welcome to The Third Grade In the Living Classroom Learning Lab!
Welcome to our Third Grade Nature Curriculum ! If you have any issues registering or would like to talk directly with someone please reach out to us at 503-770-0860 9-5 Pacific Time or by email to info@livingclassroomlearninglab.org
Third Grade
Each unit has a Teacher Resource Menu With Information About the Lessons:
The purpose of each lesson, Materials Needed, Advanced Prep, The Standards Each Address, as well as other information.
we Suggest you Familiarize Yourself with this first, then proceed to the lesson content contained in The lesson tabs.
A link to the PDF of the original lessons are Available in the left column of the lesson windows for Reference.
Third Grade
fALL UNITS
Harvesting the Three Sisters
Purpose of this Lesson:
Second, the children will understand how each vegetable helped the other two vegetables to flourish. The Native Peoples found that each of the three crops benefitted from each other in different ways. The corn grows tall and strong so the beans have straight poles to grow up and wind their tendrils around. The roots of the beans provide a form of nitrogen that the corn uses to grow a better yield. The pumpkin seeds grow sprawling hairy vines with huge, bushy, prickly leaves that shade the soil keeping the moisture in, weeds down and animals out.
Lastly, as a way to showcase the children’s achievements, baskets containing a sample of the corn, beans and squash will be delivered to people and organizations that have helped the Living Classroom: the District’s Superintendent, the District’s Curriculum Director, school principle, the PTO and anyone who contributed to the garden’s success. The baskets will be accompanied by a note describing the theme of the Lesson - Stronger Together, which were created in the spring of the children’s second grade year when they planted The Three Sisters.
The planting of these vegetables together shows that having a diverse number of plants in the garden bed increases the quantity and quality of vegetables produced. They are more successful because they helped one another. They are Stronger Together - the theme permeating this lesson.
Advanced Teacher Preparation: (10 min)
- Request volunteers for this lesson
- Print materials
- Decide with the other third grade teachers which class will harvest which vegetable.
Materials Needed:
- baskets
- grocery bags
- scissors
- small glass jars (baby food size) for storage of the harvested seeds
- digital devices to take pictures of The Three Sisters
- Printed Materials (attached)
- Diagram of The Three Sisters
- The Three Sisters Brochure
How to Plant The Three Sisters:
Length of Lesson:
discussed the legend in 2nd grade)
15 minutes to harvest one of the crops
10 minutes per grade to develop a brochure describing the theme of the Lesson -
Stronger Together. (Check to see if the former Green Club or last year’s
second grade developed this brochure.)
10 minute to make the baskets to be delivered to people and organizations
? delivery of baskets to people and organizations that have encouraged and helped
the Living Classroom Learning Lab
10 minutes to harvest the seeds from the corn, beans, or pumpkin that have been
saved and dried (seeds to be used to plant next Spring’s Three Sisters)
Background Information:
The Native Peoples used these three foods as a basis of a healthy diet. The corn is a source of carbohydrates. The beans and corn provide amino acids and the squash or pumpkins provide vitamin A in addition to other vitamins.
Many Native Americans depended upon The Three Sisters for their subsistence, so naturally, these plants became very special to them. The planting season began with special ceremonies to honor The Three Sisters. A celebration called The Green Corn Festival was held to commemorate the first of the green corn to be harvested. To educate their children, the Native Americans told them stories of how and why things came to be and how and why it was necessary to take care of them. Many stories were repeated on how The Three Sisters came to be. One of the stories will be presented in this lesson. By passing these legends down through each generation, the children were taught how to plant, use and care for The Three Sisters.
Early colonists may not have fared so well if it had not been for the Native American’s gift of The Three Sisters. This knowledge of combining complementary plants is a sophisticated, sustainable system providing soil fertility and healthy harvests that has helped agriculture throughout the world.
Standards Addressed in this Lesson:
The NGSStandards that apply to this lesson are:
LS1.C: Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms
Plants acquire their material for growth chiefly from the air and water.
LS2.AIndependent Relationships in Ecosystems
Plants acquire material for growth chiefly from air, water and process matter and obtain energy from sunlight, which is used to maintain conditions necessary for survival.
1-LS1-1:
Plants have different parts (roots, stems, leaves, flowers and fruits) that help them survive and grow.
4-LS1-1
Plants and animals have both internal and external structures that serve various functions in growth,
survival, behavior and reproduction.
Structure, Function and Information Processing
Science Knowledge Is Based on Empirical Evidence. Scientists look for patterns and order when
making observations about the world.
National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies: Chapter 2-The ...
http://www.socialstudies.org/standards/strands
The study of people, places and environments enables us to understand the relationship
between human populations and the physical world.
Lesson
The Essential Question:
What is Nature?
The Objective is for children to:
Identify and use their senses to observe nature & record sensory words on their graphic organizer
Use their findings to write two free verse poems titled:
~ In the Living Classroom
~ If I Look Out My Window
~ Define Nature through their senses, thus becoming Nature Detectives
vIDEO COMING SOON
“Children, last spring you planted the seeds to grow the combination of plants known as ‘The Three Sisters’. I hope you have been watching them grow this summer. It is now time to harvest them. Once the vegetables are harvested, we will save a few vegetables from each crop to dry and harvest their seeds. We will save those seeds to replant ‘The Three Sisters” next Spring. When all the vegetables are harvested, we will prepare baskets that will contain samples of the three vegetables. The baskets will be will be taken to people and organizations that have encouraged and helped the Living Classroom Learning Lab.”
The following is a review of material covered when the children planted in second grade.
“Before we go out to harvest, I would like to review with you why the Native Americans used these vegetables to plant together and the legend that was created so everyone would understand why the three crops should stay together.”
Showing the diagram of The Three Sisters:
“Last Spring, the second grade classes planted the three vegetables corn, beans, or pumpkins that the Native Americans learned grow well with one another. The corn was planted in a mound in the middle of the vegetable bed. Then, you had to wait until the corn was six inches tall before planting the beans. Then, you had to wait another week to plant the pumpkins around the base of the mound. You were following the ideas that have been passed down for a long time through Native American families.”
“The Native Peoples must have closely watched how these plants grew to have uncovered each of their specific characteristics. They found out that corn needs a lot of nitrogen to help it grow sturdy stalks and develop delicious ears. The roots of beans can make nitrogen and give it to the corn. As the corn grows taller,
the bean vines can wind themselves upward around the corn stalks. Many animals would love to eat the corn and beans, so the Native Americans planted pumpkins or squash as it is sometimes called around the base of the mound. The vines of the pumpkins are extremely hairy and have many shoots that spread out from its base. It grows many huge leaves on its vines that feel like sandpaper, so animals think twice about climbing in there for their food. The pumpkins vines also serve as a mulch that serves two purposes; keeping the weeds out and keeping the soil moist.”
“These three vegetables were the primary food of many Native tribes across North and Middle America. They provided many vitamins as well as carbohydrates and protein, so it was only natural, that the Native people began to tell stories about why these three were so special. Since these vegetables helped to keep them alive, the Native Americans thought that each vegetable was protected by a special spirit that was united with the other two. They became known as ‘The Three Sisters.’ And still to this day, many Native celebrations commemorate these sisters. The Green Corn Festival is one of these celebrations that announces the harvesting of the corn.”
“The Native Americans told many stories that we categorize as legends. Legends were told to know why or how something happened to be. The Native People told their stories around the campfire at night, so come up close to me while I tell you the legend of ‘The Three Sisters’.“
“It is said that there were once three sisters who lived with their father in a Native American Algonquin village near the Great Lakes. It was the time of ‘sequanni Kesos’ – the Moon When We Set Indian Corn. Their father, who was an Elder of the tribe, called his three daughters to his side and spoke to them,”
“My daughters, it has been a long hard winter and the food for our village is almost gone. Now that the ice is gone from all our rivers and lakes, it is time for the great hunt once more. I may be gone for an entire moon. All our corn that we had at the beginning the great snows is almost
gone. The beans and the squash is also gone. While I am gone, I want you to begin planting these three crops so when‘pohquitaqunk kisost’ – the Moon in the Middle between the Harvest and Eating Corn comes, we will be able to celebrate well at our Green Corn Festival. Our people will be able to give thanks knowing that there will be enough food to last when there is much white frost on the grass.”
“With that said, he bid his daughters good-bye.”
“The three sisters had not planted any crops before, but they each thought that they were very capable doing so. The oldest sister decided that she would plant the corn. The middle sister wanted to plant the beans and the youngest sister was to plant the squash. When it was decided which sister should plant which crop, the oldest sister asked her two other sisters if they needed any help to plant their crops. They both responded to her, ‘I can do it myself!’”
“The three sisters were vey independent and stubborn. They each felt they knew enough about planting: find a large patch of ground, clear the ground of weeds, dig holes for the seed, plant the seeds in the holes, water the ground and watch the seeds grow. Since each of the three sisters wanted to do it by themselves, they each went on their separate ways to plant their seeds.”
“After their seeds were planted, the three sisters eagerly watched as the green shoots, the beginnings of their plant, started to appear. They were very excited. They knew they could do it and their father would be so pleased when he returned from the hunt.”
“As the weeks passed and the plants grew, the oldest sister noticed that her corn which had been growing well seemed to have slowed down. In fact, it looked like it had stopped growing! She didn’t understand what was happening or why it was happening. With the village depending on this crop, she became frustrated not knowing what to do and then she became very sad.”
“At about the same time, the second sister was beside herself because her bean plants had grown many vines that were laying all over the ground. She could only find a few small beans on the vines. Most of them were rotting since they were laying in the wet dirt. As she investigated closer, she noticed cuts in the vines like someone or something had come and cut the vines that would have grown the beans. She decided to watch closely for one day and one night to see if she could find out what was happening. On the night she was watching, she had almost fallen asleep when something startled her. Rubbing her eyes to see better, she shrieked at the sight before her. There were three raccoons munching away at her delicious beans. There were the culprits before her! She threw up her arms and screamed so loudly that those raccoons fled immediately. The second sister just sat down and whaled, ‘How can I protect my beans from those nasty raccoons?’ The second sister was as frustrated and sad as the first sister.”
“Now, you may wonder about the youngest sister and her crop of squash. The youngest sister was jumping for joy. Her squash crop was growing beautifully. From each of the seeds she had planted came many thick and hairy vines that produced tendrils with huge sandpapery leaves and many bulging buds that would burst to produce squash. She was so excited! She knew she could do it and she did it herself! “
“When the youngest sister returned to their wigwam, she found her two sisters crying in the corner. They explained to her what was happening with both of their crops. Now, the youngest sister’s happiness slowly went away and she started crying too because she realized that there would not be enough food to last through the many moons of the falling snow.’’
“Their cries and sobs happened to be heard by a young traveler that was passing by. He stopped by the wigwam and asked the sisters if he could help.”
“In between all their cries, they explained how two of their crops had failed and there wouldn’t be enough food for the coming winter. He asked to see their crops. Upon seeing them, he told them that he thought he would be able to help. He had traveled through a tribe further south where he had observed how well their crops grew. They grew the three crops together. The three sisters looked at him in amazement and asked him to explain how this was done. And this is what he described.”
“The crops are stronger if they are grown together. First, we soak the corn and beans seeds a few hours in order to soften the seed case. While the seeds are softening, we build many mounds in the field. We take five or six of the soaked corn seeds and we will plant them in the middle of the mound. Once the corn seeds sprout, we have to wait until the corn is at least 6 inches tall.
Once it is there, we plant the 6 bean seeds around the corn in the mound. The Elders of the other village had told him that there was something in the beans that helped the corn to grow straight and tall very quickly. The corn helps the beans, The beans like to grow upward, so they wind their vines around the corn. The squash is planted at the base of each mound where it grows well. Animals do not like the squash’s hairy vines and the sandpapery leaves, so they will not come to eat any of the beans or corn.”
“I think if you work together and plant your three crops together, your tribe will have an abundance of food for the many Moons of Falling Snow.”
“The sisters were extremely happy. They got to work helping one another planting the corn in mounds. At the end of the planting, they went to thank the young traveler and invite him to dinner but he was gone from the village. They could not find him anywhere.”
“In the weeks that followed, their corn, beans and squash grew abundantly. When their father returned home from the hunt, he was pleased with the accomplishments of his daughters. When he saw how the corn, beans and squash were planted, he asked how they knew to plant them together, for as many miles as he had ridden, he had not seen crops planted together. They answered him in unison, “A young traveler showed us how they are stronger together! And we found out that we are also stronger when we work together!”
“The crops that year were plentiful. As long as the People planted the crops together, they had an abundant harvest. Now, to this day, the Native Americans still wonder who that young traveler could have been. Some even wonder if there was a young traveler or was the sisters’ special spirit sent to show the Native Peoples how to plant the crops so they would always have food for the long winter months. Whatever you may think of this story, it is a fact that the corn, beans and squash do benefit from growing together. It is also a fact, that when the crops are planted as the young traveler taught, the crops are called ‘The Three Sisters.’”
“Before we go out to harvest The Three Sisters, I’d like to remind you that one of the main ideas the Elders had in telling the legend of The Three Sisters was the idea that we are stronger together. I would like to take a few minutes for all of you to think of a time when being ‘stronger together’ worked for you.”
Allow time for the class to cite examples of being “Stronger Together” before going out to the Vegetable Garden to harvest The Three Sister’s crops. Bring baskets, grocery bags and scissors. Leave one ear of corn, two squash plants and a few beans on the stalk.
Directions for Harvesting The Three Sisters:
picking corn: Corn is best when you harvest it early in the morning. Grasp the ear firmly and pull down, then twist and pull. It usually comes off the stalk easily.
picking beans: Never yank or pull the green bean pods from the plant. The constant tugging can break or injure the plant itself and decrease overall harvest rates. Cut off each green bean pod from the plant. Alternatively, pinch the pod off of the plant using the fingernails on your thumb and forefinger.
picking squash: First, you will want to grab the summer squash at the bulge on the end. Grabbing the squash here gives you the best leverage when removing it from the plant. Once you have a firm grasp on the squash begin gently lifting it up. You should hear a snap or popping sound. After you hear the snapping sound, give the squash a quick twist to the left or right and the squash should be free from the plant.
Directions to Harvest the Seeds:
Leave at least two ears of corn, two squash plants and a few beans on the stalk. Each vegetable needs to be left in the garden to dry out.
Corn:
Step 1
Examine the ears of corn on the stalks and note which ears appear to be the healthiest. Select one of your best ears to save for seed.
Step 2
Leave the selected ear on the stalk to dry out when you pick the other ears for eating. The ear may remain on the stalk for another four to six weeks.
Step 3
Pick the seed ears when the husks turn brown. This can be up to six weeks after the other ears were harvested.
Step 4
Pull the husks back away from the corn cob, but don’t rip them off the ear. Instead, take a piece of string and tie it around the pulled back husks to keep the corn kernels exposed. Hang the cob up in a dry area, where squirrels and rodents will not be able to get to it. To hang it, simply hook the string that is around the husks over a nail.
Allow the corn to hang dry for three months.
Step 5
Take the ear of corn down from its hanging position after three months. To test for dryness, pop one kernel off the ear and place it on a hard surface. Hit the kernel with a hammer. If it shatters, the kernels are dry enough to put away as seed. If the kernel does not shatter, the ear of corn needs to hang longer. Test again for dryness in three weeks.
Step 6
Remove the dried kernels from the cob by rubbing two cobs together, or by twisting the ear with the palms of your hands until the kernels pop off. Do this over a large paper bag, or a window screen that is lying on a flat surface.
Step 7
Transfer the kernels to a lidded glass or metal container and store in a cool area.
Beans:
Allow the pods to ripen on the plant until dried and beginning to brown. The seeds will loosen up and can be heard rattling around inside the pod when shaken. This process may take a month or so past the point of a normal harvest for eating purposes. Once the pods have dried on the plant, this is when to harvest bean seeds. Remove the pods from the plants and lay them out to dry inside for at least two weeks. After the two weeks have passed following the harvesting of bean pods, shell the beans or you can leave the seeds within the pods until the planting season.
Bean Seed Storage: When storing seeds, place in a tightly sealed glass jar or other container. Different varieties of beans may be stored together but wrapped in individual paper packages and clearly labeled with their name, variety and collection date. Your bean seeds should stay cool and dry at the temperature of 32-41 degrees Fahrenheit. The refrigerator is a perfect place for bean seed storage.
Read more at Gardening Know How: Saving Bean Seeds: How And When To Harvest Bean Seeds.
Squash:
Squash must be fully mature before harvested for seed production. This means that summer squashes must be left on the vine until outer shell hardens. Allow to cure 3-4 additional weeks after harvest to encourage further seed ripening.
PROCESS: Chop open hard-shelled fruits and scoop out seeds. Rinse clean in wire strainer with warm, running water. Dry with towel and spread on board or cookie sheet to complete drying. (2005 International Seed Saving Institute®
Once the seeds have dried, label the jar with the crop that it holds and give it to a Living Classroom Committee volunteer to store for next year’s planting of The Three Sisters.
After all the crops are harvested except the few to save for seeds, divide them into baskets to be delivered to people and organizations that have encouraged and helped the Living Classroom Learning Lab. The baskets will be accompanied by a brochure describing the legend, the planting and the diversity contained in The Three Sisters which was created by the second graders during the planting of The Three Sisters last Spring.
Ecosystem Study #5 Decomposers
Purpose of this Lesson:
The Primary purpose of this third grade lesson about ecosystems is for the children to
understand how energy from the sun is passed to producers which are all the plants of the Earth,
who then pass this energy on to the consumers which are the ones who eat the plants and from
there on to the decomposers which are the fungi, bacteria and invertebrates, the FBI, who
decompose matter and bring the nutrients back to the producers. We visualize this process by
illustrating food chains. There can be many food chains in one ecosystem.
The next purposes embedded in this lesson are for the children:
- to understand that the final participants in the food chain are the decomposers
- to begin to understand that there is a life cycle in each ecosystem that keeps the ecosystem healthy
- to begin to understand their responsibility to the Earth’s ecosystems
At the culmination of this lesson, the children will illustrate with an ecosystem circle all the
components of a complete food chain that exists in one of the Living Classroom’s gardens.
Advanced Teacher Preparation: (10 minutes)
Reserve a time for the lesson on the Google Calendar.
Obtain a volunteer or ask the Living Classroom liaison to obtain a volunteer,
Decide where the game is to be played; on the blacktop or in the Living Classroom
Learning Lab.
Materials Needed:
- Printable Materials (attached):
- Ecosystem Circle
- Ecosystems - in Your Backyard - in Your World
- The FBI (Fungi, Bacteria and Invertebrates)
- Soil Ecosystem
- pencils and colored pencils
- clip boards
- digital devices to take pictures
- Books:
- Pass the Energy, Please! by Barbara Shaw McKinney
- The Magic and Mystery of Trees by Jen Green
- Supplementary Science books:
- A Bobbie Kalman Book:
- What Is a Biome?
- What Is a Life Cycle?
- Scott Foresman:
- Life in an Ecosystem
- How Ecosystems Change
- Harcourt:
- Energy Transfer in Ecosystems
- National Geographic:
- Exploring Ecosystems
- Cherry Lake
- Ecosystems
- Videos:
- Food Webs - Bill Nye the Science Guy
Leadership:
The classroom teacher will teach this lesson with the
help of a volunteer to tabulate the results of each year of the game if the
teacher deems this necessary.
Length of Lesson:
Activity #1: Game “Oh Deer” (30 minutes)
Activity #2: Discuss results of the game and explore the relationship of the lynx, the snowshoe hare, and the willow (45 minutes)
Activity #3: Evaluation (15 minutes)
Vocabulary:
predator: an organism that preys upon other organisms
prey: an animal hunted or caught for food
limiting factor: a factor present in the environment that controls a process-
(something that would cause a decrease or a decline in a population)
Background Information:
In first grade, the children found the basic needs of all plants and animals. And
they realized that these needs were the same for humans. These basic needs are
food, water, shelter, in their own individual space, and all of these needs must be
present in their space. We came up with a chant to remember these Basic Needs. It
is:
Our basic needs must be, you see,
for animals, plants, you and me -
air, water, food, shelter, sunlight, and space
and we need them all in one place.
Even though this activity emphasizes only three components of a habitat; food,
water, and shelter, the children should not forget that all animals need their own
space to live and that all these components need to be in a habitat that is close to
them or the animal will die.
For the understanding of the interdependence of animals and plants, it is extremely
important that the story from the Hudson Bay Trappers about the lynx, the
snowshoe hare, and the willow is told, graphed, and discussed.
Standards Addressed in this Lesson:
Disciplinary Core Ideas in the Next Generation Science Standards:
www.nextgenscience.org/next-generation-science-standards
LS2.A. Interdependent relationships in ecosystems
3-5
The food of almost any animal can be traced back to plants. Organisms are related in food
webs in which some animals eat plants for food and other animals eat the animals that eat
plants while decomposers restore some materials back to the soil.
6-8
Organisms and populations are dependent on their environmental interactions both with
other living things and with nonliving factors any of which can limit their growth.
Competitive, predatory, and mutually beneficial interactions vary across ecosystems but
the patterns are shared.
LS2.C. Ecosystem dynamics, functioning, and resilience
3-5
When the environment changes, some organisms survive and reproduce, some move to
new locations, some move into the transformed environment and die.
6-8
Ecosystem characteristics vary over time. Disruptions to any part of an ecosystem can
lead to shifts in all of its populations. The completeness or integrity of an ecosystem’s
biodiversity is often used as a measure of its health.
LS2D. Social interactions and group behavior
3-5
Being part of a group helps animals obtain food, defend themselves, and cope with
changes.
Understandings about the Nature of Science in the NGSStandards:
www.nextgenscience.org/next-generation-science-standards
Science assumes that objects and events in natural systems occur in consistent patterns
that are understandable through measurement and observation.
Science Addresses Questions About the Natural and Material World.
Science Is a Way of Knowing.
Scientists study the natural and material world.
Science knowledge helps us know about the world.
Science investigations begin with a question.
Scientists use different ways to study the world.
Scientists use drawings, sketches, and models as a way to communicate ideas.
Lesson
Essential Questions: What is the difference between a living object compared to a non-living object? and Are different ecosystems made up of the same or different living/non-living things?
Objective is for the children to know the characteristics of a living object as well as to know that there are many ecosystems with a multitude of different animals and plants, and to use their understanding to complete an ecosystem circle describing the living and non-living parts in one garden in our Living Classroom Learning Lab and to draw your garden that is missing one non- living basic need.
VIDEO COMING SOON
“What do we need to keep us going all day long?
Answers could be sleep, water and food.
“Both of the answers, food and sleep, are partial answers, but there is something else. If you have a good night’s sleep and eat a good breakfast, what will both of these together give you?”
Wait a few minutes to call on someone. Hopefully, their answer will be “energy”.
“Bingo! That is it, energy! Energy keeps us going and it also keeps the entire food chain going. Today, we are going to see how energy travels through the food chain by completing the food chain that you began in first and second grades. You know about producers, consumers and secondary consumers. Do you have any idea of what or who could be this last link in the chain? If you have some ideas, what would it or they do so the cycle could be constantly working?
Think time and then discussion of ideas. You may want to chart ideas.
“I think you are getting very close to what happens in the last link of the chain. There are Fungus, Bacteria and Invertebrates – the decomposers – that break dying and decaying matter apart and transform it into nutrients that goes right back into the soil to help nourish the plants and begin the cycle again. They are the FBI of this energy cycle.”
Display The FBI image.
“Here is a poem that should help you to understand who these decomposers are and what their role is in completing the food chain.”
Read and discuss Pass the Energy, Please! Read the first two pages of the poem.
Photosynthesis and osmosis are two words on the first two pages. In the first grade Ecosystem lesson, the children learned about photosynthesis.
Photosynthesis is the process whereby a plant converts carbon dioxide to oxygen. Osmosis is the process whereby plants absorb water and nutrients through the fibers in their roots. Remind them of the celery and blue dye experiment.
“Pretend there are children standing in the rain. Do they begin to bloat because their skin is absorbing the water? No, but this is what a plant’s roots do.”
After the first page,
“What is the first link in the food chain after the sun?”
The seed of the plant.
“Where does energy begin?”
In the seed of the plant.
“What is also the only living thing that makes its own food?”
Plants.
“Do you know where a plant gets its energy?“
A plant needs nutrients, water and light. The energy it needs comes from the sun and is absorbed. The plant becomes the first link in the food chain. It is the producer.
Continue reading to page 7.
“How will the energy in the plant be passed on to the second link in the food chain?”
The plant will be eaten by some animal an herbivore or plant eater.
“This animal is a primary consumer.”
Continue reading. After reading pages 12 to 15, stop for discussion.
“The animals in the woodland environment that are passing the energy are the primary consumers, the secondary consumers and the tertiary consumers of the food chain. Name the consumers in the pictures.”
The mouse is the primary consumer, the snake is the secondary consumer, and the owl is the tertiary consumer.
“How is the energy being passed?”
One consumer eats the smaller consumer. Continue from page 20 and read to page 23.
“I would like you to tell me how the food chain on these pages works.”
Goldenrod is the plant and producer; caterpillar is the primary consumer; spider is the secondary consumer eating the caterpillar; bird is a secondary consumer eating the spider; Mr. Weasel is also a secondary consumer eating the bird and Mr. Weasel needs to watch out because Mr. Fox is on the prowl.
“For the last link in the food chain, we are going to read about the decomposers.”
Read pages 24 to 27. Point to The FBI.
“Let’s go over the decomposers mentioned in this poem. Pictured on this page are beetles and maggots that come from blow flies and moths. On the next page, there is a fungus pictured, the mushroom. There are many more fungi in the world. Here are pictures of some.”
“Microscopic bacteria are part of the poem. They are so tiny you cannot see them with your eye. Here are some pictures of a few of them from under a microscope.”
Show A Soil Ecosystem.
“Look at all the decomposers in this Soil Ecosystem. These decomposers help to get rid of dead material. Worms are the best decomposers. Sometimes teachers have worm bins where you can see how the worms dig through the soil making it rich with many nutrients. The decomposers put nutrients back into the soil where they become available for the plants. Without these decomposers, the plants that we depend on for food would not grow and the entire food chain would be broken. The energy lives on in these decomposers and with the help of the earthworms is brought back into the soil of the earth so the process of life can begin all over again. The food chain and the circle of life are now complete.”
Finish reading the book.
Display the image Ecosystems in Your Backyard – in Your World. Write the words producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer and decomposer on the board with a picture of the
“Look at Ecosystems – in Your Backyard – in Your World. Let’s put together one food chain. As you look at this scene, start picking out a food chain by starting with a producer. After that it is a game of whom eats whom. From producer, go on to a primary consumer, then to a secondary consumer and finally to a decomposer. I would like a volunteer to come up and find the beginning of our food web, a producer.”
Continue asking for volunteers until the food chain is complete. Working in a circle on the whiteboard, diagram the food chain as the children tell you the rest of the participants in the food chain.
Distribute the Ecosystems in Your Backyard images to pairs of children and the Food Chain Organizer.
“There are many partial food chains on the poster. Find one and describe them on your paper. You may use words and drawings.”
When a majority of food chains are complete, have children share their webs.
Read and discuss pages 38 & 39 of The Magic and Mystery of Trees by Jen Green which is an exceptional book about the value of trees that are an ecosystem of themselves. Show the marvelous diagram of how the fungal network and the partnership with the tree’s roots to ensure food, water and nutrients are constantly given to the trees.
Using one of the previously constructed food chains, diagram one on The Complete Food Chain Ecosystem Circle on the board as a model.
Give all the children The Complete Food Chain Ecosystem Circle. Use pencils or colored pencils to compete the drawings. Use digital devices to take pictures.
It is important for the children to have the time outside in the Living Classroom Learning Lab so they can sketch their ecosystem circles well. The coloring of the ecosystem circle can be completed in the classroom along with having time for sharing. Photos can be taken with digital devices, if available, of the objects the children would like to draw. Drawing and coloring can be completed in the classroom.
“We are going to go out to our Living Classroom Learning Lab. You may look at all the gardens there. Each garden is an ecosystem. Decide which garden you would like to study. Here is The Complete Food Chain for the garden Ecosystem Circle. On the inside of your circle, draw the garden you have picked. Draw living parts to the ecosystem as well as non-living parts. Use as much of the white space as you can and be sure to use your best quality drawing. On the inner circle draw and name some of the living or biotic and non-living or abiotic parts to your garden. In the outside circle, name and draw producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers and decomposers. Go out quietly, and you just might be able to see a consumer eating some plants. If you cannot see any consumers or decomposers, imagine what they could be. You have seen some animals who live here.”
Remind the children of how we act in the Living Classroom Learning Lab.
“Remember, you are coming to experience the magic and the mystery that the plants and animals already know. So we need to step softly with silent voices – your eyes and ears wide open.”
When children have completed their circle, have them tell each other about their ecosystem. Have them discuss any differences and similarities they may have found.
Watch the video Food Webs – Bill Nye the Science Guy.
Pair children to answer the Ecosystem Questions, then complete them together as a class.
“Pick out one organism in your ecosystem and describe what it needs to survive. Could that organism survive on its own?”
“What do you think would happen to your ecosystem if your garden was sprayed with something that happened to eliminate all decomposers?
“What do a butterfly bush, a caterpillar, a bird, a raccoon and a bear all have in common?”
“Why do we need decomposers if we can buy fertilizers in the store?”
“How do the animals in the Living Classroom benefit from the environment? How does the living classroom benefit from the animals?”
“What is the interdependence between the basic needs and producers, consumers, secondary consumers and decomposers in the Living Classroom Learning Lab?”
“What would you say to someone who is torturing or trying to harm an invertebrate like a worm, ant, or snail?”
“Is there anything you are still wondering about that we could all discuss?”
“Thank you, children, for being such fantastic observers and listeners who are so willing to share their discoveries. Whenever you are here in our Living Classroom Learning Lab, remember to watch and listen silently and you will surely come to know some of the secrets that are hiding here.”
Nature Detective Decomposers
Purpose of this Lesson:
The Ecosystem Decomposers and this lesson are complimentary lessons. This lesson comes
after the third grade Ecosystem lesson. In the Nature Detective lessons, children begin to
understand how important observation is in knowing the environment that surrounds them is to their study of nature.
Being able to sit quietly and observe everything around one’s self is an important skill in
learning about nature. As the children progress through the activities in our Living Classroom
Learning Lab, they will need to use their senses of sight, sound, smell and touch to understand
the plants and animals that make their home there. The purpose of this lesson is for the children
to deepen their observation skills especially the sense of sight and the art of observation. They
will be observing decomposers and trying to answer the question, “Now that you know the
importance of decomposers in the ecosystem cycle, how can you impart your knowledge to
others who seem to not want these creatures to be around?”
We want the children to become explorers of their natural world. As they experience this world,
they begin to know how intricate it is and how miraculous it is to see and understand the
relationship between the plants and animals in their world. They begin to ask themselves how
they are connected to the plants and animals. They begin to know that they have a responsibility
to help preserve this world because they are the ones who need to care for it now and in the future especially with the environmental challenges of habitat loss and climate change. We want them to know that their Earth is a beautiful planet that needs their care.
“If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder…he needs the companionship of at least
one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world
we live in.”
- Rachel Carson 1962 Silent Spring
For the teacher: TED Talk by Emma Marris Nature is Everywhere - we just need to learn to see it
https://www.ted.com/talks/emma_marris_nature_is_everywhere_we_just_need_to_learn_to_see_it
“We need to be very careful about how we define nature. In order to not to steel it from our
children, we have to do two things. First, we cannot define nature as that which is untouched…
nature has not been untouched for thousands of years. And it excludes most of the nature that
most people can visit and have a relationship with, including only nature that children cannot
touch. Which brings me to the second thing we have to do which is that we have to let children
touch nature. Because that which is untouched, is unloved… The only way we are going to raise
up a generation of people who care about nature is by letting them touch nature.”
- Emma Marris
Advanced Teacher Preparation: (5 min)
- Request volunteers for this lesson
- Print materials
Materials Needed:
- Print Materials (attached):
- Decomposer Paragraph Organizer
- Draft Copy
- Final Copy
- Decomposer Poster Example
- Decomposer Poster
- Books:
- Pass the Energy, Please! by Barbara McKinney
- Backyard - One Small Square by Donald M. Silver
- hand lenses
- devices to take pictures of decomposers
- paint brushes, pipe cleaners or small sticks to move debris to find decomposers
Length of Lesson:
Activity #1: Scavenger Hunt for Decomposers (45 min)
Activity #2: Informational Writing & Posters (60 min)
Sequence of Activities in the Nature Detective Lessons:
Each grade in the Living Classroom Learning Lab Curriculum has a Nature Detective lesson.
In Kindergarten, children start by beginning to understand, What is Nature? As the children
journey out to the Living Classroom, they use their senses of seeing, hearing, smelling and
feeling to record what they see that is nature, what they hear that is nature, what they smell that
is nature and what they feel that is nature. With these observations they develop a free verse
poem. All grades will continue observing nature using their senses. They demonstrate what they
observe in different writings.
First graders observe nature by being in their own circle plot and watching, listening, smelling
and feeling objects there. They find a special object that becomes their own treasure. They
discuss and then decide, What makes an object become a special treasure?
Second graders use their sense of hearing to compare the day sounds of the Living Classroom
to the night sounds of their backyards. Do all animals have a special sound? Do all humans
have a special sound? Completing their homework earns them a special Nature Detective badge
for their top listening skills.
Third grade’s Nature Detective lesson intertwines with the Ecosystem lesson that studies
decomposers and children search the Living Classroom to find a decomposer. Their focus: We
think that there are many people who do not know the importance of a decomposer. How can we
spread our knowledge of the importance of decomposers? In answering their question, the third
graders compose a paragraph describing this importance which they will add to a poster they
illustrate to depict the significance of these animals.
Fourth Graders in the Nature Detective lesson concentrate on their sense of touch to know that
plants have different textured leaves and different shaped stems as they adapt to the
environmental conditions and types of animals that are present in their ecosystem. Once they
have felt a textured leaf or a cubed shaped stem, they take a picture of it and go out to find it in
the Living Classroom. Taking note of the plant’s environment, the question these fourth graders
answer is: What adaptations does this plant make to ensure its survival? In answering that
question, they design their own mega plant which is able to grow and sustain for countless
years.
This is the sixth year the Fifth Graders have spent time in the Living Classroom solely to
experience nature. Assimilating all that they have experienced in these five nature Detective
lessons, the fifth grade question goes back to the beginning question that they answered in
kindergarten, What Is Nature? Once they become part of nature again, the avenue opens for
their response to the question What is Nature? which is achieved in the poetic form of a
diamante.
Vocabulary:
fungus: A fungus is a simple organism, or living thing, that is neither a plant nor an
animal. When there is more than one fungus they are called fungi. Some familiar fungi
are mushrooms, molds, mildews, truffles and yeasts.
bacteria: The single-celled organisms called bacteria live on, in and around most living
and nonliving things. With few exceptions, bacteria can be seen only with the aid of a
microscope and millions of them would fit on the head of a pin. Although some bacteria
are harmful, many bacterial species are beneficial. Bacteria that live in the intestines of
humans are essential in digesting food.
invertebrates: An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. (An animal with a
backbone is called a vertebrate.) Invertebrates live in every part of the world. In
fact, most of the animals on Earth are invertebrates. Invertebrates come in all
different shapes and sizes. Some can be seen only through a microscope. But the
giant squid is an invertebrate and it can grow to a length of 65 feet (20 meters).
Invertebrates make up more than 90 percent of all animals. Sponges, flatworms,
jellyfish, sea stars, etc. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.
Background Information:
It is stated in the Next Generation Science Standards, Appendix H, that “science is a way of
explaining the natural world….students should develop an understanding of the enterprise of
science as a whole - the wondering, investigating, questioning, data collecting and analyzing.”
Sitting in the Living Classroom Learning Lab children take the first steps to becoming Nature
Detectives - observers of our natural world.
Reflecting on and discovering how things work in the natural world has shown how many of
our modern inventions came to be. From observing:
the flight of birds came all types of flight
the beaks of birds came the bullet train
the strength of spider’s silk came strong medical tape
how whales submerge came the submarine
how burrs stick came velcro
how bats fly and dolphins swim came sonar
how ducks swim with their webbed feet came flippers
how termites build their structure and beavers build dams came basics in
architecture
how nocturnal animals can see at night came night vision
how things fall came the Law of Gravitational Force
We need to become Nature Detectives!
Standards Addressed in this Lesson:
Science and Engineering Practices in the Next Generation Science Standards:
www.nextgenscience.org/next-generation-science-standards
Understandings about the Nature of Science
Science is a way of knowing.
Science knowledge helps us know about the world.
Science addresses questions about the natural and material world.
Scientists study the natural and material world.
Scientists search for cause and effect relationships to explain natural events.
Scientists use drawings, sketches and models as a way to communicate ideas.
Scientists ask Questions and Define Problems
District 181 Science Standards
K.SC.1.3 Make observations and gather information using the senses.
Lesson
The Essential Questions are: What are the basic needs of people, animals and plants? and Are the basic needs of people, animals and plants all the same?
The Objective is for the children to know the basic needs of people, animals and plants and to display their knowledge in an oral presentation of “The Basic Needs Chant,” completing an Our Basic Needs assessment and having a teacher led discussion about our basic needs and ecosystems.
First you will read selections from two books and then you will go outside to the gardens or a wild area to search for decomposers. Children will need hand lenses and a paintbrush, pipe cleaner, or a stick.
“In the Ecosystem Study on Decomposers, we learned that decomposers complete the life cycle of an ecosystem. Do you remember the FBI? Yes! They are the fungi, bacteria and invertebrates. Let’s refresh our memories by looking over a few pages in Pass the Energy, Please!”
Read and discuss pages 24-27 of Pass the Energy, Please! and Backyard – One Small Square pages 20-21 and 24-30.
“Where do you think these decomposers could be? Today, we are going to try to find some out in our Living Classroom.”
“Where do you think we might look?”
“Are there any decomposers we may not find?”
They would not see bacteria.
“Why are you thinking that way? Where have you seen any of these decomposers?”
“Your tools will be a hand lens and a paintbrush, pipe cleaner, or a stick. The paintbrush, pipe cleaner and sticks are there for you to gently move any leaves or grass piles so that you do not hurt anything. You will also have a hand lens to help strengthen your sense of sight while you are looking for these creatures.
Please take your digital device to take pictures of your discoveries.”
“Remember your conduct in the Living Classroom. In order for you not to scare away any animals that may be in the Living Classroom, remember to go out quietly without making a sound.”
“When you find a decomposer, study it for a little while and answer the questions:
- Does it move?
- How does it move?
- Where does it go?
- Does it live above or below the ground?
- Is there a pattern?
- Can you see it eating anything?”
While in the gardens, encourage children to look under any rocks, piles of debris and fallen leaves to find signs of decomposers.
Have the children share their discoveries. Ask the children if they noticed anything unusual, funny, ugly or scary.
“Now that you know the importance of decomposers in the ecosystem cycle, how can you impart your knowledge to others who seem to not want these creatures to be around.”
Gather ideas from the children. If they have some great ideas, go with them and also guide them to the poster that will be distributed to other classes, families and their community.
To complete a poster, begin by writing a draft and then editing an informational paragraph describing the importance of the decomposers.
Choose one of the following topic sentences or come up with one of your own for your paragraph about decomposers.
- Decomposers are not the most beautiful creatures in the world.
- I used to step on decomposers until I learned all the good they do for us.
- One of the hardest working creatures on Earth is the
worm. - Do you like worms?
Write your topic sentence (the main idea) on line #1.
Line 1:
Then add three sentences of your own on lines 2, 3 and 4.
Line 2:
Line 3:
Line 4:
End Line 5 with one of the following closing sentences or one of your own.
- Doesn’t nature work in mysterious ways?
- Where would we be without decomposers?
Line 5:
After children have completed their final writing, have children develop an advertisement or poster to tell the significance of decomposers .
“Now, let’s decide how we would like to share our posters. We could give them to other classrooms or put them in a school newsletter. What are your ideas?”
Decide how to spread their knowledge
“Does anyone have anything they are still wondering about in what they saw or did today in the Living Classroom Learning Lab?”
These wonderings could lead to further investigations.
“Thank you children for being such fantastic observers and listeners who are so willing to share your discoveries. Keep informing other children not to harm decomposers because they are so valuable for us. Whenever you are here in our Living Classroom Learning Lab, remember to watch and listen silently and you will surely come to know some of the secrets that are hiding here.”
Adaptation in the Prairie
Purpose of this Lesson:
Adaptation: according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary is the adjustment to environmental conditions: such as
a: adjustment of a sense organ to the intensity or quality of stimulation
b: modification of an organism or its parts that makes it more fit for existence under the conditions of its environment : a heritable physical or behavioral trait that serves a specific function and improves an organism's fitness or survival
Here in our Living Classroom Learning Lab there are many examples of how a plant cannot only survive but can adjust to its environmental conditions. There are the pollinators who pollinate certain plants due to their form; the plants and creatures in the pond with their unusual physical adaptations; the vegetables that will grow above or below the soil, etc. But, there are no better examples of adaptation that can be so readily seen and felt as the plants that make up our prairie! In the prairie, the children will be able to feel sandpapered and knifed-toothed leaves, calculate the total length of a grass from its tippy top to the end of its roots, and understand the brain-based solution many of the plants have for capturing water. There is even a prairie plant that could be used as a compass!
The main purpose of this lesson is for the children to deepen their observation skills by interacting with many of the incredible prairie plants that reside in our prairie. Somehow, these prairie plants made adaptations that enabled them to survive the frigid winters and the sweltering summers of very little rain. Therefore, the questions that need to be answered for this lesson are: What adaptations did prairie plants have to make in order to survive the harsh environment of the prairie ecosystem? How did the plants know what to do? In answering these questions, the children should also begin to wonder themselves as to how did this all come to be. Now, they will begin to understand the complexity of nature.
Hopefully, they will want to know and understand more!
“If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder without any such gift from the fairies, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement, and mystery of the world we live in.”
~ Rachel Carson ~
Teacher Preparation: (10 minutes)
- Find the children’s recording sheets “How Tall Will They Grow?” from second grade.
- Photocopy the recording sheets for missing sheets or new students.
Materials Needed:
- The Prairie that Nature Built, a book by Marybeth Lorbieki
- Scenes from the prairie
- Clip boards
- Pencils
- Original/laminated “Notes from the Prairie” journal
- Notes for the Prairie Journal - one for each child
- Rolled banner of the roots and leaves of Big Blue Stem
- How Tall Will They Grow? recording sheet
- (If available) Three months ago, when the children were in second grade, they used these recording sheets to measure the beginning of each plant growth.
- 4 yardsticks and paper clips - 10 feet of string attached to the top of one yardstick and 4 sticks laid end to end on the ground in order to measure the string
- How do the characteristics you have named for each prairie plant help the plant to adapt to its environment? recording sheet
- Photocopied “question” recording sheet
- Landscape Tag recording sheet
- Bookmark for teachers with Adaptations listed for Prairie plants
Length of Lesson: Four Hours and 30 Minutes (see activity breakdown below)
Activity #1: Read “The Prairie that Nature Built,” a poem by Marybeth Lorbiecki (10 min)
Activity #2: The Story of the American Prairie (10 min)
Activity #3: Observation & Notes from the Prairie Journal (60 min)
Activity #4: Discuss Questions and Note the Answers (45 min)
Activity #5: Write How Tall Will They Grow? (30 min)
Activity #6: Write about the Adaptations of the Prairie Plants (20 min)
Activity #7: Create & Share a Landscape Tag for a Prairie Plant (45 min)
Activity #8: Write a Grant to Establish or Enhance a Prairie (45 min)
Vocabulary:
Adaptation: modification of an organism or its parts that makes it more fit for existence under the conditions of its
environment : a heritable physical or behavioral trait that serves a specific function and improves an organism's fitness or survival
Dock: any of several usually broad-leaved weedy plants
Forb: an herb other than grass; a herbaceous flowering plant other than a grass
Ecosystem: the complex of a community of organisms and its environment functioning as an ecological unit
Fertile: producing many plants or crops : able to support the growth of many plants
Erosion: the act of wearing away by the action of water, wind, or glacial ice
Sustainability: meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs texture: the feel of a surface or a fabric
Background Information:
It is stated in the Next Generation Science Standards, Appendix H,“that science is a way of explaining the natural world….students should develop an understanding of the enterprise of science as a whole - the wondering, investigating, questioning, data collecting, and analyzing.” Sitting in the Living Classroom Learning Lab our young children will take the first steps in becoming Nature Detectives - observers
of our natural world.
The prairie is just one of the gardens where children can observe nature working. The prairie plants are incredible examples of how these plants have evolved so that they are able to survive. A few examples of the adaptations prairie plants have made are:
- Prairies have very few trees and receive very little water, so in their search for water, the roots of the prairie plants stretch far into the ground trying to find that water.
- Some plants’ leaves form cups to catch and hold the water whenever it should happen to rain.
- Many prairie plants leaves feel like sand paper or have serrated edges giving predators a distasteful surprise when they try to take a bite.
As the children complete a Landscape Tag for a prairie plant, they will be using all their senses to understand the complexity of these plants and wonder as to how it all came to be. As our climate is changing will these plants again adapt and will we be able to observe how it will happen?
Standards Addressed in this Lesson:
Science and Engineering Practices in the Next Generation Science Standards:
www.nextgenscience.org/next-generation-science-standards
Asking Questions and Defining Problems and Analyzing and Interpreting Data
Major Themes and Grade Level Understanding about the Nature of Science from the Next Generation Science Standards:
www.nextgenscience.org/next-generation-science-standards
Primary School (K-2)
Scientists look for patterns and order when making observations about the world.
Elementary School (3-5)
Science findings are based on recognizing patterns.
Science uses tools and techniques to make accurate measurements and observations.
Middle School(6-8)
Science limits its explanation to systems that lend themselves to observation and empirical evidence.
Disciplinary Core Ideas
LS4.C: Adaptation:For any particular environment, some kinds of organisms survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.
Understandings about the Nature of Science
Science is a way of knowing.
Science knowledge helps us know about the world.
Science addresses questions about the natural and material world.
Scientists study the natural and material world.
Scientists search for cause and effect relationships to explain natural events.
Scientists use drawings, sketches, and models as a way to communicate ideas.
Scientists ask Questions and Define Problems.
District 181 Science Standards
K.SC.1.3 Make observations and gather information using the senses.
Common Core State Standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.3
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective
technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
ILLINOIS SOCIAL SCIENCE STANDARDS
Geography
Fourth Grade: Our State, Our Nation
SS.G.2.4. Analyze how the cultural and environmental characteristics of places in Illinois change over time.
History
Third Grade: Communities Near and Far
SS.H.2.2. Compare individuals and groups who have shaped a significant historical change.
SS.H.2.3. Describe how significant people, events, and developments have shaped their own community and region.
Essential Questions:
What adaptations did prairie plants have to make in order to survive the harsh environment of the prairie
ecosystem?
And
How did the plants know what to do?
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As the children complete a Landscape Tag for a prairie plant, they will be using all
their senses to understand the complexity of these plants and wonder as to how it
all came to be.
Lesson
The Essential Question:
This book has beautiful illustrations depicting the interconnectedness between the animals and plants of the prairie ecosystem
When you are telling The Story of the Prairie that appears below, the following points are the most important to cover:
- how big it was
- the grasses and flowers that were in it
- the harsh weather with temperatures ranging from extreme heat, 100 degrees or better, and drought in the summer to bitter cold winters with excessive negative temperatures and frigid winds.
- roots of the plants: the majority of the plant grows below the ground – their roots are searching for water
- fire: the ash enriched the soil and destroyed unwanted plants and trees
- settlers come to farm the land – plowing the land taking out plants and roots
- with the grasses and forbs of the prairie gone, strong winds come,
- blowing away the top soil and ushering in the Dust Bowl of 1935
- prairie restoration
- American Prairie Reserve Profiled by National Geographic – to see what a prairie should be – only the first 4 minutes
“Eight thousand to ten thousand years ago, prairies began growing on the North American continent. Once the glaciers had moved through four hundred years ago, this grassland covered 400,000 miles in North America. It stretched from the Rocky Mountains east to Indiana and from Saskatchewan in Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. This area receives very little rain. Winds carrying the rain blow in from the Pacific Ocean and rise to meet the Rocky Mountains. When the air cools, it condenses and then the rains come to the mountains. The winds that do cross over the mountains hold very little moisture. That is why not many trees grow in the Great Plains of North America. Grasses and forbs can grow in this ecosystem.
In one of these prairies, there can be 40 to 60 different grass species and 300 different flower species surviving in an ecosystem with temperatures that could range from extreme heat (100 degrees or better) and drought in the summer to bitter cold winters with excessive temperatures and frigid winds. It has been estimated that 30 to 60 million buffalo once roamed through all North American prairies along with herds of elk, deer, and antelope. Bears and wolves became the top predators of the prairie. Hundreds of thousand of insects made their home in this ecosystem as well as gigantic hoards of birds and underground dwellers. Two hundred years ago 86% of the land in DuPage County, where we live, was covered with prairie and Illinois became known as the “Prairie State.”
One of the predators of the prairie was fire. Fire could have been caused by lightning or started by Native Americans to: get rid of insects, drive game out, clear a path for travel, or clear land for planting. Even after a huge fire, the prairie would survive because the main part of prairie plants remains under ground. The part of the prairie plant that we see on top of the soil is collecting the sunlight to nourish the larger part of the plant, its roots, that grow deep into the soil. There is a ratio between the height of the prairie plant and how far the roots descend below the ground. For every foot of the plant that is above ground, there are two to three feet below ground. Some prairie plant’s roots descend 15 feet below the soil. They are looking for water!
Depending upon your group, you may decide to tell the class this information or not. If a Native American and his horse were caught in a prairie fire, the Native American would slit his horse’s stomach and climb into it. That was the only way for a person to survive the fire. No one, even though they were on a horse, could outrun the furor of a prairie fire.
The Native Americans knew how to manage the land. They burned the prairie after the harvest so the ash would mix with the earth forming a very fertile soil to insure success of the next years crops. This fertile ground warmed more quickly in the spring so it could absorb the spring rains better and foster earlier plant growth.
Two hundred years ago, in the early days of America, the pioneers found this billowing sea of grass with its fertile soil to be what was needed for crop production. They began plowing the grasses under to plant wheat, corn, and other crops. They found this great soil full of roots. Many farm implements were destroyed trying to take the roots out. The pioneers did not realize that these roots helped make this soil so fine because they broke up the soil which creates spaces for storing air and water. They also helped to guard against soil erosion.
The farmers of the prairie did not realize that once the prairie plants were plowed under much of the rich top soil was gone. When drought and winds hit in the 1930s, the wind picked up the dry soil that had nothing to hold it down. Great black clouds of dust clouded the sun and dust fell on everything. Crops were destroyed and people found it hard to breathe. This became known as the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. It lasted ten years with an estimation in the thousands of the number of people that died during that time. Children and elderly people were effected the most as were plants and animals. John Steinbeck’s famous novel The Grapes of Wrath describes families escaping the effects of the Dust Bowl.
Today, this great ecosystem has been reduced to about 1% of its original area. The prairie has become one of the rarest and most endangered ecosystems in the world. Now, we are trying to educate people about prairies. Many states are rehabilitating what is left of their prairies and reintroducing the native wildlife and plants. They are seeking to preserve an almost extinct ecosystem with its animals and plants. As we shall see in the Biodiversity lesson, we need to keep all of the natural world.
The largest remaining area that has not been plowed is in a rocky and hilly region of Kansas called the Flint Hills. This region stretches from the Nebraska border south into the northern part of Oklahoma. If you are going that way, be sure to stop to see this vanishing ecosystem. Right here closer to home, you can see the prairie at the Morton Arboretum and the Wolf Prairie on 31st & Wolf Road. You can see the Bison and some prairie at Fermi Lab in Batavia.”
Have the class make predictions of why the prairie plants had to make adaptations.
“Now that you have heard The Story of the Prairie, do you have any idea why prairie plants needed to make adaptations? That’s right, there was very little water.”
* Author’s Note: Once again, as with pollination, it is striking how these prairie plants that the children will be studying made the adaptations that were necessary to survive in this ecosystem. Here is another example in nature of form following function and function following form.
This activity can happen at an onsite prairie or
Field Trip to a Prairie
Give the children the Notes from the Prairie Journal, a clipboard and pencil.
Children observe the structure of the prairie plants either at an onsite prairie or as a field trip to an established prairie.
“Take some time and look around. What do you see
that is the same for all of the plants here? What do you see that is different in all of the plants here? That’s right, some have flowers and some do not, some are very tall plants, some are short plants, some may not have a visible water source, this stand does or does not have flowers that would attract pollinators.
Looking at the prairie, do you see that most of the prairie plants are very tall. Can you predict why that might be?
Continue looking at the prairie plants, especially the Indian Grass and the Cup Plants. With what you know about animal survival, why are all these plants so abundant and why do these plants look so healthy? That’s right, they are living in groups which helps the plant pollinate, reproduce and survive.
I know I am full of questions for you today, but going over some of the things that will help you with your predictions and observations today. The science unit you are studying right now is about adaptation. You have been learning about adaptations that animals need to make in order to survive and today we are going to find out what adaptations plants make to survive in an ecosystem. So my last question to you today is: What is adaptation and where did you come across it in lessons out in the Living Classroom, which is all around you when you are outside? That’s right, adaptation is the modification of an organism or its parts that makes it more fit for existence under the conditions of its environment or a heritable physical or behavioral trait that serves a specific function and improves an organism’s fitness or survival within its ecosystem. Adaptations are also highlighted in the Living Classroom Learning Lab lesson about pollination.
Let’s gather around here in front of the prairie, because I would like to tell you about one of the most amazing plants that has adapted to a harsh environment. The prairie receives very little rain with temperatures in the summer going as high as 100 degrees. The winters are the opposite with extremely cold temperatures and a lot of snow. The plant I would like to show you and talk to you about its adaptations is the Cup Plant. When I finish describing this plant, we will measure a Cup Plant and you will fill out your journal.”
Before gathering around a Cup Plant, remind the children that they will be working in very small space around a prairie plant. Children need to be careful, have only one group member studying the plant at a time and be extremely careful not to step on any plants.
Information about the Cup Plant:
“Cup Plant is one of the best wild flowers for attracting birds. It provides food, water, and shelter for them. Looking at these leaves, what do they remind you of? That is right, they look like cups and that is exactly what these leaves do. They form cups that catch rainwater. Songbirds, butterflies and hummingbirds come for a drink, and in fall, goldfinches come to devour the seeds that are in the
bright yellow flowers.
The Cup Plant is easy to identify. Its stem leaves are very large, 10 inches long and 6 inches wide, with opposite pairs joined together at the stem, forming a cup. Leaves are coarsely toothed, pointed at the tip, and feel rough. Its stems are square with 10 to 30 bright yellow flowers at its ends. This plant multiplies quickly.
Did you hear an adaptation the Cup Plant makes in order to live in this ecosystem? Super, the leaves are cups! Why would that be a good adaptation for this plant? What else? That’s right, rough leaves are a protection from predators.”
Continue asking the children what adaptations they observe.
Observable adaptations for the Cup Plant:
- height: 8’ to 9’ with an extensive root system to find water
- square stems to hold plant upright
- yellow sunflowers on top is food for birds and pollinators
- rough and toothed leaves to discourage predators
- stem leaves that form cups in order to catch and hold water
- pairs of the cup leaves alternate directions going up the stem in order to catch more water
Please open your journal and find the Cup Plant page. Fill in what we know already before we measure the plant. Take this meter stick and string and hold it up to the top of the plant, then take this paper clip and attach it to the string where the string meets the ground. Now take this yardstick and string over to the 3 meter sticks lying end to end and measure the length of the string from the top of the yardstick to the paper clip in order to determine the height of the plant.
There are four more prairie plants that we will look at today, From what we know already and our observations at the plant, I would like you to discover as much as you can about the plant that your group is assigned. There are five categories that you need to observe for your plant. They are: flowers, stem, leaves, height, and adaptations. Please remember to have only one person in your group observing the plant at a time and be careful not to step on any plants. There are some of these plants that are only one of its kind in our prairie. When the observations are complete, we will meet and go over our findings. Before you start, I will give you a clue. The names of most prairie plants have something to do about an adaptation of that plant.
Divide the class into four groups and send a group to one of these four prairie plants: Prairie Dock, Compass Plant, Big Bluestem, and Rattlesnake Master.
Information about the Compass Plant
“Compass plants look much like wild sunflowers and can reach heights of 9 to 12 feet. Clusters of bright yellow, daisy- like flowers bloom on the upper part of the plant during the hot summer months. The deeply cut leaves, which resemble oak leaves, can reach lengths of 12 to 18 inches.The plant has huge divided leaves which turn in a north-south direction. It became the early pioneers GPS, global positioning system, or their compass, and they named it the Compass Plant. The direction of the leaves help the plant conserve water and avoid direct sunlight. The plant attracts many pollinators especially native bees and the monarch butterfly.”
Information about Big Bluestem:
“Big Bluestem is a tall grass native to the Great Plains. It is the star component of the Big Four native grass species that characterize the tall grass prairies of central North America. The other three are Indian grass, Switchgrass, and Little Bluestem. Big Bluestem can grow from 3 feet to almost 10 feet with a root system that goes down at least 9 feet. The stem turns blue or purple as it grows. The seed heads have three spike-like projections resembling a turkey’s foot.
That is why its nickname is Turkey Foot. Big Blue Stem provides cover for at least 24 species of songbirds and nesting sites or seeds for sparrows, wrens, and meadowlarks. Big Bluestem is the state grass of Illinois.”
Information about Rattlesnake Master:
“Rattlesnake Master is a unique forb, or flower, that grows between 3 to 6 feet tall and has 3 to 20 white spiky golf-ball flower heads which are truly unique. These flower heads are packed with tiny white flowers surrounded by small projections that are sharp and pointed. When the wind blows, the flowers rattle. The sound reminds people of a rattlesnake’s tail when it is rattling and, of course, that is how the plant received its name. The plants have a large rootstock. This is an adaptation that allows for water to be stored in these roots. Its leaves are serrated. If a rabbit went to take a bite, its mouth would be cut. If you ran your hand down a leaf, it would be cut, too.
Rattlesnake master is a member of the carrot family. If you break or crush a leaf, the aroma will give it away. It is a favorite of bees, beetles, wasps, and butterflies.
Native Americans brewed a tea from its roots and used it as a treatment for many maladies, especially a toothaches or cough. It was thought to be an antidote for rattlesnake venom, but that proved to be not true. Native Americans would use the fibrous leaves of this perennial plant for weaving sandals and baskets.”
Information about Prairie Dock:
“Prairie Dock has leaves like a small elephant’s ear and flowers as high as an elephant’s eye. Prairie Dock is a truly unique plant. Its sandpaper leaves are 18 to 20 inches long. The leaves’ coarseness turns rabbits away. By late summer, Prairie Dock sends up a very tall stem with small yellow sun flowers that can last for a month or longer. The plant and its stem can reach a height of 10 feet and it can live for 100 years! See if you can find a Prairie Dock plants! How do you think it got here if someone did not plant it?
Prairie Dock attracts honeybees and bumblebees. Goldfinches eat and disperse the seeds, helping the plant self-propagate. Another name for Prairie Dock is Rosinweed due to the resin that seeps out from injured parts of the plant. Prairie children used the resin for chewing gum. It tastes like a mixture of carrots and pine. Hairs on the plant cast shadows on the leaf, cooling the leaves and the plant.”
Jigsaw Groups to Report Findings on their Prairie Plants. Have each group report out their findings. If anything big is missing from the children’s observations, the teacher adds the missing pieces.
Roll out the banner of the roots and leaves of the Prairie Plants.
- What adaptations did prairie plants have to make in order to survive the harsh environment of the prairie ecosystem?
- How did the plants know what to do?
- Why do you think these plants in the prairie are so different?
- How do the characteristics you have named for each prairie plant help the plant to adapt to its environment?
- Why do you think so many people and states are trying to rebuild the prairie?
Cause & Effect Questions:
- Why did many settlers decide to move to the prairie?
- The settlers saw the fertile soil of the prairie and they plowed the land. What were the effects both good and bad?
- Because the prairie is dry and windy, what happened after the prairie was plowed?
- Think of several reasons why the buffalo almost became extinct.
- Construct an argument that plants have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.
“I have been wondering ever since I began to learn about all the adaptations that the prairie plants make, how do these plants know what to do so they can survive?
Anyone wondering the same thing? Do you have any ideas?”
Wait for ideas.
“Before we go, turn over your Notes from the Prairie sheet. On the back of your journal, write down why you think these plants in the prairie are so different.
After that, still on the back of your journal, label ‘Prairies Are Being Rebuilt Because’. The question we are going to answer is, ‘Why do you think so many people and states are trying to rebuild the prairies?’ As a class, we are going to come up with five good reasons why. Write them down as we find them.”
Answers:
- All ecosystems contribute to the balance of the natural world
- It is a safe haven for plants and animals
- Having no ecosystem could lead to the extinction of many animals and unique plants
- Its plants roots that are contained in the soil helps to stop erosion
- It is a beautiful picture as the wind sweeps over the prairie rustling and swaying all the grasses
- The plants take in carbon dioxide and give us oxygen).
Complete the How Tall Will You Grow Chart.
The measurements of the three prairie plants in
the Spring were:
- Big Bluestem: 3.5 feet
- Rattlesnake Master: 3 feet
- Prairie Dock: 1.5 feet
Draw a line for these measurements and label it “Spring.”
Complete the graph with the new measurements you have for these three prairie plants.
Compare the amount of growth that has occurred in these 2 short months.
“Whenever you are here in our Living Classroom Learning Lab, remember to watch and listen silently and you will surely come to know some of the secrets that are hiding here. Tonight, you may take the journal home and use it as a guide to tell your parents what you learned here today about the prairie and these unique plants.”
Hand out a recording sheet. Have the children
choose one of the prairie plants and write an
explanation of the adaptations.
- How do the characteristics you have named for each prairie plant help the plant to adapt to its environment?
“The other day I was at a plant nursery. I wanted to see what I could get to fill a rather large space in my front yard. While I was looking, I came across a section that was all prairie plants. I had not seen large containers of our prairie plants being sold at a nursery before. There was a horticulturist close by and I asked him about the prairie plants. He told me that landscapers were beginning to use these plants in their designs for homeowners because of their sustainability. Oh, I had never thought about this before, the sustainability of the prairie plants. Think about it. First of all, what do we mean by sustainability? Sustainable means something would be there for a long time and would not take a lot of resources to live and could even add to the environment. How would the prairie plants qualify for this idea? Prairie plants live a long time, do not require much water, and like to live in groups where they can reproduce readily.
The prairie plants have a new environment to enter. It seems like a fantastic solution if we are trying to make our world more sustainable.
I have an idea and I think you will agree with me. We are going to create Landscape Tags for the prairie plants that are being sold in nurseries. These tags are placed in the pot with the plant telling the buyer the characteristics and adaptations of the plant and where and why it should be planted. Here is the form we will use for the landscape tags. Each group will be responsible for making one tag for the plant they researched. I am going to take 4 of you to make the tag for the Cup Plant. When we finish the tags, they can be photocopied. While you are working, think about where these landscape tags should be sent so you can inform people about their perfect qualifications as landscaping plants for home owners’ yards and commercial yards.”
Groups of 3 create their own Landscape Tag for their assigned plant.
Have children share their Landscape Tag and distribute them to their parents and community.
“Children, you have done a great job out here today. Our prairie has some unique plants, but there are more. Our prairie always needs rejuvenation and enhancement of its biodiversity. In order to establish our own prairie we are going to write a grant to receive monies to obtain more plants for this great prairie.”
Fill out Grant for the Prairie together with the class. The class will have to brainstorm and determine:
- A local community partner who will help establish
- the prairie
- who will take care of the prairie during the summer
- What type of prairie to be established
- Tall grass prairie
- Short grass prairie
- Mixed grass prairie
- What plants will need to be purchased & cost
- What tools & supplies will need to be purchased & cost
- Determine a site to establish the prairie
- 3 photos of the site
- Support, approval and signatures of the administration
wINTER uNITS
Private Eye Observation
Purpose of this Lesson:
The purpose of the Living Classroom is for children to learn, through hands-on
experiences, the intricacies, interdependencies, and mysteries that exist in
nature. The lessons guide the children to understand the importance of being
caretakers of the Earth in order to preserve present and future ecosystems.
Being able to sit quietly and observe everything around one’s self is an important
skill in learning about nature. As the children progress through the activities in our
Living Classroom Learning Lab, they will need to use their senses of sight, sound,
smell, and touch to understand the plants and animals that make their home there.
The purpose of this lesson is for the children to deepen their observation skills
The Private Eye piece, which is similar to a “jeweler’s loupe”, magnifies an object
5 times. Putting two of the eye pieces together will give a magnification of 10
times. As the children look through their “loupe," they will be asked to respond
to two questions: “What does it look like?” and “What does it remind you of?”
After the children have answered these questions, they will begin to think
metaphorically by developing analogies which is one of the most often used
techniques in descriptive writing.
In this lesson, the children’s observation skills will be intensified through using the
Private Eye Loupe to draw an object in detail — developing the habit and feel of
close observation.
The children have observed with the Private Eye Loupe since Kindergarten. They
have also gone out to the Living Classroom as Nature Detectives to investigate
nature using their senses. When repeating this experience, we need to tell the
children that as they grow so should their powers of observation also grow. The
more they engage in these types of activities, the more acute their senses will
become, and the better prepared they will be for any occupation they may pursue.
Advanced Teacher Preparation: preparation time is about 20 minutes
Reserve a time for the lesson on the Google Calendar.
The classroom teacher may wish to obtain the volunteer parents for this lesson, or
the classroom teacher may ask our parent liaison to the Living Classroom to
obtain parents for the lesson.
Ask the parents to come in about 5 minutes early so you can show them how the
microscopes and the Private Eyes work.
Have the alphabetical class list handy.
Materials Needed:
Microscopes
Private Eye Loupes
Clip boards
Third grade kit
Nature Detective recording sheet
xerox copies for each child in third grade of the Nature Detective recording
sheet
Hand lens — class set
Yarn, one yard, tied to make a circle — one for each child - class set to be tied
together
Map of the Learning Lab with spots labeled where children could be placed to
carry out this observation
Handout of questions for parent recorders to ask the children they are with to elicit
more responses from the children
4 to 5 xeroxed, mounted, and laminated parent handouts
Class names in alphabetical order - Teacher to bring
Private Eye recording sheet
2 xeroxed copies for each child of the Private Eye recording sheet
5 laminated pictures of a microscopic image: foot of a gecko, salt & pepper, moth
wing, outside of a strawberry, and soap film sliding down a glass
5’’x 5’’paper frame sheet for drawing (if drawing is to be done) This is an
optional activity.
Soft cloth or lens papers to clean the loupes and the microscope lens and paper
towels to clean the microscope tubes when the lesson is complete.
Leadership:
The classroom teacher will teach this lesson with the addition of a
parent volunteer for every four children.
Length of Lesson: approximately 30 to 35 minutes
20 minutes for the children's observations
10 minutes for sharing observations
15 minutes for observing with the Private Eye
Background Information:
It is stated in the Next Generation Science Standards, Appendix H, that “science is
a way of explaining the natural world…students should develop an understanding
of the enterprise of science as a whole — the wondering, investigating,
questioning, data collecting, and analyzing.” Sitting in the Living Classroom
Learning Lab our young children will take the first steps in becoming Nature
Detectives.
In this lesson, the children will be able to use the new microscopes obtained for our
school through the District 181 Foundation. During the modeling for this lesson,
the working of the microscope will be shown. At the end of the children’s
observation, they will use the microscope to investigate further one of their
treasures they had found during the observation of their circle plot.
The Private Eye piece, which is similar to a “jeweler’s loupe," magnifies an object
5 times. Putting two of the eye pieces together will give a magnification of 10
times. As the children look through their “loupe," they will be asked to respond
to three questions: “What does it look like?”, “What else could it be?”, and “What
does it remind you of?” After the children have answered these questions, they
will begin to think metaphorically by developing analogies which is one of the
most often used techniques in descriptive writing.
Standards Addressed in this Lesson:
Science and Engineering Practices in the Next Generation Science Standards:
www.nextgenscience.org/next-generation-science-standards
Asking Questions and Defining Problems and Analyzing and Interpreting Data
Lesson
To begin the lesson, you will need to model what they will be doing.
Place an object on the presentation system and ask:
“What does it look like?” or “What do you see?”
“Boys and girls, remember what our plaque at the beginning of the Living Classroom says on it. It says, ‘Come only to experience the magic and the mystery that the plants and animals who reside here already know.’ In order for us to do that, we need to sharpen our observation skills and become ‘Nature Detectives’. I know you are going to say that you have done this before, and I know you have.
Science is all about observation. As you grow, so should their powers of observation grow. You became a Nature Detective in 1st grade with your 1st grade eyes — 2nd grade with 2nd grade eyes. Remember, a second grader sees four things and thinks,‘That’s all there is.’ But, now you have third grade eyes and you can see more — at least 5 things. The more you are engaged in observation type activities, the more acute your senses will become, and the better prepared you will be for any occupation you may pursue. Pick up your clip board, pencil, hand lens, and “Nature Detective”recording sheets. We are going out to the Living Classroom Learning Lab. I want you to sit on the sidewalk first and I will show you how you will get your special place today. Also, remember how we go out into the gardens
— we step softly with our voices silent and our eyes and ears wide open.”
Take the children out to the Learning Lab and have them sit on the hill and sidewalk near the gym.
“I am going to assign a special place to each of you. When you get to that place, your parent will put a circle of string on the ground near you. Like this. You can begin by looking all around you, and writing down all that you see, hear, smell, and feel. Try to listen closely and you may hear a bird or a cricket chirping.
Use your sense of smell to detect any odors that are there, and use your sense of touch to feel the leaves, bark, or ground. You will write all of these observations down on this“Nature Detective” page. When you are finished, try to find something unusual in your circle that you can bring in to look at under the microscope. Once I tell you your place, step softly with a silent voice keeping your eyes and ears wide open, and try to not disturb anything.”
Using a class list and the map, assign the children to a place in the Lab. Ask the parents to lay down the circle for each child. They can also guide the children with additional questions and help the children record. Allow ten to fifteen minutes for this observation.
“I would like you to share some of your observations. Listen carefully to one another and let us know when you have seen, heard, felt, or smelled something that no one else has mentioned.”
Pass out the microscopes to the parents for the children’s further observation. Ask the children to pick up one thing from their plot to look at under the microscope. While one child is investigating his/her object under the microscope, ask them to describe in as much detail as possible what they are seeing. Repeat this activity with the other child in this partnership.
The microscopes can be used outside or they can be used back in the classroom if you prefer to use them inside. Teacher note: If a child in the class is sick or has any eye infection, they cannot partake of this activity.
Pass out the Private Eyes. The children can use the treasure they brought in from outside or you can give them a sample from the Private Eye kit to look at with the Private Eye to complete two more exercises in metaphorical thinking.
For correct focus, the loupe should be held against the eye, and the object should be held about two inches away from the lens. They should be able to see the object in focus — very sharp and clear.
“Now, class, we are going to use the Private Eye Loupes to look at
what you have brought in from your observation in the Living Classroom. I am also able to give you another object observe. You can use your treasure from outside or I can give you a new sample to observe. As we look and then answer the questions:,“What does it look like?”, “What else could it be?” and “What does it remind you of?” remember, Imagination Counts! Let’s do one together.”
Place your hand palm up on the overhead for the projector. Go through each question, giving a little time for at least 5 responses. For example, “What does it remind you of?”. The answers could be: a map, roads in a town, (if you crunch up your hand) mountains and valleys, gigantic trees surrounding a deep chasm, etc.
“Once we have finished using our imaginative brain to answer these questions, we are going to make some analogies. An analogy is a comparison of two things based on their being alike in some way. As with everything, the more we practice making them, the easier it will become for us to use them to enhance our speaking and writing.”
Draw two lines on the presentation system.
“On the first line, we will write the object. After the ‘looks like,’ write one of your answers for the question,“What does it remind you of?” on the second line. I have chosen ‘map’ for this line. An analogy has been made. We have compared my hand to a map, so if we were writing a story and you wanted to describe a hand you could compare it to a map and the reader would see in his mind’s eye, the shape of a hand with lines going through it.”
My hand looks like a map
“I would now like you to add some describing words that would make our analogy more visual — you can see the image in your mind better.”
Have the children volunteer descriptors (adjectives and adverbs — color words, action words, feeling words) to make the simile more visual.
Example:
My hand looks like a map of a valley with gigantic mountains all around it.
“You can try. Observe a new object with your Private Eye. Answer the three questions. Take the name of the object you observed with your Private Eye and put that on the first line. Then take one of the answers in one of your circles “What does it remind me of?”,“What does it look like?”, and “What else could it be?” and place it on your next line. You should have made an analogy. Try making two more analogies.”
After a short time, gather the children around to allow time for the children to share some of their observations.
“And who has a great analogy?”
Culmination or Extension:
Contained in the kit are a few laminated microscopic images – human eyelash, snow, foot of a gecko, cake sprinkles, salt. As you project an images on the screen, ask the same questions with the addition of a new one “Why did it remind me of that?”
Share as much of the children’s work as time will allow, because you can continue a game we began in second grade. Using the Apple t.v., project one of the laminated microscopic images up on the screen. Pass out to each child, the Private Eye recording sheet. Using their recording sheet, have the children answer the questions: “What does it look like?”, “What else can it be?”, and “What does it remind me of?”.
“All right, class, we are going to try to guess what the object is that is up on the screen. This picture is part of the object that has been magnified 10 times at least. It may help us to know what the object is if we answer the questions we use when looking through the Private Eye Loupes:“What does it look like?”, “What else could it be?”, and “What does it remind you of?” remember, Imagination Counts! Let’s do one together.”
Try to get at least 5 responses for each question.
“Now, is any one ready to tell us what it is?”
Finish by making the analogy.
Do as many as you would like. Do all whole group.
If drawing is to be done, here are the directions to draw a detailed picture of an object: use the square sheet of paper, your pencil, an object you would like to draw, and a microscope or the loupe. Look carefully at the object before you start to draw. Find a place on your object where you would like to start the drawing and look at that one small part of your object with your microscope or loupe. Now, take your pencil and draw that little part. Keep using this procedure over and over until you have drawn the entire object. The slower you go, the better your drawing will be. Try it!
Extension: to be considered for a classroom discussion:
“Does anyone have anything they are still wondering about in what they saw or did today in the Living Classroom Learning Lab?”
These wonderings could lead to further investigations.
“You may take your Private Eye and Nature Detective sheets home with you, and I have a special request — that you explain to your parents what you did here today in our Living Classroom Learning Lab. Ask your parents to sign your papers and to write a comment on them. Then, please bring them back to your teacher.”
“Thank you boys and girls for being such fantastic observers and listeners who are so willing to share their discoveries. Whenever you are here in our Living Classroom Learning Lab, remember to watch and listen silently and you will surely come to know some of the secrets that are hiding here.”
Microscopes should be cleaned with a soft cloth on the lenses and a slightly wet cloth for the microscope tube. The Private Eyes should be cleaned with a soft cloth. Return all materials to the Living Classroom Learning Lab shelves.
SPRING UNITS
The Balance of Nature – Oh Deer – Predator & Prey
Update in progress
Lesson
The Essential Questions are: “Where do we get seeds?” and “What does a seed need to grow?”
The objective is for the children to know that from the seed they plant in the soil in their classroom a plant will grow and continue to grow once they plant it outside, if they give it water and light. In order to show their knowledge, children record the growth of their plant in their “Kindergarten Is Growing” journal. The first journal entry occurs when the first leaf grows.
“In order for you to understand the many factors that influence our ecosystem, we are going to play a game called ‘Oh Deer’. Before we go out, I would like to remind you that when you are playing a game, you should always abide by the rules. If you do this, you will begin to understand the purpose of the game. Let’s go out.”
Ask the children to count off by fours. Have the ones line up along one line and the twos, threes, and fours line up along the other. The ones become the “deer.”
“The number ones become the ‘deer’. What do all animals need to survive? That’s right – food, water, shelter, and space, all in one place. In the game, each round will be a year in the deer’s life. In our game, we are going to say that the deer have enough space in which to live, and they are going to be looking for food, water, and shelter. When a deer is looking for food, it should clasp its hand over its stomach. When it is looking for water, it should clasp its hands over its mouth, and when it is looking for shelter, it holds its hand together, like a house, over its head. A deer can decide what it needs to look for in each year of the game. Once the year has started, the deer cannot change its mind about what it is looking for; such as, when the deer sees what is available on the other side. It can change again in the next year, if it has survived this year.”
“The twos, threes, and fours will be on the other line and they will become the components of the habitat the deer needs to survive: food, water, and shelter. Each one of you will get to decide at the beginning of each year what component of the habitat you will be for that year. You will show with your hands which essential need you are; hands on your stomach for food, hands on your mouth for water, and hands on your head for shelter.”
The game begins when all the children are lined up on their respective lines with their hands in place. The deer have their backs to the students at the other line.
“Deer, turn your backs to us and make your sign. Components of the Habitat, turn your back and make your sign. When I count to three, deer turn around and go to the habitat component you need. Deer, you must hold the sign of what you are looking for until you get to the component that is the same. You take what you were looking for back with you to your line. If two deer come to the same component in the habitat, then the deer that was there first survives. This represents the deer’s successfully meeting its needs and reproducing in that year. If a deer cannot find the basic need that it was looking for, the deer dies and becomes part of the components of the habitat. Let’s play one practice round before we begin the actual game. Deer and Components of the Habitat turn around and Deer find what you need on the count of three. Are there any questions?”
“We are ready. Let’s begin our game. One, Two, Three.”
Record each round by keeping track of how many deer there are at the beginning of the game and how many deer there are at the end of each round. Continue the game for approximately 15 rounds. Keep the pace brisk and the children will thoroughly enjoy it.
As the game progresses, the components of the habitat might decide among themselves to be only one component, all making the same sign. It is okay, but do not encourage it. For example, all the children in the habitat might decide to be shelter. That could represent a drought year with no available food or water. If this happens, be sure to record it.
Immediately following the 15 rounds of the game, bring the children together and discuss the data from the rounds of the game that have been recorded on the large notepad. As you are making the graph, encourage the children to talk about what they experienced and saw. For example, they saw a small herd of deer begin by finding more than enough of its habitat needs in the first round. The population of
the deer expanded over two maybe three rounds, but then as the habitat was depleted and there was not sufficient food, water, and shelter, the deer population dwindled. Such things happen in nature.
Once the graph is completed, the children will see that this is a visual reminder of what they experienced during the game; the deer population goes up or down over a period of years. This is natural unless the basic needs of the animal have declined so far that the animal population can no longer reproduce. Wildlife populations grow, decline, rebuild, grow, decline, and rebuild – as long as their basic needs are sufficiently met in their ecosystems and reproduction can occur in the herd.
Predator Prey Relationship:
“I would like to tell you an interesting story about the wildlife and trappers from a company called The Hudson Bay Company.”
“Early in American history, in 1670, The Hudson Bay Company was formed by the British. It was a trading company which encompassed a vast territory of all the streams that flowed into Hudson Bay. The company was established in order to trade goods between England and America. The Americans were trading beaver and other animal pelts. Beaver fur was the most prized of all the pelts, because the English craved beaver fur hats which were warm and water repellent. By 1821, the territory extended to the Arctic Circle on the North and the Pacific Ocean on the West. During this time, beaver was almost hunted to extinction. By 1850, most of the beaver trade had stopped since the demand for beaver and animals pelts had depleted. Throughout the 1900s and now, there has been a steady decline in the acquisition of fur hats and fur coats.”
“Looking at the activities of the Hudson Bay trappers, there was interesting data in the hundred or so years of records kept by these trappers. The data is about the number of pelts of snowshoe hare and lynx pelts that were shipped to England. The data tells the story that the snowshoe hare population peaks about every 7 to 9 years and then crashes. This pattern continually repeats over time. The graph of the snowshoe hare population would look like this:”
“It was also discovered that the lynx population did the same thing except that it followed the pattern one year after the snowshoe hare population. The combined graph would look like this.”
Sometimes the habitat (the essential needs of animals) controls when the deer population is not too large and when the deer population becomes so large that it destroys the existing food and shelter. Then the habitat also controls the ecosystem.
“Later, scientists found something else they found to be very interesting which added to the story of the snowshoe hare and the lynx. The favorite food of the snowshoe hare was a small willow. As the hare population grew, more and more of the willow plants were eaten. But when the willow plant got down to a minimal height, it released a poisonous toxin and the hare no longer ate it. That is when the hare population began to crash. A year later, the lynx population began to crash. With not so many hare around, the willow plant began to grow again, which eventually started the hare population to rise and then the lynx population to rise about a year later. The cycle begins all over again, repeating every 7 to 9 years.”
Extension:
Watch this video to reinforce predator and prey relationships. This video describes what happened in Yellowstone Park when they reintroduced the wolves to the park in 1995.
https://www.yellowstonepark.com/things-to-do/wildlife/wolf-reintroduction- changes-ecosystem/
The following examples of questions and graphs will be used for evaluation:
Name three essential basic needs of a habitat that all animals need.
What is an example of a limiting factor, or something that would cause a decrease or a decline in a population?
Examine the following graph. What may have caused the change in the population?
a. between years 1and 2?_____________
b. between years 3 and 4?____________
c. between years 5 and 6? ____________
d. between years 7 and 8? _______
The Patterns and Shapes in Nature
Purpose of this Lesson:
The purpose of this lesson is to foster the children’s power of observation. They will be searching in The Living Classroom Learning Lab for plants and animals that have specific shapes or are part of a specific pattern. Through their investigation, the children will improve their observation skills and learn about geometrical shapes.
Teacher Preparation: (20 minutes)
Obtain and bring to the lesson perishable examples of shapes and patterns: flowers with 3, 5, or 8 petals, an oak leaf, triangular leaf, salt crystals, circular flowers - zinnia or marigold, or pineapple.
Materials Needed:
- photos of examples of shapes found in nature
- hand held magnifying lenses
- digital devices
- Patterns in Nature Treasure Hunt Check List
- clipboards & pencils
- large sheet of paper for the backdrop of the collage made from the children’s
pictures - pattern blocks
- Thirteen Moons on a Turtle’s Back, A Native American Year of the Moon by
Joseph Burchac and Jonathan London and illustrated by Thomas Locker - Patterns and Shapes in Nature Video found at livingclassroomlearninglab.org
Length of Lesson:
The lesson is 45 minutes with additional activities listed below:
Activity #1: Introduction to Patterns & Shapes in Nature (45 minutes)
Activity #2: Scavenger Hunt (45 minutes)
Activity #3: A time for sharing (30 minutes)
Activity #4: Collage and Haiku (45 minutes)
Vocabulary:
spiral: a pattern that winds in a continuous and gradually widening (or tightening) curve around a central point
pattern: a set of numbers or objects in which all the members are related with each other by a specific rule.
Background Information:
Inspiration Through Observation:
It could be that some of our children will be the inventors of the future and their ideas could come from watching and learning the many shapes and patterns of our natural world. Here are a few examples of how observations of the way things work in our natural world led to some important discoveries.
By observing the flight patterns of the dragonfly, we were able to overcome one problem of mechanical flight. The dragonfly has the capability of flying up as well as directly down. It can also directly fly to the right or to the left. Plus, the dragonfly has the added ability of hovering. Observing and understanding how this little insect can do all that led to the invention of the helicopter. A Swiss engineer hiking in the Swiss Alps noticed that his dog was covered with burdock burrs that stuck to the dog’s fur. From this observation came the invention of velcro.
Watching how an elephant’s trunk was shaped and how it moved became the inspiration for the robotic arm. And from analyzing a bat’s sonar, came the invention of an UltraCane that uses ultrasonic waves to warn people who are blind when there is an object in their path.
As the children search for these shapes and patterns, it is hoped that they will begin looking at our world thoroughly and wondering “why.” Many discoveries that benefit mankind have been made just by wondering “why” and observing our world.
There are patterns in the movements, songs, colors and shapes of birds, insects, animals and plants. Once the children are aware of these patterns and shapes, they will be sent out on a quiet scavenger hunt to our Living Classroom Learning Lab to find some of the shapes that are abundant there.
The shapes and patterns of living things in our natural help the species to survive.
As an example, evergreen trees grow in a triangular shape. The bottom branches reach out and as the tree grows the branches become
shorter and shorter so that all the limbs can receive the right amount of sunlight and water.
After a brief review of geometric shapes and patterns, the children will be sent out searching for them in the Living Classroom Learning Lab.
Examples of some of the shapes and patterns that occur in our natural world, some of which may be able to be found on the children’s scavenger hunt are found on the video for this lesson and in the printable materials.
Patterns in the Turtle Shell
The Native Americans looked to the natural world for help with their
survival. They watched changes in the natural world for each season.
Looking in the sky, they saw the patterns in the cycles of the moon.
Watching these skies, they discovered that in every year there were 13
moon cycles, each with 28 days in its cycle.
The Native People were also observant of all the animal world. In their folklore, the turtle was honored by the traits of longevity, strength, and wisdom. Many Native American people looked at the turtle’s back with its thirteen large symmetrical segments and connected the turtle’s back to the 13 moon cycles in a year - a calendar for the year. Some Native People
gave names to the thirteen moons depending upon all the natural things that would happen during a moon’s cycle. For example: February could be known as the Moon When Baby Bears Are Born, but also Moon of the Snow and Moon of the Wolves. In the book, Thirteen Moons on Turtle’s Back, A Native American Year of Moons, there is a collection of poems describing the story of each moon which is connected to the turtle “who is believed to
contain the mystery of the moon in the shell of its back.” The book shows through Native Legends how the Native People listened and respected the natural world, how they knew that all living and non-living things are connected, and how we need to live in balance with this beautiful world.
(Thirteen Moon’s on a Turtle’s Back, A Native American Year of the Moon’s, Joseph Bruchac and Johnathan London, illustrated by Thomas Locker)
Standards Addressed in this Lesson:
Disciplinary Core Ideas in the Next Generation Science Standards:
www.nextgenscience.org/next-generation-science-standards
Understandings about the Nature of Science
Scientific Knowledge Is Based on Empirical Evidence:
K-2 Scientists look for patterns and order when making observations about the world.
3-5 Science findings are based on recognizing patterns.
Common Core State Standards:
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.OA.C.5,
Generate and analyze patterns
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.OA.B.3,
Analyze patterns and relationships
Lesson
The Essential Question: What is the best way to plant our carrot seeds and why?
The objective of the lesson is for the children to know that a plant needs the right amount of space to grow by observing and recording the results of three planting experiments which will test the best way to plant vegetable seeds.
For the children to understand what they will be looking for in the Living
Classroom, display in the classroom the images and artifacts that illustrate some of the shapes and patterns they will be searching for outside.
“There is inspiration through observation. It could be that some of you will be the inventors of the future, and your ideas could come from watching and learning the many shapes and patterns of our natural world. Here are a few examples of how observations of the way things work in our natural world led to some important discoveries.
By observing the flight patterns of the dragonfly, we were able to overcome one problem of mechanical flight. The dragonfly has the capability of flying up as well as directly down. It can also directly fly to the right or to the left. Plus, the dragonfly has the added ability of hovering. Observing and understanding how this little insect can do all that led to the invention of the helicopter.
A Swiss engineer hiking in the Swiss Alps noticed that his dog was covered with burdock burrs that stuck to the dog’s fur. From this observation came the invention of velcro.
Watching how an elephant’s trunk was shaped and how it moved became the inspiration for the robotic arm. And from analyzing a bat’s sonar, came the invention of an UltraCane that uses ultrasonic waves to warn people who are blind when there is an object in their path.
As you search for these shapes and patterns, I hope you will begin looking at our world thoroughly and wondering “why.” Many discoveries that benefit mankind have been made just by wondering “why” and observing our world.
There are patterns in the movements, songs, colors and shapes of birds, insects, animals and plants. Once you are aware of these patterns
and shapes, you will be sent out on a quiet scavenger hunt to our Living Classroom Learning Lab, which is all around us in nature, to find some of the shapes that are abundant there.
Have samples of a triangular leaf, table salt, round flower, and sand dollar to show the children.
“We are going to have a scavenger hunt in our Living Classroom Learning Lab. We are going to try to find plants and animals that have certain geometric shapes. The shapes we will look for today are:
- triangles: show images of an evergreen tree, moth, beetle, leaf, and physical sample of a triangular leaf
- squares: show the image of a square stem from Rattlesnake Master, Lamb’s Ear, and mint and have a physical sample of table salt
- circles: show the image of the drop of water, stone, and have a physical sample of a round flower
- pentagons: show the image of a sea star, and a 3, 5 or 8 petal flower
- hexagons: show the images of a bee hive, lily, and snowflake
- spirals: show the images of a sunflower, snail, pinecone, and frond of a fern
While you are looking for shapes and patterns, also look for shapes with symmetry.”
Display images of the moth wings, turtle, and rolly polly.
Lay out the pictures and artifacts in groupings according to their related shape or pattern. Hand out 10 sticky notes to each child and Patterns in Nature Checking Sheet and have a Gallery Walk. Children move from picture to picture writing their noticings on sticky notes next to each picture.
“As you observe each grouping, try to identify what all the images and objects have in common. What are the similarities? Write anything that you notice on a sticky note, and leave one next to each grouping.”
Show Video: Patterns & Shapes in Nature
Pass out recording sheets, clipboards and pencils.
“I know you all like treasure hunts. Well, today we are going on the quietest of all treasure hunts here in our Living Classroom Learning Lab. We are going to go out with a partner searching for the shapes and patterns in plants and animals. When you discover one of the shapes, take a picture of your treasure with your device. I would like you to find at least four of the shapes you have on your treasure hunt sheet and one object that is symmetrical. When we are finished in the gardens, we will come back to the room and show one another our discoveries that we will then put together in a classroom college.”
“Remember, children, no talking – only listening with our ears, searching with our eyes, and stepping softly. In the Living Classroom, there are many little birds. There are butterflies, rabbits, hummingbird moths, and grasshoppers. If we are very quiet, we could see all of these and maybe even a praying mantis. Also remember, that we will not disturb nature. The plants and animals need to find the places where they live in perfect shape after we leave. Let’s go.”
Go outside to explore and find patterns and shapes in nature. It wold be fantastic if they found a spider’s web or recognized the lilies and lily pads in the pond.
“The Native Americans looked to the natural world for help with their survival. They watched changes in the natural world for each season. Looking in the sky, they saw the patterns in the cycles of the moon. Watching these skies, they discovered that in every year there were 13 moon cycles, each with 28 days in its cycle.
The Native People were also observant of all the animal world. In their folklore, the turtle was honored by the traits of longevity, strength, and wisdom. Many Native American people looked at the turtle’s back with its thirteen large symmetrical segments and connected the turtle’s back to the 13 moon cycles in a year – a calendar for the year. Some Native People gave names to the thirteen moons depending upon all the natural things that would happen during a moon’s cycle. For example: February could be known as the Moon When Baby Bears Are Born, but also Moon of the Snow and Moon of the Wolves. In the book, Thirteen Moons on Turtle’s Back, A Native American Year of Moons, there is a collection of poems describing the story of each moon which is connected to the turtle “who is believed to contain the mystery of the moon in the shell of its back.” The book shows through Native Legends how the Native People listened and respected the natural world, how they knew that all living and non-living things are connected, and how we need to listen to, respect, and live in balance with this beautiful world.”
Read Thirteen Moons on a Turtle’s Back, A Native American Year of the Moon by Joseph Burchac and Jonathan London and illustrated by Thomas Locker
Children share their pictures from their scavenger hunt.
Include a discussion of symmetrical shapes children found.
Children use pattern blocks to create one of the pictures shared.
“Choose one of your picture and use the pattern blocks to recreate it.”
Have each child choose two pictures that the teacher will print for the next activity.
Collage:
- Print out a picture of choice for each child.
- Children create a classroom collage together.
- Display the collage outside the classroom.
“Now children, we are going to create a collage of our patterns and shapes in nature for everyone to see. Let’s work together to decide where each image should be placed on the paper. Then we will hang our creation.”
Haiku – a Japanese poetry form
- Print out another picture of choice for each child. They can use the same or different image from the collage.
“Your image is your inspiration for a Haiku. A Haiku is a Japanese form of poetry. Haiku’s use few words to create a picture in your reader’s mind. Cut out your picture and glue into Haiku sheet. Now think as though you are the object you chose. Write your Haiku from this object’s point of view. This is called first person perspective. Be sure to name a season of the year, like ice for winter.”
“The Haiku is composed of three lines.
1st line: 5 syllables
2nd line: 7 syllables
3rd line: 5 syllables”
Concepts Legend:
~ Ecosystems ~
&
~ Life Cycles ~
~ Adaptation ~
&
~ Pollination ~
~ Biodiversity ~
&
~ Food Chains ~
~ Patterns ~
&
~ Shapes ~
~ Balance of Nature ~
&
~ Sustainability ~
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