Living things have basic needs, which are met by obtaining materials from the physical environment.
In this unit, students explore the science phenomena of animal behaviors of parents and offspring that help the offspring survive. This page is a high-level extract of lesson two in which students mimic the beaver’s behavior of building dams to design their own dams that solve the problem of flooding.
In the last unit, students explored patterns in land and water on Earth. They build on that knowledge in this unit with a focus on how living things are found in different habitats around the planet, and how living things depend on both living and nonliving components of their environment for survival.
In the last unit, students explored how living things are found in different habitats around the planet and depend on both living and nonliving parts of their environment for survival. In this unit, students focus on plants. They begin with an experiment that investigates the science phenomena of how light and water help plants grow from a seed into an adult plant, and then focus on the function of flowers, which produce seeds.
In this unit, students explore how plants have different parts that help them get what they need to survive from the environment. They begin with experiments that investigate the cause-and-effect relationship between water, light, and the ability of plants to grow. This page is a high-level extract of the second lesson in which students explore flowers.
In the last unit, students observed butterflies moving through their life cycle, explored how butterflies are pollinators, and then designed a hand pollinator. In this unit, students explore the science phenomena of how shelters help animals survive in their environment and then design a prototype burrow-like structure to keep a burrowing owl cool in hot temperatures.
In this unit, students are introduced to living things on Earth. They begin by exploring the differences between living and nonliving things and then investigate what plants and animals need to survive by watching bean plants grow and observing a cricket in its habitat. They then create a model to show how living things depend on other living things and their environment to survive, and can change their environment to help them get what they need.
In this unit, students are introduced to living things on Earth. They begin by exploring the differences between living and nonliving things and then investigate what plants and animals need to survive in their habitats. Now students take their understanding of animal habitats to then apply their understanding of the topic to consider how human shelter varies depending on where we live.
In the second unit of Kindergarten, students explore living things on Earth. They analyze the differences between living and nonliving things and then investigate what plants and animals need to live and grow. Following this, students explore human needs and activities and how those impact the planet.
Once students have modeled the science phenomena of insects’ body parts, they then focus on one kind of insect: the ant. They conduct an experiment to test the taste preference of harvester ants, and observe how ants use their different body parts to get food, communicate with one another, and carry out other life functions.
This unit has students exploring animal habitat and predator-prey relationships. Once students model the living and nonliving parts of different habitats, they focus on how living things depend on other living things in their habitat for survival. As a class, students model the predator-prey relationship between foxes and rabbits in a forest habitat, and then dissect owl pellets to analyze a barn owl’s diet.
In this unit, students continue to learn about living things, focusing on animals. They begin by observing the metamorphosis of a butterfly and then model the parts of a butterfly that help it survive in its environment. This page highlights each component of lesson two in which students explore a butterfly’s body structure and function.
