Have you ever seen a fallen log in a forest? Have you …
Have you ever seen a fallen log in a forest? Have you wondered how plants could be growing on it or why animals might be visiting it? In this unit, students explore nurse logs to figure out just that. Students begin their exploration of nurse logs by considering how the plant life that grows on them gets the matter needed to grow. They plan, carry out, and evaluate investigations that provide them with evidence that plants get the matter they need to grow primarily from air and water and the energy they need to grow from the Sun. As students build their understanding of matter and energy transfer, they investigate how there are also many animals that live in, on, and around nurse logs. They model to explain the transfer of energy and matter between plants, animals, the nurse log, and the sun. Students figure out that decomposers are a vital component of the nurse log system. Finally, students consider how new species can disrupt that balance and flow of matter and energy, using the example of American bullfrogs that have been recently introduced to nurse log ecosystems.
OpenSciEd curriculum promotes deep and engaging science learning, and it is freely accessible to all. As an Open Educational Resource (OER), we encourage teachers to adapt, transform, and build upon OpenSciEd materials, allowing them to cater to the specific requirements of their classrooms.
To view other elementary units, please visit: https://www.openscied.org/curriculum/elementary-school/explore-the-curriculum/
In this fifth-grade science and engineering unit on earth systems and on …
In this fifth-grade science and engineering unit on earth systems and on the structure and properties of matter, students investigate where the dirty water that drains out of their homes and schools goes and where the clean water they use comes from. Their investigations lead them to discover connections between the hydrosphere, geosphere, biosphere, and atmosphere. Their discoveries spark a series of design problems to solve in order to protect freshwater reservoirs and minimize human impacts on the environment, including ways to mitigate flooding and erosion, naturally filter water and prevent contamination of water reservoirs, and conserve water usage in drought-prone areas of the world.
In this fifth-grade unit on interrelationships in ecosystems, students investigate the apparent …
In this fifth-grade unit on interrelationships in ecosystems, students investigate the apparent disappearance of the body of a dead raccoon over time. Their findings lead them to uncover the role of decomposers in this process, as well as the role of decomposers in the disappearance of plant debris over time. Students ultimately track down where the materials come from that all living things need for repair and growth and where the energy comes from that they use to move and stay warm. Resource from: NextGenStoryline.org
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