4th Archives - Greenacres Foundation

13 Dec 2023

Step into Soil

All life depends on soil. Come learn how this important building block impacts life around Greenacres, and how we create healthier soil through farming practices. We will also experience how soil scientists study the properties of soil.

Ohio Science Standards:

4.ESS.3: The surface of Earth changes due to erosion and deposition.
4.PS.1: When objects break into smaller pieces, dissolve, or change state, the total amount of matter is conserved.
6.ESS.5 Rocks, mineral and soils have common and practical uses.
6.ESS.4 Soil is unconsolidated material that contains nutrient matter and weathered rock.

NGSS Standards:

2-ESS2-1. Compare multiple solutions designed to slow or prevent wind or water from changing the shape of the land.
4-ESS2-1. Make observations and/or measurements to provide evidence of the effects of weathering or the rate of erosion by water, ice, wind, or vegetation.
4-ESS2-2. Analyze and interpret data from maps to describe patterns of Earth’s features
MS-LS2-5. Evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services
MS-ESS2-1. Develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth’s materials and the flow of energy that drives this process.
HS-ESS2-2. Analyze geoscience data to make the claim that one change to Earth’s surface can create feedbacks that cause changes to other Earth systems.

Ohio Social Studies Standards (K-8):

Geography – Spatial Thinking and Skills: Spatial thinking examines the relationships among people, places and environments by mapping and graphing geographic data. Geographic data are compiled, organized, stored and made visible using traditional and geospatial technologies. Students need to be able to access, read, interpret and create maps and other geographic representations as tools of analysis.
Geography – Places and Regions: A place is a location having distinctive characteristics, which give it meaning and character and distinguish it from other locations. A region is an area with one or more common characteristics, which give it a measure of homogeneity and make it different from surrounding areas. Regions and places are human constructs.

Vocabulary:

soil health, properties, erosion, deposition, matter, minerals, nutrient, weathering

13 Dec 2023

Inquiry on the Farm

December – February

Scientific inquiry is a way of doing science that includes making observations, forming hypotheses, designing studies, collecting data, and drawing conclusions. While spending time in the greenhouse and other growing spaces, even in winter, students will design and conduct a simple investigation to learn about farming through the inquiry process.

Ohio Science Standards:

SIPA Grade 3-5: Observe and ask questions about the world that can be answered through scientific investigations.
SWK Grade 3-5: Science is a way of knowing about the world around us based on evidence from experimentation and observations.
SWK Grade 6-8: Science is a way of knowing about the world around us based on evidence from experimentation and observations.
SWK Grade 6-8: Science is a continual process and the body of scientific knowledge continues to grow and change.

NGSS Standards:

3-LS4-3 Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.
4-PS3-2.Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents.
5-ESS3-1 Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth’s resources and environment.
5-PS3-1:Use models to describe that energy in animals’ food (used for body repair, growth, motion, and to maintain body warmth) was once energy from the sun.
5-ESS3-1 Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth’s resources and environment.
MS – LS2-1. Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.
MS-PS3-3. Apply scientific principles to design, construct, and test a device that either minimizes or maximizes thermal energy transfer.

Social Studies Standards (K-8):

Geography – Spatial Thinking and Skills: Spatial thinking examines the relationships among people, places and environments by mapping and graphing geographic data. Geographic data are compiled, organized, stored and made visible using traditional and geospatial technologies. Students need to be able to access, read, interpret and create maps and other geographic representations as tools of analysis.
Government – Civic Participation and Skills: Civic participation embraces the ideal that an individual actively engages in his or her community, state or nation for the common good. Students need to practice effective communication skills including negotiation, compromise and collaboration. Skills in accessing and analyzing information are essential for citizens in a democracy.
Economics – Economic Decision Making and Skills: Effective economic decision making requires students to be able to reason logically about key economic issues that affect their lives as consumers, producers, savers, investors and citizens. Economic decision-making and skills engage students in the practice of analyzing costs and benefits, collecting and organizing economic evidence and proposing alternatives to economic problems.

Vocabulary: Observation, Investigation, Comparative Question, Data, Analysis

07 Nov 2023

Farm Exploration

This program engages students in a hands-on exploration of Greenacres Farm. We will focus on building age specific skills and apply them to learning about farming practices and the places where we farm. This is an ideal program for a first time visit to Greenacres or for students to become more familiar with farming.

Ohio Science Standards:

K.LS.1: Living things have specific characteristics and traits.
1.ESS.1: The sun is the principal source of energy.
2.LS.1: Living things cause changes on Earth.
3.LS.3: Plants and animals have life cycles that are part of their adaptations for survival in their natural environments.
5.LS.1 Organisms perform a variety of roles in an ecosystem.
7.LS.2 In any particular biome, the number, growth and survival of organisms and populations depend on biotic and abiotic factors. Elements can be organized by properties

NGSS Standards:

K-ESS3-1.Use a model to represent the relationship between the needs of different plants and animals (including humans) and the places they live.
K-2-ETS1-1. Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.
1-LS1-1. Use materials to design a solution to a human problem by mimicking how plants and/or animals use their external parts to help them survive, grow, and meet their needs.
2-LS4-1. Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats.
3-LS3-2. Use evidence to support the explanation that traits can be influenced by the environment
4-LS1-1 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.
5-LS2-1. Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment.
MS-LS1-4 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes. Use argument based on empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support an explanation for how characteristic animal behaviors and specialized plant structures affect the probability of successful reproduction of animals and plants respectively.
MS-LS2-1 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics. Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.

Ohio Social Studies Standards:

History – Heritage: Ideas and events from the past have shaped the world as it is today. The actions of individuals and groups have made a difference in the lives of others.
Geography – Places and Regions: A place is a location having distinctive characteristics, which give it meaning and character and distinguish it from other locations. A region is an area with one or more common characteristics, which give it a measure of homogeneity and make it different from surrounding areas. Regions and places are human constructs.
Economics – Economic Decision Making and Skills: Effective economic decision making requires students to be able to reason logically about key economic issues that affect their lives as consumers, producers, savers, investors and citizens. Economic decision-making and skills engage students in the practice of analyzing costs and benefits, collecting and organizing economic evidence and proposing alternatives to economic problems.
Economics- Scarcity: There are not enough resources to produce all the goods and services that people desire.
Economics – Production and Consumption: Production is the act of combining natural resources, human resources, capital goods and entrepreneurship to make goods and services. Consumption is the use of goods and services.

Vocabulary:

farming, livestock, observation, senses, tools, living, nonliving, adaptations, soil, water, air, energy, produce, habitats, and ecosystems

12 Mar 2023

Bring a Book to Life: Hatchet

August-June

The young adult novel, Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen is the story of how Brian survives on his own after a plane crash in the Canadian wilderness. Students will experience some of Brian’s adventures through hands-on survival skills and knowledge. Students should have completed reading this novel prior to their field trip. This program may also be completed in a series, with each field trip focusing on a different aspect of the novel.

Ohio Language Arts Standards:

RL.4.2 Analyze literary text development. a. Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text. b. Summarize the text, incorporating a theme determined from details in the text.
RL.4.3 Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character’s thoughts, words, or actions).
RL.4.10 By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poetry, in the grades 4–5 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range. Activate prior knowledge and draw on previous experiences in order to make text-to-self or text-to-text connections and comparisons.

Vocabulary:

Character, Setting, Theme, Survival, Wilderness

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