Living
Systems Unit
Target
audience: middle school ESL class, students with educational gaps
SOL’s to
review from previous unit:
3.8 The
student will investigate and understand basic patterns and cycles occurring in
nature. Key concepts include:
a) patterns of
natural events (day and night, seasonal changes, phases of the moon, and
tides); and
b) animal and
plant life cycles.
SOL’s
addressed in unit:
K.10 The
student will investigate and understand that materials can be reused, recycled,
and conserved. Key concepts include:
a) materials and
objects can be used over and over again;
b) everyday
materials can be recycled; and
c) water and
energy conservation at home and in school helps preserve resources for future
use.
1.5 The
student will investigate and understand that animals, including people, have
life needs and specific physical characteristics and can be classified
according to certain characteristics. Key concepts include:
a) life needs (air, food, water, and a
suitable place to live);
b) physical characteristics (body
coverings, body shape, appendages, and methods of
movement); and
c) other characteristics (wild/tame, water
homes/land homes).
1.8 The
student will investigate and understand that natural resources are limited. Key
concepts include:
a) identification
of natural resources (plants and animals, water, air, land, minerals, forests,
and soil);
b) factors that
affect air and water quality; and
c) recycling,
reusing, and reducing consumption of natural resources.
2.7 The student will
investigate and understand that weather and seasonal changes affect plants,
animals,
and their surroundings. Key concepts include
a) effects on growth and behavior of
living things (migration, hibernation, camouflage,
adaptation, dormancy);
3.4 The student will investigate and
understand that behavioral and physical adaptations allow animals to respond to
life needs. Key concepts include:
a) methods of
gathering and storing food, finding shelter, defending themselves, and rearing
young; and
b) hibernation,
migration, camouflage, mimicry, instinct, and learned behavior.
3.5 The student will investigate and
understand relationships among organisms in aquatic and terrestrial food
chains. Key concepts include:
a) producer,
consumer, decomposer;
b) herbivore, carnivore,
omnivore; and
c) predator and
prey.
3.10 The
student will investigate and understand that natural events and human
influences can affect the survival of species. Key concepts include
b)the effects of human activity on the
quality of air, water, and habitat;
c)conservation and resource renewal.
4.8a/6.7
b/7.9d The student will edit writing for correct grammar, capitalization,
spelling, punctuation, and sentence structure.
a) Use subject-verb agreement.
b)/d) Use subject-verb agreement with
intervening phrases and clauses.
6.9 The student will investigate and
understand public policy decisions relating to the environment. Key concepts
include
a) management of
renewable resources (water, air, soil, plant life, animal life);
b) management of
nonrenewable resources (coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear power, mineral
resources);
b) cost/benefit
tradeoffs in conservation policies.
E.S.7The
student will investigate and understand the difference between renewable and
nonrenewable resources. Key concepts include:
a) fossil
fuels, minerals, rocks, water, and vegetation;
d) making
informed judgments related to resource use and its effects on Earth systems;
and
e) environmental cost and benefits
E.S 11 The
student will investigate and understand that oceans are complex, interactive
physical, chemical, and biological systems and are subject to long- and
short-term variations. Key concepts include:
a) physical and chemical changes (tides, waves,
currents, sea level and ice cap variations, upwelling, and salinity
variations).
b) importance
of environmental and geologic implications; and
d) features of the sea floor (continental
margins, trenches, mid-ocean ridges, and abyssal plains) as reflections of
tectonic processes.
e) economic
and public policy issues concerning the oceans and the coastal zone including
the
L.S.4 The student will
investigate and understand that the basic needs of organisms must be met in
order to carry out life processes. Key concepts include
a)
plant needs (light, water, gases, and nutrients);
b)
animal needs (food, water, gases, shelter, space); and
c)
factors that influence life processes.
L.S.9 The
student will investigate and understand interactions among populations in a
biological
community.
Key concepts include:
a)
the relationships among producers, consumers, and decomposers in food webs;
b)
the relationship between predators and prey;
BIO.9 The
student will investigate and understand dynamic equilibrium within populations,
communities, and ecosystems. Key concepts include
d)
the effects of natural events and human activities on ecosystems;
LEP
1.1/2.1 a-g/3.1a-b The student will demonstrate growth in the understanding and
use of oral language.
1.2
c Respond to factual questions about texts read aloud.
1.5
a, b, d, e/2.4 a-c/3.4a-c The student will read and demonstrate comprehension
of fiction/nonfiction.
1.6
a, b The student will write to communicate ideas.
1.7
a. Use basic grammatical constructions in
simple sentences
2.2
a-b, d-g/3.2 a-c The student will develop oral communication skills.
2.7
a-d The student will use meaning clues and language structure to expand
vocabulary when reading.
2.10/3.9
The student will write to communicate ideas. D)edit and revise writing.
3.3 The
student will present and listen to brief oral reports.
3.6
a-d The student will use strategies to read a variety of narrative materials,
poetry, and informational text.
3.7
The student will expand vocabulary and concept development.
LEP 3.8 The student will use information resources
to research a topic.
LEP
3.10 The student will write stories, letters, simple explanations, and
short
reports across all content areas.
LEP
4.9 The student will use English mechanics and usage.
c.
Use subject-verb agreement.
TESOL
standards:
Goal
1, Standard 3 To use English in social settings: Students will use learning
strategies to extend their communicative competence.
Goal
2, Standards 1To use English to achieve academically in all content areas:
Students will use English to interact in the classroom.
Goal
2, Standards 2 To use English to achieve academically in all content areas:
Students will use English to obtain, process, construct, and provide subject
matter information in spoken and written form.
Goal
2, Standard 3 to use English to achieve academically in all content areas;
Students will use appropriate strategies to construct and apply academic
knowledge
INTASC
standard 2: Student Development
The teacher understands how children learn and develop, and can provide
learning opportunities that support a child’s intellectual, social, and
personal development.
INTASC
Standard 4: Instructional Strategies
The
teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage
the students' development of critical thinking, problem solving, and
performance skills.
Vocabulary
contextualized in this unit:
Mammals
Migration Baleen Mimicry Instinct Prey
Structural
adaptation Behavioral
adaptation Learned
Behavior
Garbage trash waste dump landfill incinerator
Renewable
Resources Non-renewable
resources singular plural
Subject verb Carnivore Omnivore Herbivore Predator
Day
1
Presentation:
As a class, show SRA: Animal picture
cards. Have students name the picture.
This may be done in an around the world game.
The teacher gives each student a three-column chart. Student will pair up and sort animals into
carnivore, herbivore, and carnivore after teacher reviews and explains the
definitions of them.
Attention:
Have students recall information about
tides and waves from their space unit.
PMI
strategy: Students will in pairs write
info in a three-column chart labeled Plus, Minus, and Interesting
Questions. Here is the engaging
question: Some countries hunt whales for food and fuel. Some countries, like
You may need to explain and show with
pictures exactly what whaling is.
Students will present their cases to the group.
Co-construct:
Either have students draw a picture of a whale, or give them a diagram
to label. Then students will label the
body parts of the whale in pairs. One
student may draw, while the other labels.
Next show students the cover of Soar
to Success’ “Baby Whales Drink Milk?”
Ask students to help you identify the cover, title, and title page. Give students copy of Appendix A, Questions
for Baby Whales Drink Milk. Give
each student a highlighter. As a group,
read each sentence, and tell students to try to identify the key words about
what the question is asking. You may
want to highlight question words(Who, What, Where, Why, and How) first. This will help you look for the answers on
each page in the book.
Extension: Have students make a T-chart labeled
behavioral adaptations and structural adaptations to fill in on day 2.
Day
2
Presentation:
Partner
up students to review each other on the names of the animals on the picture
cards.
Attention: Draw a picture of a food web. Show the role of producers, consumers, or
decomposers. Also, define predator and
prey using concrete examples from your food web. Now, have students make a three-column chart,
sorting picture cards into predator, prey, or both.
Co-construct: You will read the first half of Baby
Whales Drink Milk. Questions with a
star indicate an adaptation that should be added to the T-chart students made
the day before. Make sure you give lots
of examples of behavioral and structural adaptations to use as a model
beforehand. The teacher may choose to
complete this in a small group or have students pair up (one weak/one
strong.) One can read, while the other
listens to the answer for the question from that page.
Extension: Have students make their own food webs. Tell them to remember animals from land, air,
and sea. Students may finish for
homework.
Day
3
Draw
a map of the ocean floor on the overhead for students to copy. See if students recall any of the parts of
the ocean floor. Proceed to label the parts of the ocean floor.
Attention: Check to see what progress students have made
reading and answering their questions.
Clarify anything students didn’t understand from yesterday’s reading.
Co-construct: Have students complete the second half of the
active reading questions in pairs.
Students will also complete their adaptations T-chart.
Extension: Share answers to questions and T-chart as a
group. See if any students can add any
more examples as a group to their adaptations T-chart.
Assessment: Fold a blank piece of paper into six
pieces. Have students re-tell what they
learned from their reading in pictures, words, or both. Fill in
Day
4
Presentation:
1.)
Connect to days 1,2, and 3: Teacher
says, “Many species of whales are endangered, because people have polluted the
ocean waters.” Now put one cup of water in a glass jar representing the
ocean. Add two drops of food color into
the water, representing chemicals or trash.
Have students add water to the ocean.
How many cups of water does it take before the “ocean” does not look red
anymore? Do the chemicals ever really
leave the “ocean?”
Attention:
Quick
write: Have students write for two
minutes ways that they can help cut down on the amount of pollution that they
produce at home or in school.
Co-construct:
Identify the genre of the book, Where Does the Garbage Go? Identify the author and illustrator. Preview
the story by taking a picture walk, discussing the pictures on each page.
Pg.4,
5 Pay attention to the bulletin board and the containers underneath it.
Pg
6, 7 What items can you identify in the picture on pg 7?
Pg
8, 9 What is that truck called?
Pg
10, 11 How do you think the fish are feeling on page 10?
Pg
12, 13 What are the machines called on pg 13? What are they doing?
Pg
14, 15 Notice the structure of the landfill.
Pg
16, 17 Why do you think there is a picture of a park here?
Pg
18, 19 What do you think they are doing with the trash here?
Pg
20, 21 Why do you think the people are holding the barrels there?
P22,
23 How is the boy on the left helping more than the girl on the right?
P24,
25 Read the caption to see what happens in each step.
P26,
27 What materials are being recycled?
P28,
29 Read the ways the boys and girls in this class are helping the environment
on the bulletin board on page 28.
P30,
31What kind of bags are they using in the picture?
Extension:
Investigate
where recycling centers or drop-offs are located in your school.
Day
5
Presentation:
Give
each student a rubber band. Have the
students wrap the rubber band from their pinky finger, around the back of their
hand, to their thumb. Without using their other hand, students will try to
remove it from them. This will show the
students how hard it is for ocean animals to remove things like 6-pack holders
from their necks, or how hard it is for ocean animals to escape the pollution
human beings cause.
Attention:
Nature
Detectives
Show students an assortment of
items. Ask them which of the two is
better for the environment: paper plate
vs. china plate, paper towel vs. dish towel, and plastic bag vs. paper bag.
Dump a bag of “trash” onto a table or
the floor. Identify the items that were
in the bag. Tell students that everyday
Americans add 230 million tons of trash into landfills everyday, about 4.6 lbs.
per person. Then tell students that
approximately 70% of material currently in landfills today could have been
recycled. Ask students for their
ecological assistance in sorting items into the recycle bin and trash can. Look for the recycling logo as you go.
Co-Construct:
Have
students begin reading Where Does the Garbage Go? with a partner. Students can work through the first half of
the story and active comprehension questions (appendix B)on this day.
Extension:
Have
students begin making collages out of recycled materials. You may wish to have
them search in the recycling boxes or bring your own materials.
Day
6
Presentation: Have students orally summarize strategies to
help our environment so far.
Attention: Let your students research about available
recycling programs in your area.
Co-construct: Students should finish the second half of
their active comprehension questions.
Extension: Let students finish their collage.
Day
7
Invite
a guest speaker from Clean Valley or your local agency to talk to kids about
the importance of taking care of our environment.
Day
8
Presentation:
Tell
students that they have been selected to prepare a report for a major
environmental agency. They are to
research an animal of their choice, which will be used to decide whether more
commercial development will be done in or near their animal’s habitat. They will need to include many of the
vocabulary words they learned in the previous two lessons. Show some examples of previous students’
work.
Attention:
The
teacher will model how to do the animal questionnaire (Appendix C)using their
animal of choice. The questionnaire will
be their guide to the information they are required to put in their
report. Some review of the key
vocabulary may be necessary. Use the
pictures from one of the animal books to clarify and illustrate the scientific
concepts.
Lesson: Have students now brainstorm the best way to
structure their report. Record their
final outlines in a word document to print for their reference. (Appendix D)
Talk about the importance and uses of introduction and closing paragraphs.
Extension:
Take
students to the library. Have them pick
an animal of their interest, and let them check out a book on that animal.
Day
9
Animal
Research
Allow
them to research their animal to gather necessary information to fill out their
questionnaire. They may use their library book or you can show them the online
database links from the library’s homepage.
Day
10-11
Invite
your technology resource person to come and model how to change their research
and paper outlines into a graphic organizer on Kidspiration software. Your students may need two days to finish
this step.
Day
12-14
Using
their graphic organizers and paper organizers, the students are now ready to
write. Make sure each student has a copy
of their rubric (Appendix E) before they get started.
Day
15
Presentation:
Explain
to students that the subject is the naming part of the sentence, and the verb
is the doing part of the sentence. Give
some specific examples using your students as your subjects. Tell students that the subject of a sentence
must work together with the verb to make the sentence work. Now let students know you are going to
prepare them with a few rules about making verbs and subjects agree that they
will use to make their writing better.
Attention:
Draw
a simple chart on the board to show examples of 1st, 2nd,
and 3rd person singular and plural subjects. You should probably define the meaning of
singular and plural just to make sure all students are on the same page.
Co-Construct:
Give
grammar rules. Identify and give
examples of the terms singular and plural.
Rules
for how to know when to use singular and plural verbs:
Rule
# 1: Singular subjects must have
singular verbs. Plural subjects must
have plural verbs.
Rule
#2: Indefinite pronouns like everyone
and everybody sound like plural nouns, but they are in fact singular. Ex. Everyone is happy to be here today.
Rule
#3: When it comes to words like some or
all, the verb will depend on whether the subject is something that can be
counted.
Ex: Some of the pennies in my jar are very old.
All
of the cereal has been eaten.
“Pennies”
is countable, whereas cereal is not.
Rule
#4: Phrases such as “together
with,” “as well as,” and “along with”
sound like they would connect subjects, but they do not. The verb should only agree with the actual
subject.
The
vegetables, as well as that one banana, look good.
Rule
#5: Neither and either without or and
nor is a singular subject that needs a singular verb.
Ex.
Neither of my brothers is here today.
Rule
#6: When you have either and neither
with or and nor, the subjects that is the closest one to the verb is the one
you make agree with the verb.
Ex. Neither the teacher nor the students know how
many gumballs were in the jar.
Rule
#7: Use singular verbs with money or
periods of time.
Ex.
Ten dollars buys eight cars. Two months
equals 61 days.
Rule
#8: In sentences beginning with there is or there are, the
subject follows the verb.
There
are students in my class.
There
is a car in the driveway.
Extension:
Give
rules for changing singular to plural. Give
examples. Have partners think of words
for each other to change.
Day
16
Web
quest
Appendix
F
Appendix
A
Active reading comprehension questions 2/6/06
We will add starred questions to our
adaptations T-chart.
Baby Whales Drink Milk
p. 4 Where do whales live?
p.6, 8 What is a mammal?
p. 8What is a baby whale called?
p. 10 Why do whales migrate?
p.12 How do whales breathe?
p. 14 How long can whales stay
underwater?
p. 16 How do mother whales keep their
babies safe?
p.16
What do baby whales drink? Is
this a learned behavior or an instinct?
p.18 What is warm-blooded and
cold-blooded. Give examples of each.
p. 20 What is whale fat called? Why do they need it?
p. 22 How do whales communicate?
p.24 Look at the map. Where do whales go in the summer? Where do they go in the winter?
p. 26 What do whales eat? What are their teeth called?
Appendix
B
Active
Reading: Where Does the Garbage Go?
Pg.
4,5 Look at the blackboard in the picture.
Predict the answers to the questions on the blackboard.
P
6,7 What is the difference between garbage, trash, and waste?
Pg
8,9 Where do they take the trash?
Pg
10,11 How did people used to pollute the ocean?
Pg
12,13 What is the place where they take
the trash called?
Pg
14, 15 Why do you think they make it in layers?
Pg
16, 17 What percentage of the landfill is paper? Food? Plastic?
Pg
18, 19 How could incinerating the trash be more harmful than helpful?
Pg20,
21How much of our trash can be recycled?
Pg
22, 23 Can you get money from the things you recycle?
P24,
25 How do factories make the old aluminum and paper new?
P26,
27 What new resources can be made from recycled plastic?
P28,
29 How can we help the environment at the grocery store?
Appendix
C
My animal is a(n) _____________________________.
Circle one.
My
animal does/does not hibernate,
which is sleep when it’s cold outside.
My
animal does/does not migrate, which
means to travel when it’s cold outside.
My
animal’s babies look the same/different from
their parents.
My
animal can/can not camouflage itself
from enemies, which means to blend in with the environment.
My
animal does/does not gather and
store food for the winter.
My
animal walks/swims/crawls/climbs/flies.
My
animal is/is not endangered, which
means it might totally dies out forever.
My
animal is small/medium/large.
My
animal is predator/prey/both.
My
animal is a carnivore/herbivore/omnivore,
which means it eats ___________.
My
animal is a producer/ consumer/
decomposer.
Fill in the blank.
My
animal lives in the ___________________________ (type of habitat.)
My
animal can be found in _____________________________ (countries.)
My
animals’ babies are called __________________________.
Short Answer
Learned
Behaviors of my animal are:
Instincts
of my animal are:
My
animal has the following structural adaptations, body parts that help it
survive:
My
animal has the following behavioral adaptations, things it does differently to
help it survive:
Appendix
D:
Outline
for your animal report
1. Introduction
2. Physical
description: what does it look like
·
Camouflage?
·
Structural adaptations: body parts that
help it live
·
Babies look same/different from parents
3. Actions
·
Hibernate?
·
Migrate?
·
How does it move?
·
Behavioral adaptations: things it does
to survive
4. Food
·
Predator/prey/both
·
Herbivore/carnivore/omnivore
5. Habitat
·
Forest/ocean/desert
·
Country/continent
6. Other
Interesting facts
·
Name of babies
7. Conclusion
Appendix
E:
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Organization |
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Appendix
F:
Web
quest:
Go
read a Chinese fable at http://www.starfall.com/n/chinese-fables/morning-three/load.htm?f
Read
the story. Write 3 subjects and verbs from the story below.
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
Now,
go to the ESL quiz center, and take the quiz on this page. Write your percent correct on the line below.
http://www.eslcafe.com/quiz/sva1.html
____________________________________________
Your
next job is to find five interesting pictures on the web about anything school
appropriate. Use Google to search if you
need help. Print out the five pictures,
and write one good sentence on the back of each picture with subject-verb
agreement.
If
time allows, help the terrible teacher edit his terrible essay on this website:
http://www.clta.on.ca/EaOnline/TerribleTeacher/tt-sv.html
Write
your score here__________________
Extension
activities:
A
quiz that is offered for ESL students on subject/verb agreement is here:
http://a4esl.org/q/h/9901/cw-svagreement.html
Students
may take a more challenging grammar quiz at http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/cgi-shl/quiz.pl/sv_agr_quiz.htm.
Students
may go here to play a subject-verb agreement game:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/words/grammar/sentencebasics/verbsubjectagreement/game.shtml
Students
may go back and check their animal reports now for any subject-verb
disagreement.
Practice
worksheets can be found here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/words/grammar/sentencebasics/verbsubjectagreement/worksheet.shtml
Additional
websites to find information on subject verb agreement:
http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/grammar/subverag.html
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/esl/eslsubverb.html
http://aliscot.com/bigdog/agreement_sv.htm