1 Day
Adaptations
How do scientists transfer their knowledge of plants & animals from land & water habitats into an
enticing piece of informational media?
Essential Questions
Inquiry
 How do living
things survive?
Literacy
 What makes
information media
good?
3 - 4 days
Inquiry
 What do living
things need from
place?
Literacy
 In what ways do
informational
media entice
readers?
Numeracy
 Where do we get
data from?
Learning Activities
Inquiry(BINQ 1)
 Look at ecosystem photographs & observe plants, animals &
habitats. What would like to know more about?
Literacy(ELA 2.1a, 3.2a)
 Watch an informational video & notice WHY you like it.
Assessments
Inquiry
 I Notice… / I Wonder…
Numeracy
 Look at various graphs, charts, & data & wonder how it was
collected & displayed this way
Inquiry (BINQ 1, 2, 7, 8)
 Habitat Box (Creating a Sense of Place p. 38)
 Habitat Pictures (Creating a Sense of Place p. 38)
 Hula Hoop Habitats (Creating a Sense of Place p. 39)
 101 Science Poems for Children
 Desert
 Rain forest
 The World of Animals
 Animal Homes
Literacy (ELA 2.1a, 3.1c, 3.2d, 4.2b)
 Read & view nonfiction texts to gather information about
ecosystems
 Use context clues to figure out words
Numeracy

Read Alouds
 Ecosystems Everywhere (Ellen Halloran)
 A House for Hermit Crab (Eric Carle)
 Sierra(Diane Siebert)
 Cave (Diane Siebert)
 The Magic School Bus on the Ocean Floor
Numeracy
 Look at data on various ecosystems: precipitation, temperature,
climate, etc.
 newspaper / www to check temps, rainfall each day
Literacy
 It says/shows… / I
like it because…
Inquiry
 sketch
 I used to think/now I
know
 Sketches
 Choral Reading
Literacy
 Box & T-Chart
 Wow! / I Learned…
 3 – Tab Book
Numeracy
 graph over time
 plot growth / decline
of species
2
days
Inquiry
 How do living
things survive in
a place?
Literacy
 How do we know
what we are
reading about?
Numeracy
4 days
Inquiry
 How do plants
adapt to survive?
Literacy
 In what ways is
information
dispersed in
informational
media?
Numeracy
Inquiry (BINQ 3, SCI 3.2)
 Adaptation Walk (Creating a Sense of Place p.43)
 Missing Adaptations (Creating a Sense of Place p.43)
 Adaptation Examples (Creating a Sense of Place p.43)
 Poetry (101 Science Poems for Children)
 Animal Defenses
Literacy (ELA 1.2f, 2.2a, 3.1c3.2d, 4.2b)
 Read nonfiction texts about ecosystems to determine the topic &
main idea
Read Aloud
 Mojave (Diane Siebert)
Numeracy
 details on weight, height, size, pounds of food per day
Inquiry (BINQ 3, SCI 3.2)
 Plant Basics (Creating a Sense of Place p.87)
 Plant Match (Creating a Sense of Place p.45)
 Seeds in a Jar (lab)

101 Science Poems for Children
 Green Plants
 Parts of a Plant
 Growth of a Tree
Literacy (ELA 1.2f, 2.2a, 3.1c3.2d, 4.2b)
 read & view nonfiction texts about a specific ecosystem’s
plants & determine the main idea w/supporting details
Read Aloud
 The Great Kapok Tree (Lynne Cherry)
 Desert Giant (Barbara Bash)
 Our Tree Named Steve (Alan Zweibel)
 Be a Friend to Trees (Patricia Lauber)
 Oak Tree (Gordon Morrison)
Numeracy
 details on weight, height, size, pounds of food per day
Inquiry
 sketch
 teacher observation
 matching
 choral reading
Literacy
 Project Board w/Tabs
Numeracy
 Draw a diagram to
scale, using graph
paper
Inquiry
 compare / contrast
 teacher observation
 table
 choral reading
Literacy
 Picture Frame Book
 Plant Diagram
Numeracy
 Draw a diagram to
scale, using graph
paper
3 – 5 days
Inquiry
 How do animals
adapt to survive?
Literacy
 In what ways can
we make
information our
own?
Numeracy
3 – 4 days

How do you create
an enticing
informational
show?
Inquiry (BINQ 3, SCI 3.2)
 Animal Needs (Creating a Sense of Place p.69)
 Animal Olympics (Creating a Sense of Place p.43 - 45)
 Animal Cracker Biomes (www.abcteach.com)

101 Science Poems for Children
 Sea Creatures
 Underground Creatures
 Penguins
 Fish
 Birds
 Bugs
 Reptiles
 Amphibians
 Mammals
Literacy (ELA 1.2f, 2.2a, 3.1c3.2d, 4.2b)
 Read & view nonfiction texts about animals & synthesize
information
Read Aloud
 Animal Adaptations (Erin Fry)
 The Polar Bear & the Jaguar (Sneed B. Collard III)
 Oil Spill (Melvin Berger)
 The Mud Flat Olympics (James Stevenson)
Numeracy
 details on weight, height, size, pounds of food per day
Inquiry

Literacy
 organize the entire group’s information on the ecosystem
 prepare documents to be included in informational video
 write & rehearse speaking parts
 put above elements together to create informational video
Read Aloud
 Old Beaver (Udo Weigelt)
 Pond (Gordon Morrison)
 The Magic School Bus Hops Home
 Welcome to the River of Grass (Jane Yolen)
 The Arctic (Catherine Guigon)
Numeracy

Inquiry
 Sketch/Bird Nest
 Compare / Contrast
 Graphs
 Choral / Partner
Reading
Literacy
 4 – Door Book
 Animal Costume /
Puppet / Figurine
Numeracy
 Draw a diagram to
scale, using graph
paper
Inquiry
 Reader’s Theater
Literacy
 Storyboard
 Scanned documents
 Video recording
 Completed video
Numeracy
***Probably will not do numeracy part of unit this year. Keep info here for now & revisit next
year. If possible, try to do some during inquiry.***
Pictures
African Desert
Animal Planet
Canyons
Desert Plants
Desert Wildlife
Freshwater
Kelp Gardens
National Geographic for Kids
Oceans
Ocean Wildlife
Savannah
Temperate Rainforests
Tropical Rainforest
Tundra
Tundra Wildlife
Videos
Antarctica
Arctic
Coral Reefs
Creature Feature
Everglades
Karoo Desert
Killer Clips
Mamiraua
Orangutan Island
Reptiles
Rainforest
Wild Kingdom
http://www.nebo.edu/misc/learning_resources/ppt/6-12/habitats.ppt#12
Games
Africa Brain Teaser
Africa Critter Cam
Antarctic Critter Cam
Animal Jigsaw Puzzles (A – J)
Animal Jigsaw Puzzles (K – O)
Animal Jigsaw Puzzles (P – S)
Animal Jigsaw Puzzles (T – Z)
Explore Animals (A – K)
Explore Animals (L – Z)
Habitats
Lion Brain Teaser
Magic School Bus Habitats
Motion Ocean
Wild Games (A – Z)
(ppt)
Pod Casts:

Discovery Channel Video Pod
Casts
o Man vs. Wild
 Everglades
 African Savannah
 Zebra Snack
 Jungle Food
 Scorpion Meal
o FYI
 Snakes
 Sequioa Trees
 Mosquitos
 Humpback Whales


 Hammerhead Shark
 Giant Squid
Discovery Channel Features
o Anatomy of a Snake Bite
o Deadbly Bugs
Discovery News
o Lizards Show Evolution
o Cobras Methodically…
o 3 Questions: Octopi
o Zoo Logic
 Green Tree Python
 Hercules Beetle
 Golden Lion

 Giant Pacific Octopus
Wild Chronicles Digital
Shorts
o Elephant Play
o Polar Palooza
o Fongoli Chimp
o Japanese Bluefin
o Panama Golden Frog
o Sahara Trees
o Ridgway’s Hawk
o World’s Tallest Tree
o Vultures of the Serengeti