Unit Title:    Needs and Characteristics of Plants and Animals, including human beings (OME, 2010)

Grade Level:    One

Subject:    Science

Unit Length:    3 weeks

Brief Summary of Unit

The big ideas of this unit are:

·        That living things grow, take in food to create energy, make waste, and reproduce. (overall expectations 2 and 3)

·        That plants and animals, including people, are living things with basic needs of air, water, food, and shelter, which are met by the environment. (overall expectations 1, 2, and 3)

·        That different living things behave in different ways. (overall expectations 2 and 3)

·        That all living things are important and should be treated with care and respect. (overall expectations 1,2, and 3)

Stage One – Desired Results

• Students will investigate and compare the basic needs of humans and other living things, including the need for air, water, food, warmth, and space, using a variety of methods and resources.
• Students will investigate and compare the physical characteristics of a variety of plants and animals, including humans.
• Students will investigate the physical characteristics of plants and explain how they help the plant meet its basic needs using a variety of methods and resources.
• Students will investigate the effects humans have on the environment.
• Students will investigate the affects humans’ actions on the environment have on plants and animals.

Students will understand that…

• there are differences between living and non-living things.
• humans and all living things have needs that must be met to live and grow.
• there are ways in which humans are different from other living things.
• there are ways in which humans are the same as other living things.
• there are ways in which humans interfere with living things ability to live and grow.
• having care and concern for all living things is important.

• What is a living thing?
• What is a non-living thing?
• What are some living things we see every day? Which are plants? Which are animals?  What makes them important to us?  What makes them important to the environment?
• What are the needs plants, animals, including humans, have that must be met?  How does the environment meet those needs?  What are producers? What are consumers? What are decomposers? What is a Food Chain?  What is a Food Web?
• How are our body systems the same as other animals?  How are they different?
• How would things be different for us if there were no more plants or animals of a particular kind? How would things be different to other living things? How would the environment be different?
• What are some things we can do to show we care for other living things and appreciate what they do for us and for the environment?

Students will know:

• Key science and technology vocabulary terms – investigation, explore, needs, space, food, air, oxygen, carbon dioxide, water, environment, roots, stem, leaves, seeds, flower, senses (smell, hearing, taste, touch), sense organs (nose, ears, mouth, skin), vertebrates, invertebrates, mammals, reptiles, birds, amphibians, fish, insects, antennae, heart, lungs, stomach, intestines, excrement (feces and urine), producer, consumer, and decomposer.
• The differences between living and non-living things.
• Types of safety procedures and humane practices that show care and concern for living things.
• Types of basic needs of plants and animals, including humans.
• The ways plants and animals, including humans, are the same.
• The ways plants and animals, including humans, are different.
• The ways living things rely on each other to live and grow.
• The ways humans help or hurt other living things.

 Students will be able to:

• Show care and respect for all living things, including other people.
• Describe the characteristics of a healthy environment.
• Describe how humans can maintain a healthy environment for all living things
• Identify and describe the physical characteristics, such as the size, shape, color, and common parts, of a variety of plants and animals.
• Identify and classify various types of animals by criteria such as vertebrate or invertebrate, mammal, reptile, bird, fish, or amphibian.
• Explain what living things provide for other living things.
• Identify the location of major parts of the human body, including the sense organs, and explain their function.
• Describe how the things plants and animals use to meet their needs are changed by their use and are returned to the environment in different forms.

·        Is it Alive?:  Students investigate, compare, discuss, classify, and sort using pictorial cards in small groups, various known objects with living things.  A full class discussion follows.  Assessment by Direct Observation of behaviors as well as using question and answer responses (oral and/or pointing to individual photographs of non-living and living things such as animals and plants); data collection using a prepared observation checklist. (expectations 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, and 3.6)

·        My Body Has Senses!:  Students will label their common body parts and senses on a life-size diagram of themselves or electronically via computer to ascertain their ability to identify their senses and their location on the human body.  Also, assessed will be their Naturalist Center journals in which they express what they see, feel, hear, taste, and smell in the classroom setting as well as outside of school. Affective assessment of interest, attitudes, and values. (expectations 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, 3.3, 3.7)

·        Using Senses to Investigate and Observe Plants and Animals:  Assessment of student observations and questions recorded on a pre-created recording sheet (eg. What I see…; What I hear…; What I feel…; What I smell…; What I taste…), and derived through their use of their senses as they explore and discover the unique characteristics of plants and animals in the classroom’s Naturalist Center, outside in the schoolyard, through watching video clips via the internet, and in nonfiction books. (expectations 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.6, 2.7, 3.1, 3.2, 3.4, 3.3, 3.6, 3.7)

·        Basic Needs of Plants:  Assessment of Naturalist Center journals in which students observationally track what helps a seed grow over time. Students will investigate how plants are different from other living things using Naturalist Center observation, internet and nonfiction resources, determining through exploration and research what plants need to grow and survive. (expectations 2.4, 2.6, 2.7, and 3.2)

·        Basic Needs of Animals, including humans:  Assessment of Naturalist Center journals in which students track what a small rodent needs to survive, as well as observations of animals in the area.  Students will investigate how animals are different and/or the same as humans using Naturalist Center observation, internet and nonfiction resources, determining through exploration and research what animals need to grow and survive. (expectations 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, 3.6)

·        Classification of Animals into Categories based on Common Characteristics:  Students are given an envelope containing various unambiguous illustrations of individual species of animals’ common to the province in which they live.  Students are asked to sort and paste the illustrations into the categories of mammal, reptile, amphibian, bird, insect, or fish on a pre-created graphic organizer.  Students may also choose to graph the animals of their group peers into classification categories.  Students may also choose to create image and/or word puzzles of animals and/or plants for their peers to try out. (expectations 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, 3.6)

·        My Meal Yesterday is Part of a Food Chain:  Students will create an illustration (drawing, cut and paste, or electronically) of one of their meals as part of a food chain identifying which living thing is a producer, consumer, or decomposer. (expectations 1.2, 2.2, 2.6, 2.7, 3.4, 3.6, 3.7)

·        Food Web:  Students will create a food web by finding links between other classmates’ food chains and their own, or adding other consumers that would link them together. (expectations 1.2, 2.2, 2.6, 2.7, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7)

·        Healthy or Unhealthy Environment:  Students create an illustration on front side of a large sheet of paper of what a perfect healthy environment would look like.  Students then create an illustration on the other side of what an unhealthy environment looks like. (expectations 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 2.6, 2.7, 3.1, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7)

·        Research Booklet and Presentation:  Using pre-created graphic organizers to plan, create, and organize a research booklet, students communicate in a presentation to the class their knowledge and understanding of plants and animals, how humans can help or hurt them, and how the outcomes of our helping or hurting animals and plants affects our survival; hence, our responsibilities towards plants and animals. The information could also be presented as a song/rap and dance, skit/play, and/or use of augmentative/assistive communication. (overall expectations 1, 2, and 3)

·        Pre-assessment: as a multiple choice, true/false, and fill in the blank with word banks all paired with images (photographs, etc.)  to ascertain levels of knowledge and understanding prior to instruction of unit material.

·        Quiz – of the unit vocabulary using multiple choice, true or false, fill in the blank with word banks via paper or electronically:  investigation, explore, needs, space, food, air, oxygen, carbon dioxide, water, environment, roots, stem, leaves, seeds, flower, senses (smell, hearing, taste, touch), sense organs (nose, ears, mouth, skin), insects, antennae, heart, lungs, stomach, intestines, excrement (feces and urine), producers, consumers, or decomposers.

 ·        Games – Students will participate in “Who am I?” games to practice their knowledge of classifying animals by common characteristics, thus deepening their understanding.

 Prompt – Describe characteristics of a living thing and a non-living thing; Describe the characteristics of plants; Describe the characteristics of different kinds of animals; Describe how plants, animals, including humans, are the same and different; Describe what a healthy environment looks like; Describe what an unhealthy environment looks like; Describe how an unhealthy environment may affect plants, animals, and humans; Describe what our (yours and mine) responsibilities are toward plants and animals.

• Skill Check – Students sort images of living and non-living things; students sort images of plants and animals into categories; students label diagrams/illustrations of plants and animals, including humans, with their parts as identified by the unit vocabulary; students identify their senses and their location on the human body; students make observations, pose questions, and record them with scaffolded assistance from the teacher and/or a trained parent/community volunteer, and/or identified expert peer.
• Post-assessment: same format as the pre-assessment, with multiple choice, true/false, and fill in the blank with word banks all paired with images (photographs, etc.), but with different assessment items/questions to ascertain levels of knowledge and understanding following the instruction of the unit material.

·        Affective assessment of interests, attitudes, and values throughout the unit.

·        Self-assessment of own performance tasks based on a student-friendly rubric.

·        Students assess peers’ performance tasks based on a student-friendly rubric.

·        Each student enters their reflections into a personal journal on how they can care for and respect living things.

Students will understand that…

• there are differences between living and non-living things.
• humans and all living things have needs that must be met to live and grow.
• there are ways in which humans are different from other living things.
• there are ways in which humans are the same as other living things.
• there are ways in which humans interfere with other living things ability to live and grow.
• having care and concern for all living things is important.

What criteria are implied in the standards and understandings, regardless of the task specifics?  What qualities must student work demonstrate to signify that standards were met?

• Criteria 1 – Students must demonstrate the ability to explain thoroughly the knowledge (content) of the characteristics and needs of living things.
• Criteria 2 – Students must demonstrate the ability to interpret texts, data, and situations showing thorough understanding (i.e. comprehension of the meaning and significance) of the importance of a healthy environment for all living things, including humans.
• Criteria 3 – Students must demonstrate the ability to apply their knowledge through the use of a graphic organizer to plan research with a high degree of effectiveness, such that all areas of the graphic organizer are completed neatly (by hand or electronically) and with the correct information.
• Criteria 4 – Students must demonstrate the ability to apply their knowledge through the use of a graphic organizer to create a research booklet in paper or electronic format with a high degree of effectiveness, such that all areas of the graphic organizer are completed neatly (by hand or electronically) and with the correct information.
• Criteria 5 – Students must determine their perspective to a high degree of effectiveness, through the use of gathered information, critical, creative thinking, inquiry, and problem-solving skills, why all living things are important and what our responsibilities are toward them.
• Criteria 6 – Students must demonstrate empathy through reading, observation, posing questions, and recording in their research graphic organizer booklet their observations and their thoughts to better understand the diversity of life, and the struggles that plants and animals must overcome to survive.
• Criteria 7 – Students must demonstrate the ability to self-reflect, revealing their self-knowledge, in order to propose the personal actions they can take to help maintain the health of the environment, and care for plants and animals.

Explain how one of more of the assessment tasks will enable you to guide students toward meeting the state’s graduation standards (see Unit 1, u01s1).

The assessment tasks described in Stage Two of the UbD will enable me to guide students toward meeting the province’s graduation standards for grade one by providing them with authentic performance tasks suited to their learning styles and preferences, be they through body-kinesthetic-tactile, verbal-linguistic, visual-spatial, musical-rhythmical, mathematical-logical, interpersonal or intrapersonal relating modes.  The assessment tasks I planned will provide students with more natural opportunities to learn, through doing.  The assessment tasks I plan will provide opportunities for each student to select their preferred output mode of expressing learning that works best for them to develop deeper understandings of the unit content.  The assessment tasks where planning, observing, questioning, and recording observations are utilized will also make more explicit the concepts and principles of science.

Through what authentic performance task will students demonstrate understanding?

Students will demonstrate understanding through the authentic performance task of completing over time a graphic organizer booklet that will become a research booklet, based on observations in class, outside in the schoolyard, and on field trips based on the characteristics and needs of plants and animals, including humans, healthy, and unhealthy environments, and the way in which all are interrelated.

What student products and performances will provide evidence of better understandings?

Evidence of better understandings will be provided by a mixture of informal and formal teacher observations, the latter will include specific prompt questions, all supporting the hands-on student performances of sorting pictures of plants and animals by common characteristics, product creation such as food chains, food webs, and a research graphic organizer booklet.

By what criteria will student products and performances be evaluated?

The criteria by which student products and performances will be evaluated include:

• The knowledge (ie. unit content) of the characteristics and needs of living things.
• Understanding (ie. the comprehension of the meaning and significance) of the importance of a healthy environment for all living things.
• The use of critical and creative thinking, inquiry, and problem-solving skills through the use of a graphic organizer to plan research.
• The use of critical and creative thinking, inquiry, and problem-solving skills through the use of a graphic organizer to create a research booklet from graphic organizers.
• The use of critical and creative thinking, inquiry, and problem-solving skills through the use of information gathered to determine why all living things are important and what our responsibilities are toward them.
• The conveying of meaning by demonstrating the organization of research information using the format of a booklet.
• The conveying of the meaning of research information to peers through various forms of communication (visual images, oral, written).
• The conveying of meaning through the use of vocabulary, and terminology of the unit in written, pictorial, and/or oral form.
• The application of the knowledge of basic needs and characteristics of all living things to one animal and one plant in order to make connections between them.
• The application of the knowledge and skills of identifying basic needs and characteristics of all living things in order to make connections to themselves so that a personal action can be proposed from which the health of all living things can be maintained.