Embedded Files
Life Science
Life Science
Life Cycles
Anchor Phenomenon: Why do bats fly around and stick their heads in flowers?
Investigation 1: How is your life like an alligator's life?
In this lesson, students explore animal life cycles by thinking about their "birthday buddies," animals who were born on the same day as them.
Students are going to develop a model to compare life cycles of different animals. They will discover that even though the life cycles can be very unique, they also have similarities.
Investigation 2: What's the best way to get rid of mosquitoes?
Students are going to investigate a mosquito life cycle, habitat, and the role they play in carrying diseases such as malaria.
We are going to look at different ideas of getting rid of mosquitoes in different places around a town. They will design a solution to deal with an abundance of mosquitoes during a very rainy summer.
Investigation 3: Why do plants grow flowers?
Students are going to learn how and why flowers are pollinated.
In this activity, students are going to make a model of a flower and a bee. They will use these models to investigate what happens to the flower's pollen as a bee flies around.
Investigation 4: Why do plants give us fruit?
Students are going to learn about why plants grow fruit.
We are going to examine common produce from a grocery store to decide if something is a "science fruit" or vegetable. Students will dissect these foods to search for seeds.
Investigation 5: Why are there so many different kinds of flowers?
Students are going to compare and contrast flower life cycles.
Finally, students are going to observe and predict how changes to pollinators impact plant reproduction, which can change the life cycle of plants.
Garden:
Students will also explore these concepts through our school garden. They will be part of cleaning the garden beds, planting various seeds, watering, and weeding. At the end of the school year, students will help harvest their plants and get to sample what they grew!
Economics
Economics
Economics:
I can understand how economics affect me and others.
Economics Overview:
Students will have the opportunity to learn about economics through class activities and the Junior Achievement program. Students will learn about saving vs. spending, goods vs. services, needs vs. wants, import vs. export, opportunity cost, scarcity, taxes, and becoming an entrepreneur. This unit has a lot of vocabulary. Please work on these concepts with your child at home and apply the concepts to situations when you are out and about!
Junior Achievement Overview:
According to the Junior Achievement Program "Students will explore, zoning founding within a city; the importance of money to a city, paying taxes, and how people use different methods to pay for goods and services. They will also explore how financial institutions, entrepreneurs, and news media contribute to the financial well-being of a city."
Government
Government
Government:
I can understand the purpose of government and the individual responsibilities of citizenship.
Government Overview:
Students will learn about local government in third grade. Students begin the unit by exploring their rights and responsibilities as citizens. Next, they will learn about The Pledge of Allegiance and the American Flag. Then, students will focus their attention specifically on local government. During this time, students will learn about the city of Onalaska's government. We will meet Mayor Kim Smith and learn about the departments she works with. Finally, students will be introduced to the three branches of government to better understand how the government functions.
History/Holidays/Heroes
History/Holidays/Heroes
History/Holidays/Heroes:
I can understand the impact of history and how it shapes how we see ourselves, others, and the past, present, and future.
Heroes Overview:
Students will briefly be introduced to people who have been influential in our country. The students will specifically focus on how these people's decisions, actions, and words of the past have impacted how we live today. This unit of study will expose students to the concept of biographies, which will support student learning in a future literacy module.
Geography
Geography
Geography:
I Can understand geography by studying people, places and environments.
Geography Overview:
Our main focus this unit is for students to learn how to use a variety of maps to explore map features and regions around our country and globe. Students will be making a graphic organizer as they explore each globe feature. Globe features include latitude and longitude, locating the equator, and finding oceans and continents. Students will have many opportunities to engage in activities as they explore maps and learn the seven major continents. The last part of this unit requires the students to use cardinal and intermediate directions. Students will practice finding locations on a map using both intermediate and cardinal directions.
Physical Science
Physical Science
Forces, Motion, and Magnets
Anchor Phenomenon: How does an ice board work?
Investigation 1: How could you win a tug-o-war against a bunch of adults?
Students are going to learn about forces, both pushes and pulls.
In this lesson, students are going to try to make a "Hopper Popper" jump. They will explore the forces that it takes to get it to get high in the air.
Investigation 2: What makes bridges so strong?
Students are going to learn about real world bridge designs.
For this activity, students are going to use their knowledge of forces to build a bridge that supports as many pennies as possible, using only paper.
Investigation 3: How high can you swing on a flying trapeze?
Students are going to investigate the patterns of motion used on a trapeze.
We will get to build model trapezes to make observations and take measurements of motion. We will then use the data collected with the model to predict the motion of a real trapeze.
Investigation 4: What can magnets do?
Students will explore properties of magnets and experiment with invisible forces that can act at a distance.
In this activity, students will use ring magnets and common objects to discover the push and pull of magnets and how they attract certain types of metals.
Investigation 5: How can you unlock a door using a magnet?
Students will investigate magnetic attraction and repulsion.
Finally, students will apply their scientific ideas about magnets to create a useful product: a magnetic lock that can open a paper door. Students will engage in the engineering design process to test and improve their designs.
Life Science
Life Science
Animals Through Time
Anchor Phenomenon: How did footprints, burned wood, and animal bones end up deep in a watery cave?
Investigation 1: Where can you find whales in the desert?
Students are going to learn that the rock underneath us can contain fossils.
In this lesson, students are going to create a model fossil dig. They will use traits of the fossils to determine what habitat the animal lived in when it was alive.
Investigation 2: How do we know what dinosaurs looked like?
Students are going to analyze fossils to determine the animals' appearances and behaviors when they were alive.
For this activity, students are going to compare the traits of dinosaur fossils with animals that are still living today.
Investigation 3: Can you outrun a dinosaur?
Students are going to learn about how dinosaur tracks reveal how quickly it was running.
Students will get to see if they would win a race against a dinosaur just their size. They will compare the length of their running steps with a dinosaur's.
Earth Science
Earth Science
Weather and Climate
Anchor Phenomenon: How can an ice storm happen during hot summer weather?
Investigation 1: Where do clouds come from?
In this lesson, students examine clues about how clouds look and feel to discover what they are made of and how they form.
Students will experiment with condensation and evaporation to understand how clouds are formed.
Investigation 2: How can we predict when it's going to storm?
Students will learn how to make predictions about the weather by observing clouds and their changes.
We will become storm spotters by creating a book to record notes, identify different types of clouds, and observe wind direction. This information will help students figure out if a storm is heading their way, what kind of storm it will be, and how long it will last!
Investigation 3: Where's the best place to build a snow fort?
We are going to explore seasonal weather conditions across different regions. Students are going to investigate how weather patterns can be used to make predictions about future weather.
The students are going to organize daily temperature data from three snowy towns (including Madison, WI!) into a table so they can compare weather conditions and predict which town is most likely to have the best weather for a snow festival.
Investigation 4: Why are some places always hot?
In this lesson, students will learn about climate and explore the world's five major climates.
Students will be color coding maps of the world to figure out which climate each region has. They will then combine maps to search for global climate patterns.
Investigation 5: How can you keep a house from blowing away in a windstorm?
Finally, students will explore the effects of natural hazards such as tornadoes, hurricanes, and dust storms.
Students are going to design a windproof house with a paper model. They are going to have certain materials to design multiple solutions to make a house sturdy enough to survive a wind storm. They will make changes, create several models, and compare each model to decide which one is best.
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