rainfall. Before, the rainfall would have been regulated by the dense trees and vegetation.
This has caused pools of water to form in the area where the narfs live. Some of these pools can be quite
deep, 6 feet or more. There are some food sources available at the bottom of these pools, so narfs that can
dive or swim can easily get this food.
Inherited traits (cut out)
Blue Fur Green Fur Extremely sharp teeth
Human-like teeth Sharp claws No claws
Thick skin Thin skin Blue eyes
Brown eyes Able to digest meat Unable to digest meat
Long legs Short legs Long arms (more than 3-5 ft)
Short arms (3 feet or less) Webbed toes Not webbed toes
Large lung capacity (can hold their Small lung capacity (can only hold
breath for more than 1 minute) their breath for less than 1 minute)
Learned Behaviors
Playing Piano Gardening Swimming
Playing the ukulele Archery Painting
Sewing Fencing (sword fighting) Long distance running
Weight lifting Playing basketball Singing
Campfire Cooking Woodworking Parkour
Drawing Ride a unicycle Juggling
Ballet Dancing Good at Math Fast reader
Playing guitar Knitting Nunchuck skills
Looking at the Data
Class Data Chart
How many What percent of
students the class is this?
survived? List as a
fraction
First Situation
Second Situation
Third Situation
Fourth Situation
Graph
Create a bar graph that shows what percent of students survived each of the four situations.
Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4
Conclusion Questions
1. Were you able to change any of your inherited traits at all in the game? Why or why not?
2. Were there certain traits that seemed to help you survive better then others?
3. Were there certain situations that seemed easier for the class to have survived then others? If so why do you
think so?
4. Was it beneficial for you to be able to draw a new learned behavior for each situation?
5. What is the main difference between a learned behavior and inherited traits?
