Appendix A
Unit Goals and Standards
This unit will target 2 main science goals, math goals, reading goals and writing goals. Most states have adopted the Common Core Curriculum and Essential Standards. This unit will address those goals and areas familiar with most state curriculum. Exploring Ecosystems all over the world also provide a globe aspect for international studies. In the first science goal, students will recognize Earth's Systems, Structures and Processes.
- 3.E.2 Compare the structures of Earth's surface using models or three-dimensional diagrams.
- Compare Earth's saltwater and freshwater features (including oceans, rivers, lakes, ponds, streams and glaciers)
- Compare Earth's land features (including volcanoes, mountains, canyons, caverns, and islands) using models, pictures, diagrams and maps.
Students will use this goal when learning about Earth's ecosystems and the plants that thrive in each. When they engage in the Ecosystem Explo by researching, they will discover the landforms significant to their area of study. To compare the various land and water features, students will present information to their classmates and they will use a graphic organizer to compare at least two of the landforms or water features presented.
In the second science goal, students will understand how plants survive in their environments.
- 3.L.2.1 Recognize the function of the following plant structures as it relates to the survival of plants in their environment.
- Roots
- Stems
- Leaves
- Flowers
- 3.L.2.2 Explain how environmental conditions determine how well plants survive and grow.
With this goal, I plan to use plant activities that show the function of each plant part. For example, to show the function of stems, we will use celery and food coloring. By placing the celery in a cup of water (*add food coloring), students will be able to see how water travels up the stem of the plant over a time period. To understand how environmental conditions affect plant growth and survival, place plants in various conditions and record the growth and observations in a science journal. Possible environmental conditions include placing them dark places so they don't receive sunlight, such as the inside of a desk, the freezer, closet, etc. Students will compare the growth of all plants and evaluate what all plants need to survive. With the math goals, students will graph and collect data to enhance their critical thinking and problem solving skills. Science and math are closely related and students will have several opportunities throughout this unit to relate energy to graphing, measurement, and basic arithmetic properties.
Reading is a fundamental portion of academic development and what better way to immerse students in science than by connecting it to content rich text! With reading goals, students will ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers (CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.1). Students will also explain how specific aspects of a text's illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (*CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.7). Foundational skills from reading will also be incorporated by decoding words with common Latin suffixes and decoding multisyllable words.
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