Unit Plan: Field Study – Farm
Science / Grade 6
Big Ideas
- Multi-cellular organisms rely on internal systems to survive, reproduce, and interact with their environment (Science 6).
CONCEPTS
- Systems
- Organism
- Interdependence
- Survival
- Adaptation
- Reproduction
- Interactions
- Environment
- Stewardship
Essential Questions
Students will keep considering…
- What is a living organism?
- What do all organisms need for survival?
- What adaptations help the organism survive in its environment?
- What interactions do you observe –between organisms, and between the organism and environment?
- How am I connected to the organism(s) I’ve experienced during field studies?
- What does it mean to be a steward of the environment?
Evaluative Criteria
- Play Yes/No/Depends, a game of ethics
- Have a final debrief
Monitoring Progress
Teacher will monitor progress:
Teachers can monitor progress through ongoing formative assessment including but not limited to:
- Walk and Talk
- Mind-mapping
- I notice-I wonder
- It reminds me of…
Resources
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? (e.g. Examine human body systems. Compare and contrast with organisms investigated during ODS Program)
Downloads
Stage 3 – Learning Plan
EXECUTE THE LEARNING PLAN
LEARNING EVENTS:
- These learning events/activities are suggested activities only.
- In some cases the plans are not fully completed lesson plans.
- The teacher may choose some lessons/activities to span over several lessons.
- Teachers may add, revise and adapt these lessons based on the needs of their students, their personal preferences for resources, and the use of a variety of instructional techniques.
Learning events are enriched for students when teachers consider the “WHERE TO” acronym and guiding organizer by Wiggins and McTighe.
The Learning Events should always be prefaced by focusing on the essential questions:
- What is a living organism?
- What do all organisms need for survival?
- What adaptations help the organism survive in its environment?
- What interactions do you observe –between organisms, and between the organism and environment?
- How am I connected to the organism(s) I’ve experienced during field studies?
- What does it mean to be a steward of the environment?
Acquisition-Meaning-Transfer
Introduction - Opening Circle
The Learning Events should always be prefaced by focusing on the essential questions:
- What is a living organism?
- What do all organisms need for survival?
- What adaptations help the organism survive in its environment?
- What interactions do you observe –between organisms, and between the organism and environment?
- How am I connected to the organism(s) I’ve experienced during field studies?
- What does it mean to be a steward of the environment?
INTRODUCTION – OPENING CIRCLE
Have students circle up and share their name and favorite animal. Decide if that animal is a domestic animal or a wild animal and where it comes from. This is a great way for students to connect with each other, animals and to get an idea of some of their background knowledge
Food Systems - Everything Comes from a Farm
The Learning Events should always be prefaced by focusing on the essential questions:
- What is a living organism?
- What do all organisms need for survival?
- What adaptations help the organism survive in its environment?
- What interactions do you observe –between organisms, and between the organism and environment?
- How am I connected to the organism(s) I’ve experienced during field studies?
- What does it mean to be a steward of the environment?
FOOD SYSTEMS – EVERYTHING COMES FROM A FARM
Discuss and record what students have eaten today. Consider the “Story of Food.” (Where is that food from and what might be local at this time of year and if not local, where might it be from.) Brainstorm benefits of eating local foods (see resources for a copy of this handout).
Animal Systems
The Learning Events should always be prefaced by focusing on the essential questions:
- What is a living organism?
- What do all organisms need for survival?
- What adaptations help the organism survive in its environment?
- What interactions do you observe –between organisms, and between the organism and environment?
- How am I connected to the organism(s) I’ve experienced during field studies?
- What does it mean to be a steward of the environment?
ANIMAL SYSTEMS
Animals are made up of many interdependent body systems that interact to sustain the organism. Farm animals require food, water, shelter for survival. Use animal cards to review what each Cheakamus Centre farm animal eats. Food grown/animals raised on a farm can be traced back through food chains to plants and sun.
Describe the life cycle of our farm animals, including life span and reproductive cycles). The adult female chicken is called a hen, the adult make is called a rooster and the young are called chicks. Every chicken came from an egg but not every egg contains a chicken. Rooster and hen must mate for the egg to be fertilized (sexual reproduction, internal fertilization). Sows give birth to a litter of young called piglets. They are pregnant for just under 4 months. They nurse their young for 3-5 weeks. Goats birth two to three kids at one time. Female goats/nannies/does are pregnant for 5 months. Male goats are called billy goats. Farm Animals are domestic animals that have been bred from wild animals.
Explain the adaptations and changes over time. Describe behavior and interactions of our farm animals between species and other species.
A Farm Produces More than Food
The Learning Events should always be prefaced by focusing on the essential questions:
- What is a living organism?
- What do all organisms need for survival?
- What adaptations help the organism survive in its environment?
- What interactions do you observe –between organisms, and between the organism and environment?
- How am I connected to the organism(s) I’ve experienced during field studies?
- What does it mean to be a steward of the environment?
A FARM PRODUCES MORE THAN FOOD
Use the pig kit in the Farm Lab and pass out objects and have students discover all the things made from pig. Debrief sustainability – use of whole pig.
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.
