Scientific Organization and Sequencingsc010203

Scientific Organization and SequencingSC010203

Unit 2: Parents and Offspring

Lesson 3: Growing Up

Big Ideas of the Lesson

• Some traits stay the same as offspring grow, and some traits change.

Abstract

Children recognize that changes occur as organisms grow, but identify traits that are constant in parents and offspring.

Grade Level Context Expectation(s)

Children will:

• generate questions based on observations of various animal life cycles (S.IP.01.12).
• communicate and present findings of observations of parent/young characteristics (S.IA.01.13).
• classify young animals based on characteristics that are passed on from parents (e.g., dogs/puppies, cats/kittens, cows/calves, chickens/chicks) (L.HE.01.12).
• identify characteristics (e.g., body coverings, beak shape, number of legs, body parts) that are passed on from parents to young (L.HE.01.11).

Key Concept(s)

adult

growth

life cycle

trait

young/offspring

Instructional Resources

Equipment/Manipulative

Pictures of teacher as baby, child, high school graduate and adult

Pictures of teacher’s parents

Student Resource

Kalman, Bobbie. Animals Grow and Change. New York: Crabtree Publishing, 2008.

Kalman, Bobbie, and Jacqueline Langille. What is a Life Cycle? New York: Crabtree Publishing, 1998.

Martin, Linda. Watch Them Grow. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 1994.

Rice, Robert, and Juliana Texley.Supplemental Materials (SC01020301.doc).Teacher-made material. Waterford, MI: Oakland Schools, 2008.

Teacher Resource

Kalman, Bobbie. Animal Life Cycles: Growing and Changing. New York: Crabtree Publishing, 2006.

Science and Technology for Children (STC). Animal Studies. Burlington, NC: Carolina Biological Supply Company, 1997.

Sequence of Activities

Advance Preparation:Collect pictures and set up a bulletin board or easel board with them. If you find it difficult to get pictures of your parents, ask the custodian, principal, or school secretary (a person with whom all students are familiar) to stand in.

1.Begin the class by asking the children to look at your picture collection. Ask: “How have these people changed since they were babies?” Make a list of traits. “What traits are the same in the baby, the adult, and the parent(s)?” Make another list. (A chart is provided on the Student Page.)

2.Discuss the fact that some traits change as offspring grow, and some traits stay the same.

3.Group the class into pairs. They will role-play a parent or an offspring (child) animal. Their assignment is to have an imaginary conversation. The parent says: “I know you are still a child because…” (Children should be able to generate their own ideas.) The offspring (child, baby animal) answers: “I am growing up because…”

Begin with this example: (Play both roles)

Human parent: “I know you are still a child because you cannot reach the top of the door, you cannot lift heavy things, you cannot sit very still, your feet are small, your hair is short and curly…”

Human child: “I am growing up because I have hair and eyes like yours, I have stronger muscles than when I was six, I am getting new teeth…”

Then ask for a volunteer to be an imaginary parent robin and baby robin:

Parent robin: “I know you are still a baby because you have fluffy feathers, you eat mushed up food, you cannot fly, and you live in the nest most of the time.”

Baby robin: “I am growing up because I have more smooth feathers, I know how to find worms in the grass, I can fly a short way, I have a beak like yours…”

4.Allow students to practice. Then select pairs of children to perform their “roles” in front of the class. Encourage the children to include species and individual traits in their conversations.

Assessment

Given a photo of a baby animal, children should be able to recognize traits that will still be there in the adult.

Application Beyond School

Humans have long childhoods during which they need constant protection. Children should be able to identify other animals that use this strategy (few offspring, high protection). By contrast, other animals (like insects, fish) have many offspring but offer little protection.

Connections

Social Studies

While learning about parents and offspring children can explore how our communities protect children (families, friends, police, and fire agencies).

The Oakland Schools Curriculum Page 1of 3

scope.oakland.k12.mi.usJanuary 14, 2010