4th Grade/Science/Approximately 30 days
Unit: Organisms and Environments
Stage 1 Desired Results
Established Goals (TEKS)
(9) The student knows and understands that
living organisms within an ecosystem interact
with one another and with their environment.
The student is expected to:
Transfer
Learners will be able to communicate scientific information clearly and accurately about characteristics and
behaviors of species that lends to survival in their environment.
UNDERSTANDINGS
Learners understand that …
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
Learners keep considering …
(A) investigate that most producers need
sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to make
their own food, while consumers are
dependent on other organisms for food.
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(B) describe the flow of energy through food
webs, beginning with the Sun, and predict how
changes in the ecosystem affect the food web
such as a fire in a forest.
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(10) The student knows that organisms
undergo similar life processes and have
structures that help them survive within their
environment. The student is expected to:
(A) explore how adaptations enable organisms
to survive in their environment such as
comparing birds' beaks and leaves on plants.
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Balance of an ecosystem is subject to change.
Natural, as well as human, interactions cause changes
to environmental systems and cycles with predictable
effects.
Organisms undergo similar life processes and have
structures that help them survive within their
environments.
The life processes of organisms are influenced by
heredity and environment.
Different species can be classified by common
characteristics and life cycles.
Plants and animals depend upon interactions with
each other and their environment to survive.
Learners will know …
(B) demonstrate that some likenesses between
parents and offspring are inherited, passed
from generation to generation such as eye
color in humans or shapes of leaves in plants.
Other likenesses are learned such as table
manners or reading a book and seals balancing
balls on their noses.
(C) explore, illustrate, and compare life cycles
in living organisms such as butterflies, beetles,
radishes, or lima beans.
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The Sun is the primary energy source for food chains
and food webs.
Most producers need sunlight, water, and carbon
dioxide to make their own food.
Consumers are dependent on other organisms for
food.
A food chain shows how living things get their energy.
Critical Vocabulary:
 food web
 adaptation
 interaction
What is necessary for life?
How can living things be so different, yet so alike?
What changes and what stays the same in an environment?
How can you help maintain balance within an ecosystem?
Acquisition
Learners will be skilled at …
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Predicting how changes in an ecosystem affect a food web.
Describing and illustrating the flow of energy within an ecosystem.
Comparing how similar species might have different adaptations.
Distinguishing between inherited traits and learned behaviors.
Illustrating and comparing the patterns of different life cycles.
Implementing descriptive investigations.
Making claims based on evidence.
Communicating scientific explanations and valid conclusions.
Stage 2: Evidence
Students will show their learning by…
Evaluative Criteria
Transfer Task(s):
PISD Presentations:
Build Your Own Wild Self and Biome
Other Evidence:
 PISD unit test
 Discovery Techbook Brief Constructed Responses
o Energy From the Sun
o Energy Flow in the Environment
o Energy Flow in the Environment: Food Webs
o Animal Life Cycles
o Plant Life Cycles
o Adaptations
o Inherited Traits and Learned Behaviors
o Life Cycles
 Producer/Consumer Recipe card
 Producer/Consumer Letter
 Local food web research and model
 Adaptation Menu
 2-5-8 Menu
Stage 3: Learning Plan
Students may experience learning through…
Students may experience learning through…
Core Lessons
*Life Science Launch (180 min)
*Life Science Wrap Up (270 min)
Resources
Ready, Set, STAAR
PISD Curriculum Lessons
Producers and Consumers (450 min)
Food Web (270 min)
Adaptations (540 min)
Life Cycles (180 min)
Discovery Techbook (DT) Model Lessons
Energy From the Sun (150 min)
Adaptations (385 min)
Animal Life Cycles (240 min)
Plant Life Cycles (195 min)
Additional Support Resources
Sciencesaurus
DT Reading Passage
Learning to Use Scientific Tools: Terrariums and
Aquarium
Getting to Know: Energy From the Sun
Getting to Know: Energy Flow in the Environment
Producers and Consumers
Food Webs
Getting to Know: Adaptation
Birds and Their Beaks
The Tallest Animals on Land
A Litter of Kittens
Parents and Offspring
Getting to Know: Animal Life Cycles
Getting to Know: Plant Life Cycle
Life Cycles of Organisms
The Life Cycle of a Pumpkin
The Life Cycle of Plants
Growth and Metamorphosis
Trees and Flowers
DT Explorations
Who’s for Dinner?
Adaptation
Similarities of Parents and Offspring
DT Skill Builder
Lima Bean Life Cycle
DT Hands-On
Energy From the Sun
Hiding in Plain Sight
Habitat Hide-and-Seek
Energy Flow
Websites:
Brainpop and BrainpopJr: (login: school name_1,
password: brainpop)
Study Jams: Photosynthesis