3rd Grade Transdisciplinary Unit: Change is Part of Our World

Change is Part of Our World

A Transdisciplinary Adaptations Unit

for 3rd Grade

Unit Designers: Stacy Mozer, Jennifer Mullane, and Diane Rasweiler


Theme: Change is Part of Our World

Topic: Adaptations

Unit Designers: Stacy Mozer, Jennifer Mullane, and Diane Rasweiler

Transdisciplinary: Transdisciplinary learning is the exploration of a relevant issue or problem that integrates the perspectives of multiple disciplines in order to connect new knowledge and deeper understanding to real life experiences. Transdisciplinary units culminate in authentic assessments with a genuine audience. Transdisciplinary units weave throughout the school day and are taught though multiple disciplines. Although content may be grounded in a discipline, the unit is not considered a science unit or social studies unit.

Inquiry: A student-centered, active learning approach focusing on questioning, critical thinking, and problem solving. It's associated with the idea "involve me and I understand."

Unit Summary: This unit covers topics in the areas of science, social studies, language arts, media, and art. Students will explore change in their world by focusing on animal and plant adaptations. The unit exposes the students to the idea that while everything changes, not all changes are advantageous for survival. These concepts will be further explored as the students study the American Indians and the change to Colonial Times.

Enduring Understanding:

Change has positive and negative affects.

Everything changes.

Overarching Essential Questions:

How do we determine the impact of change?

How do we evaluate the impact of change?

Is all change good?

Essential Question:

Why adapt?

Unit Questions:

Science

·  What enables organisms to survive?

·  What behaviors are advantageous to survival?

·  How does where organisms live affect how they live?

·  What adaptations will organisms need to survive in the future?

Social Studies

·  How do people adapt to their environment?

·  What adaptations do people need to adapt to different environments (physical systems)?

Reading

·  How do questions guide research?

·  How do we read nonfiction?

·  How do paragraphs help us comprehend?

·  How do we pull it all together to make a big idea?

·  Does author’s point of view influence nonfiction writing?

Writing

·  How do we take notes on a topic?

·  How do we create a topic sentence?

·  How do we create paragraphs?

·  How do we put it all together to make a big idea?

Media

·  QUESTION: How do questions guide research?

·  PLANNING: What personal criteria do I use to choose a resource?

·  PLANNING: What do I need to know before I start my inquiry? What is the problem I’m trying to solve? What is my timeline? What skills and strategies are needed to gather information effectively, solve problems, and conduct research?

·  EVAUATING: What skills and strategies are needed to gather information effectively, solve problems, and conduct research?

·  SYNTHESIZING: How do I create a search strategy to best answer my question? How will I apply evaluative criteria?

·  COMMUNICATING: Students will use appropriate technologies to create written, visual, oral, and multimedia to present research findings.

Art

·  How can we create an imaginary environment where organisms could survive?

·  How do we reflect, evaluate, and revise our own work?


Curriculum Standards

SCIENCE:

3.1.a Plants and animals have structures and behaviors that help them survive in different environments.

Underlying Concepts

1.  Plants and animals have physical and behavioral adaptations that allow them to survive in certain environments. Adaptations are passed from parents to offspring. Individuals that happen to be bigger, stronger, or faster can have an advantage over others of the same kind for finding food and mates.

2.  Animals have behavioral and structural adaptations for getting food. Structural adaptations include things such as specialized teeth for tearing meat or grinding grasses; specialized beaks for cracking seeds, snatching insects, tearing meat of spearing fish; sharp claws for grasping,; keen sense of smell, or long, sticky tongues for reaching food. Behavioral adaptations include actions such as following herds of prey animals, spinning webs, or stalking.

3.  Animals have behavioral and structural adaptations for protection from predators. Some animals have camouflage that that allows them to stay concealed by blending in with their surroundings; some animals look like other animals to avoid being eaten. Structural adaptations include things such as sharp quills, hard shells, or antlers. Behavioral adaptations include actions such as staying absolutely still, producing a bad odor, appearing or sounding scary, or fleeing.

4.  Animals have behavioral and structural adaptations for surviving harsh environmental conditions. Animals that live in cold climates have insulating body coverings such as blubber, down, or thick undercoats that keep them warm. Animals that live in hot climates keep cool by releasing heat from big ears or by panting, or by living underground

Great Level Expectations

1.  Compare and contras the external features and behaviors that enable different animals and plants (including those that are extinct) to get food, water, and sunlight; find mates; and be protected in specific land and water habitats.

2.  Explain how behaviors such as hibernation, dormancy, and migration give species advantages for surviving unfavorable environmental conditions.

3.  Give examples of ways animals benefit from camouflage.

4.  Evaluate whether an adaptation gives a plant and animal a survival advantage in a given environment.

5.  Design a model of an organism whose adaptations give it an advantage in a specific environment.

SOCIAL STUDIES:

1.5 Describe the interaction of humans and the environment

Grade Level Expectations

8. Evaluate the ways in which people affect the environment (e.g. dams, mining, global

warming, preservation, recycling).


Lesson Overview

Week 1

Lesson 1: Introduction – complete KWL chart

Lesson 2: What do organisms need to survive?

Lesson 3: Natural Selection

Lesson 4: Physical Adaptations

Lesson 5: Behavioral Adaptations

Week 2

Lesson 6 – 8: Studying animal features and behaviors

Lesson 9 – 10: Plant Adaptations

Week 3

Lesson 11: Introduction to inquiry

Lesson 12: Beak Investigation – Creating an investigable question

Lesson 13: Beak Investigation – Creating an investigation

Lesson 14: Beak Investigation – test with an experiment

Lesson 15: Beak Investigation – Draw Conclusions (multiple ways to present)

Week 4

Lesson 16: Egg Investigation – Create an investigable question

Lesson 17: Egg Investigation – Design an experiment

Lesson 18: Egg Investigation – prepare

Lesson 19: Egg Investigation – prepare and create a way to record data

Lesson 20: Egg Investigation – test with an experiment

Week 5 (Week 1 Media. Media lessons are taught during media and during 1 science time.)

Lesson 21: Egg Investigation - Draw conclusions

Lesson 22: Egg Investigation – Create a presentations

Lesson 23: Egg Investigation – Continue to prepare presentations

Lesson 24: Egg Investigation – Continue to prepare presentations

Lesson 25: Egg Investigation – Presentations

Lesson 1 Media: Introduce Research Cycle

Week 6 (Week 2 Media)

Lesson 26: Behavioral Adaptations

Lesson 27: Biome Overview

Lesson 28: Animal Adaptation Questions (generate a list of questions)

Lesson 2 Media: Select a just right book: students are assigned biomes and select just right nonfiction books about an animal in that biome.

Lesson 3 Media: Overview of webquest

Week 7 (Week 3 Media)

*Note: These lessons will be changed once a Lit-Life nonfiction unit is adapted.

Lesson 30: Students create 3 questions about their animal and make sure their questions are answered in their book.

Lesson 31: Students place sticky notes in their book at the place where their questions were answered.

Lesson 32: Students write notes that answer the questions.

Lesson 33: Students continue taking notes.

Lesson 4 Media: Share webquest resources. Follow the steps on the webquest to read about the biome and select a job.

Lesson 5 Media: Students evaluate resources and determine which to use

Week 8 (Week 3 Media) (Week 1 Art)

Lesson 34: Continue taking notes

Lesson 35: Creating topic sentences

Lesson 35: Writing paragraphs from our notes

Lesson 36: Students continue writing paragraphs

Lesson 6 Media: Students continue biome job research

Lesson 7 Media: Students continue biome job research

Lesson 1 Art: Share resources and students start sketching landscapes

Week 9 (Week 4 Media) (Week 2 Art)

Lesson 37: Students continue to write paragraphs

Lesson 38: Students chose a way to publish their paragraphs (poster, report, index cards, etc)

Lesson 39: Students publish

Lesson 40: Students publish

Lesson 8 Media: Intro to PowerPoint

Lesson 9 Media: Create biome PowerPoint text

Lesson 2 Art: Continue sketching landscapes

Week 10 (Week 5 Media) (Week 3 Art)

Lesson 41: Introduce Final Performance Task

Lesson 42: Review behavioral and physical adaptations

Lesson 43: Use Art background sketches to sketch organism

Lesson 44: Create behavioral and physical adaptations for organism

Lesson 9 Media: Importing pictures into PowerPoint

Lesson 10 Media: Continue importing pictures and finalizing slides

Lesson 3 Art: Create landscapes

Week 11

Finish New Zoo Performance Task

Lesson 11 Media: Bringing it all together by adding cover sheet and backgrounds.

Lesson 12 Media: Finalizing PowerPoints

Week 12

Biome Presentation and Share New Zoo Exhibits


Lesson 1: Introduction

Content Standards:

3.2 Organisms can survive and reproduce only in environments that meet their basic needs.

3.2.a Plants and animals have structures and behaviors that help them survive in different environments.

Learner Background:

This is the introduction to the unit. Prior knowledge will be assessed during this first lesson.

Student Learning Objective(s):

1.  Students will become familiar with the definition of the adaptations.

2.  Students will be able to access their prior knowledge using a KWL chart.

Assessment:

-  KWL chart.

Resources:

-  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8147566.stm

-  KWL Chart

Learning Activities:

-  Students will start with the whole class, turn and talk to a partner, then share information with the whole class.

Lesson Development:

Initiation:

- Introduce unit with a grabber.

- possible grabber: Cat’s Meow article http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8147566.stm. Scroll down for audio.

- additional grabber: How does your teacher say your name? How do the different ways she says your name change the way you react?

Development:

-  Define adaptations as changes that occur naturally in an organism that help insure survival.

-  As students to fill out the K (know) and W (Want to know) part of a KWL chart. Give them 5 minutes to fill it out on their own, and then have them turn and talk to a partner.

-  Students should share their ideas. Create a class KWL chart.

Closure:

-  Review the chart and preview some of the things the class will learn by giving them the learning objectives below:

Unit Essential Questions:

·  What enables organisms to survive?

·  What behaviors are advantageous for survival?

·  How does where organisms live affect how they live?

·  What adaptations will organisms need to survive in the future?

Over Arching Essential Questions:

·  How do we determine the impact of change?

·  How do we evaluate the impact of change?

·  Is all change good?

·  How is inquiry used to investigate the answers to questions we pose?

·  How is scientific knowledge created and communicated?

Lesson 2: What Do Organisms Need to Survive

Learner Background:

-  KWL chart and definition of adaptations from lesson one.

Student Learning Objective(s):

-  Students will be able to compare and contrast the external features and behaviors that enable different animals and plants (including those that are extinct) to get food, water, and sunlight, find mates, and be protected in specific land and water habitats.

Assessment:

-  Science Notebook

Resources:

-  Kids Biology.com: http://www.kidsbiology.com/biology_basics/needs_living_things/living_things_have_needs1.php

Learning Activities:

-  Students start as individuals then share their information with their table group.

-  As a whole class, students read a web article on basic life needs and take notes.

Lesson Development:

Initiation:

-  Remind the class that yesterday we defined adaptations and did some thinking about what they know and want to know about this topic.

Development:

-  Ask student to list the things they need for survival (food, clothing, shelter, etc.)

-  Tie that into social studies by thinking back to the American Indians. Where their needs so different than ours?

-  Share website: http://www.kidsbiology.com/biology_basics/needs_living_things/living_things_have_needs1.php

-  Have students take notes about animal needs.

Closure:

-  How are our needs different than the needs of animals? How are they the same?


Lesson 3: Natural Selection

Learner Background:

-  Previous lessons

Student Learning Objective(s):

-  Students will be able to evaluate whether an adaptation gives a plant or animal a survival advantage in a given environment.

Assessment:

-  Brainpop Quiz

Resources:

-  Brainpop Video on Natural Selection: http://www.brainpop.com/science/populationsandecosystems/naturalselection/preview.weml

Learning Activities:

-  Whole group

Lesson Development:

Initiation:

-  Review basic life needs from yesterday’s lesson.

-  Tell the class that when these basic life needs aren’t or can’t be met, natural selection helps a species survive.

Development:

-  Watch the Brainpop Natural Selection video

Closure:

-  Take the quiz and discuss

-  Students can use wipe boards or a print out of the quiz for assessment.


Lesson 4: Animal Features and Behaviors - Physical Adaptations

Learner Background:

-  Previous lessons

Student Learning Objective(s):

Students will be able to:

1. Compare and contrast the external features and behaviors that enable different animals and plants (including those that are extinct) to get food, water, and sunlight, find mates, and be protected in specific land and water habitats.

2. Explain how behaviors such as hibernation, dormancy, and migration give species advantages for surviving unfavorable environmental conditions.

3. Give examples of ways animals benefit from camouflage.

Assessment:

-  none

Resources:

-  Powerpoint presentation: http://www.animals.pppst.com/adaptations.html

Learning Activities:

-  whole class