Out & About Field Trip Grade: 4 Curriculum: Science & Technology

Strand: Understanding Life Systems: Habitats & Communities Big Idea: Changes to habitats (whether caused by natural or human means) can affect plants and animals and the relationships between them Essential Question: What impact does human interaction have on natural habitats and communities? Field Trip Goal: To summarize and transition from the previous Ecosystems unit, where basic knowledge and information was acquired, to a new big idea that explores what happens to ecosystems when they experience change, particularly with human interaction and impact.

Location & Travel Details:

Location: High Park, Toronto Travel Route: TTC, via bus/streetcar & Subway from school to High Park Cost: $0 (TTC fares are free for students 12 years old and under) Student Materials Needed: Prepared Chart (see Pre-Trip Task), pen/pencil, and required to bring their own lunch Number of Parent Volunteers Desired: 2 or 3

Pre-Trip Task A: How to prepare the students for the experience This will be done the Friday in the week before the trip on Monday

Weeks Prior: Students have learned during the Ecosystems Unit, information and new vocabulary regarding habitat, population, community, adaptation, food chain, etc. A. Ecosystem Summative Circle Discussion (Theory understanding to prepare for upcoming

experiential education on field trip):

Inquiry/Prediction Questions regarding ecosystems & natural communities:

Graffiti activity resource for teacher reference: http://www.eworkshop.on.ca/edu/pdf/Mod36_coop_graffiti.pdf

Graffiti Activity: Each Question Below on each Graffiti Chart Paper Work Sheet a. What might happen if there were less top predators?

(more primary consumers may reproduce) b. Why might top predator populations decrease? c. What do you think would happen if the water supply decreased or was undrinkable?

(Populations may decrease/die) d. How might water supplies decrease or become undrinkable? e. What if animals found food sources that were not natural to their habitat?

(They could become dependent on them) f. How might unnatural food sources be introduced to an ecosystem?

Themes that may arise: predators hunted by humans; pollution; recreational feeding.

Pre-Trip Task B: How to prepare the students for the experience This will be done the Friday in the week before the trip on Monday

B. Group Task: The groups that were formed for the Graffiti task will be the same groups preparing a chart to record notes on during the upcoming field trip:

Step 1: Groups (no more than 4 or 5) will brainstorm and make a list of at least 5 examples of human interactions with natural communities (wild plants/animals) Teacher prompts: What wild animals do you see near your home? How do people interact with them? Are there any issues with wild animals living in your community’s public spaces? Step 2: Groups will Turn their list into a comparative Chart, with the top of their list labeled “Human Interactions with Natural Communities” , then comparative columns comparing if it is positive or negative for A. Humans and B. Natural Habitats & Communities. This extension focusses on personal opinion and perspective, looking at the impact of human

activity from a human’s perspective, and that of the natural habitat & community being effected. Example: Step 3: Ask students to discuss why they chose their answers for the chart above, and to decide which two examples they want to talk about with the class Step 4: For Field Trip Preparation, ask the same student groups to prepare a blank template of the same chart to bring to High Park. Each student should have a copy. Students will know that the focus on the Field Trip will be to: a. Observe the habitat of High Park and its natural communities b. Identify examples of positive and negative impacts of human interaction with High Park

Field Trip Schedule:

Morning: 10:00am 1. Arrive at High Park & establish safety guidelines for the day (15 min) 2. Engage in organized game of Predator Prey (1 hour) Teacher Resource for game: http://www.birdday.org/2014materials/PredatorPrey.pdf Although the resource times the game at 15 minutes, the optional additions will lengthen time This game involves data taking that will be involved in numeracy post-task at school 3. Game Debrief/Feedback/Ecosystems & Food Chain Review (20-30 min) Lunch: 11:30am-12:30pm (Around Adventure Playground area)

Eating & free play-time Afternoon: 12:30pm-3:00pm 1. Teacher asks students to pull out their chart templates made during the pre-trip task 2. Students prepare to walk through the park and record any human influences/impacts they notice

(ex. Anything human-made or meant to alter the natural ecosystem for human use and benefit)

Field Trip Schedule Continued:

3. Students walk through High Park Zoo and along the path to Grenadier Pond and the “Discovery

Walk” northward along the Grenadier Pond Trail. Students will have time to pause and reflect with their groups along the way and so that they can read signs and educational displays along the trail.

4. The Discovery Walk will end at the North End of High Park where students will have a circle reflection about what they liked/disliked about the day, and to share one interesting fact that they learned.

5. Exit towards the Bloor Subway line to make way back to school for dismissal.

Post-Trip Task: What learning and tasks students will experience after the trip

Assessment for/as Learning: Literacy:

The purpose of having students identify that human impacts effect humans and ecosystem communities differently shows that different perspectives exist

By asking students to think about how one impact effects different groups in different ways, they will be able to apply the notion of empathy (putting themselves in “another’s shoes”) to consider different perspectives

This is the beginning of scaffolded instruction and thinking because, on consecutive days, students will read and listen to, as well as, orally communicate about certain positive and negative impacts of human interaction with the natural environment in detail (example: over hunting leading to endangered or extinct species) and will brainstorm who or what else is impacted by this and what their perspective may be (example: lost top predators might make members of human communities feel safer, but ecosystems will be effected, etc.)

Numeracy:

Students will use their raw data taken during the predator prey game

They will work together as a class on consecutive days to combine and organize their data into stem & leaf plots/double bar graphs

Different ways of visually organizing their data will allow students to assess how many communities of animals in their food chain survived or not

Students can then practice communicating what their data summarizes, verbally, using the type of graph they feel most easily visualizes their results

Practicing reading and interpreting their own graphs will help them with this skill when coming across such representations in reports and other literature in the future

Assessment of Learning:

A summative media presentation will include all skills learned during the formative assessment period: graphed data, different perspectives about positive and negative impacts of human interaction with the natural environment, and a suggestion for minimizing negative impacts.

Experience at High Park:

Images and Learning Experience Samples;

Parkdale Public School

Dear Parents/Guardians,

I am writing to request your permission on behalf of Parkdale Public School, to allow your child,

__________________ to join their class on a field trip to High Park on Monday, May 9th, 2016. This class

trip will support student learning as we will be focussing on understanding life systems with a lens on

natural habitats and their communities.

The goal of this trip is to summarize and transition from the previous Ecosystems (Science and

Technology) unit, where basic knowledge and information was acquired about different habitats and

food chains; to a new big idea that explores what happens to ecosystems when they experience change,

particularly with human interaction and impact.

Students attending should be sure to bring their own lunch, a bottle of water, a hat and sunscreen, and

comfortable clothes and running shoes as the day will be full of activities. The day will initially consist of

a game to review the concept of food chains in ecosystems, followed by lunch and time to explore in the

Adventure Playground. After lunch, we will engage on a discovery walk through High Park Zoo and the

Grenadier Pond trail, where examples of human-made structures and educational signage can be

observed.

We would appreciate two to three parent volunteers to join us on our endeavor to deliver experiential

education to our fourth grade students. It will be a day full of fun and active learning in the outdoors. If

you, _______________________, would like to grant permission for your child to join us at High Park,

please print your name above and sign and date below. Furthermore, if you have any other questions

regarding the trip, or would like to volunteer to join us, contact me via my email address as follows.

Sincerely,

A.L. Sansone __________________ ____________________________

asansone@tdsb.ca Date Parent/Guardian Signature

“DEVELOP A PASSION FOR LEARNING. IF YOU

DO, YOU WILL NEVER CEASE TO GROW.”

Anthony J. D’Angelo,