Living Systems Unit- Adaptations and Habitats Virginia Standards of Learning 4.

5 The student will investigate and understand how plants and animals, including humans, in an ecosystem interact with one another and with the nonliving components in the ecosystem. Key concepts include a) plant and animal adaptations; b) organization of populations, communities, and ecosystems and how they interrelate; c) flow of energy through food webs; d) habitats and niches; e) changes in an organisms niche at various stages in its life cycle; and f) influences of human activity on ecosystems.

This standard focuses on the relationships among plants, animals, and the nonliving environment and brings together several elements of both Life Processes and Living Systems. This standard assumes students have a basic understanding that all living organisms are interrelated and dependent in some way on other living organisms and their environment. Plants and animals in ecological systems live in a web of interdependence in which each species contributes to the functioning of the overall system. Organisms live in a habitat to which they are structurally and behaviorally adapted. Certain conditions within environments determine which organisms and communities succeed there. This standard builds upon previous standards 1.5, 2.4, 2.5. 3.4, 3.5 and 3.6. It is intended that students will actively develop and utilize scientific investigation, reasoning, and logic skills (4.1) in the context of the key concepts presented in this standard Essential Understandings and Skills All students should

distinguish between structural (physical) and behavioral adaptations. investigate and infer the function of basic adaptations. understand that adaptations allow an organism to succeed in a given environment. explain how different organisms use their unique adaptations to meet their needs. describe why certain communities exist in given habitats. illustrate the food webs in a local area. compare and contrast the niches of several different organisms within the community.

compare and contrast the differing ways an organism interacts with its surroundings at various stages of its life cycle. Specific examples include a frog and a butterfly. differentiate among positive and negative influences of human activity on ecosystems.

Subject: Science Date: Monday, February 3, 2014 (Day 1 of unit) Objectives: SOLs: 4.5 The student will investigate and understand how plants and animals, including humans, in an ecosystem interact with one another and with the nonliving components in the ecosystem. Key concepts include a) plant and animal adaptations; b) organization of populations, communities, and ecosystems and how they interrelate; c) flow of energy through food webs; d) habitats and niches; e) changes in an organisms niche at various stages in its life cycle; and f) influences of human activity on ecosystems. Student will be able to define an ecosystem Describe the 4 things a habitat proves an organism Give examples of habitats in the world Describe the habitat in which you live

Rationale: Students already know the relationships among plants, animals, and the nonliving environment. Students have a basic understanding that all living organisms are interrelated and dependent in some way or other living organisms and their environment. Procedure: ActivBoard Habitats interactive flipchart Mini-clips Students will be called on using talking sticks to use the interactive features

Assessment: Sketch of your own habitat Modifications/accommodations: I will make sure to give explicit instructions on when to takes notes in their note-packet. There is also a picture of a pencil next to things they must write down in the flipchart. Differentiation: This is differentiated by learning style. Students that are visual will learn best from the videos. Those who are auditory learners will learn best through the lecture. Those who are kinesthetic will learn best through the sketch.

Subject: Science Date: Tuesday, February 4, 2014 (Day 2 of unit) Objectives: The student will be able to define community, population, producer, consumer, herbivore, carnivore, and scavenger Describe the flow of energy through a food web Describe a niche SOLs: 4.5 The student will investigate and understand how plants and animals, including humans, in an ecosystem interact with one another and with the nonliving components in the ecosystem. Key concepts include a) plant and animal adaptations; b) organization of populations, communities, and ecosystems and how they interrelate; c) flow of energy through food webs; d) habitats and niches; e) changes in an organisms niche at various stages

Rationale: Students already know the relationships among plants, animals, and the nonliving environment. Students have a basic understanding of ecosystems, habitats, and communities. They have already compared these words to different kinds of habitats and have described their own habitat. Procedure: ActivBoard Habitats interactive flipchart (the rest of habitats and get through populations and communities- producers, consumers, decomposers) Mini-clips Students will be called on using talking sticks to use the interactive features

Assessment: HW: Sketch your habitat Modifications/accommodations: I will make sure to give explicit instructions on when to takes notes in their note-packet. Students should remember this process from the day before. Students that need help taking notes will be provided with a hard copy of notes after they have shown they tried. Differentiation: This is differentiated by learning style. Students that are visual will learn best from the videos. Those who are auditory learners will learn best through the lecture. Those who are kinesthetic will learn best through the sketch.

Subject: Science Date: Wednesday, February 5, 2014 (Day 3 of unit) Objectives: The student will be able to define community, population, producer, consumer, herbivore, carnivore, and scavenger Describe the flow of energy through a food web Describe a niche SOLs: 4.5 The student will investigate and understand how plants and animals, including humans, in an ecosystem interact with one another and with the nonliving components in the ecosystem. Key concepts include a) plant and animal adaptations; b) organization of populations, communities, and ecosystems and how they interrelate; c) flow of energy through food webs; d) habitats and niches; e) changes in an organisms niche at various stages

Rationale: Students already know the relationships among plants, animals, and their nonliving environment. Students have a basic understanding of ecosystems, habitats, and communities. They have already compared these words to different kinds of habitats and have described their own habitat. Students will use this knowledge to create and look at food webs. They know that there are different types of animals in an environment so the different levels of consumers will not be a foreign concept to them. Procedure: ActivBoard Habitats interactive flipchart (finish- start at the sun is the source of energy) Mini-clips Students will be called on using talking sticks to use the interactive features

Assessment: Drawing of a habitat- its ecosystem, populations, and communities. HW: Meadow Food Web Modifications/accommodations: I will make sure to give explicit instructions on when to takes notes in their note-packet. If students need help with the food web drawing we can do one example on the ActivBoard as a whole group. We will share a few examples of the food webs. Differentiation: This is differentiated by learning style. Students that are visual will learn best from the videos. Those who are auditory learners will learn best through the lecture. Those who are kinesthetic will learn best through the sketch.

Subject: Science Date: Thursday, February 6, 2014 (Day 4 of unit) Objectives: The student will be able to identify and describe structural and behavioral adaptations Describe how the adaptations help animals to survive SOLs: 4.5 The student will investigate and understand how plants and animals, including humans, in an ecosystem interact with one another and with the nonliving components in the ecosystem. Key concepts include a) plant and animal adaptations; b) organization of populations, communities, and ecosystems and how they interrelate; c) flow of energy through food webs; d) habitats and niches; e) changes in an organisms niche at various stages

Rationale: Students already know that animals live in different places and have to have certain characteristics to live in extreme environments. Adaptations will be new to fourth graders but they have previous knowledge that animals do change the way they look in order to survive in their environment. Procedure: ActivBoard Habitats interactive flipchart (Beginning through physical adaptations) Mini-clips Students will be called on using talking sticks to use the interactive features

Assessment: Notes completion Modifications/accommodations: I will make sure to give explicit instructions on when to takes notes in their note-packet. Students who have trouble seeing the difference between producers and consumers will benefit from the videos. We will mention a lot of examples that are relevant to the students interest. Differentiation: This is differentiated by learning style. Students that are visual will learn best from the videos. Those who are auditory learners will learn best through the lecture. Group discussion and videos will differentiate the content enough from the lecture to keep students attention.

Subject: Science Date: Friday, February 7, 2014 (Day 5 of unit) Objectives: The student will be able to identify and describe structural and behavioral adaptations Describe how the adaptations help animals to survive SOLs: 4.5 The student will investigate and understand how plants and animals, including humans, in an ecosystem interact with one another and with the nonliving components in the ecosystem. Key concepts include a) plant and animal adaptations; b) organization of populations, communities, and ecosystems and how they interrelate; c) flow of energy through food webs; d) habitats and niches; e) changes in an organisms niche at various stages

Rationale: Students already know that animals live in different places and have to have certain characteristics to live in extreme environments. Students will have been introduced to different kinds of adaptations. We will now categorize the different types of adaptations and discuss/watch examples. Procedure: ActivBoard Habitats interactive flipchart (physical and behavioral adaptations) Mini-clips Students will be called on using talking sticks to use the interactive features

Assessment: Notes completion Modifications/accommodations: I will make sure to give explicit instructions on when to takes notes in their note-packet. Students who have trouble seeing the difference between producers and consumers will benefit from the videos. We will mention a lot of examples that are relevant to the students interest. Differentiation: This is differentiated by learning style. Students that are visual will learn best from the videos. Those who are auditory learners will learn best through the lecture. Group discussion and videos will differentiate the content enough from the lecture to keep students attention.

Subject: Science Date: Monday, February 10, 2014 (Day 6 of unit) Objectives: The student will be able to identify and describe structural and behavioral adaptations Describe how the adaptations help animals to survive SOLs: 4.5 The student will investigate and understand how plants and animals, including humans, in an ecosystem interact with one another and with the nonliving components in the ecosystem. Key concepts include a) plant and animal adaptations; b) organization of populations, communities, and ecosystems and how they interrelate; c) flow of energy through food webs; d) habitats and niches; e) changes in an organisms niche at various stages

Rationale: Students already know that animals live in different places and have to have certain characteristics to live in extreme environments. Students will have been introduced to physical and behavioral adaptations. We will finish listing examples and will cut and sort different adaptations into two columns. Procedure: ActivBoard Adaptations interactive flipchart (finish anything thats left) Mini-clips Students will be called on using talking sticks to use the interactive features Adaptations 2 column sort

Assessment: Adaptations sort Modifications/accommodations: Students who have problems sorting the adaptations into physical and behavioral may work with the person next to them. We will go over the definition, examples, and characteristics of both types of adaptations. Differentiation: This lesson will be differentiated by content. Students will get to watch videos and interact with the notes kinesthetically. Students then will all receive the same sort and will have to dinstinguish which adaptations go under each category. For students who need extra support, I will help cut/discuss each adaptation with them one-on-one.

Subject: Science Date: Tuesday, February 11, 2014 (Day 8 of unit) Objectives: SOLs: 4.5 Students should be able to distinguish between structural and behavioral adaptation Investigate and infer the function of basic adaptations and provide evidence for the conclusion Understand that adaptations allow an organism to succeed in a given environment Explain how different organisms use their unique adaptations to meet their needs The student will investigate and understand how plants and animals, including humans, in an ecosystem interact with one another and with the nonliving components in the ecosystem. Key concepts include a) plant and animal adaptations; b) organization of populations, communities, and ecosystems and how they interrelate; c) flow of energy through food webs; d) habitats and niches; e) changes in an organisms niche at various stages

Rationale: Students will have been instructed in the types of adaptations- structure and behavioral. Procedure: Students will be in groups of 4 Students will pick up beans off of the floor, as many as they can with their thumb, and then a second time without their thumb. Follow up questions will be answered with a final inquiry based conclusion Assessment: Completion of activities with a partner and answering the lab questions Modifications/accommodations: Those students who have problems following directions with be redirected. Those students have problems picking up the beans without their thumbs are doing the lab correctly. Students who need help answering questions will get to hear their peers ideas in group discussion. Differentiation: This lesson is differentiated by learning style. Kinesthetic learners will benefit from this lab a lot. Students will get to physically see an adaptation work. Visual learners will benefit from the table chart they must fill out. Auditory learners will benefit most from our conclusion discussion.

Subject: Science Date: Wednesday February 12, 2014 (Day 9 of unit) Objectives: Describe chances in an organisms niche at various stages in its life cycle SOLs: 4.5 The student will investigate and understand how plants and animals, including humans, in an ecosystem interact with one another and with the nonliving components in the ecosystem. Key concepts include a) plant and animal adaptations; b) organization of populations, communities, and ecosystems and how they interrelate; c) flow of energy through food webs; d) habitats and niches; e) changes in an organisms niche at various stages

Rationale: Students have already learned that animals all live differently and need certain things to survive. This lesson shows how organisms rely on their environments in different ways during their life cycles. Procedure: How would you solve? ActivBoard Butterfly/frog life cycle interactive flipchart (finish all) Mini-clips Students will be called on using talking sticks to use the interactive features

Assessment: Illustrate and label the life cycle of a frog in the blank space provided Modifications/accommodations: I will make sure to give explicit instructions on when to takes notes in their note-packet. Students who have trouble hearing about the life cycles will get to watch them happen in a video. For students who have trouble drawing the life cycle, I will keep the life cycle we did together as a class on the ActivBoard up. Differentiation: This is differentiated by learning style. Students that are visual will learn best from the videos. Those who are auditory learners will learn best through the lecture. Group discussion and videos will differentiate the content enough from the lecture to keep students attention.

Subject: Science Date: Thursday February 13, 2014 (Day 10 of unit) Objectives: Describe the effects humans have on ecosystems SOLs: 4.5 The student will investigate and understand how plants and animals, including humans, in an ecosystem interact with one another and with the nonliving components in the ecosystem. Key concepts include a) plant and animal adaptations; b) organization of populations, communities, and ecosystems and how they interrelate; c) flow of energy through food webs; d) habitats and niches; e) changes in an organisms niche at various stages

Rationale: Students have been using problem solving and mathematical reasoning to solve single and multi step division problems. They have estimated whole number quotients and refined their estimates. They have used multiple strategies to solve difficult division problems. A formal assessment is in progression for this unit after all of this practice. Procedure: Go over how we affect our environment. List examples on ActivBoard Review for test

Assessment: Neighborhood (human effects) self reflection Modifications/accommodations: Students may write whatever ideas they have. We will go over them in class so if a student doesnt have an idea they will get a chance to write some down. Differentiation: This will be differentiated by content. Every student will have different examples of human effects from their neighborhood.

Subject: Science Date: Friday February 14, 2014 (Day 12 of unit) Objectives:

Students will be able to distinguish between structural (physical) and behavioral adaptations, understand that adaptations allow an organism to succeed in a given environment, explain how different organisms use their unique adaptations to meet their needs, describe why certain communities exist in given habitats, illustrate the food webs in a local area, compare and contrast the niches of several different organisms within the community, and differentiate among positive and negative influences of human activity on ecosystems.

SOLs: 4.5 The student will investigate and understand how plants and animals, including humans, in an ecosystem interact with one another and with the nonliving components in the ecosystem. Key concepts include a) plant and animal adaptations; b) organization of populations, communities, and ecosystems and how they interrelate; c) flow of energy through food webs; d) habitats and niches; e) changes in an organisms niche at various stages

Rationale: Students have been studying adaptations, communities, niches, populations, life cycles, and habitats for the last two weeks. Procedure: Students will take the entire period to complete their test

Assessment: Unit Test Modifications/accommodations: Students may need a test to be blown up or things read to them. Students will be able to Differentiation: All tests will have the same content each student and will be graded equally.