5-E Integrated Subject Unit Plan
Title of Unit: Living Systems
Unit Planners (names): Trey Loker and Lisa-Marie Hill
School(s) & School Division (if applicable): Ashby Lee ES and Sandy Hook ES/ Shenandoah County
Grade Level: 4th
Unit learning focus: Food webs
Unit learning goal(s): What are the relationships between organisms within an ecosystem?
Science & Math SOL
Standards (list) / Knowledge (Know) / Skills (Do) / Values (Be)Mathematics
4.2a compare and order fractions
4.2b represent equivalent fractions
4.7a estimate and measure length in metric units
4.14 collect, organize, and interpret data from bar graphs and line graphs
3.3a name and write fractions / write a fraction
Order fractions
Compare fractions
Find equivalent fractions
Measure and estimate in metric units
Make a bar graph
Make a line graph / Order
Represent
Collect
Organize
Construct
Measure
Estimate
Identify
Define / accuracy
Science
4.5 a-f / plant and animal adaptations
Identify/compare and constrast population, community, and ecosystem
Flow of energy in a food web
Identify niches in a habitat
compare and contrast life cycles
differentiate among positive and negative influences of human activity / compare
Contrast
Identify
define
Explain
Infer
Represent / conscious of actions
Type of Integration Process Integration
Level or Extent of Integration Science Focus
Living Systems Unit
Essential Question: What are the relationships between organisms within an ecosystem?
SOL: 4.5 Students 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.
Lesson 1
Objective / SOL / ActivitiesStudents will investigate and infer physical adaptations. / 4.5 a.) plant and animal adaptations / 1. Engage- Show a shark eating a seal and have students make observations
2. Explore- Gallery walk- show several pictures of animals and have students note specific body parts that let them do certain jobs
3. Explore- Bird beak and tool matching activity
4. Explain- Classification of adaptations- use gallery walk observations to group adaptations (use for defending, use for getting food)
5. Evaluate- Create your own animal and show and explain physical adaptations
Lesson 2
Objective / SOL / ActivitiesStudents will investigate and infer behavioral adaptations. / 4.5 a.) plant and animal adaptations / 1. Engage- Show video about peacock (behavior) and discuss
2. Explain- Show United Streaming video about behavioral adaptations
3. Evaluate- Students will act our various skits as animals in various situations that require a behavioral adaptation
Lesson 3
Objective / SOL / ActivitiesStudents will explain how organisms use adaptations to meet needs / 4.5 a.) plant and animal adaptations / 1. Engage- Ask: What do we need in order to survive?
2. Elaborate- Complete a sort on basic needs, tying in adaptations
3. Evaluate- Journal: Choose an animal and describe how it uses physical and behavioral adaptations to meet its needs
Lesson 4
Objective / SOL / ActivitiesStudents will define and understand a population / 4.5 b.) organization of populations, communities, and ecosystems and how they interrelate / 1. Explore- Outdoor grid space sampling
2. Explore- Ask: What is a population? (based from grid sampling)
3. Explain- Give examples of a population- real world
4. Elaborate- Savannah picture: Students wills find and describe populations in the picture
Lesson 5
Objective / SOL / ActivitiesStudents will define and understand a community. / 4.5 b.) organization of populations, communities, and ecosystems and how they interrelate / 1. Explore- 2 habitat sort
2. Explain- give real world examples
3. Elaborate- foldable with population and community
4. Evaluate- 3 scenarios and students will determine if it is a population or community.
Lesson 6
Objective / SOL / ActivitiesStudents will define and understand an ecosystem. / 4.5 b.) organization of populations, communities, and ecosystems and how they interrelate / 1. Engage- Review habitat sort
2. Explore- Find what the two sorts have in common
3. Explain- Complete Venn diagram on 2 habitats
4. Elaborate- Extend foldable from previous lesson
5. Evaluate- 3 scenarios
Lesson 7 (Integrated lesson)
Objective / SOL / ActivitiesStudents will illustrate the flow of energy in a food web in a given habitat / 4.5 c.) flow of energy through food webs / 1. Engage- Gallery Walk to review vocab
2. Explore- Turn 3 food chains into a food web
3. Explain- Show how the 3 food chains make a food web.
4. Explain- Show flow of energy with yarn activity
5. Elaborate- Making a food web activity: incorporate fractions and graphing
6. Evaluate- Writing prompt and food web fill-in
Lesson 8
Objective / SOL / ActivitiesStudents will compare and contrast niches of different organisms within a community / 4.5 d.) habitats and niches / 1. Engage- Brainstorm: Jobs of people in our community
2. Explain- Show a video and discuss definition of niche
3. Elaborate- Complete niches with several organisms- beaver, trout, algae
4. Evaluate- Go outside, find an organism, and describe its niche
Lesson 9
Objective / SOL / ActivitiesStudents will compare and contrast the different ways an organism interacts with its surroundings at various stages in the life cycle / 4.5 e.) changes in an organism’s niche at various stage in it life cycle / 1. Explore, Explain, and Evaluate- Gallery walk with life cycles: divide class into 2 groups. Divide each group into 4 smaller groups. Each small group will create a food web with one stage of the life cycle
Lesson 10 (Integrated)
Objective / SOL / ActivitiesStudents will differentiate among the positive and negative influences of human activity. / 4.5 f.) influence of human activity on ecosystems / 1. Engage/Explore- Gallery walk with ecosystems: Students will identify positive and negative influences
2. Explain- Have discussions of observations
3. Elaborate- Concentric circle with inside being positive and outside being negative
4. Elaborate- Tag Activity
4. Evaluate- Exit ticket: is scenario a positive or negative influence
5-E Integrated Subject Lesson Plan
Title of Lesson: Food Webs
Lesson Planners (names): Trey Loker and Lisa-Marie Hill
School(s) & School Division (if applicable): Ashby Lee ES and Sandy Hook ES/ Shenandoah County
Grade Level: 4th
Lesson specific Science & Math SOL (or other standards covered). Describe desired gains in Knowledge/Skills/Behaviors for each, where applicable). These are your specific Learning Objectives for the lesson.
Standards (list) / Knowledge (Know) / Skills (Do) / Values (Be)Mathematics
4.2a compare and order fractions
4.2b represent equivalent fractions
4.14 collect, organize, and interpret data from bar graphs
3.3a name and write fractions / write a fraction
Order fractions
Compare fractions
Find equivalent fractions
Make a bar graph / Order
Represent
Collect
Organize
Construct / accuracy
Science
4.5 c / flow of energy through food webs / create
show / conscious of actions
Level or Extent of Integration for this lesson Science Focus
Instructional time: 60 minutes
Materials needed: Food chain worksheet, food web diagram, large sheets of chart paper, markers, yarn, 3 sets of organism cards, bar graph template, food web exit ticket, food web data sheet
Web resources used (if any; Give urls):
Advance preparation needed: Hang chart paper with vocab word listed, copies of food chain worksheet, food web diagram, and food web exit ticket
Formative assessment(s): Students will demonstrate understanding by completing the food web exit ticket. We will judge understanding by evaluating their written performance and the accurate completion of the food web. We will also be observing students as they complete the various activities in the lesson.
Lesson Description (step-by-step teaching procedure):
Gallery Walk with Vocabulary Words
1. Hang 8 pieces of chart paper around the room, each one labeled with one vocabulary word: consumer, producer, decomposer, herbivore, omnivore, carnivore, predator, and prey.
2. Divide students into 8 groups and give each student a different colored marker, if possible.
3. Have one group at each piece of poster paper and give them 1 minute to write or illustrate anything that comes to mind regarding the vocabulary word at their assigned poster.
4. After each minute is over, have each group rotate to the next poster.
5. Continue rotation until all groups have visited all posters.
6. Discuss posters to help review vocabulary words.
Food chain to food web
1. Partner students and give each partnership a food chain worksheet.
2. Have students match relationships that they see in the food chain and draw lines to connect these relationships. For example, the kingfisher eats both the trout and the frog. The student will draw a line from the kingfisher to the frog and another one to the trout.
3. When students have completed the matching, discuss relationships.
4. Hand out food web diagram to each student and have them compare it to their food chain worksheet.
5. Discuss with the class how this food web is easier to look at than a series of food chains. Point out how the food web shows multiple food chains in a more concise way.
6. While discussing how the food web is made up of food chains, have students trace or circle the food chains in the web.
Flow of Energy Yarn Activity
1. Have students form a circle in the room.
2. Give one student a ball of yarn, having them hold the end of the string.
3. That student, while holding onto the strong, will pass the ball of yarn to the next person in the circle.
4. The next person will grab a portion of the string and pass the ball to the next person.
5. Students should pass the ball and hold the string until the ball of yarn runs out or reaches the end of the circle.
6. Lead a discussion on what happened with the ball of yarn as it was passed around the circle. Compare this to how energy is reduced as it pass through the organisms of a food web/chain.
Food Web Activity (Integrated)
1. Divide students into 3 groups.
2. Hand each group a set of organism cards.
3. Each group will then use their cards and construct a food web to the best of their knowledge. They may arrange the cards on chart paper and draw lines with pencil.
4. Once each group has finished, check over their web and make corrections as necessary. Once you have done this, instruct students to glue cards down and to give an appropriate habitat title.
5. Pass out food web data sheet to each student and students may work in their groups to complete data sheet.
6. Have students take their data and graph it on the bar graph template.
7. Share and discuss findings.
Exit Ticket
1. Pass out exit ticket and have students complete it individually.
Differentiation Strategies to meet diverse learner needs:
All activities that require small groups will be predetermined by the teacher to enable a mixed group of all abilities. We incorporated kinesthetic and visual portions in our activities. There will be formative assessments throughout each activity, as well as the unit, to ensure that students’ needs are being met.
Attach Worksheets &/or Hand-outs, Food Web Exit Ticket, Pond Food Chains, Organisms Cards (PDF files)
Homework Assigned (and applicable worksheets): None
5-E Integrated Subject Lesson Plan
Title of Lesson: Human Activity
Lesson Planners (names): Lisa-Marie Hill, Trey Loker, Fay Wymer, Tanisha Green, Sandra Jenny, Alyssa Hussey
School(s) & School Division: Clarke County and Shenandoah County
Grade Level: 4th Grade (adapted to 3rd and 5th)
Lesson specific Science & Math SOL
Standards (list) / Knowledge (Know) / Skills (Do) / Values (Be)Science
3.5 The student will investigate and understand relationships among organisms in aquatic and terrestrial food chains.
3.6 Student will investigate and understand that ecosystems support a diversity of plants and animals that share limited resources
3.10 (a,b,d)The student will investigate and understand that natural events and human influences can affect the survival of species
4.5f) influences of human activity on ecosystems
4.9a
The student will investigate and understand important Virginia natural resources, including watersheds and water resources
“We all live downstream.”
5.7g investigate and understand how Earth’s surface is constantly changing. Key concepts include human impact. / producer, consumer, decomposer
herbivore, carnivore, omnivore
predator
prey
food chains
food webs
aquatic ecosystems
terrestrial ecosystems
populations communities
the human role
interdependency
effects of humans
conservation
resource renewal
differentiate among positive and negative influences of human activity
4.9a watersheds
runoff
sedimentation
agricultural (farm) runoff
sewage
litter
oil pollution
air pollution
industrial waste
5.7g human activity on land has a significant impact on ocean organisms
phytoplankton (producer)
herbivores and 1st level consumers
2nd-5th level consumers / investigate
understand
determine
apply
compare
investigate
understand
determine
infer
interdependency
effects of human activity
conservation
resource renewal
differentiate
explain
5.7g inquiry
investigation
explanation / responsible
respectful
responsible
respectful
Conscious of actions
5.7g humans are custodians of the earth’s resources
environmental consciousness
Math
3.9 (a) Measurement and Application
3.17 (a,b,c)
Collect/ Represent Data
3.10 Measurement and Application
4.7a estimate and measure length in metric units
4.14 collect,
organize, and interpret data from bar graphs
5.8a find perimeter, area, and volume in standard units of measure
5.8d estimate and then measure to solve problems, using metric units
5.14 make predictions and determine the probability of an outcome
5.15 collect, organize, and interpret data in a variety of forms, using bar graphs / U.S. Customary units
Metric units
purpose of data
line plot, picture graph, bar graph
measurement
area
perimeter
Estimate and measure in metric units
Make bar graphs
5.8a
defining a space using perimeter
area
5.8d estimate and measure
5.14
prediction
probability
outcome
5.15
collect, organize data create bar graph / estimate
classify
collect
organize
record
construct
interpret
analyze
estimate
measure
determine
estimate
measure
define
collect
organize
interpret
5.8d
estimate
measure
define
collect
organize
interpret
5.14
compare prediction to actual outcome / accurate
accurate
accurate
Level or Extent of Integration for this lesson: Science Focus