Eva Leung
Helena Roberson
Wilberta William
Dr. O'Connor-Petruso
Education 7204T.NET 1
March 23, 2011
Assignment #10
The M.S.T. inquiry unit will be targeted towards a fourth grade level. Unit one, animals
and plants in their environment is chosen as the science topic. Our unit plan will help students to
understand the importance plants and animals play in the environment and the roles that they play
to help keep a balance in the environment. In addition, our unit will explain how each link is
connected due to the relationships species have among each other in our ecosystem.
In our lesson we will incorporate technology, manipulative, literature, graphic organizers,
scavenger hunt and graphs to help students with varied learning abilities through Gardner's theory
of multiple intelligences and Bloom's taxonomy. This will help children to develop higher thinking
and critical thinking skills from prior knowledge and build on new knowledge from researching
facts.
We will use manipulative skills in lesson two, "Let the Competition Begin!" and lesson
five, "Food Chain vs. Food Web." The students will identify populations within a community and
understand their competition for resources in lesson two. This is in agreement with New York
State Science Scope and Sequence identifying populations within a community that are in
competition with one another for resources. Students will engage in a hands-on activity, first
receiving pictures of animals and a T-Chart labeled prey and predator. Students will already have
prior knowledge of these terms from lesson one. Students will cut out the pictures and glue animals
under their correct column. From here, students will share and discuss with a partner why they
chose certain animals for prey and predator. After their turn and talk session, students will
logically explain what criteria they used to place them under prey or predator. The students will
also explain which of the animals will have a higher population rate. Since answers may vary,
students can research further to help them answer any questions they may have.
In lesson five, students will define and answer: what is the difference between a food chain
and a food web? Students will then create their own food chain and food web. This is in agreement
with New York State Science Scope and Sequence classifying populations of organisms as
producers, consumers, or decomposers by the role they serve in the ecosystem (food chains and
food webs).
Students will use animal flash cards as a manipulative. They will place the cards in the
correct order of a food chain and food web. Using flash cards will allow students to visualize how
plants and animals are connected, the flow of energy from one source to another, furthermore,
levels and roles plants and animals play within the food chain. Students can logically see what is
being accomplished in the lesson and accurately explain their points of view.
As a group we have laid the foundation of our M.S.T. inquiry unit and are still working on
different ideas and innovative ways to make our lessons more interactive for our students. We
want students to be able to think critically, be creative, make logical predictions, and understand
how this applies to their everyday life. We want our students to build their knowledge amongst
each other, while promoting social learning. We are planning to use task two from the New York
State Program Evaluation Test in Science grouping objects to help students reach particular
learning goals.
Reference
East Irondequoit Central School District. (2000, May). New York State Program Evaluation Test
in Science, Grade 4 Objective Test, Form H & Performance Test, Form Z. Retrieved
March 18, 2010, from http://www.eicsd.k12.ny.us/instruction/programs/science/2_pages/
pet.asp