Stephanie Dye, collaboration with Jessica Terranova and Rosaria Matina
S.IP.00.13 Plan and conduct simple investigations.
S.IA.00.13 Communicate and present findings of observations.
S.RS.00.11 Demonstrate scientific concepts through various illustrations, performances, models, exhibits, and activities.
L.OL.00.11 Identify that living things have basic needs.
L.OL.00.12 Identify and compare living and nonliving things
No. Activity Label Activity Description Activity Functions* (Why this activity in this sequence?) 1
Introductory discussion and Living/Non Living sort
How do you know if something is alive? This question is comprehensible, relevant to our unit, and motivating. This question will lead the students into our science unit. The living/non living sort was to get students thinking about this, and they will have their minds full of ideas. As part of a pre-assessment, I will have students complete a living/nonliving sort. Students will cut and paste pictures to either the living side or non- living side based on what they previously know. This is a way of me asking my students what is living and not living. It is also seeing how they know what is living and nonliving. Establish A Question: This question has students think about what they actually know about living and nonliving things. This also creates a situation where students can relate what they know to their daily lives to help them answer the question. Elicit Students Initial Ideas: When students have completed this activity, I want to go through it to see why students have placed the items where, which will lead to the introductory discussion.
3 Chart Making and Editing I will make a list about what students think is living, or what it takes for them to believe something is living. Afterwards, something will be chosen that everyone has agreed on that is living, Elicit Students Initial Ideas Students will have an opportunity to share how they understand what is living and nonliving. This will be recorded so we can return back to such as a dog, and go through the chart and make a check mark next to what it has in common. Cross off if it does not fit. After going through the list with a dog, go through it with something else that is for sure living. After a few items, the commonalities will start arising.
While making our chart, I can also ask the students if they have ever cared for an animal or a plant, and how did they take care of it to make sure that it stayed alive.
this chart at a later time. 4
Seed Investigation
I will pass out seeds to my students. I will ask students if they have ever seen these before/what they think it is. From here, I will ask students if they believe the seed is living or nonliving. We can go over the chart that we have made to see if it meets our expectations needed for what is alive.
Explore Phenomena For Patterns Students will be able to look at the seed and compare that to our chart to test their ideas. Their observations will see if it matches with the patterns from our chart to see whether the seed is living or non living. 5 Seed investigation (growing a plant) Students will place different seeds in a bag with a wet paper towel and hang them up on the window. We will talk about what they believe will happen to the plant.
Students will place other seeds in a bag with a dry paper towel and hang it up on the window. Students will hypothesize what will happen to the seeds with the dry paper towel vs. what will happen to the seed with the wet paper towel. Explore Phenomena For Patterns Students will be given the opportunity to test whether or not the seed is living or nonliving. Because living things need water to grow, it is important for them to see seeds in bags with and without water so there is a difference. This will also help students uncover patterns for living items. 6 Seed investigation observations Daily, students will observe the plants on the window. Students will have a plant journal where they record what they see from both the dry Explore Ideas About Patterns Students will be given a chance to share what they are observing, and draw what they are ziplocks and ziplocks with water. These observations are important to help students see patterns in living things. observing to help them make the connections. This will help students remember what happened on day 1 vs. day 6. By recording what they have observed, this will also allow students to make correct pattern observations with their seeds.
7 Compare nonliving vs living items.
In this activity, we will compare a live puppy to a stuffed animal puppy. We will talk about the similarities and the differences, having the students determine what is living and nonliving. Students can use anchor charts to help them determine whether or not the puppy and stuffed animal is living or nonliving.
After the puppy and the stuffed animal puppy is compared, we will compare a bike and a tree. Students can be explaining patterns from here still, being able to use what they already know, and being able to explain their answers.
Students Explain Patterns This is an opportunity for students to share their ideas about what they think is living/nonliving. Based on previous conversations, student will be able to relate back to that, sharing their own ideas about what is living or nonliving. Students will also be able to explain their answer to me and other students. 8 Whats Alive? By Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld I will introduce this story as an educational book about what is living. As this story is being read, we will relate it to what our chart says. We will be able to edit our chart (if there is any editing to be done) to have it line up with the book. We can go back through a living item to make sure it meets what is on our chart.
If we have to add/delete anything from our chart, we can use their experiences as to why. Introduce scientific ideas By reading the story, scientific ideas will emerge. We will be able to go back and edit our chart on the attributes something needed to be living or nonliving. This will make our chart accurate, and reliable. 9 Living or Non Living Powerpoint
Go through a powerpoint of pictures of items that are living/nonliving. Have students talk about whether or not they have decided it is living or non living and why. This activity has students sharing their initial ideas about the difference between living and non living things. As they are making their decision, I will have students explain why they said it is living or non living. Compare Student & Scientific Ideas Help students compare their own explanations with the scientific explanation provided by the teacher. Students can compare, test & revise their own explanations. Students use the scientific explanation to answer the question. By reading Whats Alive, students can compare what we learned from that, and look at our chart, to help them answer whether the items in the power point are alive or not.
10 Carrot Seed investigation Read The Carrot Seed by Ruth Kruass. As I am reading this, I will ask the students if this reminds them of anything. This book is very closely related to what they are doing in the classroom they are caring for seeds just as the boy in the story is doing. They are observing their plants just like the boy in the story is doing. How does this boy compare to what they are observing in their plants? Introduce Scientific Ideas This provides students to make the connection between what they know takes to be living, to what a plant needs to survive, showing students that it is alive. Compare Student & Scientific Ideas
Students will also be given an opportunity to make the connection to what they are growing in the classroom to the book. Were the patterns there? Did the same thing happen in the book happen with our seeds? Did we provide water? Sunlight?
11 Carnation experiment A few white carnations will be placed in colored water. The colored water will be dark water, such as dark red, and dark green. We will talk about what the students think will happen when we put the carnation in the colored water. Students will observe how changing the color of the water affects the plant. Colored water moving through flower will prove plants need and use water.
Elicit Students Ideas By thinking about what will happen to the flower, I am eliciting their ideas. This is also a way for me to see what my students know about plants, as well.
Explore Phenomena For Patterns Students are given an opportunity to see what will happen after their initial ideas are elicited. After they see what happens with the carnation, they will have a better understanding on how the plant transports water to different parts, allowing them to make a deeper connection with parts of a plant. 12 Parts of a Plant Activity Students will have an opportunity to look at plants that have been brought into the classroom (or our own plants if they are grown enough yet). I will ask students what they know about what is on the plant, and have students point out the different parts, and what they believe the parts do for the plant. Other questions asked will include how does the plant use this part to grow?
Explore Ideas About Patterns Students will have already seen the carnation experiment, so they will be able to take their experiences about the carnation taking the water to the different parts of the plant to survive. Students will also see the roots that are in the dirt, along with the leaves on the plant, which will lead into our discussion about plants. 13 Plant part discussion This discussion will focus on how the different parts of a plant help the plant survive. We will talk about the seed of the plant, which is what the plants grow from. There is food inside the seed that the roots and stem use to help them sprout and grow. Plants make their own food using their leaves and sunlight. They also breathe through their leaves. Roots bring in water from the soil and keep the plant in place. The stem carries water and food through the plant so it reaches all of the parts. The flower attracts animals and insects to the plant for them to eat.
Students explain patterns Students at this time have seen their plant growing/the plant that has been brought in. They will be able to use their knowledge about what the plant needs in order to survive. From this, the conclusion that plants are living should arise. 14 Plant investigation
Based on students knowledge about what is living and what is nonliving, was our seed alive? Is our growing plant alive? Use questions based on our charts to answer whether or not our seed/plant is alive or not. Students Explain Patterns This will allow students to share their ideas, based on our patterns, to know whether or not the seed was living or nonliving. Compare Student & Scientific Ideas If students are having a hard time deciding whether or not the seed was living or not living, we can look at our charts made about what it needs to be living or not, and then compare it to what we know about the seed. 15 Going to outer space We will imagine that we are traveling into outer space. In outer space, we have landed on a different planet and we have found this object. It has certain qualities. How do we know if it is living or non living? Apply To Near & Distant Contexts With Support The pictures of living/nonliving items will be items they have never seen before, so we are applying their knowledge in new contexts to see if they have made the connection of what is living/nonliving. . 16 Living/Non Living sort This sort will be similar to their pre-assessment sort. The concept will be the same, but the pictures will be new. This will see if students have gained the knowledge about what is living or non living. Apply With Fading Support Students will use what they know to apply it to this sort to decide whether their pictures are living or nonliving.