Learning About Animals

Transcription

1 Learning About Animals Learning About Animals suggests ways to build on your students previous experiences to develop new concepts. The concepts presented in this book address the National Science Education Standards (Life Science) and Benchmarks for Science Literacy (The Living Environment). s Animals are living things. Living things are alike in many ways... 5 There are many kinds of animals. Animals live in different habitats...11 An animal s body and behaviors help it survive in its environment. Animals are many sizes...17 Animals are many colors Animals bodies have different kinds of coverings Animals have different types of appendages Animals find and eat food in different ways Animals have different methods of self-defense Animals need air, food, and water. They depend on plants for food Animals grow and change. Animals look like their parents Congratulations on your purchase of some of the finest teaching materials in the world. For information about other Evan-Moor products, call or FAX Visit our Web site Check the Product Updates link for supplements, additions, and corrections for this book. Author: Jo Ellen Moore Entire contents 2000 by EVAN-MOOR CORP. 18 Lower Ragsdale Drive, Monterey, CA Editor: Marilyn Evans Permission is hereby granted to the individual purchaser to Copy Editor: Cathy Harber reproduce student materials in this book for noncommercial Illustrators: Philip Smith individual or classroom use only. Permission is not granted Kathy Kopp for schoolwide, or systemwide, reproduction of materials. Designer: Keli Davis Printed in U.S.A. Cover design: Keli Davis EMC 867

2 Being a Scientist Young learners need to know that scientists are not just workers wearing white jackets in laboratories. We do science when we cook breakfast mix paints to make new colors plant seeds in the garden watch a squirrel in a tree mark how tall we are on a growth chart, or look outside to see what the weather is like The activities in this book relate to the National Science Education Standards (Science as Inquiry). When you follow the step-by-step lessons, your students will be doing science. They will observe ask meaningful questions predict conduct investigations compare record information order communicate investigations and explanations categorize use tools and equipment What makes this book easy for you? The step-by-step activities are easy to understand and include illustrations where it s important. The resources you need are at your fingertips: record sheets; logbook sheets; and other reproducibles such as minibooks, task cards, and picture cards. Each science concept is presented in a self-contained section. You can decide to do the entire book or pick only those sections that enhance your own curriculum. minibooks task cards logbooks picture cards 2000 by Evan-Moor Corp. 1 Learning About Animals EMC 867

3 Using Logbooks as Learning Tools ScienceWorks for Kids emphasizes the use of logbooks to help students summarize and solidify learning. Logbooks are valuable learning tools for several reasons: Logbooks give students an opportunity to put what they are learning into their own words. Putting ideas into words is an important step in internalizing new information. Whether spoken or written, this experience allows students to synthesize their thinking. Explaining and describing experiences helps students make connections between several concepts and ideas. Logbook entries allow the teacher to catch misunderstandings right away and then reteach. Logbooks are a useful reference for students and a record of what has been learned. Two Types of Logbooks This picture stands for class logbook Throughout the unit, a class logbook will be used to record student understanding. Use large sheets of chart paper. Hold the pages together with metal rings. Even though your students may not be reading, the responses can be read to them as a means of confirming and reviewing learning. This picture stands for student logbook Animals My Logbook Students process their understanding of investigations by writing or drawing their own responses in individual student logbooks. Following the investigations are record and activity sheets that can be added to each student s logbook. At the conclusion of the unit, reproduce a copy of the logbook cover on page 3 for each student. Students organize their pages and staple them with the cover. : 2000 by Evan-Moor Corp. 3 Learning About Animals EMC by Evan-Moor Corp. 2 Learning About Animals EMC 867

4 Animals My Logbook : 2000 by Evan-Moor Corp. 3 Learning About Animals EMC 867

5 Animals for Observation Teacher Preparation Before beginning this unit on animals, plan opportunities for students to observe animals. Keep animals in class. Many activities in this book require students to have small animals available for close observation. A good selection would be at least two of the following: an aquarium or large fishbowl with fish and an aquatic snail a terrarium with snails or earthworms a cage with a hamster, gerbil, rabbit, or mouse a large clear plastic container with small insects such as ladybird beetles a cage with a small bird Be sure to research proper care before bringing an animal into the classroom. Note: It is very important to emphasize the proper way to treat animals in a classroom. If students are allowed to hold the animals, be sure they understand the correct way to do so. Even the gentlest animal can bite or scratch if frightened. Have a pet day where students (and a parent) can bring their pets to class. Use this opportunity to look for likenesses and differences among animals. Plan one or more field trips to observe animals. a zoo an aquarium an animal shelter a farm Invite people to bring animals to school. someone who collects birds, snakes, turtles, etc. a farmer with rabbits, chickens, a baby goat, etc. an animal shelter staff member with a wild animal An Animal Library Gather an assortment of books about animals. (See the inside back cover for a bibliography to use throughout the study of animals.) Note: If you include make-believe animal stories, explain to your students that animals in stories are sometimes given attributes they don t really have. Talk about attributes that are true and not true of real animals by Evan-Moor Corp. 4 Learning About Animals EMC 867

6 Animals are living things. Living things are alike in many ways. What Makes Something Alive? Show students three objects (plant a plant in a pot; animal a small mammal such as a white mouse; nonliving object a rock). Ask students to describe the objects. The mouse is furry. The mouse wiggles its whiskers. The mouse can grow, too. The plant has leaves. The plant can grow. The plant has a flower. The rock is hard. The rock is round. Rocks don t Through questioning, guide students to use the words alive or living to describe things that can grow. Say, Some of you said the mouse and the plant can grow. What other kinds of things can grow? What do we call things that can grow? Begin the class logbook by listing living and nonliving things. Record student responses on a second chart entitled Living Things Can... Don t fill in information not offered by students. Add details as your students acquire more information. Using page 7, students mark the living things shown. This will become the first page in the students individual logbooks. page 7 Note: Reproduce this sheet for each student to use with page 5. Mark the living things. Living things eat. A rabbit eats. Living things grow. A fl ower grows. Living things move. A ball does not. A book does not. Living tree dog cat Nonliving shoe Living Things Can... grow move A mouse moves. A rock does not. Living things can make more like themselves. A bird has baby birds. A shoe does not by Evan-Moor Corp. 7 Animals EMC by Evan-Moor Corp. 5 Learning About Animals EMC 867

7 2000 by Evan-Moor Corp. 8 Animals EMC 867 Looking for Living Things Take a discovery walk. Divide the class into groups with adult helpers. Give each group a clipboard, paper, a pencil, and a hand lens for looking closely at small plants and animals. Group leaders will record the students observations. Send the groups to different areas around the school yard or an open space to find living things. (Emphasize that nothing is to be touched unless the group leader says it is okay. If an insect, worm, etc., is picked up, return it to where it was found.) Have each group share the living things they discovered. On a large sheet of chart paper, make a list of all the living things found. Entitle the chart We saw these living things. Circle all of the animals on the chart. Add the chart to the class logbook. Using page 8, students draw a living and a nonliving thing to show they understand the concept. Living Or Nonliving? Reproduce the picture cards on pages 9 and 10. Use masking tape to create two large sorting circles on the floor. Label the circles living and nonliving. Show the cards one at a time. Ask students to decide if the item shown is living or nonliving and then place the card in the correct circle. (The living things may be further divided into plants and animals.) Note: Reproduce the cards on pages 9 and 10 to use with page 6. pages 9 10 page 8 Note: Reproduce this sheet for each student to use with page 6. b b We saw these living things. worm ug tree cat ird ant flower Draw a living thing. Draw something that is not alive by Evan-Moor Corp. 8 Animals EMC 867 Note: Reproduce this sheet for each student to use with page 5. Mark the living things. Living things eat. A rabbit eats. A ball does not. Living things grow. A fl ower grows. A book does not. Living things move. Note: Reproduce this sheet for each student to use with page 6. Draw a living thing. page 8 Draw something that is not alive. Include these pages in each student s logbook. A mouse moves. A rock does not. Living things can make more like themselves. A bird has baby birds. A shoe does not by Evan-Moor Corp. 7 Animals EMC by Evan-Moor Corp. 6 Learning About Animals EMC 867

8 Note: Reproduce this sheet for each student to use with page 5. Mark the living things. Living things eat. Living things grow. A rabbit eats. A ball does not. Living things move. A fl ower grows. A book does not. A mouse moves. Living things can make more like themselves. A rock does not. A bird has baby birds. A shoe does not by Evan-Moor Corp. 7 Learning About Animals EMC 867