Organisms

Crosscutting Concepts

The Crosscutting Concepts identified in the Organisms Kit are:

Patterns: Observed patterns in nature guide organization and classification and prompt questions about relationships and causes underlying them.

  • Patterns in the natural and human designed world can be observed, used to describe phenomena, and used as evidence.

Cause and Effect - Mechanism and explanation: Events have causes, sometimes simple, sometimes multifaceted. Deciphering causal relationships, and the mechanisms by which they are mediated, is a major activity of science and engineering.

  • Events have causes that generate observable patterns.
  • Simple tests can be designed to gather evidence to support or refute student ideas about causes.

Structure and function – The way an object is shaped or structured determines many of its properties and functions.

  • Different materials have different substructures, which can sometimes be observed.
  • Substructures have shapes and parts that serve functions.

Sentences in italics are stems that help facilitate the link between the activity and crosscutting concept(s). (From Regional Science Coordinator Crosscutting Concepts cards)

Lesson / Crosscutting Concept(s) / Teacher Notes/Tips
1
What do you know about organisms? / ●Patterns
●Cause and Effect / What do all living things have in common?
●Teacher gathers background information about students knowledge and experience with living things.
●In science notebooks, students draw their living thing and write. I think it needs______to survive because______.
2
Observing and describing seeds / ●Patterns
●Structure and function / ●Class discusses ways seeds are alike and different.
●Teacher can bring in additional types of seeds to show patterns (similarities and differences.
●The structure of a seed provides for the function of initiating plant growth
3
Planting Our Seeds / ●Cause and effect / ●Students will predict what will happen to the planted seeds.
●I think my pumpkin seed will______because______.
Lesson / Crosscutting Concept(s) / Teacher Notes/Tips
4
Observing Woodland Plants / ●Patterns
●Cause and effect
●Structure and function / ●The tree seedling is compared to the moss, and both are planted in the terrarium. Both plants are compared for similarities and differences:
●They are both green, but they are different because______
●The plants in the terrarium will need______to survive because. If they don’t get water, what will happen?
●How will the plants get water and nutrients from the soil?
5
Observing Freshwater plants / ●Patterns
●Structure and function / ●Students will compare two freshwater plants and compare and contrast similarities and differences.
●How will the freshwater plants get nutrients from the water?
6
How have our seeds changed? / ●Cause and Effect
●Patterns / ●Why are the plants different? Why do you think some plants did not germinate?
●What happens if plants don’t get water? Why is important for plants to get sunlight after they have sprouted?
●Students will compare four types of plants and discuss similarities and differences.
7
Observing Freshwater
Snails / ●Structure and function / (A good time to have a discussion about the functions of body parts)
●Snails have a shell to protect their soft bodies.
●Snails have tentacles to detect odors and water quality
●Snails are called gastropods (stomach footed) because they scrape up food as they glide on their foot
●Snails must surface occasionally to breathe air.
8
Observing guppies:
How do they compare with snails? / Patterns
●I noticed that _____is similar to ______
●I noticed that ______is different from______/ ●Students observe, draw and discuss differences between both freshwater animals (pond snails and guppies).
●The fish move with______but he snails move with______. The fish have ______to breathe in water, but the snails______.
●Both organisms need _(food, oxygen, water and a habitat)______to survive.
Lesson / Crosscutting Concept(s) / Teacher Notes/Tips
9
Observing Pill Bugs / ●Cause and Effect
●Structure and function
●Patterns / ●The pill bugs need to stay wet because______.
●The pill bugs have an exoskeleton to protect themselves
●Pill Bugs need food , water, oxygen and a place to live to survive (on-going pattern throughout unit)
10
Observing Millipedes:
How do they Compare with the Pill Bugs? / ●Patterns
●Structure and Function / ●Students will continue to make comparisons between the millipedes and the pill bugs, draw and discuss similarities and differences and discuss basic needs.
●Structure and function can be taught when observing how segments help them move, strong jaws help them eat…...etc.
11
What’s Happening in the Aquarium? / ●Cause and Effect / ●The plants may have turned brown because……
●Some fish may have died because……….
●Baby snails have appeared because……...
12
What’s Happening in the Terrarium? / ●Cause and Effect / ●The tree seedling may have grown taller or died because…….
●The moss may have spore stalks
●The millipedes have burrowed under the soil because……
●There might be mold in the terrarium because…….
13
Freshwater and Woodland plants. How do they compare? / ●Structure and Function
●Patterns / ●Woodland plants have roots to anchor in soil and give plants water and nutrients.
●Students read a selection about four amazing plants in which they can discuss similarities and differences between each type.
●Woodland plants are the same as fresh water plants because they are both _alive, green, organisms______but they are different because they live in different habitats and woodland plants grow in soil, but all of the plants need H2O, CO2, sunlight and a place to live.
●Also, both types of plants can die.
14
Freshwater and
Woodland Animals: How do they compare? / ●Patterns
●Cause and Effect / ●Students will make observations and draw comparisons between the animals in two different habitats.
●Although specific organisms have specific needs, such as soil or water, they all need plants, water, food, oxygen and a habitat to survive.
●Some animals in the aquarium might not survive because ( water temp, water cleanliness, PH factor, not enough space, not enough O2)______..
Lesson / Crosscutting Concept(s) / Teacher Notes/Tips
15
How are our plants and Animals Alike and different / ●Patterns
●
●Cause and Effect
Students read the selection A Crocodile comes to the zoo,
The zookeeper has to create a habitat for a crocodile.
Students can compare and contrast the organisms in this story to the ones they have been observing. / ●What do plants need?
●Plants need sunlight, water, a place to live, and carbon dioxide.
●What do animals need?
●Food, Water, oxygen and a place to live.
●How are they alike? How are they different?
Although other differences will be perceived by students, the learning outcome should include the basic needs of both groups.
●What happens to plants and animals when their needs are not met?
16
Taking a Look at Ourselves / ●Patterns
●Cause and Effect / ●How are we the same and different from other organisms?
●How are our basic needs the same and different?
●Humans wear clothes and other animals do not because______.

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11.7.16 by Sara McCoy. Edited by Michael Brown. Crosscutting Concept information obtained from NGSS@NSTA,