Ecological Literacy Unit activity lesson plan, grade 4
TITLE OF ACTIVITY:
Who’s Who in the Woods Too?
ECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLE(S) BEING ADDRESSED:
Biodiversity
STANDARD(S) BEING ADDRESSED:
7.1 Scientific method (describe, investigate, phenomena)
7.13 Interdependence and Organisms
4.6 Understanding Place
INQUIRY/FOCUSING QUESTIONS:
Who’s Who in the Woods Too?
What are the different types of forests?
What are some species native to Vermont found in these forests?
Can you identify the sub-species?
TOPIC:
Deciduous, Boreal, Conifer forest
PROCEDURES:
What is a deciduous forest?
What is a boreal forest?
What is a conifer forest?
Define richness and equality: discuss why you need both.
Go outside with scavenger lists and collect examples
Later lessons-Use specimens to do art class rubbings. Use field guides to identify species.
MATERIALS:
Vocabulary sheet, Scavenger lists, Newspaper, materials for pressing
CULTURAL HERITAGE CONNECTIONS:
What if apple trees, beech trees, and sugar maples disappear? How would this affect our culture and economy?
TASK/CONTENT-SPECIFIC ASSESSMENT:
Discussion times-anecdotal
Art rubbings-task
Scavenger hunt-task
Collecting and pressing-anecdotal
Identification-performance
GENERALIZED-STANDARD ASSESSMENT:
7.13 Organisms rubric (tool)
4.6 Understanding place rubric (tool)
7.1 Scientific Method observation rubric (tool)
