back/home
Ecological
Observations
Grade Level:
Appropriate
for Grades 4-8/Nature Walk, Ecological Observations. Author:
Pat
Keith,
Luce Elementary School
Overview: Groups of living things interacting
with each other and the environment is an ecosystem. An ecosystem
is one area in which all living and nonliving things interact.
The ecosystem being studied in this lesson will be our Nature
Center. These activities are cross-curricular covering areas in
language arts, science, math, art, and technology. Standards of
Learning are targeted as addressed from the Indiana Department
of Education
- Students
will use organizational features of printed texts, such as citations,
end notes, and bibliographic references to locate relevant information
on their specified organism. Indiana Standard of
Learning #5.4.4 Reading: Research and Technology 5th grade Language
Arts
- Students
will use note-taking skills to find relevant information of their
specified organism.
Indiana Standard of
Learning #5.4.5 Reading: Research and Technology 5th grade Language
Arts
- Students
will use features of informational texts, such as format, graphics,
diagrams, illustrations, charts, maps, and organization to find
information and support understanding as they research their
organism. Indiana Standard of Learning
#5.2.1 Reading: Reading Comprehension
- Objectives:
- 1.
Determine and observe an ecosystem.
- 2.
Analyze the role of camouflage in an ecosystem.
- 3.
Analyze the role of living things in an ecosystem.
- a.)
Plants make sugar and produce oxygen.
- b.)
Insects pollinate plants.
- c.)
Spiders eat insects. etc.
-
- Materials:
- 1. Library books and magazines dealing
with animals and insects.
2. Computer, scanner, printer, digitized camera, the internet
(www.sfscience.com.
- and other sites)
3. Amazing Animals CD Rom and Student Writing Center
4. Outdoor Education Lab, Nature Center
5. Magnifying glasses
6. Art materials such as paper, markers, crayons, colored pencils.
7. Outline of a moth/butterfly shape
-
- Bibliography:
- Clarke, J.F. Gates, PhD. A Golden
Book of Butterflies, New York: Golden Press, 1962.
-
- Lovett, Sara. Extremely Weird Insects,
Santa Fe: John Muir Publications, 1992.
-
- Johnson, Johnny. Bugs: A Closer
Look at the World's Tiny Creatures, New York: Reader's Digest,
Marshalls Ed. 1995.
-
- Facklam, Margery. Big Bug Book,
Boston: Little, Brown, and Co. 1994.
-
- Conklen, Gladys. Praying Mantis:
The Garden Dinosaur, New York: Holiday House 1975.
-
- All Color Book of Birds, New York: Crescent Books, 1972.
- National Geographic World
- Ranger Rick
-
- Procedure:
1. Three students will prepare
a moth or butterfly and camouflage it somewhere in the classroom. See Template
2. Students will be introduced to new vocabulary words by taking
a pretest to
see which words they are familiar with.
3. The students will observe the ecosystem using all their senses
in an outdoor nature center.
4. Students will search the ground, bushes, plants, and trees
for signs of wildlife expecting to find many species camouflaged.
5. Pictures will
be taken using the digitized camera then saved to the computer
6. Students will work with partners to research their organism using books,
- various CD Rom titles,
and the Internet.
- a.) Students will tell what the organism
is.
- b.) Students will discuss adaptations
of the organism.
- c.) Students will discuss what seasonal
changes the organism is going through.
- d.) Students will discuss the organism's
niche.
- 7. The students will create, print,
and display their reports.
-
- Assessment:
1. The students will be graded
by alternative assessment.
2. Students will take a post test of the vocabulary words.
3. Students will listen as reports are given orally and be given
a short quiz.
home/back