Introduction
Standards Addressed in the tour: K. Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems: Animals, Plants, and their Environment which will incorporate the use of models and observations to represent relationships and to describe patterns (Achieve, 2013, p. 6).
Task
Option 1
Create a diagram, graphic organizer, or storyboard to illustrate the relationship between animals, plants, and their environment.
Must select 1 animal and 1 plant you observe.
Please view the six exhibits in the Process section before you create the diagram or storyboard.
Option 2
Create a model of an environment for or structure to protect an animal or plant you observe in one of the following exhibits in the Process section.
To help you come up with ideas, observe the following six exhibits on this tour.
Process
Six Exhibits on the Tour:
Shedd Aquarium in Chicago
View: http://www.sheddaquarium.org/plan-a-visit/Explore/Exhibits/
Sea Otter
[video:https://youtube.com/watch?v=sNoNSqiE-Dk width:200 height:200 align:center autoplay:1]
In your journal, write answers to 2 questions: What is the sea otter doing? What does it remind you of? Do you like play time? What do you consider a fun activity? Do you like to swim? How much time do you usually spend playing? How long do you think otters play in the water for? How much time do you think otters spend in the water? What kind of food do you think it eats? How long do you think otters sleep? Where do you think they sleep?
View the following about a rescued sea otter pup http://www.sheddaquarium.org/blog/2014/November/Welcome-Pup-681/
In your jounral, write the name you would choose for the pup. Then answer 1 question: What does it remind you of? What do you think the sea otter will eat when it's older? What do you think the fur feels like - soft, scratchy, hard, etc. ? Where can you find one? Where do you think they live? Have you seen one up close before?
Complete the Sting Ray Activity
In your journal, answer 1 question: How does it eat? What does it eat? Can you get stung by one? Where is the mouth? How many teeth do you think they have? What do you think it feels like to pet one? Have you pet one? Would you pet one? where can you pet one? Where can you see one? Where do you think they live? Do you think they stay close to the top of the water or close to the sea shore?
Lemur Park in Madagascar
[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1r4JNsquNk width:200 height:200 align:center autoplay:1]
In your journal, answer 2 questions from the list below:
What do you observe about this animal? What features of the face can you see? What do
you notice about the paws, tail and body? How would you describe them? Do any features
remind you of people and or other animals? If so, which ones and why? What is the
animal doing? What do you think it is about to do? What is the animal holding onto?
What kind of food do you think this animal eats? How do you think this animal might
move on land? What other colors and sizes do you think this animal might be? What do you
think the tail is used for? What is the animal called? Is it a friendly animal? Do they
bite people? How big do they get? Where can we see one? Do you think the animal stays in
the trees all of the time? Do you think they go on the ground or in the water?
Australia Zoo in Beerwah near the Sunshine Coast
[video:https://youtube.com/watch?v=y699qXKDVwE width:200 height:200 align:center autoplay:1]
In your journal, draw a picture of: your favorite animal, the animal you would like to pet or the animal you are most afraid of. Answer at least one question: Have you ever been to a zoo before? Have you pet any animals while at a zoo before? Do you like animals licking your toes? What is a new or different animal that you saw at the Austrailia Zoo? What does this animal remind you of? Is it friendly? What kind of food do you think it eats? Where do you think they live? Do you think they are in Australia only?
Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming
Print: http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Conservation/Citizen-Science/Wildlife-Watch/Observations.aspx
Color in the square or circle the picture of wildlife you observe at Yellowstone.
View: http://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/photosmultimedia/wildlife-and-fish.htm
Questions to think about: Have you ever seen a wolf or a bear? If so, where? Do you have any pet fish? Have you ever had a pet fish before? What are similarities between pet fish you had or have and the ones you see at the Yellowstone exhibit?
Make 1 or 2 sentence strips about animals you saw and or their habitats. Here are some brainstorming ideas:
Where does the animal live? Does it rain a lot or a little there? Does it snow? Does it get icy? What kind of food do you think the animal eats? What do you think the animal does in the winter? How does the animal stay protected from the sun or heat of the sun? Does the animal live near water - a pond, river, lake, etc.? What does the animals "home" look like? Do people and this animal live close to each other?
Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico
Print: http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Conservation/Citizen-Science/Wildlife-Watch/Observations.aspx
As you view pictures of Carlsbad Caverns, color in the square box or circle the picture of wildlife you observe.
View: http://www.nps.gov/cave/learn/photosmultimedia/photogallery.htm
*Optional* View the picture and article about a recent discovery at the Caverns: http://cavingnews.com/20131115-new-room-discovered-high-ceiling-carlsbad-caverns
View: http://www.nps.gov/cave/learn/index.htm
In your journal, answer 2 questions:
Top screen image: What animals do you see? What are they doing? Where do you think they are going? Where do you think they live? What do you think they eat? Have you seen one before, i.e. in a movie, cartoon, book, picture, etc.? What do you think this animal is called?
Did you know image: What do you see here? What does it look like? Is it hanging down from a ceiling or standing on the ground? What do you think is dripping from it?
Sequoia National Park in California
View: http://rackphoto.com/panos/rackoramas/sequoia-np/moro-2010-tour.html
You can click on red arrows and camera images during the tour.
Think about: How do the trees get to be so tall? What is a tree made of? How old are the trees there? Where are the oldest trees? How do you know how old a tree is? What animals call trees their home? What part of the tree do they live in or on?
Evaluation
All of the pictures, journal entries, checklists, and activities completed will be included in the students portfolio.
The following can be kept simple so the students can use it for peer review of the storyboard, diagram or model the students complete. I can also add to it when evaluating the students’ comprehension during the entire lesson/unit on ecosystems.
Because I am not a fan of using 0, a student could receive an overall score of 12, 6 or 3.
Student’s Name: _____
- Complete
- Almost
- Not yet
Conclusion
Congratulations! You completed the tour.
Hope you had fun learning and exploring about animals, plants and their environments.
Credits
In addition to links that are visible, the following need to be credited:
(Achieve, Nov 2013). Topic Arrangements of the Next Generation Science Standards. Retrieved from:
http://www.nextgenscience.org/sites/ngss/files/NGSS%20Combined%20Topics%2011.8.13.pdf
Lemur Park Antananarivo. Retrieved from: https://youtu.be/G1r4JNsquNk
The Great Explorer (Sheddaquarium.org). Retrieved from: https://youtu.be/sNoNSqiE-Dk
Robert Irwin's Australia Zoo Tour (http://www.australiazoo.com.au/education/kindy/). Retrieved from: https://youtu.be/y699qXKDVwE