Grade 1
Science
Unit: 10
Lesson: 03
Suggested Duration: 8 days
Science Grade 01 Unit 10 Exemplar Lesson 03: Investigating Organisms and Environments
This lesson is one approach to teaching the State Standards associated with this unit. Districts are encouraged to customize this lesson by
supplementing with district-approved resources, materials, and activities to best meet the needs of learners. The duration for this lesson is only a
recommendation, and districts may modify the time frame to meet students’ needs. To better understand how your district may be implementing
CSCOPE lessons, please contact your child’s teacher. (For your convenience, please find linked the TEA Commissioner’s List of State Board of
Education Approved Instructional Resources and Midcycle State Adopted Instructional Materials.)
Lesson Synopsis
Students will investigate and analyze examples of interdependence among living organisms and the environment. This lesson will focus on how
external characteristics of living organisms determine the environment in which they live in and how food chains play a vital role in survival of plants
and animals.
TEKS
The Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) listed below are the standards adopted by the State Board of Education, which are required by
Texas law. Any standard that has a strike-through (e.g. sample phrase) indicates that portion of the standard is taught in a previous or subsequent
unit. The TEKS are available on the Texas Education Agency website at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=6148.
1.9
Organisms and environments. The student knows that the living environment is composed of relationships between
organisms and the life cycles that occur. The student is expected to:
1.9B
Analyze and record examples of interdependence found in various situations such as terrariums and aquariums
or pet and caregiver.
1.9C
Gather evidence of interdependence among living organisms such as energy transfer through food chains and
animals using plants for shelter.
1.10
Organisms and environments. The student knows that organisms resemble their parents and have structures and
processes that help them survive within their environments. The student is expected to:
1.10A Investigate how the external characteristics of an animal are related to where it lives, how it moves, and what it
eats.
Scientific Process TEKS
1.1
Scientific investigation and reasoning. The student conducts classroom and outdoor investigations following home
and school safety procedures and uses environmentally appropriate and responsible practices. The student is
expected to:
1.1A Recognize and demonstrate safe practices as described in the Texas Safety Standards during classroom and
outdoor investigations, including wearing safety goggles, washing hands, and using materials appropriately.
1.2
Scientific investigation and reasoning. The student develops abilities to ask questions and seek answers in classroom
and outdoor investigations. The student is expected to:
1.2B Plan and conduct simple descriptive investigations such as ways objects move.
1.2C Collect data and make observations using simple equipment such as hand lenses, primary balances, and nonstandard measurement tools.
1.2D Record and organize data using pictures, numbers, and words.
1.2E Communicate observations and provide reasons for explanations using student-generated data from simple
descriptive investigations.
1.3
Scientific investigation and reasoning. The student knows that information and critical thinking are used in scientific
problem solving. The student is expected to:
1.3A Identify and explain a problem such as finding a home for a classroom pet and propose a solution in his/her own
words.
1.4
Scientific investigation and reasoning. The student uses age-appropriate tools and models to investigate the natural
world. The student is expected to:
1.4A Collect, record, and compare information using tools, including computers, hand lenses, primary balances, cups, bowls, magnets, collecting
nets, notebooks, and safety goggles timing devices, including clocks and timers non-standard measuring items such as paper clips and
clothespins weather instruments such as classroom demonstration thermometers and wind socks materials to support observations of
habitats of organisms such as aquariums and terrariums.
1.4B Measure and compare organisms and objects using non-standard units.
Last Updated 04/25/13
page 1 of 29 Grade 1
Science
Unit: 10
Lesson: 03
Suggested Duration: 8 days
GETTING READY FOR INSTRUCTION
Performance Indicators
Grade 01 Science Unit 10 PI 03
As part of a class project, create a page for a class book about how living organisms depend on each other and their environment. Include information about energy
transfer through food chains, animals using plants for shelter, and how the external characteristics of an animal are related to where it lives, how it moves, and what it
eats.
Standard(s): 1.2D , 1.9B , 1.9C , 1.10A
ELPS ELPS.c.1G , ELPS.c.5B
Key Understandings
Organisms depend on each other and their environment.
— How do plants and animals depend on each other?
Food chains are one way to demonstrate the flow of energy through an environment.
— Where do plants get their energy to make food?
— How do humans get energy?
The external characteristics of an animal are related to where it lives, how it moves, and what it eats.
— Would animals be able to survive if they all lived in the same environment?
Vocabulary of Instruction
change
food chain
energy
depend
producer
consumer
movement
body covering
survival
organisms
depend
shelter
environment
Materials
book (about animal coverings, 1 per class)
book (about animal mouths, 1 per class)
book (about plants used as shelter, 1 per class)
can (aluminum, see Advance Preparation, per class) – Optional
chart (tally, in classroom science notebook or on chart paper, see Advance Preparation, 1 per class)
chart paper (per class) – Optional
crayons or colored pencils (per group)
glue (sticks or white liquid, per group) – Optional
hand lenses (1 per group)
lunch sample (see Advance Preparation, 1 per class)
objects (for “markers” for game boards, see Advance Preparation, 9 markers per student)
paper (drawing, 1 sheet per student)
paper (large drawing, for class book, 1 sheet per student)
paper (plain, 1 sheet per student) –Optional
paper clips (see Advance Preparation, 1 per group) – Optional
pictures (of different environments, see Advance Preparation, per class)
plates (paper, see Advance Preparation, per class) – Optional
resealable plastic bags see Advance Preparation, 1 per group) – Optional
tape (clear, per group) – Optional
yarn or fishing line (see Advance Preparation, per class)
Attachments
All attachments associated with this lesson are referenced in the body of the lesson. Due to considerations for grading or student assessment,
attachments that are connected with Performance Indicators or serve as answer keys are available in the district site and are not accessible on
the public website.
Teacher Resource: PowerPoint: Where Do I Belong?
Teacher Resource: Where Do I Belong Notes
H&TR: Animal Covering 3 in a Row – Instructions, Game Board and Pictures (1 each per student)
Handout: Animal Mouths (1 per group)
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Science
Unit: 10
Lesson: 03
Suggested Duration: 8 days
Handout: How I Look, Where I Live – Sorting Pictures (1 set per group)
Handout: How I Look, Where I Live – Chart (1 per student)
Handout: A Tree as a Home (1 per 2 students)
Handout: What’s For Lunch? (1 per 2 students)
Resources
Suggested Resources:
Animal Coverings by Kira Freed. Link to online book:
http://www.hsagarland.org/ReadingRoost/resources/first%20grade/Animal%20Coverings%20%281%20Low%29.pdf
The Worlds Biomes: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss5/biome/
Blue Planet, Biomes: http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/world_biomes.htmKids Do Ecology, Biomes:
http://kids.nceas.ucsb.edu/biomes/index.html
Google Books: Preview children’s books online: http://books.google.com/books
Where do I belong? Online interactive game: http://switchzoo.com/games/where.htm
The Magic School Bus Habitat Match Game: http://www.scholastic.com/magicschoolbus/games/habitat/
Animal Homes: http://funschool.kaboose.com/preschool/amazing-animals/games/game_animal_homes.html
What is it Like Where you Live, Habitats: http://www.mbgnet.net/
PBS Kids Teacher Resource – The Cat and The Hat – Flower Power episode: http://www.pbs.org/teachers/catinthehat/activities/flowerpower/
Animal Coverings: http://www.zoosociety.org/pdf/GuidedTours/AnimalAdap.pdf
http://voices.yahoo.com/how-teach-kids-animal-coverings-7466166.html
Animal Homes: http://funschool.kaboose.com/preschool/amazing-animals/games/game_animal_homes.html
http://www.learningtreasures.com/animal_homes.htm
Food Chains: http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/kidscorner/games/foodchaingame.htm
http://www.ecokids.ca/pub/eco_info/topics/frogs/chain_reaction/index.cfm
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/gamesactivities/foodchains.html
http://www.playlearnschool.com/Science/1/Food-Chain/Food-Chain.aspx
Suggested Books:
Burton, M, French, C. and Jones, T. (1998). Animal coverings. New York: Benchmark Education Company.
Dahl, M., and Yesh, Jeff. (2004). Do frogs have fur? Minneapolis, MN: Picture Window Books.
Dawson, E. (2010). Animal clothing. Mankato, MN: Amicus Publishing.
Freed, K. (2007). Animal coverings. Ann Arbor, MI: ProQuest Information and Education Company.
Guiberson, B. (1993). Cactus hotel. New York: Henry Holt and Co.
Hunter, A. (1999). What’s under a log? Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children.
Kee, L., and Landmark, K. (2006). Whose skin is this? North Mankato, MN: Picture Window Books.
Miles, E. (2002). Why do animals have mouths and teeth? North Mankato, MN: Heinemann Library.
Pfeffer, W. (1997). A log’s life. New York: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers.
Pryor, K. Amazing armor. (2010). Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark.
Schwartz, D. Animal mouths. (1998). Huntington Beach, CA: Creative Teaching Press.
Souza, D.M. (2007). Look what mouths can do. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Classroom.
Tresselt, V. (1993). The gift of a tree. New York: HarperCollins.
Advance Preparation
1. For the Engage:
Print a copy of the PowerPoint notes, if desired, and review the notes and slides to prepare for the class presentation and discussion. Create
a tally chart, similar to the one below, either in the classroom science notebook or on chart paper.
Sample Chart:
2. For the Explore 1 – External Characteristics­Animal Coverings:
Gather a suggested book about animal coverings.
Make copies of the Handout and Teacher Resource: Animal Covering 3 in a Row – Game Board and Pictures. Each student should
receive one game board and one set of animal covering pictures.
Gather “markers” (such as, coins, buttons, math manipulatives, etc.) for students to use during the game, or see the handout for more ideas
that can be used to mark the game board. Collect enough markers so that each student has nine.
3. For the Explore 2 – How Animals Move and Eat:
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Science
Unit: 10
Lesson: 03
Suggested Duration: 8 days
If not using the science notebooks, gather enough paper for each student to receive one sheet.
4. For the Explore/Explain – Characteristics Determine Where an Animal Lives:
Gather hand lenses for cooperative groups (1 lens per group of 2–4 students).
Make copies of the Handout: How I Look, Where I Live – Sorting Pictures, and cut the pages in half so to create animal cards for sorting.
Each group of 2–4 students should receive one set. Place them in sets by bagging or paper clipping them together.
5. For the Explore/Explain – A Tree as a Home:
Gather drawing paper (1 piece per student), if not using students’ science notebooks.
6. For the Elaborate – What’s for Lunch?:
Prepare an example of a lunch for students. The example can be made from the pictures provided in the Handout: What’s for Lunch?, or
actual food can be used. Include a fruit, vegetable, and meat in your sample.
Gather pictures of different environments for students to use in a discussion in this activity. This will give them an opportunity to hear about the
food chain from a variety of environments.
7. For the Evaluate – Performance Indicator:
Determine the best method for assigning students an environment. Each student page will need to include plants and animals, a food chain,
and a plant used as a shelter. Previous examples and resources from the lesson can be utilized.
Alternatively, instead of using paper, paper plates could be utilized to create a class book. The book could also be displayed on a bulletin
board or can hang from the classroom ceiling with yarn or fishing line.
Background Information
According to the introductory TEKS material in Grade 1, “Scientific investigation and reasoning involves practicing safe procedures, asking questions about the natural
world, and seeking answers to those questions through simple observations and descriptive investigations.”
This lesson bundles student expectations that address investigations of how the external characteristics of an animal are related to where it lives, how it moves, and what it
eats. Also, students will students gather evidence of interdependence among living organisms (such as energy transfer through food chains and animals using plants for
shelter). In previous lessons, the students have recorded observations about animal parts, compared ways that young animals resemble their parents, and described
various life cycles.
During this lesson, students will expand on prior knowledge by investigating, comparing, and recording structures and processes that help animals survive and interact with
other living things in their environments. After this unit, in Grade 2, students will learn about additional environmental factors that affect all parts of the ecosystem.
As listed in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, “In life science, students recognize the interdependence of organisms in the natural world. They understand that all
organisms have basic needs that can be satisfied through interactions with living and nonliving things. Students will investigate life cycles of animals and identify
likenesses between parents and offspring.”
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills. (2010). Retrieved May 24, 2010, from http://www.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter112/ch112a.html#112.2
For more information on investigating organisms and environments, please consider the following websites:
Animal Coverings: http://www.zoosociety.org/pdf/GuidedTours/AnimalAdap.pdf and
http://voices.yahoo.com/how-teach-kids-animal-coverings-7466166.html
The Worlds Biomes: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss5/biome/
Blue Planet, Biomes: http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/world_biomes.htm
Kids Do Ecology, Biomes: http://kids.nceas.ucsb.edu/biomes/index.html
Where do I belong? Online interactive game: http://switchzoo.com/games/where.htm
The Magic School Bus Habitat Match Game: http://www.scholastic.com/magicschoolbus/games/habitat/
Animal Homes: http://funschool.kaboose.com/preschool/amazing-animals/games/game_animal_homes.html
http://www.learningtreasures.com/animal_homes.htm
PBS Kids Teacher Resource – The Cat and The Hat – Flower Power episode: http://www.pbs.org/teachers/catinthehat/activities/flowerpower/
Food Chains: http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/kidscorner/games/foodchaingame.htm
http://www.ecokids.ca/pub/eco_info/topics/frogs/chain_reaction/index.cfm
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/gamesactivities/foodchains.html
http://www.playlearnschool.com/Science/1/Food-Chain/Food-Chain.aspx
INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURES
Instructional Procedures
Notes for Teacher
ENGAGE – Where Do I Belong?
NOTE: 1 Day = 30 minutes
Suggested Day 1
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page 4 of 29 Grade 1
Science
Unit: 10
Lesson: 03
Suggested Duration: 8 days
1. Create a class tally chart to graph student ideas on where the animals in the
presentation live.
Materials:
2. As a class, view the PowerPoint: Where Do I Belong?
chart (tally, in classroom science notebook or on
chart paper, see Advance Preparation, 1 per class)
3. During the class discussion, some of the slides will have questions that ask students
chart paper (per class) – Optional
to predict what environment these animals live in. Provide time for students to
formulate their answer. Poll the class, and create a tally chart (as the one above) in
the classroom science notebook. This will be referenced throughout the lesson
Attachments:
cycle.
4. At the end of the class presentation, discuss with students some of the unique
features of the local environment, focusing on the plant and animal life.
5. Refer back to the classroom tally chart, have students observe the hypotheses, and
compare to the data learned in the presentation. Provide time for students to share
their observations.
Teacher Resource: PowerPoint: Where Do I
Belong?
Teacher Resource: Where do I Belong Notes
Check For Understanding:
6. Use the tally chart to create a mathematical representation using non-standard
Utilize the tally chart as a formative assessment tool. This provides
units. For example, for each tally mark, paperclips or popsicle sticks could be used
to represent student votes. These could be sorted in stacks, placed in jars, or glued a snapshot of students’ understandings of living things and their
environment.
on chart paper to create a graph.
Instructional Notes:
Online Resources:
Where do I belong, online interactive game:
http://switchzoo.com/games/where.htm
The Magic School Bus Habitat Match Game:
http://www.scholastic.com/magicschoolbus/games/habitat/
Animal Homes, Interactive Game:
http://funschool.kaboose.com/preschool/amazinganimals/games/game_animal_homes.html
EXPLORE 1 – External Characteristics – Animal Coverings
Suggested Day 2
1. Ask questions such as:
Materials:
Would a polar bear be comfortable in the tropical rain forest?
Would a snake be comfortable in the Arctic?
2. Ask:
Would animals be able to survive if they all lived in the same
environment? (No)
book (about animal coverings, 1 per class)
objects (for “markers” for game boards, see
Advance Preparation, 9 markers per student)
tape (clear, per group) – Optional
glue (sticks or white liquid, per group) – Optional
Attachments:
3. Ask:
Why do some animals have fur? What makes scales so important to
some animals? Fur is a body covering that provides protection from the cold
temperatures, protects by camouflaging the animal, or can protect against
elements such as rain or wind.
4. Provide wait time after each question is asked. Provide the opportunity for students
to share their ideas with the class.
Handout and Teacher Resource: Animal
Covering 3 in a Row – Instructions, Blank
Game Board (1 per student) and Pictures (1 per
student)
Check For Understanding:
As students participate in the activity, you can utilize this time to
gather information on what students know about animal body
coverings. Notice where students place their markers; this will
6. Facilitate a class discussion focusing on why animals might have different coverings. provide you with data on which concepts to revisit and reinforce.
5. Read a story about animal coverings. The Suggested Books section has some titles
listed.
7. Distribute the Animal Coverings 3 in a Row Blank Game Board (1 per student)
and the Pictures (1 per student).
8. Instructions on teacher preparation, student set up, game instructions, and all
handouts can be found on the Handout and Teacher Resource: Animal Covering
3 in a Row – Instructions, Game Board, and Pictures.
9. Provide time to play several rounds. The game can be continued before transition
times, or can be integrated into a reading activity during language arts time.
10. Reinforce with questioning and sharing of student ideas.
EXPLORE 2 – How Animals Move and Eat
Suggested Day 3
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page 5 of 29 Grade 1
Science
Unit: 10
Lesson: 03
Suggested Duration: 8 days
1. Write the words Ecology and Ecologists in the classroom notebook.
2. Say the words orally, and have students practice saying them. Ask the students if
they know what these words are and if they could describe the words with a table
partner.
3. Explain the following to students:
— Ecology: Ecology is the relationship of living things to each other and what’s around them.
— Ecologist: Ecologists are the scientists who study ecology. They are curious and like to
learn about living things by observing them, seeing what happens, and recording what they
find.
Materials:
paper (plain, 1 sheet per student) –Optional
crayons or colored pencils (per group)
book (about animal mouths, 1 per class)
Attachments:
Handout: Animal Mouths (1 per group)
4. Facilitate the development of a class definition for the words ecology and ecologists.
5. Say:
Everyone in the classroom is an ecologist.
6. Ask the “ecologists” of the classroom to close their eyes, and think of an animal.
7. Say:
Instructional Notes:
In the Process TEKS 1.3C, it makes the connections to real world
science through scientists ‘roles’. Use this time to introduce the
science of ecology. The sites listed below are resources to learn
more about ecologists and, if time permits, can be shared with
students to extend learning.
What is Ecology?
http://kids.nceas.ucsb.edu/ecology/ecoindex.html
Think of an animal… Picture it in your mind.
Can you see how it looks?
Where it lives?
How about how it moves?
How does it travel from one place to the next?
What special features does it have to help it move?
Meet an Ecologist:
http://kids.nceas.ucsb.edu/ecology/ecologistcleland.html
8. Students will draw their animal in their science notebooks or on paper. Ask students
to think of ways to describe the movement, and if possible, they can write these
words around the drawing of their animal and/or they can label the special features
that help the animal move. Labels might include the animal’s limbs, and/or, the
speed at which the animal moves, and/or how it travels (such as flying).
9. Have students share their drawings with a partner or in small cooperative groups
(2–4 students).
10. As a class, discuss why animals might move in different ways. Include questions
about how moving in different ways could help an animal get food or determine
where it lives.
A word wall or a word bank will need to be provided for students to
be successful in their writing.
The Handout: Animal Mouths shows six different animals and
illustrates the wide range of feeding strategies and physical
structures that have grown out of the relationship between
organisms and their food.
Science Notebooks:
Utilizing individual science notebooks in this activity helps make
content connections through different learning modalities - writing,
speaking, listening, and kinesthetic movement.
11. Focus the discussion on the mouths of the animals. Have students work in pairs to
compare and contrast their drawings.
12. Ask students to share some of their findings. As a class, discuss why an animal’s
mouth could determine what it eats.
13. Distribute one Handout: Animal Mouths to each group of 2–4 students.
14. Use the following questions to guide the conversation about the animal mouths:
Can you guess what each animal eats?
How does the structure of their mouths give clues about the animal's
diet?
Do you see similarities between the anteater, snout beetle, and
elephant? How are their mouthparts similar or different?
Which animal's mouthparts are the most similar to our own?
What kind of a mouth do you think an animal that eats grass has?
15. Read a story about animal mouths.
16. To close the activity, ask students to listen to the names of the animals that you call
out, and have them mimic the movements of these animals – how they travel and
eat. Reinforce these concepts:
Animals move in different ways and speeds.
Animals have special features to eat.
These adaptations help them to survive in their environment.
EXPLORE/EXPLAIN – Characteristics Determine Where Animals Live
Suggested Day 4
1. So far, students have had the opportunity to learn about some external
characteristics of animals (covering, movement, and mouths). Now, they will learn
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Materials:
page 6 of 29 Grade 1
Science
Unit: 10
Lesson: 03
Suggested Duration: 8 days
how these external characteristics might determine what the animal eats and where
the animal lives.
2. Distribute the sets of pictures of animals from the Handout: How I Look, Where I
Live – Sorting Pictures (1 per small group of 2–4 students).
3. Instruct students to sort the cards. They will determine the movement, the covering,
and what it might eat. Instruct students to guess where the animal lives.
4. Students will discuss their ideas with their small group, and each will record their
findings on the Handout: How I Look, Where I Live – Chart (1 per student).
5. When students have completed their work, lead a group discussion on the animals:
cheetah, dolphin, rattlesnake, snail, duck, and hummingbird. Ask students to share
their hypotheses about:
hand lenses (1 per group)
resealable plastic bags see Advance Preparation,
1 per group) – Optional
paper clips (see Advance Preparation, 1 per
group) – Optional
crayons or colored pencils (per group)
Attachments:
Handout: How I Look, Where I Live – Sorting
Pictures (1 set per group)
Handout: How I Look, Where I Live – Chart (1
per student)
How the animal moves – Speed (slow, fast), body parts that allow it to move, type
of movement (swim, fly, slide, slither, walk, run)
Mouth – The shape and what the animal might eat because of the mouth’s
Science Notebooks:
design
Body covering – What covering protects the animal? (feathers, scales, skin,
The Handout: How I Look, Where I Live – Chart could be cut and
shells, fur)
glued in students science notebooks and referred to throughout
Environment – Based on the animals features, where does the animal live? (cold,
the lesson.
warm, wet, cool, dry places)
6. If time allows, ask students to think of other animals, and use the categories
(movement, mouth, body covering) to hypothesize where the animal lives and why.
EXPLORE/EXPLAIN – A Tree as a Home
Suggested Day 5
1. Ask:
Materials:
How do plants and animals depend on each other?
2. Distribute pictures of ways animals use trees for shelter from the Handout: A Tree
as a Home (1 per pair of students).
book (about plants used as shelter, 1 per class)
paper (drawing, 1 sheet per student) – Optional
crayons or colored pencils (per group)
3. Allow time to observe the pictures with a partner. Have students share the ways they
think the plant in their picture is used as shelter for an animal. Make a chart in the
Attachments:
class science notebook to record the students’ thinking.
Handout: A Tree as a Home (1 per 2 students)
4. Read a book about plants that are used as shelter.
5. Summarize the day’s lesson by reviewing.
Every living thing occupies a space within its environment.
Most animals depend on the resources available within their
environments to provide needed spaces.
Some animals depend on plants as a place to live, or a shelter.
6. Distribute paper to each student, and instruct them to draw a plant that is used as a
home for an animal. Allow about 10 minutes for this.
ELABORATE – What’s For Lunch?
Instructional Notes:
If students have no background knowledge about plants that are
used as shelter, you may need to read a book such as Cactus
Hotel, A Log’s Life, The Gift of a Tree, or What’s Under the Log.
Shelter is one of the basic needs for animals, along with food,
water and air. Shelter provides safety, security and sometimes a
place from which the animal can hunt. Many animals use plants in
their habitat to meet their basic needs.
Suggested Day 6
1. Prepare a “lunch” that you can show to students. Include a fruit, vegetable, and
meat, such as fried chicken.
2. Distribute a copy of the Handout: What’s for Lunch? to each pair of students.
Discuss how the Sun’s energy is transferred to the plant and helps it grow.
3. Facilitate a discussion about how fruits and vegetables provide us with energy.
4. For the ‘meat’ to get energy, explain that some animals eat a plant (such as corn). In
turn, the energy from the plant helps the animal (in the attached example it is a
chicken) grow. Then, we eat the meat, and the energy from the meat is transferred
to us to help us grow.
5. Discuss that this transfer of energy is called a food chain. Some food chains are
short (such as the ones in this example), and others are longer or more complex.
Materials:
lunch sample (see Advance Preparation, 1 per
class)
pictures (of different environments, see Advance
Preparation, per class)
paper (drawing, 1 sheet per student)
crayons or colored pencils (per group)
Attachments:
Handout: What’s For Lunch? (1 per 2 students)
6. Ask:
Where do plants get their energy to make food? (The Sun)
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Instructional Note:
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Science
Unit: 10
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Suggested Duration: 8 days
How do humans get energy? (By eating food. People depend on plants and
animals for food.)
Make sure that students are given the opportunity to hear about the
food chain from a variety of environments.
7. Distribute a piece of paper, and allow students to draw the transfer of energy: Sun
to producer (plant), to consumer (an animal), to another consumer (people).
8. To close the lesson, have students share their examples.
9. Allow students to describe their drawings and the flow of energy through the food
chain.
EVALUATE – Performance Indicator
Suggested Days 7 and 8
Grade 01 Science Unit 10 PI 03
Materials:
As part of a class project, create a page for a class book about how living organisms depend on
each other and their environment. Include information about energy transfer through food chains,
animals using plants for shelter, and how the external characteristics of an animal are related to
where it lives, how it moves, and what it eats.
Standard(s): 1.2D , 1.9B , 1.9C , 1.10A
ELPS ELPS.c.1G , ELPS.c.5B
1. Distribute a large piece of paper to each student. Decide which environment each
student or groups of students will represent.
2. Fold the paper in half. On one side, they are to draw a food chain relevant to their
environment. On the other half, they will draw a picture of their environment that
includes a plant that is being used as shelter by an animal and 1–2 more animals
eating the appropriate food based on the animal’s external characteristics.
3. See the example below as a reference:
Last Updated 04/25/13
paper (large drawing, for class book, 1 sheet per
student)
crayons or colored pencils (per group)
plates (paper, see Advance Preparation, per class)
– Optional
can (aluminum, see Advance Preparation, per
class) – Optional
yarn or fishing line (see Advance Preparation, per
class)
Instructional Notes:
Alternatively, instead of using paper, paper plates could be utilized
to create a class book. The book could also be displayed on a
bulletin board or can hang from the classroom ceiling with yarn or
fishing line.
page 8 of 29 Grade 1
Science
Unit: 10 Lesson: 03
Where Do I Belong - Notes
Slide 1
Say:
 We will be exploring five different
animals and the environments in
which they live on our planet.
What do you think an
environment is?
WHERE DO I BELONG?
Slide 2
Discuss the pictures, ask the
question, and provide wait time. Poll
the class, and chart their responses
by creating a tally chart in the class
interactive science notebook, chart
paper, or on the whiteboard. A
sample chart can be referred to in
the lesson.
Where Do I Belong?
In the ocean?
In the tundra?
This is a blue whale.
Where do you think
the blue whale lives?
Let’s
take a class vote
and
tally the data.
Slide 3
In the rainforest?
The Blue Whale and the Oceans
The blue whale is
the largest
mammal and lives
in the ocean.
The blue whale
shares the ocean
with many
animals. Oceans
cover most of the
Earth.
Slide 4
Discuss the pictures, ask the
question, and provide wait time. Poll
the class, and chart their responses
by creating a tally chart in the class
interactive science notebook, chart
paper, or on the whiteboard. A
sample chart can be referred to in
the lesson.
Where Do I Belong?
In the ocean?
In the tundra?
This is a polar bear.
Where do you think
the polar bear
lives?
©2012, TESCCC
In the rainforest?
10/10/12
page 1 of 4
Grade 1
Science
Unit: 10 Lesson: 03
Slide 5
Polar Bears and the Tundra
The Tundra can be
found in the
coldest places on
Earth. Only special
plants and animals
can live there
because of the
extremely cold
climate.
Slide 6
Where Do I Belong?
In the grasslands?
In the tundra?
This is an elephant. Where
do you think the
elephant lives? Let’s
take a class vote and
tally the data.
Slide 7
Elephants and
In the rainforest?
Discuss the pictures, ask the
question, and provide wait time. Poll
the class, and chart their responses
by creating a tally chart in the class
interactive science notebook, chart
paper, or on the whiteboard. A
sample chart can be referred to in
the lesson.
the Grasslands
Elephants live in
the grassland
areas of Asia and
Africa. The
grasslands have
few trees, and lots
of varieties of
grasses.
Slide 8
Where Do I Belong?
In the grasslands?
In the desert?
This is an Amazon parrot.
Discuss the pictures, ask the
question, and provide wait time. Poll
the class, and chart their responses
by creating a tally chart in the class
interactive science notebook, chart
paper, or on the whiteboard. A
sample chart can be referred to in the
lesson.
Where do you think the
parrot lives? Let’s take a
class vote and tally the
data.
In the r
©2012, TESCCC
10/10/12
page 2 of 4
Grade 1
Science
Unit: 10 Lesson: 03
Slide 9
The Amazon Parrot and the
Rainforest
The Amazon
parrot lives in the
rainforest. The
Rainforest is a
very wet and warm
place with lots of
varieties of plants
and animals.
Slide 10
Discuss the pictures, ask the
question, and provide wait time. Poll
the class, and chart their responses
by creating a tally chart in the class
interactive science notebook, chart
paper, or on the whiteboard. A
sample chart can be referred to in
the lesson.
The Camel and the Desert.
The camel lives
in the desert.
Deserts are very
hot and dry
places.
Slide 11
Where Do I Belong?
In the grasslands?
In the desert?
This is a camel.
Where do you think
the camel lives?
Let’s take a class
vote and tally the
data .
Slide 12
In the rainforest?
ENVIRONMENTS
There are different
environments all ov
the world with plants
and animals that are
special to those places.
Can you name some
special animals in y
area?
©2012, TESCCC
10/10/12
page 3 of 4
Grade 1
Science
Unit: 10 Lesson: 03
©2012, TESCCC
10/10/12
page 4 of 4
Grade 1
Science
Unit: 10 Lesson: 03
Animal Covering 3 in a Row - Instructions, Game Board, and Pictures
Purpose: The importance of this activity is to reinforce the idea that body coverings serve important purposes to
animals in a variety of environments.
Materials Needed:
 Copies of Blank Game Board page from Handout and Teacher Resource: Animal Coverings 3 in a Row (1
per student)
 Copies of Animal Coverings Pictures page from Handout: Animal Coverings 3 in a Row (1 per student)
 Small objects that can be used as “markers” for the game board
Before you play:
Distribute a copy of the Blank Game Board and Animals Coverings Pictures to each student. Allow students to cut
out each square with a picture of an animal and glue it to any square on the blank game board. Each game board
will be different. Give each player a handful of “markers” to use for their game board.
The Game:
The teacher will read one of the clues without reading the name of the animal. (You may also want to discuss the
clue with the whole class to figure out the animal to which the clue corresponds.)
1. Each player places a marker on the appropriate animal.
2. Another clue is read, and another animal is marked.
3. The first player to get three markers in one row (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally) is the winner!
4. Variations can be played, such as covering the whole board or four corners.
©2012, TESCCC
10/10/12
page 1 of 4
Grade 1
Science
Unit: 10 Lesson: 03
Animal Coverings 3 in a Row - Game Clues
Rat: Even though most of my body is covered in hair, my tail has no hair and helps me stay cool in warm places.
Elephant: My wrinkly skin keeps me cooler for longer than it would with smooth skin.
Turtle: Scales cover the hard shell that keeps me safe from animals that want to eat me. When I get scared, I just
pull my head inside!
Frog: I breathe through my slimy, slick skin. I even have slimy skin between my toes to help me swim.
Snake: Because I do not have arms or legs, I use my scales to help me to move across the ground.
Fish: My scales and flowing tail allow me to move easily through the water.
Dove: The feathers on my body help keep me warm.
Scorpion: I have a tough covering called an exoskeleton on my legs, head, and of course, on the long tail that I use
to sting prey.
Snail: I may not have legs, but the thick slime on my body lets me glide safely over the ground.
©2012, TESCCC
10/10/12
page 2 of 4
Grade 1
Science
Unit: 10 Lesson: 03
Blank Game Board
©2012, TESCCC
10/10/12
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Grade 1
Science
Unit: 10 Lesson: 03
Animal Coverings Pictures
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Grade 1
Science
Unit: 10 Lesson: 03
Animal Mouths
©2012, TESCCC
tiger
angler fish
elephant
anteater
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Grade 1
Science
Unit: 10 Lesson: 03
tucan
©2012, TESCCC
snout beetle
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Grade 1
Science
Unit: 10 Lesson: 03
How I Look, Where I Live – Sorting Pictures
Cheetah
Snail
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10/10/12
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Grade 1
Science
Unit: 10 Lesson: 03
Ducks
Rattlesnake
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10/10/12
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Grade 1
Science
Unit: 10 Lesson: 03
Dolphin
Hummingbird
©2012, TESCCC
10/10/12
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Grade 1
Science
Unit: 10 Lesson: 03
How I Look, Where I Live – Chart
Cheetah
How It Moves –
Mouth –
Body Covering –
Where do you think this animal
lives?
Snail
How It Moves –
Mouth –
Where do you think this animal
lives?
©2012, TESCCC
Body Covering –
10/10/12
page 1 of 4
Grade 1
Science
Unit: 10 Lesson: 03
How They Move –
Ducks
Mouth –
Where do you think these animals
live?
Rattlesnake
Body Covering –
How It Moves –
Mouth –
Body Covering –
Where do you think this animal
lives?
©2012, TESCCC
10/10/12
page 2 of 4
Grade 1
Science
Unit: 10 Lesson: 03
Dolphin
How It Moves –
Mouth –
Body Covering –
Where do you think this animal
lives?
Hummingbird
How It Moves –
Mouth –
Body Covering –
Where do you think this animal
lives?
©2012, TESCCC
10/10/12
page 3 of 4
Grade 1
Science
Unit: 10 Lesson: 03
©2012, TESCCC
10/10/12
page 4 of 4
Grade 1
Science
Unit: 10 Lesson: 03
A Tree as a Home – Pictures
©2012, TESCCC
10/10/12
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Grade 1
Science
Unit: 10 Lesson: 03
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10/10/12
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Grade 1
Science
Unit: 10 Lesson: 03
©2012, TESCCC
10/10/12
page 3 of 3
Grade 1
Science
Unit: 10 Lesson: 03
What’s for Lunch?
The apple starts as a seed in the ground. It takes the Sun’s energy to help the apple tree
grow and produce the apples.
The carrot starts as a seed in the ground. It takes the Sun’s energy to help the carrot plant
grow and produce the carrots.
The Sun provides energy for the corn seed to grow. The corn plant produces corn kernels.
The corn kernels are fed to the chickens. The corn provides energy for the chickens. Then,
we eat the chicken. The chicken provides energy for us.
©2012, TESCCC
10/10/12
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