Science
Environments
Lake Country 4th graders will kick off the year by studying various environments. We will focus on the concepts that organisms have structures and behaviors that serve functions in growth, survival and reproduction. All living organisms depend on one another and their environment for survival. Students will design investigations to study preferred environments, range of tolerance and optimum conditions for growth and survival of specific organisms. They will conduct controlled experiments by incrementally changing specific environmental conditions to determine the range of tolerance for early seed growth and for hatching brine shrimp. Students will use the data to determine and communicate the impact of changes to the environment on organisms. They will graph and interpret data from multiple trials of experiments and build explanations from evidence. This unit is highly motivating and provides many hands-on opportunities and incorporates cross curriculum concepts to develop a wide range of skills.
Investigation One: Environmental Factors
Students will set up a mealworm environment at two different temperatures and observe the life cycle over time. Students will also investigate how isopods respond to environmental factors such as water and light, and set up an isopod environment. Students will investigate small animals that live in leaflitter and study their structures.
Investigation TWO: Ecosystems
Students learn about the role of producers, consumers, and decomposers in food chains and food webs in terrestrial and aquatic systems, including both freshwater and marine ecosystems. Students learn about how food affects a population's home range through an outdoor simulation and explore how animals receive information from their environment through their sensory system and use the information to guide their actions.
Investigation THREE: Brine Shrimp Hatching
Students conduct a controlled experiment to determine which of four salt concentrations allow brine shrimp eggs to hatch. Students determine range of tolerance and optimum conditions for brine shrimp hatching. Student look at variation in a population and consider how variation among individuals contributes to survival of a population through an outdoor simulation.
Investigation FOUR: Range of Tolerance
Students experiment with the germination of corn, pea, barley and radish seeds to determine the range of tolerance of water and the effects of various levels of salinity on these seeds. Students look at plant adaptations.
Additional Information, games and links:
Plant Adaptations National Geographic Kids
Environmental Games (x10) Habitats
Ecology and Environmental Science