Organisms
Lesson 12
What's Happening in the Terrarium?
Lesson 12 provides a scheduled opportunity for students to observe changes in plants, animals and the terrarium habitat. Students will record data and write about organisms in the aquarium. Previous lessons have been primarily EXPLORE lessons with some REFLECTION. Lesson 12 provides activities in the REFLECT phase of the learning cycle.
3. Lesson set up and Management
INQA Scientific investigations involve asking and trying to answer a question about the natural world by making and recording observations.
INQC Scientists develop explanations, using recorded observations (evidence).
INQD Scientists report on their investigations to other scientists, using drawings and words.
INQF All scientific observations must be reported honestly and accurately.
LS2A There are different kinds of natural areas, or habitats, where many different plants and animals live together.
LS2B A habitat supports the growth of many different plants and animals by meeting their basic needs of food, water, and shelter.
LS3A Some things are alive and others are not.
LS3B There are many different types of living things on Earth. Many of them are classified as plants or animals.
- Students understand that changes happen in the terrarium and its organisms by observing, discussing and recording those changes.
- Students record data using pictures and written observations.
3. Lesson set up and Management
Materials:
- The pill bugs and Bess beetles/millipedes are likely to be hidden under leaf litter, wood chunks or moss. Students may need to use a pencil (use the eraser end) to gently poke around to find the animals. Be careful not to dig up the tree or the moss.
- Students will need the Woodland Picture, Record Sheet 4-B from the Organisms Teacher’s Guide or the science notebook page from lesson 4.
Students can write observations in
science notebooks.
Student Management:
- The bulleted questions in the Organisms Teacher’s Guide can serve to deepen students’ observations and understandings. These questions include:
- Has any organism, plant or animal changed? How?
- Are there more of beetles/millipedes or pillbugs that there were before?
- Are any organisms missing? What do you think happened to them?
- Have any other parts of the terrarium changed?
- What do you think the pillbugs and beetles/millipedes are eating? How do you know?
- Where in the terrarium did you find the pillbugs/millipedes?
- Some of the possible changes in the animals, plants, and terrariums are:
- the seedling may have grown, been dislodged, turned brown, or died
- the moss may have developed spore stalks, died, turned yellow or been broken apart by the animals
- pill bugs may be different colors (brown, gray, black) and larger due to molting
- their may be baby pill bugs
- pill bugs, beetles/ millipedes may have died
- beetles/ millipedes may have dug tunnels
- The "Clipboard Cruise" idea would work well here. As teachers circulate around the room questioning and observing, note comments and who made them. This provides the teacher with an observation record as well as items for the class charts. It can be a time saver as teachers can already list some observations students have made on class charts ahead of time.
- The final activity for this lesson is a language arts rich activity and provides great integration between science and writing. It makes a nice writing prompt for students to respond to. Prompt the students to write or dictate stories about their aquarium, either fiction or nonfiction. Encourage them to illustrate as well. Consider doing this Final Activity during writing time.
- The writing students do as well as teacher observations and "Clipboard Cruise" provides assessment opportunities.
Writing Support:
- The final activity for this lesson is a language arts rich activity and provides great integration between science and writing. It makes a nice writing prompt for students to respond to. Prompt the students to write or dictate stories about their aquaria, either fiction or nonfiction. Encourage them to illustrate as well. Consider doing this Final Activity during writing time.
- The writing students do as well as teacher observations and "Clipboard Cruise" provides assessment opportunities.
Reading Support:
- Read a book about life in a forest such as How the Forest Grew by William Jaspersohn and then students can create a diorama or triorama depicting a woodland scene and write about it.