Exploring Plants and Animals By: Khrisy Cambos Sima Spector Aria Bacchus Justin Weibert

Exploring Plants and Animals

By: Khrisy Cambos

Sima Spector

Aria Bacchus

Justin Weibert

Table of Contents

Lesson #

Title of Lesson

Lead Author(& Co-Authors)

Page Number

1

Producers, Consumers, & Decomposers

Khrisy Cambos 5-12

2

Photosynthesis and Food Chains

Sima Spector 13-19

3

Energy Aria Bacchus 20-26

4

Survival of the Fittest

Justin Weiblatt 27-33

5

Environment Justin Weiblatt 34-40

6

The Five Senses Sima Spector 41-47

Unit Rational

This unit will cover the topic Plants and Animals for 4th grade students. It follows the New York City Science Scope and Sequence standards, NCTM Math Skills and ISTE NET’s Standards for Literature.

Our lessons are strategically thought out using the backwards design model. Our unit relies on parent involvement to enhance our students understanding throughout the unit.

The lessons in our unit includes activities that are aligned with Bloom’s Taxonomy and Gardener’s multiple intelligence. In our lessons, we will use various strategies to teach including but not limited to graphic organizers, technology, games and hands-on materials.

MST Unit Overview: Plants and Animals

Lesson 1: Producers,

Consumers, &Decomposers

Additives: Video, Poetry,

Graphic organizer,

SMART board

Lesson 2: Photosynthesis

and Food Chains

Additives: Worksheet

Lesson 3: Energy

Additives: SMART board,

Pictures,Videos

Lesson 4:Survival of the

Fittest


Literature,Worksheets

Lesson 5: Environment


Literature, Scavenger

Hunt

Lesson 6: Five Senses

Additives: Graphic

organizer

Lesson 1: Producers, Consumers & Decomposers

Behavioral Objective

1. Identify producers, consumers and decomposers in the ecosystem

2. Classify living things as producers, consumers and decomposers in the ecosystem

Educational Theory

Bloom Taxonomy: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application

Gardner Multiple Intelligence: Intrapersonal, Naturalist, Visual Spatial, Verbal Linguistic, Existential

Lesson Summary

Motivational Activity

Ask students to draw what they ate for breakfast. Then ask them to complete their KWL chart on Food Chains and begin the Do Now.

Procedure 1. Students will complete the

Do Now Task on the board.

2. Students will Listen to a poem: Links in a Food Chain.

3. Students will participate in a group activity to identify and classify organisms.

4. Students will play a game to convey their understanding of the content.

Game

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/kidscorner/games/producersconsumersgame.htm.

Assessment Rubric


Excellent 4

Good 3

Satisfactory 2

Unsatisfactory 1

Student Rating

1. Identify producers, consumers and decomposers in the ecosystem

Student show deeper understanding of the food chain concepts. Can correctly identify concepts of a food chain.

Student could correctly identify concepts of a food chain. Recalls information discussed.

Student was mostly correct in identifying some concepts of the food chain. Show some lack of recall of information discussed.

Student not able to identify concepts of the food chain. Could not recall producers, consumers,decomposers

2.Classify living things as producers, consumers and decomposers in the ecosystem

Student show deeper understanding of the food chain concepts.Can correctly classify concepts of a food chain.

Student could correctly classify the food chain. Recalls information discussed

Student was mostly correct in classifying some concepts of the food chain. Show some lack of recall of information discussed

Student not able to classify concepts of the food chain. Could not recall producers, consumers,decomposers

Sample Student Workfor Do Now Task

c. Write the answer to the following questions in your notebook:

I. A flower is an example of:

1. A producer

2. A consumer

3. A decomposer

4. All of the above

5. None of the above

II. Which of the following are decomposers?

1. Bugs

2. Fungi

3. Bacteria

4. All of the above

5. None of the above

KWhat do you know?

WWhat do you want to know?

LWhat did you learn?

1. Producers are organisms that can live with sun and water.2. Consumers are organisms that need food for energy. They may also need sun and water to survive.3.Decomposers are organisms that nourish the soil. They may also need sun and water to survive.

1. Why is the food chain important?2. What are the roles of producers?3. What are the roles of consumers?4. What are the roles of decomposers?

1.To be completed in Lesson 2.

Sample Student Work

Producers

ConsumersDecomposers

Lesson 2: Photosynthesis, Food Chains and Food Webs

Behavioral Objectives

1. To illustrate a proper food chain.

2. To summarize how a food chain works.

Educational Theory

Bloom Taxonomy: Application, Analysis, Knowledge

Gardner Multiple Intelligence: Visual/Spatial

Lesson Summary

Motivational Activity 1. I will ask 4 students to

come up to the front of the

class.

2. The first student will have a sign that’s labeled a plant, the second student will be labeled a mouse

3. The third student will be labeled a

snake and the fourth student will be labeled an owl.

4. Students will be asked to stand in

a specific order.

Procedure

1. After the motivational activity, we will read The Magic School Bus Gets Eaten.

2. We will go over the definitons and process of photosynthesis, food chains and food webs. Students will understand the connection between all 3.

3. Students will complete a worksheet on food chains and write a short summary.

Assessment Rubric

Sample Student Work

Name: ____________Student Response_____________________________ Food Chains Part A: Direction: Place the plants/animals that you’ve chosen in the correct order. Draw the arrows to show the food chain process. Student Response:

Part B: Directions: Summarize the process of the food chain using your illustrations above. Make sure to include the following key words: producer, consumer, primary consumer, secondary consumer, photosynthesis. Student Response:

A food chain starts with a producer. Producers get their energy from the process of photosynthesis. The sun gives energy to the plants. There are different types of consumers. A primary consumer is the first animal that eats the plants. A secondary consumer eats the animal that eats the plant. In the illustration above, the grass is the producer. The mouse is the primary consumer and the snake and hawk are both secondary consumers.

Lesson 3: Flow of Energy in a Food Chain

Behavioral Objectives

1. Students will be able to identify what happens to the energy in the food chain as it keeps moving up the chain.

2. Students will be able use an illustration to show how food chains transfer energy from one living organism to another.

Educational Theory

Bloom Taxonomy: Comprehension, Knowledge, and Synthesis

Gardner Multiple Intelligence: Visual/Spatial, Interpersonal, Verbal/Linguistic, Logical/Mathematical

Lesson Summary Procedure

1. Teacher will read the book, “From seed to Plant” by Gail Gibbons

2. Teacher will explain in an ecosystem which is all living organisms in a specific area.

3. Teacher will explain to the class that you can find the most energy in plants.

4. Teacher will explain to the class that in the areas where there is less energy (at the top of the food chain), there is more competition for food.

5. We’ll watch a video that talks about energy and food webs.

6. Students will receive a handout.

7. As a quick review, we will use a balance and gram weights to help us further understand the topic.


Teacher will throw a ball up in the air.

Teacher will ash students to think about what is happening to the ball.

We will take notes of what is happening and why it is falling back down

Assessment Rubric

Sample Student WorkFood Chain Worksheet

1. Which part of the pyramid has the most energy? The bottom of the pyramid has the most energy. 2. Which part of the pyramid has the leastenergy? The top of the pyramid has the least energy. 3. What happens to the energy at the top of the food chain?It is at the lowest and animals are in competition with each other. 4. What have you learned about energy from this worksheet? I learned that energy is transferred from one organism to another by food. The trees serve as a source of energy to the giraffe. The giraffe serve as a source of energy to the lion. This food chain shows the flow of energy. As energy moves up the food chain it becomes less and less. Animals at the top of the food chain need to fight each other for food.

Lesson 4: Survival of the Fittest


1. Students will successfully conduct an experiment on survival of the fittest.

2. Students will accurately record their results.

Students will use their knowledge gained to make inferences regarding survival of the fittest.

Educational Theory


Gardner Multiple Intelligence: Interpersonal, Bodily-Kinesthetic, logical mathematical.

Lesson Summary

Motivational Activity The teacher will review with students what they learned about food chains. The teacher will ask, “is there a lot of food at the bottom of the food chain”? “Is there a lot of food at the top of the food chain?” The teacher will ask “if there isn’t a lot of food at the top of the food chain, which animal will get it?” The teacher will discuss this with the class and record those answers

Procedure 1. Student will conduct an

experiment to see how various predators (represented by utensils). Compete for food. As the experiment goes on, utensils will be added (to show reproduction, and the “prey” will change to show how a changing environment influences which animal is “fittest”. Students will record and graph their data.

Literature

Assessment Rubric Students will successfully conduct an experiment on survival of the fittest.

3- Students were able to successfully and independently conduct the experiment.

2- One trials were not completed.

1- More than one trial was not completed.

Students will accurately record their results

3- Student accurately recorded and charted their data.

2- One pieces of data were inaccurately reported or one element of the graph (axis, title, data points etc) was not completed or was inaccurate.

1- More than one piece of data was recorded incorrectly or one or more element of the graph was incorrect.

Students will use their knowledge gained to make inferences regarding survival of the fittest.

3- Student correctly defined survival of the fittest, and provided three clear examples of the concept.

2- Student correctly defined survival of the fittest and provided two examples or provided 3 clear examples but did not adequately describe

1- Student did not correctly define survival of the fittest. Student provided 2 or less examples of the concept. OR Student correctly defined survival of the fittest but provided one or fewer examples of the concept.

Sample Student Work

Lesson 5: Adaptations


1. Students will use a scavenger hunt to learn about animal adaptations.

2. Students will share their results with the class.

Educational Theory


Gardner Multiple Intelligence: Interpersonal, Naturalistic

Lesson Summary


Motivation: The teacher will review what students learned during the survival of the fittest lesson. The teacher will ask, why are some animals more likely to survive than others? Possible answers may include strength, speed, or size. The teacher will explain that these are examples of adaptations. Students will be given a definition for adaptation.

Adaptation: A trait of an animal that helps it survive in its environment.

The teacher will read to the class from “Claws, Coats, and Camouflage”.

Procedure

1. The teacher will read from page 10 to the end of Claws, Coats, and Camouflage, stopping throughout to ask questions.

2. The teacher will explain that students are going to research how different animals adapt to their environment.

3. Students will be given a scavenger hunt sheet (1 for each pair of two students) and a laptop.

4. Students will complete the scavenger hunt sheet.

5. Students will present on their findings in pairs.

Literature

Assessment Rubric

Students will successfully conduct an experiment on survival of the fittest.

3- Students successfully and accurately completed their scavenger hunts.

2- Student missed 1-3 questions on the scavenger hunt, or gave 1-3 incorrect answers.

1- More than 3 answers were missing or incorrect.

Students will accurately record their results.

3- Student accurately recorded and charted their data.

2- One pieces of data were inaccurately reported or one element of the graph (axis, title, data points etc) was not completed or was inaccurate.

1- More than one piece of data was recorded incorrectly or one or more element of the graph was incorrect

Sample Student Work

.

Lesson 6: Animals and Their 5 Senses


1. To complete taste test worksheet.

2. To write a summary of how animals use their 5 senses to survive.

Educational Theory

Bloom’s Taxonomy: Application, Analysis, Knowledge, Comprehension

Gardiner’s Multiple Intelligences: Visual-Spatial, Naturalist, Body Smart

Lesson Summary

Motivational Activity Read the magic school bus book. (This book is a fun way to teach students about the 5 senses. It goes through all the 5 senses while the students are flowing through the police officers body starting with the eye.

Procedure

1. After reading the Magic School Bus book, we will conduct our apply and vanilla science experiment.

2. After the experiment, we will discuss how animals use their 5 senses to help them survive.

3. After the class discussion, students will write a short summary about how animals use their 5 senses.

Assessment Rubric

Sample Student Work Name:______Student Sample________________________ Date:____________

Apple vs. Vanilla 1. Choose a partner2. Send someone to the teacher’s desk to get the materials needed. (apple and a cotton ball)3. First eat the apple and write down what you taste.4. Second, eat the apple while holding the vanilla cotton ball by your nose. Write down what you taste. Apple Apple +Vanilla

1. Tastes like an apple 1. The apple tastes like vanilla2. Sweet 3. Crunchy

Questions: (Talk about this with your partner)1. How were the two experiments different?In the first experiment, we only used taste. In the second experiment we used taste and smell.

2. How connected are our senses of taste and smell?Our senses are very connected. Since I was smelling the vanilla cotton ball, it changed the taste of the apple and the apple tasted like vanilla.

Documents

Exploring Plants and Animals By: Khrisy Cambos Sima Spector Aria Bacchus Justin Weibert