Teacher s Guide for Kindergarten-

Transcription

1 What is a Desert tutorial Virtual Habitat What is available here? What is a Desert tutorial- flash animation that teaches students about the three characteristics of a desert Virtual Habitat- interactive exploration of the Sonoran desert plants and animals Discussion questions Classroom activities Sonoran Desert Map Sonoran Color Palette Evaporation Demonstration Hand as a Hammer Scavenger Hunt Ice Cube Race These questions and activities are designed to let kindergarteners think creatively and to inspire curiosity about the world around them. Objectives The objectives of this curriculum are to 1. Educate students about the Sonoran desert 2. Encourage students to ponder and respect the natural world 3. Encourage students to begin thinking in terms of the Inquiry Process as they observe, ask questions, and formulate hypotheses Background Knowledge These are concepts that the educator should understand and that can be found in the glossary. Butte Desert Evaporation Habitat Metachromatism Monsoon Predator Water Vapor 1. Materials 2 plastic ziplock bags 2 ice cubes Paper Paintbrushes or wooden spoons Worksheets provided in Teacher s Guide 1 piece of white construction paper 1 piece of black construction paper Crayons 1 cup water

2 What is a Desert Tutorial Teacher s Guide Discussion Questions 1. *This question should be used before the students view the tutorial. Here are some things you should be looking for and thinking about while you watch the tutorial. Listen for the name of the desert. Notice the different colors of the desert. Listen for the three characteristics of the desert. Do you think that you live in a desert? What is a Desert tutorial 2. Deserts are dry places that don t get very much water each year. What happens to you when you don t get enough water? What do you think plants or animals that live in the desert have to do when there is not a lot of water? Students connect that people and animals need water to survive. We may get thirsty and tired without enough water. Plants and animals that live in the desert do not have a source of water like a faucet or drinking fountain so they have to have other ways of getting water while being very careful about how much they use. 3. Remember the pictures of desert and of lush habitats in the tutorial? How are they different? Which place is most like the place you live? Students can compare and contrast these habitats- size of leaves, amount of vegetation, colors, water, and texture. They should be able to identify whether they live in a desert environment or a wetter environment. 4. It can be quite warm and quite cool in one day in the desert. Think about the clothing you wear when it s hot out. How do you dress when it is really hot in the summer time (100 degrees F)? Do you wear the same clothing when it s cooler (70 degrees F)? This activity will help students understand the impact that seasonal changes and weather have on their lives. This is also an opportunity for the students to compare numbers. 5. Deserts have living and non-living things in them. What things in the desert are living and what things are non-living? Students can categorize living things as any plants or animals and non-living things as sun, water, soil, rocks. 2. Review- What is the name of the desert we are learning about and what are the three characteristics of a desert? The students are learning about the Sonoran Desert. The three characteristics of a desert are not much rain, extreme temperature differences, and quick evaporation.

3 Sonoran Desert Activities 1. Sonoran Desert Map Using the worksheet provided have students trace the outline of the Sonoran Desert. Where do you live or go to school on this map? The purpose of this exercise is to introduce students to maps and for students to understand that the Sonoran Desert is in two countries- United States and Mexico. 2. Sonoran Color Palette *Pause the tutorial on a desert scene to let the students notice the colors of the desert. Ask them what colors they see. Are there lots of dark green plants or light green plants? What other colors do you notice? Use your crayons to make a Sonoran desert rainbow with some of the colors of the desert. The purpose of this activity is to get the students to notice the colors of the desert and understand that there are many shades of greens, yellows, browns and other colors. 3. Evaporation Demonstration We learned that one of the characteristics of the desert is that there is quick evaporation. What is evaporation? Let s go outside and do a demonstration that will help you understand what evaporation is. What do you think will happen to the picture you drew? How long before it disappears? Where did the water go? The purpose of this activity is to allow the students to learn about the evaporation process by watching it happen. Have students use a wooden spoon handle or paintbrushes for this activity. Choose a location on the sidewalk in the sunlight. Use a cup of water to dip the spoon like a paintbrush and draw a picture. After the pictures disappear and the water is gone, stress that the water evaporated into the air even though some of it may have soaked into the sidewalk. You can introduce the term evaporation. 3.

4 Map of the Sonoran Desert Name United States of America Mexico Arizona The Sonoran Desert US/Mexico Border

5 Virtual Habitat Teacher s Guide Discussion Questions 1. *Present students with this question before they examine the Virtual Habitat so they have an idea of what to look for.think about your own home. Our homes provide shelter, food, water, and a place for families to be together. Animals also need these things to live and we call an animal s home a habitat. As you explore the habitat, notice the animals and the plants and think about their home (habitat) in the desert. Have you seen any of these plants and animals near your own home? Virtual Habitat 2. Think about the desert characters you met like the Palo Verde, saguaro, cactus wren, and jackrabbit. How many plants did we meet? How many animals did we meet? Go through the habitat again while having the students count the plants and animals. This is a way for students to practice their counting skills as well as organizing the organisms according to traits. This can also help them recognize plants and animals of the Sonoran Desert. 3. Can you make the sound of a cactus wren? A coyote s howl? How about a toad? Why do you think they make these sounds? What are they trying to communicate? Students understand that different animals have different ways of communicating. Animals may communicate to find one another, to warn of danger, to attract a mate, or to display territory. 4. Look at the holes in the saguaro or the nest in the cholla. What type of animal might live in there? Why would they want a home in a cactus? If you were a Sonoran desert animal, where would you build a home? Gila Woodpeckers create the holes in the saguaros but owls, song birds, insects, and other animals may also use the holes as homes. Cactus wrens make their homes in the cholla. These cacti homes offer protection from other animals (predators), warm spots in the winter and shade in the summer, dry spots during rainy months, and a safe place to keep their eggs and their young. The students can think about the things that their own home provides like protection from cold and rain and a place for the family to be together. Encourage students to look for other protective places that may offer a good home such as in burrows or rock crevices. continued 5.

6 Virtual Habitat Teacher s Guide Desert Tortoise Discussion Questions 5. Desert Tortoises and Round Tailed Ground Squirrels hibernate during part of the year. Hibernation is a long period of inactivity, sort of like sleeping. If you had to sleep all winter, what would you do to get ready for hibernation? How would you pick the spot you wanted to sleep for many months? Which part of the year would you want to spend sleeping? Summer or winter? This is a good opportunity to discuss the impact of weather on people as well as on animals. Some animals hibernate when it s too cold; some animals hibernate when it s too hot or there is not enough food or water. Ground squirrels hibernate during winter months and again for a while in the summer before monsoons when there is not enough food. Desert tortoises are inactive for part of the summer to conserve water and also hibernate for part of the winter. Encourage students to think about what it would be like to be inactive for many months. They cannot get up to eat or play. They would need to find a place that offers protection from cold and rain and predators. They may need to eat a lot so that they do not get hungry while they are hibernating (sleeping). 6. How is the summer scene different from the winter scene? Pick one animal and think of one thing it would have to do differently in the winter months. Could an animal have its home in a wash during the summer monsoons? Students should think about the effects of seasonal changes on people and then apply that to what an animal might have to do. Things to consider would be more or less clothing, differences in shelter (like opening an window for people or spending more time above ground for certain animals), different food available during different months, lots of available water or not. 6.

7 Virtual Habitat Teacher s Guide Activities 1. Hand as a Hammer - The Gila Woodpecker uses its beak and its feet as tools to make a home in the saguaro cactus. The Pocket Mouse has pockets on its cheeks to carry seeds around. Imagine what you would look like if you could have a body part that was a tool. Draw a picture that shows what you would look like if you had a tool for a body part. The purpose of this activity is to have the students think about and identify their body parts and to communicate their ideas through drawing. Gila Woodpecker 2. Scavenger Hunt- Now that we learned about Sonoran desert plants and animals, lets see if we can find any plants and animals like the ones we learned about. Did we find a lot of the same plants and animals that we learned about? The purposes of this activity are to help students review the characters from the habitat and to give them a chance to do some hands on investigating outdoors. Use the worksheet provided at the end of this guide. Have the students walk around their school yard to look for these plants and animals. Students can count how many of each they find and keep track by marking an X for every one they find. 3. Ice Cube Race! The Spiny Lizard has an interesting way of keeping warm. It changes color depending on the temperature of its surroundings. When it s really hot, the lizard will be lighter colored, but when it s cooler the lizard will be much darker colored. Let s put this theory to the test with colored paper and ice cubes. Ask the students to predict if an ice cube on a white piece of paper will melt faster than an ice cube on a black piece of paper. Then compare this concept to the students clothing choices. Does a black t-shirt feel warmer than a white t-shirt? The purposes of this activity are to enable students to understand that lizards change color to control their body temperature and to understand that lighter colors are cooler than darker colors. Darker colors are warmer because they absorb light while lighter colors may be cooler because they reflect light. Lizards change their colors according to their surroundings to be warmer or cooler. This is called metachromatism. The class can test two ice cubes (each on a different color of paper) to learn which one melts faster. Lay a black piece of construction paper and a piece of white construction paper on the ground. Then set one plastic bag with an ice cube inside of it on each piece of paper. 7.

8 Scavenger Hunt Name Saguaro Prickly Pear Creosote Agave Gila Woodpecker Lizard Ground Squirrel Cactus Wren

9 What is a Desert Tutorial Arizona State Standards Math S5C2: PO1 Sort objects according to observable attributes S5C2: PO2 Provide rationale for classifying objects according to observable attributes Science S1C1:PO1 Observe common objects using multiple senses S1C1:PO2 Ask questions based on experience with objects, organisms, and events in the environment S1C1:PO3 Predict results of an investigation based on life, physical, and Earth and space sciences S1C2:PO2 Participate in guided investigations in life, physical, and Earth and space sciences S1C4:PO1 Communicate observations with pictographs, pictures, model, and/or words S1C4:PO2 Communicate with other groups to describe the results of an investigation S4C1:PO1 Distinguish between living and non-living things S4C3:PO2 Identify that plants and animals need the following to grow and survive; food, water, air, space S6C3:PO3 Give examples of how the weather affects people s daily activities Social Studies S4C1: PO5 Locate continents and oceans on a map Technology Education S1: PO1 Use basic vocabulary related to the use of technology S2: PO1 Demonstrate respect for other students while using technology Workplace Skills S7: PO1 Operate developmentally appropriate technologies 9. Writing S1C1:PO1 Generate ideas through class discussion S1C1:PO2 Draw a picture about ideas generated through class discussion S1C2:PO1 Communicate by drawing, telling, or writing for a purpose S2C1:PO1 Use pictures that convey meaning S2C3:PO1 Create pictures or text with distinctive personal style and originality

10 Virtual Habitat Tutorial Arizona State Standards Math S1C1:PO1 Express whole numbers 0 to 20 using and connecting multiple representations S2C3:PO1 Sort, classify, and represent up to 20 objects and justify sorting rule S5C2:PO1 Sort objects according to observable attributes S5C2:PO2 Provide rationale for classifying objects according to observable attributes Reading S1C1:PO8 Demonstrate a one-to-one correlation between a spoken word and a printed word Science S1C1:PO1 Observe common objects using multiple senses S1C1:PO2 Ask questions based on experience with objects, organisms, and events in the environment S1C1:PO3 Predict results of an investigation based on life, physical, and Earth and space science S1C2:PO2 Participate in guided investigations in life, physical, and Earth and space sciences S1C3:PO1 Organize objects, organisms, and events according to various characterstics S1C4:PO1 Communicate observations with pictographs, pictures, models, and/or words S1C4:PO2 Communicate with other groups to describe the results of an investigation S4C1:PO2 Name the following human body parts: head, shoulders, arms, elbows, wrists, legs, hips, knees, ankles, feet, hands, fingers, heels, toes S4C3:PO1 Identify some plants and animals that exist in the local environment S4C3:PO2 Identify that plants and animals need the following to grow and survive; food, water, air, space S6C3:PO1 Identify the following aspects of weather: temperature, wind, precipitation, storms S6C3:PO3 Give examples of how the weather affects people s daily activities 10. continued

11 Virtual Habitat Tutorial Arizona State Standards Technology Education S1: PO1 Use basic vocabulary related to the use of technology S1: PO2 Use devices to complete a task S2: PO1 Demonstrate respect for other students while using technology Workplace Skills S7:PO1 Operate developmentally appropriate technology Writing S1C1:PO1 Generate ideas through class discussion S1C1:PO2 Draw a picture about ideas generated through class discussion S1C2: PO1 Communicate by drawing, telling, or writing for a purpose S2C3:PO1 Create pictures or text with distinctive style and originality 11.

12 AMENDMENT TO STANDARDS Kindergarten VIRTUAL HABITAT EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY S4C2: PO1 Participate as a group to manage a learning project using digital tools to answer a question. S6C2: PO1 Use mouse/track pad to perform computer functions such as accessing an application, indicating a choice or activating a link. Use keyboard to type letters and numbers and know how to use special key functions. S6C2: PO3 Use an interactive presentation system as part of classroom work. 12.