FOSS at Home
FOSS® at Home
living Systems
®
The FOSS (Full Option Science System™) program offers a number
of ways to get parents involved in their child’s science education.
Included here are short descriptions of several ways to bridge from
classroom to home.
Letter to Parents. The letter to parents can be sent home at the start
of a new science module. The letter describes what children will
be learning and ways that parents can enrich the science-learning
experience.
FOSS Science Resources. FOSS Science Resources is a series of original
books developed to accompany and enrich the FOSS modules. The
books include three genres of informational text: expository articles,
historical and biographical accounts, and technical readings.
Here are some suggestions for using FOSS Science Resources at home.
•• Expository and Historical/Biographical Readings. The
expository and historical/biographical readings provide
excellent opportunities for students and parents to discuss
the science content students are learning in the module.
Specific articles include Circulatory System, Vascular Plants,
and Photosynthesis.
LETTER TO PARENTS
Cut here and paste onto school letterhead before making copies.
SCIENCE NEWS
Dear Parents,
Our class is beginning a new science
unit using the FOSS Living Systems
Module. We will be investigating
transport systems in multicellular
organisms that provide each cell with
food, water, gas exchange, and waste
removal. Students will learn about the
structures, functions, and interactions
of the circulatory, respiratory, digestive,
and excretory systems in humans. They
will learn about the vascular system in
plants (xylem and phloem), and they will
compare that system for moving water,
minerals, and sugar to the transport
system in humans. They will also be introduced to the chemical process of photosynthesis and
how sugar is broken down in cells during cellular respiration.
Students will be designing and conducting controlled experiments to investigate some of these
systems (water movement in plants and use of sugar by yeast cells). I may be asking you to send
small samples of breakfast cereals to school for us to use in an experiment dealing with metabolism
of sugar by yeast.
And we will be discussing food in terms of its nutrients—fats, carbohydrates, proteins, and
water. You might nd as a result of our study that your family’s dinner conversation will actually
focus on the meal!
Watch for the home/school connection sheets I will be sending home with your child. These
suggest ways for the whole family to investigate interesting aspects of our life science study. In
addition, you and your child can visit the FOSS website (www.fossweb.com), where there are
instructional activities, interactive simulations, and resources related to the Living Systems
Module.
If you have any questions or comments, or have family or cultural traditions involving food
that you would like to share with the class, please drop me a note or come in and visit our class.
We are looking forward to many weeks of exciting investigations.
FOSS Living Systems Module
© The Regents of the University of California
Can be duplicated for classroom or workshop use.
169
Investigation 1: Living Cells
No. 1—Teacher Sheet
No. 1—Teacher Sheet
•• “Review Questions.” Students can read the article in class
and then answer the “Review Questions” at home in their
science notebooks. You might consider this strategy after
students read The Disassembly Line, Classification, and Cellular
Respiration.
•• Extensions. After each investigation, there are opportunities
for students to engage in a Home/School Connection and do
the Math Problem of the Week. The duplication masters for
these can be found in your Teacher Guide and on FOSSweb.
In addition, the Science Resources book includes Learning
More about Living Systems, which includes interdisciplinary
extensions that help enhance and enrich the module. For
example, students can research dialysis or asthma on the
Internet, develop their personal food pyramid using the
USDA website, or test sugar substitutes using the “sugar
test” developed in class.
Living Systems
1
Living Systems
Name
Date
HOME/SCHOOL CONNECTION
INVESTIGATION 2: VASCULAR PLANTS
Celery stalks have vascular bundles. The xylem tubes transport water from the roots (base
of the stem) to the leaves. This is how the cells in the celery leaves get water and minerals
to stay alive.
Do other vegetables transport water? You can use colored water to nd out.
Visit the produce section when you are at the market. Get a few things to test. Try
different kinds of cabbage and lettuce, green onions and leeks, asparagus, and other
interesting things. Bring the results of your investigations to school to share.
Asparagus
Cabbage
Romaine
174
FOSS Living Systems Module
© The Regents of the University of California
Can be duplicated for classroom or workshop use.
Investigation 2: Vascular Plants
No. 6—Teacher Sheet
No. 6—Teacher Sheet
Name
Date
MATH EXTENSION—PROBLEM OF THE WEEK
INVESTIGATION 1: LIVING CELLS
Jan and Rosa were playing a game with two dice. It seemed like the number 7 came up all
the time. They wondered why.
Does 7 come up more often than the other numbers? (The grid might help you answer the
question.)
Science Notebook Sheets. Throughout the module, students
complete various recording and response sheets. Students should
bring the sheets and/or their science notebooks home for families to
review and discuss. For example, science notebook sheet numbers
7–8, Making-Food Experiment A–B, are a good opportunity for students
to explain and review with parents the resources and conditions that
make it possible for plants to produce food.
Home/School Connections. Home/School Connections are activities
developed specifically for the whole family to enjoy at home. For
example, in Investigation 2 (Teacher sheet number 6), students can
investigate the transport systems of other vegetables, such as cabbage
and lettuce, green onions and leeks, and asparagus. The Home/
School Connections can also be found in the FOSS Science Resources
book.
Interdisciplinary Extensions. Each investigation has suggestions for
art, language, math, social studies, and science extensions. These are
good family activities. For example, after Investigation 1 students
can research other organs involved in digestion or draw a detailed
diagram of an organ system they have studied. They might also do
the Math Problem of the Week at home. Both the Math Problem of the
Week and some interdisciplinary extensions can be found in the FOSS
Science Resources book.
FOSSweb (www.fossweb.com). FOSSweb is an interactive website
where families can find instructional activities and interactive
simulations specifically designed for each FOSS module.
FOSS Living Systems Module
© The Regents of the University of California
Can be duplicated for classroom or workshop use.
170
Investigation 1: Living Cells
No. 2—Teacher Sheet
No. 2—Teacher Sheet
NOTE: All student sheets, including
the Letter to Parents and Home/
School Connections, are available
in FOSS Teacher Guides and online
at www.fossweb.com. They are
also available in Spanish. See For
Parents and Teachers: Home/
School Connection on page 4
of this folio.
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NOTE: Pages 3 and 4 of this folio can be photocopied and sent home
for parents to read. Those pages provide information on the resources
for students and their families on FOSSweb.
full option science system
FOSS at Home
FOSSWEB (WWW.FOSSWEB.COM)
The FOSS program maintains a resource-rich website for students
and their families and friends. To explore the resources available for
the Living Systems Module, first enter www.fossweb.com in your
browser.
The FOSS website requires plug-ins for your browser. We recommend
that you click the “Test Your Browser” link at the bottom of the home
page before you begin to ensure your computer has the minimum
requirements.
Click the grades 3–6 icon to get a menu that links to each of the 3–6
modules. There you can choose Living Systems and travel to a
wealth of information and activities specific to this module.
ACTIVITIES
In the Living Systems Module, you’ll find three activities: What’s
for Dinner?, Mammalian Circulatory System, and Plant Vascular
System. What’s for Dinner? should be introduced after students have
completed Investigation 3: Sugar and Cells. Children are challenged
to design meals that fit the requirements given by the FOSS
nutritionist. You might ask,
•• What foods should you include in a nutritious lunch?
•• What is a nutrient? What are examples of different nutrients?
•• Where can you find information about the nutrients in the food
that you eat?
At the computer, explain that children will focus on three nutrients:
carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Show children how to use the
mouse to click and drag food to the dinner plate or to remove food
from the plate. Point out that the nutritional information appears and
changes as they add or subtract food from the plate. Ask the children
for suggestions on what to include on the plate for the meal requested
by the FOSS nutritionist. Then test the meal. If you don’t get a correct
answer, use the ? button. Open this link and read the information
together. It may help to print copies of these instructions for children
to use in making calculations for how many calories are in the meals
they design.
Mammalian Circulatory System should be introduced after students
complete Part 1 of Investigation 1: Living Cells. The animation
reviews the flow of blood circulation in the capillaries.
Plant Vascular System should be introduced after students complete
Investigation 2: Vascular Plants. The animation reviews how fluids
and nutrients move throughout the plant’s vascular system.
Living Systems
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Living Systems
MEDIA
The Media section includes a rich list of resources that can extend and
enrich the concepts learned in the Living Systems Module. Here is
where you will find images, movies, audio stories, reading resources,
and websites.
Images and Movies
The Images and Movies sections include pictures and movies that can
enhance the concepts learned in the Living Systems Module.
Audio Stories
This section contains audio recordings of the FOSS Science Resources
book for the Living Systems Module.
At the Library
This section includes an annotated list of books and videos
recommended for the Living Systems Module. You should be able to
find many of these titles at your local library.
Websites
The Websites section includes links to sites that can extend and enrich
children’s experiences with the Living Systems Module.
VOCABULARY
In the Vocabulary section, you will find the glossary words and
definitions used in the Living Systems Module. They are provided in
English and Spanish.
For parents and teachers: Home/school
connection
The For Parents and Teachers section includes the Home/School
Connection that describes ways for families to do science together.
For example, in Investigation 1, families can listen to the sounds their
body’s transport system makes and then use the Internet to research
other sounds, such as hiccups, burps, stomach growls, and sneezes.
Look in this section for other resources included in a downloadable
PDF file, including a general letter introducing the module and
math extensions that relate to the science investigations.
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Copyright The Regents of the University of California
full option science system
1287881