LESSON 8 GRADES 3 5 TIME: 60 MIN OVERVIEW

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1 Journal Wonderings ENGAGE & EXPLORE LESSON 8 GRADES 3 5 TIME: 60 MIN OVERVIEW This Journal Wonderings lesson is designed for half of your students to do while the other half are doing the In the Weeds photography lesson. Then, the next day, they switch. If you have at least 1 camera per 2 students, however, you can just do one lesson at a time with the whole group. Students will go and sit in their EyeSpot, observe the plants and animals they find there, and use a writing and drawing journal activity to help them develop several researchable questions about what traits and behaviors help those plants and animals survive and thrive there. Students will research their questions and share their findings in the later Wonderings Researched & Shared lesson. Nature inspires creativity in a child by demanding visualization and a full use of the senses. -Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods OBJECTIVES Students will be able to: 1. Feel amazed at and curious about the physical and behavioral traits of plants and animals that live around them. 2. Draw an organism and label or describe some visible parts. 3. List and explain at least 5 possible ways one trait or part of a plant or animal could be used for the organism s survival. 4. List and explain at least 5 things an organism does and explain how each may help it survive. 5. Develop at least 3 questions about the purpose of a trait, and at least 3 questions about the purpose of specific behaviors.

2 ENGAGE MIN Tell students they ll be going to their EyeSpots today to observe and study the life there. Use the Journal Entry Wondering Presentation to get them excited and prepared, and to set high but reasonable expectations. ENGAGE & EXPLORE 45 MIN Students go alone to their EyeSpots with their journals, drawing utensils, whiteboard or other brace for drawing/writing, and a magnifying glass, and then follow the instructions to do their Journal Entry Wondering. Note: If there are cameras not being used, students who have chosen a small plant or animal may want to use them to get photos of their organism and then zoom-in on the photo to better observe, draw, and consider its features. EVALUATE ELABORATE (OPTIONAL) As students work in their journals encourage them to draw as many details as they can see and elaborate on their ideas without fear of being wrong. This is a great time to push each one individually to challenge themselves at their level. Use open-ended questions to help them consider ideas more fully. Are they: 1. Drawing details and labeling/describing the visible parts? 2. Listing and explaining at least 5 ways a trait or part of an organism could help its survival? 3. Listing at least 5 things an organism does and explaining how each behavior may help it survive? 4. Developing at least 3 questions about the purpose of a trait, and at least 3 questions about the purpose of specific behaviors? It is likely that some kids who choose to look more closely at very small and fleeting animals such as ants, bees, tiny bugs, etc. may be frustrated at not being able to get a good long look at them up-close. This can be a wonderful opportunity for the student(s) and you to consider the worth of ethically killing just one of the small and numerous organisms (by putting it in a small container and freezing it) in order to study it more closely later with a magnifying lens or dissecting microscope, if available. Ask them to consider what types of organisms and situations would killing for study be OK, and what is not OK. This can refer to plants as well. Should a tree be cut to count its rings?

3 MATERIALS PowerPoint presentation: Journal Entry Wondering PEEK journals with Journal Entry Wondering Pencils and/or colored pencils Magnifying glasses At least one camera, preferably with a macro setting, for teacher use (optional) EXTENSIONS AT HOME NOTE Some of your budding artists may want to save some of the drawings in this and other journal entries for the STEAM Exhibition mentioning this may encourage more time and care given to the drawings. But, it s OK if the best some can manage are more like stick figures. Just encourage them to draw stick figures with lots of details! Wouldn t it be great if they did this lesson in their own back yard as well and invited their parents to join them in PEEKing around out there? BEWARE! Shhhhh! Kids will (hopefully) find some organisms that are neither animals nor plants exactly. Like, a mushroom and mold are fungi and lichen are actually a partnership of a fungus and an algae like cyanobacteria. (There s that cyan again hence lots of bluish lichen around.) What is important is that you DO NOT TELL the kids this, but let them figure it out for themselves in later research. That s why we don t mention anything but plants and animals in the lesson! And, if they don t find any you may want to point out some of these weird lifeforms to them just don t tell what they are!

4 Journal Entry Wonderings Getting ready

5 Today you will: Sit for a while in your EyeSpot and look at all the different plants and animals you can find there. Choose one plant or animal to focus on to observe more closely. Then do Journal Entry: Wonderings, that goes like this: 1. Draw the animal or plant you chose in detail and label or describe the different parts you can see...

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7 What s this ir le for?

8 It s for the next step: Choose o e of that pla t or a i al s parts that you are i terested i and wonder about and look at it more closely. Use your magnifying glass to get a closer look. Now, draw that one part as a close-up in the magnifying glass circle. Like this:

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10 Think about the whole plant or animal and all that it needs to live: Water Food Shelter / Protection Reproduction Other? Sit back in your EyeSpot and brainstorm (anything goes as long as it seems possible) a list of all the ways this one part could help it live. Like this Brainstorm Question! How might a long tongue help a honey bee live? Water: Drinking Food Making honey Getting nectar from flowers Shelter / Protection licking itself clean of germs making wax for hive shelter Poking, like biting Reproduction Cleaning (like kissing?) a mate Feeding babies Other Communicating with other bees? Tasting the air for flowers?

11 Brainstorm Question! What do bees do that help them live here? Now let s think about behaviors. What animals and plants DO that help them live in the places they are found. Relax in your EyeSpot again and think about that orga is you e ee observing today. What are some things it does? Brainstorm a list of at least 5. Fly Live in hives Sting! Get nectar from flowers Carry pollen around

12 Brainstorm Question! What do bees do that help them live here? Now, go back and explain how each of these behaviors might help your organism live here. Remember, all living things need water, food, shelter/protection, and reproduction. This is still a bit of a brain hurricane, so do not worry about being right or wrong. Fly get away from danger like hungry birds - get to far away flowers - find water Live in hives protect each other - shelter from rain and cold - store honey for when no flowers Sting! protection (weird though because I think they die after they sting) Drink from flowers food - water too maybe? Carry pollen around I think this helps the flowers ut I do t k o ho that helps the ees?

13 Brainstorm Question! What do bees do that help them live here? Fly get away from danger like hungry birds - get to far away flowers - find water Go back and put a * by at least 3 ideas that you wonder about most and want to know more about. Live in hives protect each other * - shelter from rain and cold - store honey for when no flowers Sting! protection (weird though because I think they die after they sting) * Drink from flowers food - water too maybe? Carry pollen around I think this helps the flowers ut I do t k o ho that helps the bees?*

14 Uh, what if you chose a plant, not an animal? They do t DO a ythi g!

15 BOOM!!! MIND BLOW! OH! YES, THEY DO! CRACK!!! Plants DO things too! They make their own food from the sun, water, air and soil. Some kill and eat animals! Some store water. Some grow up towards the sun, or cling to the ground, or grab on to supports or grow ON other plants and even kill them. Some spread roots deeply or around rocks or float on water. Some have flowers that follow the sun, that smell good or bad, open and close, or make pollen and nectar. Some make fruits, seeds, leaves, or poison. Some bend or fold up in the wind instead of breaking. Some help break down mountains. And more!

16 RESEARCH QUESTIONS Go back to the things you put a * by and form each into a question to research later: Do honey bees long tongues help them... - drink water? - get nectar/food from flowers? - bite/stab to protect themselves? Do bees live in hives to protect each other? If bees sting for protection then why do they die after they sting? How does carrying pollen around help bees?

17 Journal Entry: Wonderings Directions: Sit for a while in your EyeSpot and look at all the different plants and animals you can find there. Choose one plant or animal to focus on to observe more closely. Below, draw the animal or plant you chose in detail and label or describe the different parts you can see. Do ot orry a out ei g right or ro g. If you do t k o hat so ethi g is alled, just try to des ri e it.

18 Once you have added and labeled as many parts as you can see, go back and circle around the part of the plant or animal you wonder most about and want to look at and draw more closely. Now, look more closely at that part of your plant or animal and draw a zoomed-in close-up of it in the circle below. Use a magnifying glass if you can.

19 Now, get ready to brainstorm a list of ways this trait or body part could help your plant or animal live here. Relax in your EyeSpot and try to come up with between 5 and 10. Think about the whole plant or animal and all that it needs to live. How could the trait or body part help it with things like: Water Food Shelter / Protection Reproduction Other?

20 Now, go back and put a star or smiley next to the three ideas you think are most likely to be true. But do t orry if you tur out to e ro g. All of these ideas are good a d i porta t. Fi ally, it s ti e to think about behaviors; what animals and plants DO to help them live in the places where they are found. Relax in your EyeSpot again and think about that plant or animal you e ee o ser i g today. What are some things your organism does in its natural environment? Brainstorm a list of at least 5 below: (Remember, plants DO things too. Some grow up towards the sun, grow clinging to the ground, grab on to supports or grow ON other plants, spread roots deep or around rocks, follow the sun, open and close flowers, make flowers with pollen and nectar, make fruits, make seeds, make leaves, and more.)

21 Now, go back and add ideas you have for how each of these behaviors may help it live here! Remember, all living things need water, food, shelter/protection, reproduction, and maybe some other things you think of as well. Put a * by the ones you question and wonder about. RESEARCH QUESTIONS Go back to all the *s next to the ideas and wonderings you had and write each of these ideas and wonderings as a question you may research later: E a ples: How does living in hives help honeybees besides for having shelter and honey? Why do ho ey ees die after they sti g? What do ees use polle for?