Unit Plan: Field Study – Birds
Science / Grade 4
Big Ideas
Science
- All living things sense and respond to their environment.
Essential Questions
Students will keep considering…
- How have I experienced ‘Senses’ at ODS? (e.g. how birds interact with each other and their environment)
- How am I connected to ‘Senses’ in my everyday life?
- How do birds communicate with each other?
- What interactions do you observe –between birds, and between birds and their environment?
- How do human impact birds and how can negative impacts be mitigated?
- How do living things sense and respond to their environment?
- What does using my senses in nature look, sound, feel, taste and smell like?
- How do my senses compare to the senses of other plants and animals?
- How is sensing and responding related to interdependence within ecosystems?
Evaluative Criteria
N/A
Monitoring Progress
Teacher will monitor progress:
Teachers can monitor progress through ongoing formative assessment including but not limited to:
- Class discussion
- Group and pair discussions
Assessing prior knowledge:
“Step into the circle if…” birds. Gather students in a circle and tell them to step into the circle if the statement applies to them, then step back out.
- You can name three species (ask them to define) of birds found in BC
- You can name three things birds eat
- You have ever used binoculars
- You have seen a live eagle
Resources
AUDIO
TEXTS
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology “Amazing Birds”
Binoculars – ideally one pair per student
Binocular Basics sheet
Cheakamus Centre Bird Study map
Laminated Cheakamus Centre Seasonal Field guides to birds
Laminated Indigenous Ways of Knowing Bird Cards
Legends: Keepers of the Earth – How Turtle Flew South for the Winter (p.157)
People of the Land: Legends of the Four Host First Nations – Smekw’á7 – The Great Blue Heron (p.75)
Squamish Legends: Seagull Raven and the Daylight Box
How the Robin Got Its Red Breast: A Legend of the Sechelt People – illustrated by Charlie Craigan.
Beetles: I notice, I wonder, It reminds me of
VIDEO
Reflection
How will teachers and their students reflect on and evaluate the completed project?
Teacher Reflection
- What aspects of the unit went well?
- What did students struggle with?
- What did you struggle with?
- What would you add/revise the next time you taught this unit?
- Were there any unintended outcomes?
- Were students engaged?
Downloads
Stage 1 – Desired Results
Big Ideas
Science
- All living things sense and respond to their environment.
Concepts:
- Interactions
- Environment
- Survival
- Stewardship
- Interdependence
- Ecosystems
- Adaptation
Transfer Goals
Students will be able to independently use their learning to…
- Use their sense to make observations in the environment
- Connect to place and understand their role and responsibility as stewards of the environment.
- Discover and compare their senses to a variety of organisms, both aquatic and terrestrial.
- Develop a plan of action to address a selected problem or issue in school or community.
Meaning
Students will understand that…
- Living things have senses that detect changes in their environment.
- Living things respond to changes in their environment.
- Anything that causes a living thing to react is called a stimulus.
- Response to a stimulus is important for its survival.
Students will keep considering…
- How have I experienced ‘Senses’ at ODS? (e.g. how birds interact with each other and their environment)
- How am I connected to ‘Senses’ in my everyday life?
- How do birds communicate with each other?
- What interactions do you observe –between birds, and between birds and their environment?
- How do human impact birds and how can negative impacts be mitigated?
- How do living things sense and respond to their environment?
- What does using my senses in nature look, sound, feel, taste and smell like?
- How do my senses compare to the senses of other plants and animals?
- How is sensing and responding related to interdependence within ecosystems?
Acquisition
Students will be skilled at…
- Demonstrating the proper use of binoculars
- Pair-sharing observations
- Sharing in small groups
- Sharing with the large group
- Demonstrate curiosity about a scientific topic or problem
- Make observations about living and non-living things in the local environment
- Collect simple data
- Experience & interpret the local environment
- Identify First Peoples perspectives & knowledge as sources of information
- Identify some simple environmental implications of their and others’ actions
- Contribute to care for self, others, & community through personal or collaborative approaches
CORE COMPETENCIES
Communication:
- Students will use scientific language to exchange ideas with peers.
Creative & Critical Thinking:
- Students will make observations about birds and their habitat in the local environment.
Social Responsibility:
- Students will explore some simple environmental implications of their and others’ actions and how those affect birds.
The following resources are made available through the British Columbia Ministry of Education. For more information, please visit BC’s New Curriculum.
Big Ideas
The Big Ideas consist of generalizations and principles and the key concepts important in an area of learning. The Big Ideas represent what students will understand at the completion of the curriculum for their grade. They are intended to endure beyond a single grade and contribute to future understanding.
Core Competencies
Communications Competency
The set of abilities that students use to impart and exchange information, experiences and ideas, to explore the world around them, and to understand and effectively engage in the use of digital media
Thinking Competency
The knowledge, skills and processes we associate with intellectual development
Social Competency
The set of abilities that relate to students’ identity in the world, both as individuals and as members of their community and society
Curricular Competencies & Content
Curricular Competencies are the skills, strategies, and processes that students develop over time. They reflect the “Do” in the Know-Do-Understand model of curriculum. The Curricular Competencies are built on the thinking, communicating, and personal and social competencies relevant to disciplines that make up an area of learning.
Additional Resources
First People's Principles of Learning
To read more about First People’s Principles of Learning, please click here.
For classroom resources, please visit the First Nations Education Steering Committee.
