Unit Plan: Field Study – Forest
Science / Grade 4
Big Ideas
Science
- All living things sense and respond to their environment.
Essential Questions
Students will keep considering…
- How do living things sense, respond, and adapt to stimuli in their environment?
- How do I observe nature? 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 & animals?
- How is sensing and responding related to interdependence within ecosystems?
Evaluative Criteria
Assessing prior knowledge:
Share “What is a rainforest?”
Students will demonstrate their knowledge, skills & understanding by:
- describing the temperate rainforest ecosystem using sensory details
- pair-sharing observations & questions
- sharing in small groups or large group examples of how they can be stewards of the forest and nearby nature
- personal reflection on the importance of forests
- making a personal connection to nature (solo sit, mindfulness walk)
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
Resources
AUDIO
TEXTS
Grade 4 Backpack (Get Outdoors!): Sensory Warm-up, Rainbow chips, Sound Mapping, Instant Cameras, Forest Cologne)
ABC’s we see
I notice, I wonder, It Reminds me
Walk and Talk
Tiny Treasures
Storytelling: The Great Blanket of Moss, Legend of the Cedar Tree
Ethnic Plant Guide
Walk of Wonder
Reflection
How will teachers and their students reflect on and evaluate the completed project?
Teacher Reflection
- What aspects of the field study went well?
- What did students struggle with?
- What did you struggle with?
- What would you add/revise the next time you taught this field study?
- What connections can I make back to my school learning community?
- Challenge your class or school to get involved in a meaningful action project that encourages forest stewardship.
- My Special Place (Get Outdoors p. 59) Students choose and explore a special natural place in their schoolyard, park or other area. They describe the local environment using sensory details; they reflect on its importance, and they discover their own connections to it. Suggested Reading List about Special Places and Connections (p. 63).
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 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…
-
Demonstrate curiosity about the natural world
-
Explore and pose questions that lead to investigations
-
Safely use appropriate tools to make observations and measurements
-
Make observations about living & non-living things in the local environment
-
Collect simple data
-
Experience & interpret the local environment
-
Identify First Peoples perspectives & knowledge as sources of information
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Identify some simple environmental implications of their & others’ actions
-
Contribute to care for self, others, & community through personal or collaborative approaches
-
Express & reflect on personal, shared, others’ experience of place
CORE COMPETENCIES
Communication:
- Students will reflect on place-based experiences in a coastal temperate rainforest.
Critical Thinking:
-
Students will ask & answer question through direct observation.
Social Responsibility:
- Students will explore human impacts, and how they can contribute to caring for the natural world.
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.
