Learn 360 - Why Doesn't Grass Grow on the Moon
Living and Non-living things - Smart Notebook Exchange file
Holiday Facts & Fun: Earth Day, 2nd Edition - Run Time: [14:14]
This video tells the story behind Earth Day, and illustrates the importance of establishing a healthful environment on the land, in the air, and in the waters of our planet. More importantly, the video shows youngsters what they can do today, and in the future, to help protect planet Earth.
OVERALL EXPECTATIONS
1. assess the role of humans in maintaining a healthy environment;
2. investigate needs and characteristics of plants and animals, including humans;
3. demonstrate an understanding of the basic needs and characteristics of plants and animals, including humans.
SPECIFIC EXPECTATIONS
1. Relating Science and Technology to Society and the Environment
1.1 identify personal action that they themselves can take to help maintain a healthy environment for living things, including humans (e.g., walk to school instead of being driven in the car; be careful what they put down the drain at home; practise cleanliness to reduce the spread of germs when helping in the kitchen; show care and concern for all living things)
Sample guiding questions: What happens to humans when part of their environment is not healthy? What happens to other animals and plants when part of their environment is not healthy? What are some ways that humans help and hurt other living things? What can we do at home to help keep our environment healthy? What can we do here at school? What does our community do to help keep our environment healthy?
1.2 describe changes or problems that could result from the loss of some kinds of living things that are part of everyday life (e.g., if we lost all the cows, all the insects, all the bats, all the trees, all the grasses), taking different points of view into consideration (e.g., the point of view of farmers, children, parents)
Sample guiding questions: What are some living things that we see every day? Which are plants? Which are animals? What makes them important to us and to the environment? How would things be different for us as humans if there were no cows (trees, insects, bats, grass)? How would things be different for other living things? How would the environment be different? What are some things we can do to show that we care for other living things and appreciate what they do for us and for the environment?
2. Developing Investigation and Communication Skills
2.1 follow established safety procedures and humane practices during science and technology investigations (e.g., show care and concern when handling animals)
2.2 investigate and compare the basic needs of humans and other living things, including the need for air, water, food, warmth, and space, using a variety of methods and resources (e.g., prior knowledge, personal experience, discussion, books, videos/DVDs, CD-ROMs)
Sample guiding questions: What is the difference between living things and non-living things? What are some of the things that humans need to live and grow? What do other living things need to live and grow? In what ways are all living things alike? What are some ways in which they are different? In what ways might humans interfere with the ability of other living things to get what they need to live (e.g., by polluting the water that animals drink and live in; by removing plants from their natural growing places and putting them in their gardens)? Why do some Aboriginal people consider rocks to be living things?
2.3 investigate and compare the physical characteristics of a variety of plants and animals, including humans (e.g., some plants produce flowers and some do not; most plants have roots; some animals have two legs, while others have four; all animals have sense organs)
2.4 investigate the physical characteristics of plants (e.g., basic parts, size, shape, colour) and explain how they help the plant meet its basic needs (e.g., roots anchor the plant and help provide the plant with food and water; some plants have brightly coloured flowers to attract bees), using a variety of methods and resources (e.g., direct observation of live plants in the classroom and in the schoolyard, prior knowledge, personal experience, diagrams and/or charts)
Sample guiding questions: What are the things that plants need in order to grow and survive? What parts do most plants have? How does each of these parts help the plant to get what it needs to grow and survive?
2.5 investigate characteristics of parts of the human body, including the five sense organs, and explain how those characteristics help humans meet their needs and explore the world around them (e.g., our hands have fingers and a thumb that are flexible to allow us to pick up food; our legs have the two biggest bones in our bodies, to carry us around to do the things we need to do; our tongue has bumps that help us to determine if our food is too hot, too cold, or tastes bad; our ears are shaped like cones to catch sounds that warn us that danger is near and to hear the beautiful sounds of nature), using a variety of methods and resources (e.g., observation of themselves and other animals, outdoor experiences, prior knowledge, personal experience, diagrams and/or charts)
2.6 use appropriate science and technology vocabulary, including investigation, explore, needs, space, and food, in oral and written communication
2.7 use a variety of forms (e.g., oral, written, graphic, multimedia) to communicate with different audiences and for a variety of purposes (e.g., create a diorama to illustrate the basic needs of plants and animals, including humans)
3. Understanding Basic Concepts
3.1 identify environment as the area in which something or someone exists or lives
3.2 identify the physical characteristics (e.g., size, shape, colour, common parts) of a variety of plants and animals (e.g., sunflowers are tall, with a long stalk, leaves, and big, round, yellow flowers with hundreds of seeds; dogs can be big or small, come in many shapes and colours, have four legs, and usually have a tail and are covered with fur)
3.3 identify the location and function of major parts of the human body, including sense organs (e.g., lungs are in my chest and are used for breathing; teeth are in my mouth and are used for eating; hair is on my head for protection from the cold; ears are on the sides of my head and are used for hearing)
3.4 describe the characteristics of a healthy environment, including clean air and water and nutritious food, and explain why it is important for all living things to have a healthy environment
3.5 describe how showing care and respect for all living things helps to maintain a healthy environment (e.g., leaving all living things in their natural environment; feeding birds during cold winter months; helping to plant and care for plants in the gardens that attract birds and butterflies; caring for the school and the schoolyard as an environment)
3.6 identify what living things provide for other living things (e.g., trees produce the oxygen that other living things breathe; plants such as tomatoes and apple trees and animals such as cows and fish provide food for humans and for other animals; a tree stump provides a home for a chipmunk; porcupines chew off the tips of hemlock limbs, providing food for deer in winter)
3.7 describe how the things plants and animals use to meet their needs are changed by their use and are returned to the environment in different forms (e.g., the food animals eat and the water they drink are returned to the earth as scat and urine)