Embedded Files
This page is dedicated to a unit on the biosphere. I do the whole unit in the first trimester and it takes at least six weeks. The green links below are some other resources connected to biology and the biosphere, but I am still developing those. So, as always, stay tuned!
Part 1:
Build a Biome
Now, before you start any of this, start building a biome. It is pretty easy to set-up and once your class has a handle on it, you can make all different varieties, like one with worms, one with snails, one with chia seeds, one with sunflowers seeds; one in the sun, one in the shade, you get the idea. The biomes can be used for the plant portion of this unit, the micro-organisms parts, the birds of North America part... If you start it now, your students can have something to observe while doing these other activities.
CLICK HERE FOR A video that shows you how to make a biosphere all of your own. I suggest you make one for every five kids. The video has all the info you need and it's literally made from simple supplies! My own suggestion is to make the biome one day, wait three weeks, add some roolie-poolies or snails or caterpillars. Make some observations, add two snails. Make some more observations. Add some food scraps. Continue adding one "community member" per week and observe.
And, you know, you can buy some worms to add!
To get yourself organized, have your kids do this worksheet packet. You can turn it into an inventor's notebook or a design journal... kinda cool. This is just a good start.
Option:
If you can grab some roly-polies, you can do lots of fun experiments with them. For example, altering their environment is one easy experiment, adding different types of leaves to see which ones they eat, adding different colors to see which on their prefer... Good stuff. You can click on the slideshow on the right to do it with your class or you can just use the worksheet. This experiment can last 30 minutes or 30 days. Just remember, put the roly-poly exactly back when you got it when the experiment is over!
I like to do my lessons in the order presented on this site: (1) Set up biomes (2) Teach about micro-organisms (3) Teach photosynthesis and food webs (4) Circle back to the biomes.
When I do the PBL about changing communities, I can use this roly-poly habitat to talk about that PBL in science terms: What is the roly-poly's community? How is our community connected their their community? How do communities change over time?
School Wide Project:
This year, I am going to attempt something fun.... I will keep you updated on how it works
(0) Take data on the birds, butterflies, etc we see in the school fields.
(1) Plant some sunflowers
(2) Get some ladybugs, praying mantis and maybe live caterpillars at the local gardening center
(3) Set up the bird boxes for bird nesting
(4) Add bird feeders with seed and humming bird food
(5) Take some more data over the year about the changes that occured!
You can also order some live caterpillars to be another community member in your biome. These creatures bring up lots of great science questions:
Why do some community members leave? The caterpillars need very small spaces when they are caterpillars. They can't find food unless it is RIGHT THERE in front of them. However, when they turn into butterflies, they need room to spread their wings and practice flying.
How long does it take for change to occur? At first, caterpillars are going to eat everything! So the first change will definitely be a change in food sources. However, if you order live caterpillars they will typically come with their own food. Depending on the species, it can take about four days for the eggs to hatch into larvae. After about two weeks, the caterpillar is fully grown. Then, the cocoon is about ten days. From there, the butterfly MUST have room to practice flying and spread its' wing or it will be too weak to fly. This is a great example of change in communities: Sometimes the community changes, sometimes the community members change.
Part 2:
Micro-organisms
Before you read about it, you got to touch it, observe it, experiment with it. So, run to the grocery store and go buy some....
dry yeast
yogurt
sugar
Now, head to your science room or teacher buddy and get some other supplies:
measuring cups
spoons
magnifying lenses
paper towels
warm water
The Experiment
Step 1
Put two tablespoons of sugar in the bowl
Step 2
Add 1/2 cup of warm water and stir gently
Step 3
Add one package of yeast, by sprinkling in slowly
Step 4
Observe with the magnifying class.
Student should observe the sugar decomposing and notice carbon dioxide being released.
Students need to be reminded that the yeast is alive and is this is a natural process of making bread.
The Video
Watch this quick Ted Talk for Kids about the digestive system. Students can take notes on the video using a Google Doc or you can just print it. It covers the basics of digestion so you can have a conversation about how the enzymes and micro-organisms aid in digestion.
This is also a good time to check on the biome you might have started.... or add a piece of moldy bread to the biome... ;)
Direct Instruction
This the time for your science textbook (or whatever you got). Students needs to read some non-fiction and see those vocabulary words, look at those diagrams, all those non-fiction reading skills.
Also, you can use some of these articles and resources. Most of the ones I use from Cornell Naturalist Outreach, which has tons of great resources!
Another Experiment....
Exploratorium.edu has a fun experiment to do to grow micro-organisms from basic materials you probably already have, like plastic wrap and mud. Over the course of several weeks or more, you’ll see colors appear and change as the microbial populations grow and change... this one is pretty cool. Click on the image for the link.
Part 3:
Food Webs
... which then leads us into the food web... Many of these micro-organisms are decomposers. Decomposers are the bottom of the food webs that break down food. This section is full of some quick activities, as this should be a review for this grade level.
The Flow of energy through Ecosystems.pdfThis 32-page document has some articles about the ocean foodwebs and some activities for students. It comes to use free from EEI so order some where their website is up and working again....
This quick video is just 3:18 but reviews the vocabulary.
Another short video review the biggest concepts, which you can then connect back to the bottom of that food webs, micro-organisms.
The National Ocean Service is a good website for the whole class and it even starts off with a great video! For this part of the unit, you want your students to see that energy cycles around the food web, and carbon and oxygen cycle around also.... So this part you are showing your class the connections between different cycles...
I suggest watching the video and then starting part four.
Part Four:
Plant Cycles and Photosynthesis
This is simply summarizing photosynthesis with a cute little art project. You need to have one sheet of green construction paper and another color. Just cut out the same leaf shape twice and the same template for the inside. It will fold together like a book. On the outside top of the leaf, students draw the veins. On the inside top, they just write the vocabulary for it: Epidermis Layer. On the inside layers, where I used yellow, it summarizes the process in a list and then in a paragraph. On the second green leaf, the back of the "book" if you will, students draw the stomata, instead of veins. If you want, have the kiddos make an illustration of the plant cell on one of the interior pages.
Once everyone has done it, I assemble them on a tree to make a bulletin board.
Video on Worldwide Photosynthesis Map Data
Everything up until this point has dealt with the very small world inside that biome. But there is a larger world outside that biome in a plastic bottle. If you did the butterfly option, it makes a nice way to transition from micro-organism and plants to animals. The biome that we humans live in is much larger than that little one kids built, just like the butterfly needs to eventually leave. Basiclly, the thing we need kids to really learn is mirco-organisms are connected to everything!
Part Five:
Birds of North America
Now, we are going to start transitioning into our world: mammals, habitats, preparing for a field trip, seeing the bigger picture. I want students to start off with doing some work with birds: It's easy to observe, easy to enact change in the bird communities, ... and... truth be told... When you release your butterfly, it's pretty likely it will be eaten by a bird....(A few years back my daughter's first grade class released their butterflies out in the open, and a bird sitting on a wire swooped right down and eat it in front of the entire class! The next year, the same teacher learned how to distract the birds and successfully released the butterflies without such incident.)
You can have your class do a scavenger hunt on some local birds. Just sit in one area of your playground with this paper on a clipboard. Where it says "Activity," the kids are just going to write what activity they see the bird doing: hopping, soaring, pecking, floating, any verb.
I use the website at the left to help students identify the local species.
Field Trips
In Tulare County, California, this part of the unit leads well into many local field trips, such as....
James K. Herbert Wetlands Perserve
Mooney Groove Park (and some neighbors keep peacocks so you might see some roaming about!)
Also, when planning field trips, I use the All Trails App on my phone, or their website. I use it when I travel since I love hiking so much anyway… No matter where I am, I put in my location and it sends me hiking trails in the area. Perfect for a field trip!
To stretch into another species, but the same community, you can also have the Reptile Guy come into your classroom and talk, show and share about local and exotic reptiles. Be careful, he will bring hissing cockroaches! :)
Students will use the Google Slideshow to the left to create their own slide and present their findings to the class. This serves to practice public speaking, practice researching and then learn about the smaller world of photosynthesis and micro-organisms connects to mammals and larger creatures.
For this mini-presentation, first (1) have students start off by investigating their local areas and local bird populations. If you have smartphone or tablets at your school, Download the Merlin App. Students can go around their own schools and neighborhoods identifying birds! Super easy. With five questions on the app, students can easily identify birds and hear their calls via the app. It's a good idea to practice in the classroom first, and do the required set-up on the devices first. After a few practice rounds, kids can be released to identify birds on their own. It can be done on school campus, in home backyards, at local parks. (Or a field trip!)
Second (2) , share the google slideshow on the left with your class. This is a low-prep assignment for you. Students are assigned one bird and just gather some quick facts and present it to the class. Each slide has all the details on it! It's a starter assignment and a good thing for the "speaking and listening" grade.
There are also these bird cards you can print in color! They show what the bird looks like, it's area of migrations, food, facts... With these cards, kids can do their own research without a computer! CRAZY!
Finally, (3) you can take all this learning, from micro-organisms and photosynthesis and birds, to an outdoor lesson, whether a field trip or just visit your class garden if you have one. Students can scavenger hunt for a roly-poly, a butterfly, a specific type of bird. Click here for my scavenger hunt page. (Now, I did divide it up into two separate pages. As a kid finish one page, they can start on the second... whatever. Just think putting it on two pages gives you more flexibility as a teacher. Then, the bird stuff is another printed page.)
Resources
BirdSleuth.org has even more resources to take this further.
BirdAcademy.org has a few free videos.
Ebird.org has some great graphs and data for students to analyze. Students can click on the larger graph of their local areas to get more specific information. Great research tool!
Macaulay Library is a very easy to use resource when gathering specific information about specific birds.
You can use this sparrow cheat sheet as a bulletin board or the start of an art project... whatever!
Finally, (3) you can take all this learning, from micro-organisms and photosynthesis and birds, to an outdoor lesson, whether a field trip or just visit your class garden if you have one. Students can scavenger hunt for a roly-poly, a butterfly, a specific type of bird. Click here for my scavenger hunt page. (Now, I did divide it up into two separate pages. As a kid finish one page, they can start on the second... whatever. Just think putting it on two pages gives you more flexibility as a teacher. Then, the bird stuff is another printed page.)
Great Videos
Live Feeds
San Diego Zoo Live Feeds
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
Resources
BirdSleuth.org has even more resources to take this further.
BirdAcademy.org has a few free videos.
Ebird.org has some great graphs and data for students to analyze. Students can click on the larger graph of their local areas to get more specific information. Great research tool!
Macaulay Library is a very easy to use resource when gathering specific information about specific birds.
You can use this sparrow cheat sheet as a bulletin board or the start of an art project... whatever!
If you live near the shores, this Shore Bird Identification Chart is for you! :)
Part 6:
Connect to the Larger Biomes
&
Conclusion
I highly recommend the Netflix series called "Tiny Creatures." Watch it in class or watch as part of your own education in the matter of biomes and small creatures. Very interesting!
First, have students view all the major biomes of their own communities. In my case, that is California. Living for A.P.E.S has a great summary website of California's biomes, as reference. And now, we write. I want to conclude the lessons, and assess the learning, with a writing project.
Here is the writing assignment I am going to be doing this year:
There are three resource here for you:
(1) Directions for the teacher
In the classes I have had for the last two or three years, the students needed a whole lot more very, very direct instruction to get those paragraphs done. These directions are what I give to the entire class, line by line, to get the results I want.
(2) Rubric
When students have completed the writing assignment via my directions, I give every student a copy of the rubric, which is organized like a checklist. It is typically one point per item on the checklist. Makes grading easy!
(3) Modeled Writing
The modeled writing at the end can be used for a lot of different purposes. One of those purposes is to practice using the rubric. To that end, I purposely left some things out of the modeled writing that I included in the rubric, such as some of the vocabulary words, and a graph. Another thing the modeled writing can be used for is the lower level writers. For example, you can remove some words, and have those low students fill in the blank. Or you can take away the transition words and have students add their own transition words. Or, have the student copy the essay by hand if they are working on handwriting. Or print each sentence on a separate box, shuffled, and have the student put the sentence into a good paragraph. Once I give a copy of modeled writing, there is lots of things you can be able to do to make sure every student can access the curriculum. That's the reason I give it in a Google doc!
The modeled essay is pretty basic… if you noticed. Mostly because I plan on doing this at the beginning of the year, and I just changed to a grade level one lower. However, if you need to up the ante, such as requiring students to use textual evidence, or use a quotation from an expert, you can use the resources listed below.
Here are some good online references for kids to write their informative essays:
Living for A.P.E.S This is a website about California's biomes
Ecosystems by PBS This website is a quick read about ecosystems and how they work together.
Nature Files by PBS This is a great quick reference for individual species (right hand column of website) and some communities and concepts (left hand).
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