Unit Overview - Tewksbury Township Schools



|Unit Overview |

|Content Area: Science |

|Unit Title: Living and Non-Living Things |

|Target Course/Grade Level: Kindergarten Timeline: Embedded into curricula; ongoing |

|Unit Summary |

|Throughout this life science unit, students will understand that the environment around them is made up of living and non-living things. |

|Through exploration of living and nonliving things, students will sort, record, identify, and manipulate parts of systems of plants and |

|animals. Further understanding of the basic needs of organisms will be observed and identified. |

|Primary interdisciplinary connections: Language Arts, Mathematics, Technology |

|21st century themes and skills: Critical Thinking and Problem Solving; Creativity and Innovation; Collaboration, Teamwork, and Leadership; |

|Cross-Cultural Understanding and Interpersonal Communication |

|Unit Rationale |

|To develop an understanding of the student’s natural world. To provide opportunities for investigation and the acquisition of scientific |

|knowledge. |

|Learning Targets |

|Standards |

|5.1 Science Practices |

|All students will understand that science is both a body of knowledge and an evidence-based, model building enterprise that continually |

|extends, refines, and revises knowledge. The four Science Practices strands encompass the knowledge and reasoning skills that students must |

|acquire to be proficient in science. |

|Understand Scientific Explanations: Students understand core concepts and principals of science and use measurement and observation tools to |

|assist in categorizing, representing, and interpreting the natural and designed world. |

|Generating Scientific Evidence Through Active Investigations: Students master the conceptual, mathematical, physical, and computational tools |

|that need to be applied when constructing and evaluating claims. |

|Reflect on Scientific Knowledge: Scientific knowledge builds on itself over time. |

|Participate Productively in Science: The growth of scientific knowledge involves critique and communication, which are social practices that |

|are governed by a core set of values and norms. |

|5.3 Life Science: All students will understand that life science principles are powerful conceptual tools for making sense of the complexity, |

|diversity, and interconnectedness of life on Earth. Order in natural systems arises in accordance with rules that govern the physical world, |

|and the order of natural systems can be modeled and predicted through the use of mathematics. |

|Organization and Development: Living organisms are composed of cellular units (structures) that carry out functions required for life. Cellular|

|units are composed of molecules, which also carry out biological functions. |

|Matter and Energy Transformations: Food is required for energy and building cellular materials. Organisms in an ecosystem have different ways |

|of obtaining food, and some organisms obtain their food directly from other organisms. |

|Interdependence: All animals and most plants depend on both other organisms and their environment to meet their basic needs. |

|Heredity and Reproduction: Organisms reproduce, develop, and have predictable life cycles. Organisms contain genetic information that |

|influences their traits, and they pass this on to their offspring during reproduction. |

|Evolution and Diversity: Sometimes, differences between organisms of the same kind provide advantages for surviving and reproducing in |

|different environments. These selective differences may lead to dramatic changes in characteristics of organisms in a population over extremely|

|long periods of time. |

|9.1 21st Century Life and Career Skills |

|All students will demonstrate the creative, critical thinking, collaboration and problem solving skills needed to function successfully as both|

|global citizens and workers in diverse ethnic and organizational cultures. |

|Content Statements |

|Observations and discussions about the natural world form a basis for young learners’ understanding of life science. |

|Observations and discussions form a basis for young learners’ understanding of the similarities and differences among living and nonliving |

|things. |

|Investigations form a young learners’ understanding of how a habitat provides for an organism’s energy needs. |

|Investigations and observations of the interactions between plants and animals form a basis for young learners’ understanding of |

|interdependence in life science. |

|Observations and developmental changes in a plant or animal over time form a basis for young learners’ understanding of heredity and |

|reproduction. |

|Observations and investigations form the basis for young learners’ understanding of energy in Earth systems. |

|Who, what, when, where, why, and how questions form the basis for young learners’ investigations during sensory explorations, experimentation, |

|and focused inquiry. |

|Observations and investigations form young learners’ understanding of science concepts. |

|Experiment and explorations provide opportunity for young learners to use science vocabulary and scientific terms. |

|Experiments and explorations give young learners opportunities to use science tools and technology. |

|Interacting with peers and adults to share questions and explorations about the natural world builds young learners’ scientific knowledge. |

|Scientific practices include drawing or “writing” on observation clipboards, making rubbings, or charting the growth of plants. |

|Effective communication skills convey intended meaning to others and assist in preventing misunderstandings. |

|CPI # | Cumulative Progress Indicator (CPI) |

|5.1.P.A.1 |Display curiosity about science objects, materials, activities, and longer-term investigations in progress. |

|5.1.P.B.1 |Observe, question, predict, and investigate materials, objects, and phenomena (e.g., using simple tools to crack a nut and|

| |look inside) during indoor and outdoor classroom activities and during any longer-term investigations. |

|5.1.P.B.2 |Use basic science terms and topic-related science vocabulary. |

|5.1.P.B.3 |Identify and use basic tools and technology to extend exploration in conjunction with science investigation. |

|5.1.P.C.1 |Communication with other children and adults to share observations, pursue questions, and make predictions and/or |

| |conclusions. |

|5.1.P.D.1 |Represent observations and work through drawing, recording data, and “writing.” |

|5.3.P.A.1 |Investigate and compare the basic physical characteristics of plants, humans, and other animals. |

|5.3.P.A.2 |Observe similarities and differences in the needs of various living things, and difference between living and nonliving |

| |things. |

|5.3.P.B.1 |Observe and describe how plants and animals obtain food from their environment, such as observing the interactions between|

| |organisms in a natural habitat. |

|5.3.P.C.1 |Observe and describe how natural habitats provide for the basic needs of plants and animals with respect to shelter, food,|

| |water, air and light (e.g., dig outside in the soil to investigate the kinds of animal life that live in and around the |

| |ground). |

|5.3.P.D.1 |Observe and record change over time and cycles of change that affect living things (e.g., use baby photographs to discuss |

| |human change and growth, observe and photograph tree growth and leaf changes throughout the year, monitor the life cycle |

| |of a plant). |

|5.3.P.E.1 |Explore the effects of sunlight on living and nonliving things. |

|9.1.4.A.1 |Recognize a problem and brainstorm ways to solve the problem individually or collaboratively. |

|9.1.4.A.2 |Evaluate available resources that can assist in solving problems. |

|9.1.4.A.5 |Apply critical thinking and problem-solving skills in classroom and family setting. |

|9.1.4.D.2 |Express needs, wants, and feelings appropriately in various situations. |

|Unit Essential Questions |Unit Enduring Understandings |

|How are living things different from non-living things? |Food is required for energy. |

|What do living things need to survive? |Living things need certain things to grow and change. |

|How do living things adapt? |Living things reproduce, develop, and have predicable life cycle. |

|How do the parts of living things help them survive? |Plants and animals live in many places and need one another. |

|What enables an organism to change with the seasons? |Explain that living things pass through cycles of life that help |

|Is everything that moves alive? |continue the species existence. |

|How can we communicate the results of our experiments to other people?|Animals each have different structures that assist in its survival. |

|Why are safety rules important in science? |Seasonal changes in the environment prompt changes in the animal |

|How do we organize our work to behave like a scientist? |kingdom. |

| |Scientists ask questions and then investigate to find answers. |

| |Scientists use the world around them to explore and observe to learn. |

| |Science tools can help us investigate. |

|Unit Learning Targets |

|Students will ... |

|Name the basic needs of living things and recognize nonliving things do not have needs. |

|Compare and contrast essential characteristics that distinguish living from nonliving things. |

|Determine if things are living or nonliving (plants, animals, objects). |

|Explain what needs a plant, human, animal has for survival. |

|Explain how plants and animals are needed for human survival. |

|Identify the parts of a plant and describe the function of that part for the plants survival. |

|Observe and describe the stages in the life cycle of a plant and tree. |

|Compare the life cycle of a plant to another living thing and determine the similarities. |

|Infer what can happen in the environment of a plant that can hinder its healthy growth. |

|Identify trees as living things because they need air and water; trees can grow. |

|Synthesize the climatic seasonal changes to a tree’s annual cycle (apple tree). |

|Describe the seasonal structural changes that occur in a tree’s year (apple tree). |

|Identify the ways animals move. |

|Classify things as living and non-living. |

|Describe characteristics of living and non-living things. |

|Identify the major structures of common plants. |

|Evidence of Learning |

|Summative Assessment (suggestions) |

|Draw in sequence a series of pictures showing a plant’s sequence of growth. |

|Create a resource to be used by others to inform them of the needs of plants and how to care for plants so they can survive. |

|Equipment needed: green bean seeds, paper towel, and plastic bag; flower seeds, apple, apple seeds, science journals |

|Teacher Instructional Resources: |

|FOSS Science Kit |

|Trade books: |

|How a Seed Grows by Helene J. Jordan |

|Jack’s Garden by Henry Cole |

|One Little Seed by Elaine Greenstein |

|Animal Dads by Sneed B. Collard |

|DK First Animal Encyclopedia by Penelope Arlon |

|What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? by Robin Page and Steve Jenkins |

|Formative Assessments (suggestions) |

|Observe and record the life cycle of a plant (green bean) throughout|Sort living and non-living things using various offered pictures |

|each stage-daily |Create a living and non-living collage |

|Create a K-W-L of living and nonliving things |Compare, sort, and label animals that are the same classification: body |

|Animal Parade: act out various animal movements |covering, etc. |

|Create animal habitat mobiles |Create animal riddles |

|Animal “match-up”: match animals to their type of home/shelter |Match the animal offspring to its mother |

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|Integration of Technology |

|SMARTBoard, ELMO, Flip camera, laptop, art supplies, various materials |

|Technology Resources |

|Click the links below to access additional resources used to design this unit: |

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|Teachers’ Domain provides lesson plans and other multimedia resources (video clips and simulations) that support this CPI. |

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|Opportunities for Differentiation |

|utilizing pairing and grouping of activities |

|deliver instruction in a variety of modalities |

|opportunities provided to express learning through written assignments and art |

|express understanding through role playing scenarios |

|express understanding through the use of problem solving situations |

|Teacher Notes: |

|Investigate some familiar groups of animals such as: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and insects. Explore various animals and their|

|body coverings: scales, feathers, fur, and skin. Living things need: air, food, water; can grow, move, and make more things like themselves. |

|Non-living things do not need: air, food, water; cannot grow or make more of themselves. Plants: flower, plant, grass, shrub, tree; light, |

|soil, water, leaves, roots, seed, stem. |

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