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TIPS Thematic
Unit Planning Guide |
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Name: Martha Adams-Bush
School: Shalimar Elementary
School
Theme: Thrilling Terrariums
Grade: Third
Subject: Science
Length of Unit: 3-4 weeks
Sunshine State Standards to
be addressed and assessed:
SC.A.1.2.1.3.1
Determines
the physical properties of matter using metric measurements that incorporate
tools such as rulers, thermometers, balances.
SC.B.2.2.1.3.1
Knows that some source of energy is needed for organisms to stay alive and grow.
SC.F.1.2.2.3.1
Understands
the various ways that animals depend on plants for survival (for example, food,
shelter, oxygen).
SC.G.1.2.2.3.1
Knows
how organisms with similar needs in a climatic region compete with one another
for resources such as food, water, oxygen, or space.
SC.G.1.2.2.3.2
Knows
behavioral and structural adaptations that allow plants and animals to survive
in an environment.
SC.H.1.2.3.3.1
Knows that to work collaboratively, all team
members should be free to reach, explain, and justify their own individual
conclusions.
SC.H.1.2.4.3.1
Knows that to compare and contrast observations
and results is an essential skill in science.
SC.H.1.2.5.3.1
Knows that a model of something is different
from the real thing, but can be used to learn something about the real thing.
Learner Outcomes:
The students will be able to:
Generate ongoing excitement of learning
Learn vocabulary words and meanings
Sharpen their observation and communication
skills
Discover that soil contains living and nonliving
things
Understand soil’s place in the ecosystem as it
relates to plants, animals, and humans
Record in a journal both written and pictorial
observations
Photograph the daily activities using cameras
Gain an understanding of the earthworm
structures and behaviors
Understand the role of the earthworm in an
ecosystem
Identify and understand isopod structures and
behaviors
Understand the role pill bugs and sow bugs play
in an ecosystem
Use multimedia technologies to create a slide show about terrariums.
Short description of unit:
Media Selection:
Books:
Earthworms, Dirt, and Rotten Leaves
by Molly McLaughlin: Publisher: Macmillan Publishing Co., New York, New
York, 1986
The Snail’s Spell
by Joanne Ryder: Publisher Puffin Books, New York, New York, 1982
Wonderful Worms
by Linda Glaser: Publisher Millbrook Press, Brookfield, Connecticut, 1992
The Snail House by Allan Ahlberg: Publisher Candlewick Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2000
Web Links:
Soil Underground Adventure
http://fieldmuseum.org/ua/default.htm
ARS Science For Kids
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/kids/
Kids Corner for Science
http://www.agclassroom.org/kids/index.html
Animals
http://www.earthfoot.org/backyard/animals.html
How Animals Spend the Winter
http://www.sciencemadesimple.net/animals.html
S.K.Worm
http://www.nhq.nrcs.usda.gov/CCS/squirm/skQstns.html
How Much Soil Is There?
http://ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov/globe/app_soil/hmsoil.htm
Soil Structures
http://ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov/globe/protocol/structur.htm
Pillbugs and Sow bugs
http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Loge/9474/sowbugs.html
Sow bugs and Pill bugs
http://www2.ag.ohio-state.edu/~ohioline/hyg-fact/2000/2072.html
Sow bug and Pill bug Information Sheet
http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entomology/entfacts/trees/ef439.htm
Sow bugs and Pill bugs
http://www.ianr.unl.edu/pubs/insects/g342.HTM
CDFA Sow bugs and Pill bugs
http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/agfacts/pesticides/sowbugs_pillbugs.html
Millipedes, Sow bugs, and Pill bugs
http://www.cce.cornell.edu/suffolk/grownet/insect-pests/millipedes.htm
Earthworms
http://www.nysite.com/nature/fauna/earthworm.htm
All About Earthworms
http://yucky.kids.discovery.com/noflash/worm/pg000102.html
Worm World
http://yucky.kids.discovery.com/noflash/worm/index.html
Worms
http://www.sci.mus.mn.us/sln/tf/w/worms/worms/worms.html
All About Snails
http://www.kiddyhouse.com/Snails/
Florida Tree Snails
http://www.nps.gov/ever/eco/liguus.htm
Snails Everglades National Park
http://www.nps.gov/ever/ed/edsnails.htm
Snails and Slugs
http://www.earthfoot.org/backyard/snail&sl.html
State Soils
http://www.statlab.iastate.edu/soils/photogal/statesoils/list1.htm
Secrets Hidden in Soil
http://ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov/globe/forengeo/secret.htm
Other Necessary Materials and Equipment:
Books:
Earthworms, Dirt, and Rotten Leaves
by Molly McLaughlin: Publisher: Macmillan Publishing Co., New York, New
York, 1986
The Snail’s Spell
by Joanne Ryder: Publisher Puffin Books, New York, New York, 1982
Wonderful Worms
by Linda Glaser: Publisher Millbrook Press, Brookfield, Connecticut, 1992
The Snail House by Allan Ahlberg: Publisher Candlewick Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2000
Materials
Computers with PowerPoint
Folders with Activity Sheets
Science Journals
Materials Per Group:
Activity 1:
1 plastic zip-lock bag of soil
4 plastic spoons, science journals,
magnifying lenses, 4 observation mats/sheets of white paper
Activity 2:
1 clear plastic storage box with lid
Plastic bowl
2 cups of soil
1 cup of sand (mix together in the bowl)
Teaspoon of birdseed or grass seed
Dry leaves, twigs, bark,
Small plants
Plastic spoons
1 spray bottle of water
Science journals
1 sheet of dark construction paper
Activity 3:
Activity sheets
Water bottles
Tray for sorting earthworms
1earthworm/per group
1 red worm/per group
Clear plastic cups
Magnifying lenses
Dry leaves
Science journals
Plastic spoons
Rulers (measure earthworms in inches and centimeters before placing
Activity 4:
water bottle
4-isopods/per groups
Tray for observing and sorting the isopods
Clear plastic cup with lid
1 raw potato
Damp dry leaves
1 toilet tissue tube
Science journals
Activity 5:
Tray for observing and sorting
Students will bring in small animals such as
garden snails, slugs, beetles, and crickets from home to add to the terrarium.
Food items:
potato, carrot, apple, eggshells, and dried beans
Objects:
rocks, sticks, shells, twigs, leaves, plants, bird and grass seed
Teacher Preparation For the Unit
The teacher will supply the clear plastic
containers for terrariums.
The teacher will make sure that the supplies
are stored for the activities.
Activity sheets will be duplicated for each
group.
The students will be divided into the their
groups.
The teacher will make sure the station
activities are ready for the students.
The students will write a definition to the
vocabulary words in their science journals before beginning the unit of
study. Then after completing the unit,
the students will compare their definitions with the class.
VOCABULARY WORDS:
Soil
Habitat
Clay
Silt
Sand
Organic Matter
Compost
Terrarium
Moist
Earthworm
Isopods
Sow bugs
Pill bugs
Adaptation
Decomposition
Food Chain
Procedures:
INTRODUCTORY ACTIVITY:
The students will work in groups of four to
complete the following activities. Team
leaders will be chosen for each group.
Tell the students that they will be exploring a very necessary natural resource
that supports plant and animal life---soil.
Before beginning the activities, read from the book titled: Earthworms, Dirt, and Rotten Leaves
by Molly McLaughlin. After the reading,
ask the following questions:
(Activity sheet: Analyzing
Soil)
“Where have you found soil?” (Pause)
“What do you think you will find in the soil?” (Pause) Students will
write the answers in their journals.
Then let the students share their responses with the class. Then begin Activity 1.
ACTIVITIES:
Activity 1: Day 2 Discovering Soil (Body/Kinesthetic)
Task:
The students will observe and describe a sample of garden or schoolyard
soil. Use all your senses except “TASTE.”
Do not taste the soil.
Each student in the group will place one spoonful of soil on his/her
white paper. Observe and write the following in his/her journal. Share with group. (Activity Sheet) Observing and Examining Soil)
Color of the soil
Texture of the soil
Odor of the soil
Use the magnifying lenses to examine the
following: Record your ideas in
journal.
Roots
Leaves
Pebbles
Creatures
Other objects
Materials:
1 plastic zip-lock bag of soil
4 plastic spoons, science journals,
magnifying lenses, 4 observation mats/sheets of white paper
Time: 45 minutes
Group Activity:
After completing the
above activity, all groups will share ideas as a class activity. Then ask the questions:
“What was unusual about the soil?” (Pause) “Is it possible to create a simple
food chain?” (Pause) “How does soil
help plants and animals?” (Pause)
Students will record responses in science journals.
Introductory Activity:
Before beginning the activity, read from the
book titled: Earthworms, Dirt, and
Rotten Leaves by Molly McLaughlin.
Activity 2: Day 2 Constructing a Terrarium Habitat (Body/Kinesthetic and Interpersonal)
Task:
The students will work as a team of four students to design and build
their terrarium. After completing the
terrariums, the groups will share with the class.
Materials:
1 clear plastic storage box with lid
Plastic bowl
2 cups of soil
1 cup of sand (mix together in the bowl)
Teaspoon of birdseed or grass seed
Dry leaves, twigs, bark,
Small plants
Plastic spoons
1 spray bottle of water
Science journals
1 sheet of dark construction paper
Time: 45
minutes
Ask the groups to answer the following questions
and be ready to share with the class:
(Activity Sheet: Constructing a
Terrarium)
“Why were plants added to the terrarium?”
“Is the terrarium a habitat?” “If so, why?”
“What does a habitat need to provide?”
“What kinds of animals might live in this
habitat?”
“What kinds of changes might we observe in the
terrariums?”
Introductory Activity:
Before
beginning Activity 3, ask the following
questions:
“What small animals spend most of their time
underground?” (Pause) “What do you know
about these animals?” (Pause)
Students will record their answers in the
science journals.
Activity 3: Day 3 Adding Earthworms to the Terrariums (Body/Kinesthetic and Naturalist)
Task: The students will add earthworms and red
worms to their terrariums.
Materials:
Activity sheets
Water bottles
Tray for sorting earthworms
1earthworm/per group
1 red worm/per group
Clear plastic cups
Magnifying lenses
Dry leaves
Science journals
Plastic spoons
Rulers (measure earthworms in inches and
centimeters before placing in terrariums.
Time: 45
minutes
The students will work as a team of 4 students
to complete the activity.
The group will answer the following questions in
the science journals. (Activity Sheet:
Adding Earthworms to Terrarium)
What are the parts of an earthworm?
How does the earthworm react to touch?
How does the earthworm react to moisture? To
darkness?
Describe how the worm feels.
Measure the earthworms in inches and centimeters.
How does the red worm compare with the
earthworm?
How does being long, slimy, and like a cylinder
assist the earthworm to move or burrow in the soil? Or these forms of adaptations?
What are some human adaptations that help us to
survive?
What do earthworms eat?
What do you think that the earthworms will do
once inside the terrariums?
After completing the activity, the students will
share their responses with the class.
Introductory Activity:
Before beginning the activity, ask the
following questions: “What are isopods?”
“What small creatures have you seen under leaves or flowerpots on the
ground?” “Does anyone know the group of
animals that isopods belong?”
Roly-poly, pill bugs, sow bugs, are all names
for the tiny isopods that are found under logs, rocks, and flowerpots.
Activity 4: Day 4 Adding Isopods to Terrariums (Body/Kinesthetic and
Naturalist)
Task: The students will compare the differences
and similarities between pill bugs and sow bugs. Record in the science journal.
Materials:
water bottle
4-isopods/per groups
Tray for observing and sorting the isopods
Clear plastic cup with lid
1 raw potato
Damp dry leaves
1 toilet tissue tube
Science journals
Time: 45
minutes
After completing the activity, call the groups
back to discuss their findings. Ask the
following questions: (Activity
Sheet: Adding Isopods to Terrariums)
“Describe the isopods in your group.”
“Describe the body shapes.”
“How do they move?”
“Which one of the isopods is commonly called the
roly-poly?” “Why?”
“How do isopods protect themselves from birds?”
“What will the isopods eat in the terrariums?”
Activity 5: Day 5
Adding Other Objects to Terrariums (Interpersonal and Naturalist)
Task:
Before placing the items in the terrarium, the students will discuss
among the group which items to place in the terrarium.
Observe and sort the items on the tray.
Materials:
Tray for observing and sorting
Students will bring in small animals such as
garden snails, slugs, beetles, and crickets from home to add to the terrarium.
Food items:
potato, carrot, apple, eggshells, and dried beans
Objects:
rocks, sticks, shells, twigs, leaves, plants, bird and grass seed
Time: 45
minutes
After completing the activity, the groups
will share the items, which they placed in the terrarium and why they chose
those items. The students will use the
activity sheet below to compare snails and slugs.
(Activity Sheet: Comparing Snails and Slugs)
(Pause) Then have a class
discussion.
For the following station activities, the students
in each group will rotate daily to one of the stations: Reading, Writing, Computer, and Research
Stations to complete the activities.
Time to complete the station activities will vary between 3-4 weeks.
STATION ACTIVITIES:
Station 1: Reading (Verbal Linguistic and
Interpersonal)
Task:
The students will read one of the books or a book of his/her choice and
complete the story web activity. Then
write a summary in his/her science journal.
Then share the summary with others in the group.
Materials: Earthworms, Dirt, and Rotten
Leaves by Molly McLaughlin:
Publisher: Macmillan Publishing
Co., New York, New York, 1986
The Snail’s Spell
by Joanne Ryder: Publisher Puffin Books, New York, New York, 1982
Wonderful Worms
by Linda Glaser: Publisher Millbrook Press, Brookfield, Connecticut, 1992
The Snail House by Allan Ahlberg: Publisher Candlewick Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2000
Story Web Activity Sheet
Time: 45 minutes
Station 2: Writing (Verbal Linguistic and
Naturalist)
Materials: Science journals, station 2 activity
sheet: Writing Prompts, Story web
activity sheet, terrarium to view
Task:
The student in each group will choose one of the writing prompts below.
Sketch and write a food cycle including the
decomposers.
Write and Draw a story about the isopods in the
terrarium.
Write a story:
“Decomposers Extinct” (What
would happen if there were no decomposers?)
Write a letter from the pill bug to the sow
bug. Include what it might be like
underground or what it is like to escape from a bird.
Write a story about an earthworm’s journey
underground. What is it like? Describe its friends. What happens to them?
Time:
3-4 weeks
Station 3: Computers/Reading (Intrapersonal)
Task:
The students will use the Internet sites below to learn as much as they
can about the earth’s soil, earthworm, snail, slug, and isopods.
Materials:
Computer with Internet sites:
S.K.Worm
http://www.nhq.nrcs.usda.gov/CCS/squirm/skQstns.html
How Much Soil Is There?
http://ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov/globe/app_soil/hmsoil.htm
Soil Structures
http://ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov/globe/protocol/structur.htm
Pillbugs and Sow bugs
http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Loge/9474/sowbugs.html
Sow bugs and Pill bugs
http://www2.ag.ohio-state.edu/~ohioline/hyg-fact/2000/2072.html
Sow bug and Pill bug Information Sheet
http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entomology/entfacts/trees/ef439.htm
Sow bugs and Pill bugs
http://www.ianr.unl.edu/pubs/insects/g342.HTM
CDFA Sow bugs and Pill bugs
http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/agfacts/pesticides/sowbugs_pillbugs.html
Millipedes, Sow bugs, and Pill bugs
http://www.cce.cornell.edu/suffolk/grownet/insect-pests/millipedes.htm
Earthworms
http://www.nysite.com/nature/fauna/earthworm.htm
All About Earthworms
http://yucky.kids.discovery.com/noflash/worm/pg000102.html
Worm World
http://yucky.kids.discovery.com/noflash/worm/index.html
Worms
http://www.sci.mus.mn.us/sln/tf/w/worms/worms/worms.html
All About Snails
http://www.kiddyhouse.com/Snails/
Florida Tree Snails
http://www.nps.gov/ever/eco/liguus.htm
Snails Everglades National Park
http://www.nps.gov/ever/ed/edsnails.htm
Snails and Slugs
http://www.earthfoot.org/backyard/snail&sl.html
State Soils
http://www.statlab.iastate.edu/soils/photogal/statesoils/list1.htm
Secrets Hidden in Soil
http://ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov/globe/forengeo/secret.htm
Time: 45 minutes
Station 4: Research Station/Art (Visual Linguistic and Visual Spatial)
Task:
The students will research one of the animals in the terrarium.
Record 15 interesting facts in the science
journal. Then use the drawing paper to
create the animal.
Materials: Internet Sites/computer, science journal
S.K.Worm
http://www.nhq.nrcs.usda.gov/CCS/squirm/skQstns.html
How Much Soil Is There?
http://ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov/globe/app_soil/hmsoil.htm
Soil Structures
http://ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov/globe/protocol/structur.htm
Pill bugs and Sow bugs
http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Loge/9474/sowbugs.html
Sow bugs and Pill bugs
http://www2.ag.ohio-state.edu/~ohioline/hyg-fact/2000/2072.html
Sow bug and Pill bug Information Sheet
http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entomology/entfacts/trees/ef439.htm
Sow bugs and Pill bugs
http://www.ianr.unl.edu/pubs/insects/g342.HTM
CDFA Sow bugs and Pill bugs
http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/agfacts/pesticides/sowbugs_pillbugs.html
Millipedes, Sow bugs, and Pill bugs
http://www.cce.cornell.edu/suffolk/grownet/insect-pests/millipedes.htm
Earthworms
http://www.nysite.com/nature/fauna/earthworm.htm
All About Earthworms
http://yucky.kids.discovery.com/noflash/worm/pg000102.html
Worm World
http://yucky.kids.discovery.com/noflash/worm/index.html
Worms
http://www.sci.mus.mn.us/sln/tf/w/worms/worms/worms.html
All About Snails
http://www.kiddyhouse.com/Snails/
Florida Tree Snails
http://www.nps.gov/ever/eco/liguus.htm
Snails Everglades National Park
http://www.nps.gov/ever/ed/edsnails.htm
Snails and Slugs
http://www.earthfoot.org/backyard/snail&sl.html
State Soils
http://www.statlab.iastate.edu/soils/photogal/statesoils/list1.htm
Secrets Hidden in Soil
http://ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov/globe/forengeo/secret.htm
Time: 45
minutes
Station 5: Writing/Computer/PowerPoint (Verbal Linguistic)
Task:
The students will write a poem about the creature researched in Station
4. Then use the storyboards to create a
5-slide presentation about the animal researched. Last, create a PowerPoint
presentation which should include the facts and poem about the animal researched.
Materials:
Storyboard activity sheets, science journal to write poem, computer with
PowerPoint
Time: 45
minutes
CULMINATING ACTIVITY:
The students shared their learning experiences, and communicated their activities with the parents at the “Open House.” Each group displayed their terrariums. The class PowerPoint slides presentation titled: Terrariums and Its Creatures were displayed on the computer and the TV screen continuously throughout the “Open House.” The student’s journals, and science folders were displayed for the parents.
EVALUATION:
Terrariums
Science Journals
Group Rubric
Station Activities
ASSESSMENTS:
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ACTIVITIES SHEETS FOR UNIT
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