Unit Overview
All students, especially those who live in
circumstances that limit their interaction with nature,
must have the opportunity to observe a variety of
animals and plants in the classrooms, on the school
grounds, in the neighborhood, at home, in parks, etc. In
these settings, students should be encouraged to ask
questions about organisms for which they can find
answers by looking carefully at the organisms (using
hand lenses when needed), and checking their
observations and answers with one another.
In grades 3-5, students
should have the opportunity to learn about an increasing
variety of living organisms, both the familiar and the
exotic, should become more precise in identifying
similarities and differences among them.
Students should explore
how various organisms satisfy their needs in the
environments in which they are typically found. They can
examine the survival needs of different organisms and
consider how the conditions in particular habitats can
limit what kinds of things survive. Their studies of
interactions among organisms within an environment
should start with relationships they can directly
observe. By viewing nature films, students should see a
great diversity of live in different habitats.
(Benchmarks for Science Literacy)
This unit should be
taught in the fall when students can observe animals and
habitats outdoors, and it should also be taught prior to
the 4th grade science ISAT. |
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Activity List
- Introduction to
Animals: Classification
- Mealworm Study
- Frog Study
- Animal Life Cycles
- Animal Adaptations
Introduction
- Body Coverings -
Types and Functions
- Structural Features
(Bones and Teeth)
- Animal Behaviors
- Animals and
Environmental Change
- Invent a Critter
Activity
- Animals and Their
Environments Around the World
- Student
Investigations
- Food Chains and Food
Webs
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Learning Objectives
Students
will observe and know that:
- Animals can be sorted into
groups in many ways using various features to decide which
things belong in which group.
- Animals have body parts or
structures that serve specific functions.
- All animals have a life
cycle, but it is somewhat different for different animals.
- Insects have a life cycle
that includes 4 stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult.
- Insects have very different
physical characteristics in the different stages of the life
cycle.
- Most amphibians have a life
cycle that involves metamorphosis (change) from eggs to
adult.
- Amphibians like frogs have
different physical characteristics in the different stages
of the life cycle.
- Animals have physical
features that help them live in different environments.
- Body covering is one feature
that is very important in helping animals live in different
environments.
- Structural features (bones,
teeth, beaks, feet, etc.) are also important for helping
animals live in different environments.
- The behavior of animals is
influenced by internal cues (such as hunger) and by external
cues (such as changes in the environment).
- Animal behaviors can help
them live in different environments.
- All animals depend on
plants. Some animals eat plants for food. Other animals eat
animals that eat the plants.
- An animal’s patterns of
behavior are related to the nature of that organism’s
environment, including the kinds and number of other
organisms present, the availability of food and resources,
and the physical characteristics of the environment. When
the environment changes, some animals survive and reproduce,
and others die or move to new locations.
- All animals cause changes in
the environment where they live. Some of these changes are
detrimental to the animal or other organisms, whereas others
are beneficial.
- Humans depend on their
natural and constructed environments. Humans change
environments in ways that can be either beneficial or
detrimental for themselves and animals.
- Animals are found almost
everywhere in the world. There are somewhat different kinds
in different places.
Students will practice:
- Formulating questions on a
specific science topic and choosing the steps needed to
answer the questions.
- Collecting data for
investigations using scientific process skills including
observing, estimating, and measuring.
- Constructing charts and
visualizations to display data.
- Using data to produce
reasonable explanations.
- Reporting and displaying the
results of individual and group investigation.
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