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EMAT 605 Dr. Lucy Bush Final Project ASHLY ASHLEY LINDSEY WENDY - JOINED/CREATED 6/24

hi guys... please let me know you got in by typing something! i have attached the GPS for 4th grade below. thanks! wendy If you want to add comments, just click on the "EDIT" button in the upper, right hand area and type away. Then click "SAVE" in the upper part of the page.

Wow, what great ideas Lindsey! How much do we owe you - haha, just kidding! I did my unit on Science, but for 2nd grade, but do you think Dr. Bush wants us to do a different unit for this group project?
 * Wendy: My Wiki is not slow.

ALL - my comments are in RED. Made June 30 515pm. Wendy

Lindsey**: Wendy or the two Ashley's (Ashly B- I did my unit on science and I used Earth science, but I like this idea about ecosystems because my unit was a kindergarten unit), did any of yall do your unit plans on science? if you did, we can just go ahead and use i like this too that unit plan instead of making up a new one. if no one did, i like the idea of Life Science: S4L1. **Students will describe the roles of organisms and the flow of energy within an ecosystem** S4L2. **Students will identify factors that affect the survival or extinction of organisms such as adaptation, variation of behaviors (hibernation), and external features(camouflage and protection).** (Are we only going to focus on these parts of the 2 standards or do you all think we should focus on all of the subsets in standard 1 and 2?) i think we need to do all subsets of whatever standard(s) we choose.

I was thinking our essential question could be : __What is the life and death of an organism__? ( how about...What are the roles of organisms? ) maybe because if we do subsets of both standards, it talks about extinction too? Also, check out this website: http://eduplace.com/science/hmxs/ls/mode/. I chose 4th-5th grade and it gives some great ideas for interactive activities!

Ideas about centers: __center #1:__ producers, consumers and decomposers....maybe we could laminate some images of some of these. Then we could create a food/web chain and the students could move these different producers,consumers or decomposers to the appropriate place on the food/web chain. Perhaps we could create a short audio of instructions for the students to go by organism activity: http://eduplace.com/science/hmxs/ls/pdf/1rs_1_1-3.pdf - for this did you mean like an animoto? there are lots of food chain ideas out there - this is good! there is a really good presentation on brainpop...

(Ashly B- http://ischool.umd.edu/research/students/FoodChain.pdfexamples from online worksheets) Maybe have the kids pick their favorite environment from a list (dessert, forest, rain forest [jungle], ocean, lake, farm/ranch, marsh, or mountains) and then give them a long list of organisms and have them design their food chain by picking the organisms off the list. We can have them draw a picture of the organism and write the name.

__center#2:__ Students can do something with prediction of changes in the environment and population. Perhaps we could incorporate a foldable of cause and effect:

__center#3:__Identify external features of organisms for survival or reproduction. I thought maybe something with touch and feel and hidden answers so that they can check their answers.

__center#4__:Identify factors that may have led to the extinction of some organisms. Maybe students could finish a story line (writing skills, prediction skills of prior knowledge) of some examples of organisms that are extinct. we can have the children listen to a CD and have them list the different noises they hear (animal sounds, trees rustling, wind or water) and then list what they think the different environment is. After that we can show them a picture of the environment and let them feel something from that environment.

Ideas for assessment: A Study cube: There are dice-like soft cubes that you can get that have a plastic insert on each side that you can insert a picture or phrase. We could insert the main ideas of the unit plan and play a game with the class where each student gets to role the dice. Whatever concept it lands on, they will have to verbally say 3 facts about that concept. What do you all think about making this a girl-scout/boyscout wilderness team. Each table that the class visits you will be earning a "patch." For instance after they complete center #1 they will gain their food chain patch (after they have properly diagrammed their food chain), after center 2 they will earn an environment patch (if they have made predicted 3/5 of the populations correctly), center 3 they will earn an adaptation(I'm not sure about the name we might need to change that) patch after they have identified 75% of the external features of the different organisms, and for center 4 an extinction patch after they have finished drafting their extinction stories. _ Does everyone like this idea? if so, please put your comments and ideas beside each of the centers! Once we get some solid ideas down on the centers, i'm thinking, there's 4 of us and there's 4 centers- so each one of us could take a center and work on it.
 * Lindsey to Wendy**: I'm thinking that she wants us to look at new ideas, my thoughts were just to draw ideas off those that did science. =)
 * Lindsey to Everyone**: I will send out a mass email to wendy and the two ashl(e)y's. I'm not sure Ashley w. is in the loop yet??

My ideas about each center is that they should probably differ in learning styles. Ex. one should be visual, one should be auditory, one should be kenistic(spelling) and one should be something else **(ideas**)? The last table can just incorporate all 3 learning styles. Have them touching, hearing, and spelling- this might be best suited for center 4

Also, I think within each of our groups we should include some kind of differentiated learning processes for struggling and advanced learners. **(ideas**)? I like the idea of having differentiated learning activities but I think it might be a little easier to use the assessment for this aspect because it might be difficult to pull that off in an actual classroom w/o designating a separate table to focus on it.

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 * __Summary of group learning center project__

Essential question: What are the roles of organisms?

Divide students in 4 groups of 2. Wilderness Girl Scout Troop theme, group names: Daisies, Brownies, Juniors, Cadets. (maybe we could write their group name on masking tape and put on their shirts...like we did in girl scouts).

8 minute hook: show youtube Carbon footprint video, each group will complete how to calculate their CF's online (zerofootprintkids.com). (will need 4 laptops). Then assign groups to centers.**

Ashly B. (visual) Producers, consumers, decomposers and how they exist on a food web/chain and their flow of energy beginning with sunlight. Students will receive 3 sheets of paper with a list of animals (p,c,d's). Students will choose the correct environment and then proceed to create food/web chains for all of them. Students who get so many right will earn their "food chain" or "p,c,d badge".
 * __Center #1:__

__Center#2:__ Lindsey R. (auditory) Predictions of changes in the environment and population. Will create a voicethread-a virtual and interactive lesson that will take students through various environments/populations changes and will ask them to make predictions about their outcome. Students will be given worksheets to fill out correct answers. If they get so many correct they will receive their "prediction badge".

__Center#3:__ Wendy G. (Kin) Identify external features of organism that gives them advantages over other organisms for survival and reproduction purposes. "Name those Duds!" 3-5 opaque boxes. Will fill with skins, fur, legs. etc that resemble the feel of animals. Students will be able to reach in the box, feel and finally make a guess as to what animal (organism) it belongs to. Somehow write down answers then check answsers by opening the lid of box to see the animal and learn different facts about each one. Students who get so many right will earn their "survival badge".

__Center#4:__ Ashley W. (combination of all of sensatories) Factors that may have led to extinction. students who get so many right will earn their "extinction badge". ?

Bring all the groups together for 8 minute closing activity: Not a solid idea down yet, but we would like to close like a girl scout troop would close their meetings. www.tarheeltriad.org BE THINKING OF IDEAS!

Assessment: Each student (or we can decide if the group as a whole) will receive a certain badge for passing in each center. Maybe we could make up an envelope for each student where they could hold onto their badges as they move through each center. This will be their ticket out the door! When each student hands in their badges, the teacher will be able to assess who needs more work in what area (demonstrated b/c of the lack of badges from that student).

We also need a single page handout summarizing the main points and themes and centers to hand out to each student. I would say that each person needs to write up a short blurb on what their center is, how it works, what standard it pertains to, and how. Someone will compile all of this on one worksheet.

Summary of Troup 605 and rundown for presentation order: **


 * Ashly will hand out sashes in random order to students as they walk in. This will specify their groups for testing and centers
 * Wendy begins with CF video and explains what student will do with the zerofootprintkids.com test


 * Lindsey will write essential question on the board and explain standards we have chosen
 * Ashley will be start/end timer while students are taking CF test (10 mins) to complete-students will test in groups


 * After test are complete, Wendy will go around the room and verbally get an answer from all groups and stress the importance of eliminating your CF!


 * Ashly explain "wilderness girl scout troops" groups
 * Divide into groups-each group member will be responsible for maning their center and handing out their patches

Center number 1 will discuss the differences between producers, consumers and decomposers. The children will be expected to move different organisms on a designated "food web". The food web will consist of 10 to 12 different pieces of blank velcro and they will be expected to place the organisms correctly on the food web. Following the food web placement activity, students wil be asked to choose from a list of four enivronments (rainforest, desert, lake or marsh), and then asked to make their own food chain. They will receive their food web patch based on the accuracy of their food chain.

Center number 2 students will be guided through a series of voicethreads (images of different enviornments). Students will be asked to make certain predictions about changes that will be presented within these enviornments. Students will fill out a worksheet to complete their answers and then will hand these into the teacher at the end of the center session. They will receive their prediction patch based on the accuracy of their predictions. Differentiation: Advanced student will be given additional critical thinking questions about making further in-depth predictions about enviornment changes. Struggling learners will be given a worksheet containing answers that will have predictions already started for them and they will be expected to finish the predictions.

Center number 3 will focus on the diference between camoflauge and mimicry.** The student will understand the following: some animals use body shape, size, shape or color to blend in with their environment. By the use of camoflauge and mimicry, predator animals hide to better catch their prey. With the use of cut out animals, reptiles and insect, students will glue cut them on similar colored construction paper and create an environment that is similar. Students will show to other students and see if they can find the animal in the picture. If they can find the animal correctly, the student gets a patch. Lower level learners will logon to the website http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/course/ent425/tutorial/Ecology/camo/index.htm and go through each insect to look and see if they can "find the insect" by opening each insect page and rolling over with the mouse. Higher level learners will be able to answer a fill-in-the blank worksheet about camoflauge and mimicry - worksheet from( **** http://www.exploringnature.org/db/detail.php?dbID=15&detID=672). **


 * Center Number 4 Will be based on differentitation. I will have the students think from the perspective of a National Park Ranger and give them options of different activities to do about animals Indigenous to the United States and their extinction or factors that led to their extinction. There will be a Tic Tac Toe board with all different types of activities available for the students to choose from. There will be some activities that are pretty basic and made for everyone in the classroom to attempt, however for my Lower learners they will have their choice of something not quite as hard. For my advanced learners they will have the opportunity to choose an activity a bit more challenging. **


 * ** Play girl scout song as 2 min warning for center switch, play song again for center switch **
 * **Bring groups together to sit in big circle: study cube activity (8 mins. long)**


 * **study cube concepts: 1)Camoflage 2)PCD's 3)Adapting to enviornments 4)predictions about enviornments 5)factors of extinction 6)free**


 * **Ashly display pledge on powerpoint and we lead claSs in reciting pledge:**

-On my honor I will try to reduce my carbon footprint to make the earth a better place for all living organisms big and small. -I will try to be aware of the roles of producers, consumers, and decomposers in a community. -I will try to remember how changes in our environment affect all living organisms big and small. -I will respect similarities/differences in all living things. -I will acknowledge the factors that come into play concerning extinction of organisms. -and to live by the wilderness girl scout troop pledge.
 * GIRL SCOUT WILDERNESS TROOP PLEDGE: **