Standard: Science

26 Feb 2021

Energy Flow in Nature

August-June

Energy is constantly moving in and through an ecosystem.  Students will conduct a survey of stream, field, and forest habitats at Greenacres and learn about the interrelationships between the organisms that they have observed as well as the movements of matter and energy throughout the ecosystem.

Ohio Science Standards:

  • LS Grade 7: Matter is transferred continuously between one organism to another and between organisms and their physical environments.
  • LS Grade 7: Energy can be transferred through a variety of ways.
  • LS Grade 7: In any particular biome, the number, growth and survival of organisms and populations depend on biotic and abiotic factors.

NGSS Standards:

  • MS-LS1-4. Use arguments 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-LS1-6. Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for the role of photosynthesis in the cycling of matter and flow of energy into and out of organisms
  • MS-LS2-2. Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems.
  • MS-LS2-4. Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.

Vocabulary:

food web, carnivore, omnivore, herbivore, ecosystem, population dynamics

Introduction: CLICK HERE for a poster from  a Greenacres educator

26 Feb 2021

Nature Exploration: Journaling

August-June

Give your students the chance to slow down and focus their attention on nature. Students will write, draw and count or measure what they see around them as they visit different ecosystems at Greenacres. This program can be used to inspire creativity and knowledge of the natural world through drawing, writing poems or story telling

Ohio Science Standards:

  • SWK Grade 6-8: Science is a way of knowing about the world around us based on evidence from experimentation and observations.
  • LS Grade 6: Living systems at all levels of organization demonstrate the complementary nature of structure and function.

Ohio Language Arts Standards:

  • W.6.3-Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.

Ohio Social Studies Standards:

  • SS Grade 6: Government- Different perspectives on a topic can be obtained from a variety of historic and contemporary sources. Sources can be examined for accuracy.

Vocabulary:

observation, exploration, investigation 

Introduction: CLICK HERE for a poster from a Greenacres educator

26 Feb 2021

Ecosystems in Nature

August-June

Getting food is vital to survival. Students will learn how animals and plants fit into nature’s food web. Come explore Greenacres to find examples of producers, consumers and decomposers.

Ohio Science Standards:

  • LS Grade 5: Organisms perform a variety of roles in an ecosystem.
  • LS Grade 5: All of the processes that take place within organisms require energy.

NGSS Standards:

  • 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-LS2-1. Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment

Vocabulary:

ecosystem, niche, herbivore, omnivore, carnivore, decomposers, food web

Video Introduction: CLICK HERE for a video with a Greenacres educator

24 Feb 2021

Adaptations in Nature

August-June

Plants and animals have different adaptations and life cycles that increase their chances of survival within their environment. Explore the field and forest at Greenacres to look for some unique plant and animal bodies and behaviors. 

Ohio Science Standards

  • LS Grade 3: Individuals of the same kind differ in their traits and sometimes the differences give individuals an advantage in surviving and reproducing.
  • LS Grade 3: Plants and animals have life cycles that are part of their adaptations for survival in their natural environments

NGSS Standards

  • 3-LS2-1. Construct an argument that some animals form groups that help members survive.
  • 3-LS3-2. Use evidence to support the explanation that traits can be influenced by the environment
  • 3-LS4-2. Use evidence to construct an explanation for how the variations in characteristics among individuals of the same species may provide advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing
  • 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.

Video Introduction and Vocabulary:

behavior, body parts, trait, survive, physical features, adaptation, life cycles

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