Study Buddy
—Destination: Rainforest
August 13, 2012
Parents,
In third grade, we will be trying to help your children develop some good study skills that will last throughout their lives.
First, we want them to learn how to avoid procrastination. In other words, don’t wait until the last minute. Another one of those study skills is to take a study buddy and use it to focus their learning and to practice what they need to be able to do. That is why we are sending this “study buddy” out now.
We are sending a “study buddy” on the information that we will be studying as we investigate biodiversity. We will be studying this unit for 6-8 weeks. However, in the past, parents have enjoyed having time to help their children learn and practice what they are expected to know and do at the end of the unit.
This is using the 3 rd habit: begin with the end in mind. If you want to help your child study, try spending just a few minutes a week discussing the information. Also, see if they are able to do the expected performances as well. If there is something your child doesn’t understand or cannot do, it will be a “heads up” on what needs to be practiced more. It will help you know what they are learning, and it will give them a chance to learn the information more completely. We will not be having a TEST until the end of the unit. We will send you notice at least a week before the test.
Be sure to check your child’s agenda for that information.
Thanks,
3 rd Grade Teachers
These are science concepts I will need to understand:


Living things are found almost everywhere on our planet, but organisms living in one place (like the Amazon
Rainforest) may be different from those found somewhere else.

Most living things need water, food, and air, while nonliving things can continue to exist without any requirements.

Animals have features that help them live in different environments. These are called adaptations. (claws, horns, poison, wings to migrate, hibernation, odor, etc.)
They may also be called physical or behavioral characteristics for survival.

There are certain characteristics that define a habitat.
(food, water, space, shelter, air)

I will need to be able to illustrate and explain the basic relationships of plants and animals in an ecosystem.

I will need to be able to show a simple food chain and web to explain how plants and animals get food/energy to live and grow (how energy is transferred).
 Changes in an environment might affect an animals’ ability to survive.

There are different animal groups:

Mammals
—warm-blooded, vertebrates, have fur, feed milk to their young, have live babies, have well-developed brains;

Birds
—warm-blooded, vertebrates, have feathers, have wings, lay eggs;

Reptiles
—cold-blooded, vertebrates, have scaly skin, lay eggs;

Amphibians —cold-blooded, vertebrates, lay eggs, have smooth and moist skin, most live part of the time in water and part of the time on land;


Fish
—cold-blooded, vertebrates, have scales, have gills, lay eggs, live in water;

Insects
—have an exoskeleton, lay eggs, have 6 legs, have 3 body parts (head, thorax, abdomen);

Spiders(arachnids)
—have 8 legs, have 2 body parts
(head, cephalothorax), lay eggs, have spinnerets, invertebrates —no backbone at all (exoskeleton).

All animals have a life cycle, but all life cycles are not the same. Butterflies have 4 stages —egg, larvae, pupa, adult. Frogs have 5 stages
—egg, tadpole (breathes through gills), growing tadpole (back legs appear), emergent tadpole (front legs appear and begin breathing through lungs), and adult. Humans have 4 stages
—baby, child, adolescent, adult. Jaguars have 2 stages —cub, adult.
Performances I will need to be able to do:
Can I plan a habitat for an animal?
Can I classify different animals into their groups?
Can I sketch a life cycle of a butterfly?
Can I sketch a life cycle of a frog?
Can I make a food chain or a food web?
Can I describe the adaptations of an animal?
Can I explain how adaptations help an animal to survive?
Social Studies concepts I will need to understand:

The Earth is divided into 4 hemispheres: northern, southern, western, eastern. The hemispheres are divided by imaginary lines called the Equator or the Prime
Meridian.


There are 7 continents on Earth: North America, South
America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica.

There are 4 oceans that cover 2/3 of the Earth: Atlantic,
Pacific, Indian, and Arctic.

There are 4 cardinal directions (north, south, east, west) and 4 intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, northwest, southwest)

Maps have keys, symbols, legends, and scales. These all help me to read the information on the map.

The Amazon Rainforest is located in the northern part of
South America along the Amazon River. This Rainforest is the largest tropical rainforest in the world and is home to thousands of plants and animals that can be found nowhere else.

Humans can change the environment to meet their needs, but it may have effects on the environment of plants and animals. Humans have to determine if the cost is worth the gain.
Performances I will need to be able to do:
Can I locate the continents, oceans, Equator, Prime
Meridian, and the Amazon Rainforest on a map?
Can I use my knowledge of the hemispheres to help me find places on a globe?
Can I use the cardinal directions and intermediate directions to locate places on a map or in my environment?
Can I read a map by looking at the key, symbols, and legend?

Remember that your child has 6-8 weeks to study this information. Don’t worry if they don’t know everything at the beginning because that is what we are doing at school. This study buddy is just to help you know what we are doing and to help you share their experiences at school.
Thank you for your support. If your child has the study buddy signed and at school the day of the test (without having to call you), then they will receive 3 Bonus Points. (Sign me for
+3) When you sign, you are a witness that your child has studied at home. Good Luck!
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(parent signature)