Investigating Systems in a Bengali Forest

Flextension Compilation

Plant and Animal Relationships:Investigating Systems in a Bengali Forest

© 2018 by The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

These materials are based upon work partially supported by the National Science Foundation under grant numbers DRL-1119584, DRL-1417939, ESI-0242733, ESI-0628272, and ESI-0822119. The Federal Government has certain rights in this material. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

These materials are based upon work partially supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant R305A130610 to The Regents of the University of California. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the Institute or the U.S. Department of Education.

Developed by the Learning Design Group at the University of California, Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science.

Amplify. 55 Washington Street, Suite 800 Brooklyn, NY 11201 1-800-823-1969 www.amplify.com

Plant and Animal Relationships: Investigating Systems in a Bengali Forest ISBN: 978-1-64482-009-4

Table of Contents

Located in Lesson 1.3Hands-On Flextension lesson guide: Investigating Sample Study Sites

Hands-On Flextension copymaster: Investigating Sample Study Sites

Asset ID: ELSCI_UNIT_HO_1901

Export pages from page range “A”

Amplify Science Flextension Lesson Guide© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

1

Plant and Animal Relationships

Investigating Sample Study SitesLesson Brief

Hands-On Flextension: Investigating Sample Study Sites

Overview

This hands-on activity builds on and reinforces students’ understanding of how scientists study habitats. Students revisit the sample study sites they chose in Lesson 1.3 to measure, count, and record data about the living and nonliving things they observe. Over a number of visits, students collect data to analyze the changes that occur in their study sites. The purpose of this lesson is to give students more experience with determining what and how to measure as well as with recording measurements. You might choose to include this Flextension if you have access to outdoor space and would like to increase your students’ opportunities for outdoor learning.

Recommended Placement: after Lesson 1.3Suggested Time Frame: 120 minutes (across several days or weeks)

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

Performance Expectations

• 2-LS4-1: Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the diversity of living things in each of a variety of different habitats. Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include specific animal and plant names in specific habitats.]

Disciplinary Core Ideas

• LS4.D: Biodiversity and Humans:

° There are many different kinds of living things in any area, and they exist in different places on land and in water. (2-LS4-1)

Science and Engineering Practices

• Practice 1: Asking Questions and Defining Problems

• Practice 3: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations

• Practice 4: Analyzing and Interpreting Data

• Practice 5: Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking


Export pages from page range “A”


2



Crosscutting Concepts

• Patterns

• Scale, Proportion, and Quantity

• Stability and Change

Vocabulary• data • investigate • measure • seeds

• habitat • leaves • observe • sprout

Materials & Preparation

Materials

For the Class

• Hands-On Flextension copymaster: Investigating Sample Study Sites

• Setting a Purpose chart

• 5 pieces of string (2 meters each)

• marker, black, permanent*

• 20 craft sticks*

• stapler*

• optional: chalk*

For Each Pair of Students

• 4 craft sticks*

• 1 set of colored pencils (4 different colors)*

• 1 ruler*

• 1 copy of My Nature Notebook

• 4 plates, paper or plastic*

• optional: 4 large paper clips*

For Each Student

• 1 set of Hands-On Flextension: Investigating Sample Study Sites student sheets

• Plant and Animal Relationships Investigation Notebook (page 7)

• optional: clipboard*

*teacher provided

Preparation

1. Print Hands-On Flextension copymaster: Investigating Sample Study Sites. Locate the Hands-On Flextension copymaster: Investigating Sample Study Sites in Digital Resources for Plant and Animal Relationships, Lesson 1.3. Make enough copies so each student can get one set of 12 pages. Staple together each set.

(continued from previous page)


3



• Note: Part 1 is repeated three times for use during each of the three visits to the sample study site. If you choose to have students observe their sites more than three times, you will need to make additional copies of Part 1.

• Note: You will collect all student sheets after each outdoor visit and class discussion.

2. Make a plan for when students will return to their sample study sites. Students should return to their sites at least three times after the initial site setup and observation in Lesson 1.3. Decide how frequently you would like students to return. They can visit their sites over a period of days or weeks.

• Make a plan for when students will analyze their data. Students will analyze their data after the last visit to their sample study sites.

• Students complete Part 2 of the student sheet. Students will complete Part 2: Reflecting on Sample Study Site Data of the student sheet after the last visit to their sample study sites and anytime after Lesson 1.7 when they are introduced to the focal vocabulary word data.

3. Preview the Setting a Purpose chart. During Step 3 (in the instructional guide), you will add a purpose to this chart. Familiarize yourself with the Teacher Reference on page 7 to see where on the chart you will record the new purpose.

4. Prepare five extra sets of materials for sample study sites. In case any of the sample study sites are damaged, you will want to have five sets of materials on hand for students to rebuild their sites. Each set should include the following:

• String. One piece of string, measuring 2 meters in length.

• Craft sticks. Four craft sticks. (Remember to write the name of each pair on one of the craft sticks.)

5. Have on hand the following materials:• sets of student sheets

• pieces of string

• craft sticks

• sets of colored pencils

• copies of My Nature Notebook

• optional: chalk, clipboards, paper clips


4



Notes

Preserving Sample Study Sites

If you are concerned that the area you will be studying has high traffic and the sample study sites will be disturbed, following are a few strategies you can use to better preserve the sites:

• Use large paper clips bent into “U” shapes to more firmly secure the string to the ground. Note: The ground must be soft enough to push in the paper clips most of the way.

• If students’ sites are on concrete or asphalt (with cracks for plants to grow through) you may outline the sample study sites with chalk instead of using string and craft sticks.

• Have students leave a labeled craft stick instead of marking their sites with string and have them do their best to remember the parameters of their sites.

• Have students identify their sites by remembering a landmark (e.g., a certain plant or proximity to a tree).

Science Background

How Do Scientists Conduct Investigations?

The specific methods that scientists use to investigate the natural world are as numerous as the topics of study in science. However, all scientists use similar kinds of practices in their investigations. The practices described below are ones that students engage with in this Flextension. For more information about conducting investigations, refer to Science Background under Planning for the Unit at the unit level.

• Identifying variables. Once a question to investigate has been selected, scientists begin planning an investigation by identifying variables—outcomes or conditions that can change and might be related to one another. In designing an investigation, scientists identify the condition they want to change or attend to as the condition changes and the outcomes they want to observe or measure as a result of that change. Scientists also identify the conditions they want to hold constant so those conditions don’t interfere with their interpretations of the outcomes.

• Choosing methods of measurement. Once scientists have identified the variables they think are important, they can decide how they will observe or measure those


5



variables. Sometimes this means developing rules about what counts for a particular category or deciding what measurement units and device to use. There are often established methods of measurement in scientific disciplines, and scientists must decide if an existing method will meet their needs or if they need to modify or invent a method of measurement. Scientists also evaluate their methods of measurement to be sure they will produce data that is relevant, precise, and reproducible as well as considering how many measurements will be a sufficient number to reveal patterns.

• Gathering and recording results. A crucial tool in science that is sometimes taken for granted is the careful recording of observations or measurements. It is only by turning an observation into a permanent record that scientists can look across many observations to identify patterns and share their results with others. It is important that scientists record data carefully and document all the conditions and outcomes that might be relevant for interpreting results.

• Analyzing and interpreting data. Raw data does not always make it easy to see the patterns that will help scientists answer their questions. Organizing data into tables or transforming data into graphs or other visualizations can make those patterns more apparent and reveal relationships between variables that were not obvious before.

(continued from previous page)

6 Amplify Science Flextension Lesson Guide© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

TeacherReference


Investigating Sample Study Sites

Teacher Reference

Setup for Sample Study Sites

The illustration below shows what a semi-permanent sample study site should look like. Students will place their four craft sticks in the ground, inside their string circles, to create a more square and more secure site. One of the craft sticks should have the names of each student in the pair written on it.


7



TeacherReference

Teacher Reference

During Step 3, you will add to the Setting a Purpose chart. You will write “Observe what changed and what stayed the same about our sample study sites.” as the second bullet in the “Investigating” column.

Reading (1.2) Investigating (1.3)

Find out different ways to study a habitat. (1.2)

Observe plants that live in a habitat near our school. (1.3)

Find out more about the plants that live in a broadleaf forest habitat. (1.4)

Observe what changed and what stayed the same about our sample study sites. (Flextension)

Find out more about seeds and how new plants grow. (1.5)

Investigate what seeds look like and find out how seeds from different plants are similar and different. (1.5)

Find out how a plant uses its parts to get the water and sunlight it needs to grow. (2.2)

Find out if seeds need water and sunlight to sprout and grow. (1.6)

Learn more about the parts of a habitat. (3.1) Help us understand what roots and leaves do for the plant. (2.1)

Find out how the plants and animals in the mountain habitat depend on each other. (3.4)

Explore where new plants can and cannot grow in different habitats. (2.4)

Find out how the plants and animals in the broadleaf forest habitat depend on each other. (3.4)

Understand how animals help seeds get to new places in a habitat. (3.2)

Figure out if animals disperse seeds in

different habitats. (3.5)

Figure out how animals help yummyberry and

sweetpink seeds get to a good place to grow.

(3.3)

Find out how to use a model to investigate

different ways that seeds can be dispersed.

(4.1)

Figure out if wind disperses more seeds with

propellers or seeds without propellers. (4.2)

Figure out how the friends in the book decide

how to measure in their investigation. (4.2)

Setting a Purpose


InstructionalGuide



Instructional Guide

Explore and Activate Prior Knowledge

1. Connect to previous investigation. Remind students that they have been investigating how scientists study habitats.

Earlier, we investigated our own sample study sites. Today, we will return to our sample study sites to make and record new observations. We will also look for things to measure and count in our sample study sites.

2. Review the original purpose for investigating sample study sites. Refer to the purpose on the Setting a Purpose chart.

Last time, our purpose for investigating our sample study sites was to observe plants that live in a habitat near our school.

What do you think we might observe when we visit our sample study sites again?

Accept all responses. If students do not mention it, point out that they may observe some things that have changed and some things that have stayed the same in their sample study sites.

3. Introduce and record on the class chart a new purpose for investigating.

The purpose for returning to our sample study sites is to observe what changed and what stayed the same.

As the second bullet point in the “Investigating” column of the Setting a Purpose chart, write “Observe what changed and what stayed the same about our sample study sites.”

4. Ask students how they could investigate with this new purpose in mind.

How can we figure out what changed and what stayed the same in our sample study sites?[We can make a new observation of our sample study sites. Then, we can compare our new observation to what we recorded last time we observed our sample study sites.]

5. Have students turn to page 7, Observing Plants in a Sample Study Site, in the Investigation Notebook. Ask students to talk to a partner about what they drew on this page when they first observed their sample study sites.

Construct New Ideas

6. Hold up a copy of My Nature Notebook. Flip through several pages of the book for students to see.


9



InstructionalGuide

In this book, we read that the child observed a sample study site in her backyard. She drew pictures of what she saw. How else did she record her observations? [She wrote about what she saw. She measured and counted what she saw.]

Today, you will also have a chance to measure and count some of the things you see in your sample study sites. Measuring and counting are ways to observe the similarities and differences in our sample study sites from one visit to the next.

7. Distribute copies of the Investigating Sample Study Sites student sheet. Distribute one set of student sheets to each student.

8. Review directions for the Part 1: Returning to Your Sample Study Sites student sheet. Have students refer to Part 1 of the student sheet. You might want to let students know that Part 1 is three pages (the first page is the directions) and that there are two more sets of Part 1 since students will visit their sites at least three times. Review the directions and model each step, imagining that you are outside at your sample study site. Invite a volunteer to be your partner as you model Steps 2–4.

• Step 1: On the next page, write today’s date on the line provided. Remind students that they will only complete the first set of pages for this first visit to their sites.

• Step 2: Make observations at your sample study site. Record your observations on the next page.

• Step 3: Compare your drawing from last time to what you see today. Model referring back to page 7 in the Investigation Notebook. Let students know that they will only need to refer to their notebooks this first time they go outside. For subsequent visits to their sites, they will refer back to their student sheets.

• Step 4: With your partner, discuss what changed and what stayed the same in your sample study site.

• Step 5: Use a colored pencil to add to your drawing if you observed new things. Cross out things in your drawing if you noticed things that are not there anymore. • Or, you can draw or record new observations in the box on the next page, if

you like. • Step 6: Choose a few things you observed to measure or count.

9. Pause at Step 6 of the directions to pose questions.

What is something you might want to count in your sample study site? [How many rocks there are. How many dead leaves there are. How many blades of grass there are.]

What is something you might want to measure in your sample study site? [How tall a plant is. How long a stick is.]

What tool would work best for measuring? [A ruler.]


InstructionalGuide



If needed, demonstrate how to use a ruler to measure an object that might be found in a sample study site.

10. Continue to review the remaining directions.

• Step 7: Record those things in the first column of the table on the third page. Then, complete the second and third columns of the table.

• Step 8: On the third page, record questions about how your sample study might change before your next visit.

11. Prepare to go outside. Let students know that they will bring their Investigation Notebooks and the Investigating Sample Study Sites student sheets with them and that you will distribute additional materials outside. Review behavior expectations for traveling through the school and being outside.

12. Lead students outside. Be sure to bring rulers, colored pencils, clipboards (if you have chosen to use them), and extra string and craft sticks.

13. Distribute remaining materials once outside. Distribute one ruler and one set of colored pencils to each pair of students. Students should modify a previous observation by using a different color pencil than they used before; they can also record a new observation. If you have decided to have students use clipboards, distribute one to each student.

14. Students return to their sample study sites. As needed, help students find their sample study sites. If any students are unable to find their original sample study sites, provide them with additional string and craft sticks to create new sites.

15. Students make and record observations. Encourage students to discuss with their partners what has changed and what has stayed the same since their previous visit to the sample study sites. Remind students that they have the option to modify their previous observations or to record new observations. Students who create new sites may need extra time to complete their observations.

16. Students measure, count, and record results in the table. As students work, circulate and support them in choosing which method—measuring or counting—is best for the object they are observing. Encourage students to discuss their methods with their partners if they aren’t sure.

17. If time allows, have two pairs join together to visit each others’ sample study sites. Have each pair join with another pair and take turns describing their sites. Seeing another sample study site may also give students additional ideas about what to look for in their own sites.

18. Students think of questions they have about how their sites might change. Point out that students can use their questions to guide what they observe the next time they return to their sites.

19. Return to the classroom.


11



InstructionalGuide

20. Students share observations. Once you have returned to the classroom, invite students to share any changes they observed in their sample study sites.

21. Collect all Investigating Sample Study Sites student sheets. Set them aside until students’ next visit to their sample study sites.

22. On another day, repeat Steps 7–21 of the instructional guide. Review the directions for Part 1 of the student sheet in as much detail as you feel is necessary. Each time you return to the sample study sites, remind students of the purpose for investigating. Continue returning to the sites over a period of days or weeks.

• It may be particularly interesting to observe the sample study sites after a weather event such as rain, wind, or extreme heat or cold.

• Emphasize that students should try to measure and count the same things for each visit to their sample study sites. However, if students notice that the things they measured or counted in the previous visit have disappeared, encourage them to choose something new to measure or count.

• Each time students visit their sample study sites, provide them with the option to modify their previous observations or to record new observations. If students modify their previous observations, make sure they use a different color pencil so they can track the changes that happen over time. If students decide to record new observations for each visit to their sites, make sure they refer to their most recent observations to compare and discuss what has changed.

Apply New Ideas

23. Introduce data analysis. After students have visited their sample study sites several times, let them know that they will have a chance to look at all the data they’ve collected to see if they can find a pattern.

24. Distribute copies of My Nature Notebook. Have students turn to page 15 in My Nature Notebook. Point out the table where the child compiled data from all her observations.

Why do you think the child made a table with all her data about the oak tree and grass?[It helped her see all her data in one place. It helped her see how the oak tree and the grass changed.]

Recording the data in a table made it easier for the child to see all the data at once. This way, she didn’t have to flip back through her notebook to look at what she recorded each month.

Recording the data in a table helped the child look for patterns in how the oak tree and the grass changed. A pattern is something we observe to be similar over and over again.


InstructionalGuide



When you look at the data for the oak tree, what do you notice? [It got taller.]

When you look at the data for the grass, what do you notice? [It got a lot taller.

Let students know that they will make a table of the data they collected.

25. Distribute students’ Investigating Sample Study Sites student sheets.

26. Review directions for the Part 2: Reflecting on Sample Study Site Data student sheet. Have students turn to Part 2 of the student sheet. Review the directions and model each step. You can use the data from the possible student responses for this page (on page 15) as you model an example. Emphasize that students should choose to focus on something they were able to measure or count across multiple visits to their sample study sites, rather than focus on something they observed just once.

• Step 1: Look back at the observations you recorded during each visit to your sample study site.

• Step 2: Choose two things you measured or counted in your sample study site. On the next page, complete the first sentence, using the first thing. Complete the second sentence, using the second thing.

• Step 3: In the table on the next page, record the name of each thing in the top row. Model recording the name of each thing in the second and third columns of the top row.

• Step 4: In the first column of the table, record the dates of each visit to your sample study site. Model recording each date, starting in the second row with the first date.

• Step 5: In the second and third columns of the table, record your data about each thing. Model how to complete the table.

• Step 6: With your partner, discuss any patterns you observe in your data. • Step 7: On the third page, record the changes you observed in your sample study

site over time.

27. Discuss patterns. Point out that both of the things the child observed in My Nature Notebook—the oak tree and the grass—got taller over time. Explain that this is a pattern. Note that students’ data may show a pattern (e.g., something in their sample study sites grew over time), or it may show no pattern at all. Students should describe changes they observed based on the data they recorded in the table, whether or not the data represents a clear pattern.

28. Students complete data tables and analyze data.

29. Discuss observations of changes over time. Invite students to share their observations of changes over time in their sample study sites. Highlight how measuring and counting things in a study site multiple times allowed students to observe changes they might not have noticed otherwise.

13Amplify Science Flextension Lesson Guide© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.



Possible Student Responses

Investigating Sample Study Sites (continued)

Part 1: Returning to Your Sample Study Site (continued)

Today’s date: ___________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

Answers will vary. Example:

I noticed a stick that wasn’t there before. I also noticed

that there is a small plant with fuzzy leaves.







What did you observe? Did you measure or count? (Circle one.)

What did you find?

measure count

measure count

measure count

measure count

What questions do you have about how your sample study site might change?

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

spiky plant

ants

24 cm tall

1 ant

Answers will vary. Examples:


Will the plant grow?

Will the number of ants stay the same?

15Amplify Science Flextension Lesson Guide© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.





Part 2: Reflecting on Sample Study Site Data (continued)

I measured / counted (circle one) _____________________________________.


Date First thing: Second thing:

a spiky plant

ants

a spiky plant ants

9/15

9/22

9/18

9/25

10/1

10/5

24 cm 1

24 cm 5

24 cm 2

25 cm 4

27 cm 0

27 cm 6

Answers will vary. Examples:







Record the changes you observed in your sample study site over time.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

Is there a pattern to the changes you observed? Explain your thinking.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________


I saw a few changes in my sample study site. The spiky

plant grew 3 centimeters. The number of ants changed

each time I observed my sample study site.


The spiky plant got taller. That is a pattern. The number

of ants in my sample study site did not follow a pattern.


Export pages from page range “A-cm”

© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

1Plant and Animal Relationships—Investigating Sample Study Sites

Name: _______________________________________ Date: ________________



Export pages from page range “A-cm”

Part 1: Returning to Your Sample Study Site

Directions:

1. On the next page, write today’s date on the line provided.

2. Make observations at your sample study site. Record your observations on the next page.

3. Compare your drawing from last time to what you see today.

4. With your partner, discuss what changed and what stayed the same in your sample study site.

5. Use a colored pencil to add to your drawing if you observed new things. Cross out things in your drawing if you noticed they are not there anymore.

• Or, you can draw or record new observations in the box on the next page, if you like.

6. Choose a few things you observed to measure or count.

7. Record those things in the first column of the table on the third page. Then, complete the second and third columns of the table.

8. On the third page, record questions about how your sample study site might change before your next visit.

Plant and Animal Relationships—Investigating Sample Study Sites© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

2

Name: _______________________________________ Date: ________________



Today’s date: ___________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________



Name: _______________________________________ Date: ________________




What did you find?

measure count

measure count

measure count

measure count


___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________


4

Name: _______________________________________ Date: ________________



Directions:












Name: _______________________________________ Date: ________________



Today’s date: ___________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________


6

Name: _______________________________________ Date: ________________




What did you find?

measure count

measure count

measure count

measure count


___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________



Name: _______________________________________ Date: ________________



Directions:











8

Name: _______________________________________ Date: ________________



Today’s date: ___________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________



Name: _______________________________________ Date: ________________




What did you find?

measure count

measure count

measure count

measure count


___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________


10

Name: _______________________________________ Date: ________________


Part 2: Reflecting on Sample Study Site Data

Directions:

1. Look back at the observations you recorded during each visit to your sample study site.

2. Choose two things you measured or counted in your sample study site. On the next page, complete the first sentence, using the first thing. Complete the second sentence, using the second thing.

3. In the table on the next page, record the name of each thing in the top row.

4. In the first column of the table, record the dates of each visit to your sample study site.

5. In the second and third columns of the table, record your data about each thing.

6. With your partner, discuss any patterns you observe in your data.

7. On the third page, record the changes you observed in your sample study site over time.



Name: _______________________________________ Date: ________________





Date First thing: Second thing:


12

Name: _______________________________________ Date: ________________


Record the changes you observed in your sample study site over time.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

Is there a pattern to the changes you observed? Explain your thinking.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________


Lawrence Hall of Science:Program Directors: Jacqueline Barber and P. David Pearson

Curriculum Director, Grades K–1: Alison K. Billman

Curriculum Director, Grades 2–5: Jennifer Tilson

Curriculum Director, Grades 6–8: Suzanna Loper

Assessment and Analytics Director: Eric Greenwald

Learning Progressions and Coherence Lead: Lauren Mayumi Brodsky

Operations and Project Director: Cameron Kate Yahr

Student Apps Director: Ari Krakowski

Student Content Director: Ashley Chase

Leadership Team: Jonathan Curley, Ania Driscoll-Lind, Andrew Falk, Megan Goss, Ryan Montgomery,

Padraig Nash, Kathryn Chong Quigley, Carissa Romano, Elizabeth Shafer, Traci K. Shields, Jane Strohm

Amplify:

Amanda Jaksha

Irene Chan

Samuel Crane

Charvi Magdaong

Thomas Maher

Rick Martin

Matt Reed

Eve Silberman

Steven Zavari

Published and Distributed by Amplify.www.amplify.com

Documents

Investigating Systems in a Bengali Forest