B3

= Grade 3 Unit on Biomes =

Stage 1 -- Desired Results
 * Science Content Standard Addressed**

__Primary Science Standard__

//The learner will be able to compare and contrast the ways in which organisms in one habitat differ from those in another.//
 * S3.LIS.2: Life Science**

__Additional Science Standards__

//The learner will be able to describe how organisms depend on and change the environment.// //The learner will be able to investigate how organisms, especially plants, respond to both internal cues (the need for water) and external cues (changes in the environment).// //The learner will be able to describe the basic needs and characteristics of organisms.//
 * S3.LIS.1: Life Science**
 * S3.LIS.3: Life Science**
 * S3.LIS.6: Life Science**


 * Other Content Area Standards Addressed**

//The learner will be able to identify the author’s purpose in a given passage.// //The learner will be able to understand and identify the relationship between cause and effect in reading materials.// //The learner will be able to interact with text to construct and extend meaning through inference and interpretation.// //The learner will be able to apply critical thinking when reading materials to make sense of what they read by using prior knowledge and experience, vocabulary and language structure, reading strategies and/or plans, and for problem solving and resolution.//
 * R3.GEN1:** **Reading Genres**
 * R3.ROP.1:** **Reading Operations**
 * R3.ROP.3:** **Reading Operations**
 * R3. ROP.43:** **Reading Operations**

//Geography//
 * Social Studies**

//All language arts standards related to writing (grammar, conventions, etc.)//
 * L3: Language Arts**


 * NETS-S Standards Addressed**

[|ISTE NETS-S Standards Document]

(noted, embedded, in lesson plans, below)


 * Enduring Understanding/Goal**


 * Students will know and understand how organisms depend on and interact with each other in an ecosystem.


 * Essential Questions**


 * What are ecosystems (biomes)?
 * How are ecosystems/biomes different from each other?


 * Student Objectives (Learning Outcomes)**
 * The student will know that living things compete in a climatic region with other living things and that structural adaptations make them fit for an environment.
 * The student will know that different ecosystems contain different types of organisms, each suited for the type of environment in which they live.

Stage 2 -- Assessment Evidence
 * Performance Tasks**

Students will:


 * Use prior and background knowledge as context for new learning about biomes (i.e., KWL charts and webbing techniques).
 * Find, evaluate, and select appropriate sources to answer questions (i.e., people, places, books, nonprint materials).
 * Collaborate with others to exchange ideas, develop new understandings, make decisions, and solve problems (i.e., VI Agriculture, VI Fish and Wildlife, Planning and Natural Resources, etc.).
 * Use technology and other information tools to analyze (i.e., compare and contrast biomes in one part of the world with those in another) and organize information (i.e., Excel, SmartDraw, various graphic organizers, etc.).
 * Use the writing process, media and visual literacy, and technology skills to create products that express new understandings (i.e., Brochures, Newsletters, Powerpoint presentation, Windows Movie Maker video, etc.).
 * Final presentation is each student’s oral presentation of their biome model or multimedia project.

Stage 3 -- Learning Plan
 * Unit Overview**

LIFE SCIENCE: Like animals, plants have organs that function to help the plants develop and grow. The different parts of a plants help it live and grow. Scientists believe as many as 100 million species inhabit the Earth. Different animals, live, grow, and change. Ecosystems differ from each other. Each ecosystem can be identified according to the living and nonliving factors that make it up. Plants and animals interact. Some interactions between plants and animals are beneficial to both organisms, while others benefit only one organism in the interaction.

In this unit, students will develop an understanding of what a biome is and how ecosystems differ from one another. Students will follow an inquiry-based process in seeking knowledge about biomes including its plants and animals and make real-world connections for using this process in own life (i.e., The Big 6 Skills Information Problem-Solving Approach by Eisenberg & Berkowitz, Teaching the Library Research Approach by Kuhlthau, The I-Search Paper by Macrorie, Pathways to Knowledge: Follett's Information Skills Model Kit by Pappas & Tepe, Brainstorms and Blueprints: Teaching Library Research as a Thinking Process by Stripling & Pitts, etc.).

Students will use a variety of online and print resources to research their local VI biome and then create group presentations of their research. Then, students - again working in groups - research a non-local biome and ultimately compare this other biome to their local biome, focusing on similarities and differences and offering opinion and insight as to why these other biomes differ from their local environment. Presentations can/should include multimedia (e.g., video, websites, PowerPoint) that the students produce.

If time and teacher interest permit, students can create online presentations on their research and share these with non VI students across the Internet. This extension provides an opportunity for students to communicate and share with students in other parts of the world.

**Lesson Plans**

 * Lesson 1**
 * (3 days of teacher-driven instruction and student group work and presentation)**

__Essential Question(s):__
 * What is an ecosystem (biome)?

__Lesson Plan/Activities:__

Introduction to the unit: Establish basic concept of biomes and how they are different. What are biomes? What organisms live in your biome? How are the organisms in your biome suited for this particular ecosystem.


 * Create KWL chart and concept map (using Promethean in a full-class discussion) on prior knowledge and to anticipate what will be learned about biomes in this unit. Use technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and understanding in ways that others can view, use, and assess (i.e., Microsoft Office Excel, SmartDraw, Publisher, Word, PowerPoint, Access, etc.). [NETS 2a, b / 3a, b, c, d / 4a, b, c, d / 6a, d]
 * Use print and electronic resources on different biomes and the plants/animals in them as basis for discussion about the plants and animals in a the local biome with attention to what makes organisms suitable to their particular environment (e.g., EBSCOhost, Grolier, Learn360, BookFLIX, TumbleBookLibrary, TumbleReadables, BrainPOP, BrainPOPJr, NoodleTools, etc.) [NETS 2a, b / 3a, b, c, d / 4a, b, c, d / 6a, d]
 * TEAM ACTIVITY - Working in small groups, create group presentations on different aspects of the local VI biome. [NETS 1a, b, c / 2a, b, d / 3 a, b, c, d / 4a, b, c, d / 5a, b, c / 6a, b, c, d]
 * Student groups present using multimedia and the Promethean board and teacher leads discussion about what seems to make one biome different from another. [NETS standards as above]

__Resources:__


 * Print resources from the school library and text (i.e., from BookFlixs “Living on Farms” by Adam Fowler; “A Bear Cub Grows Up” by Pam Zollman)
 * [|www.Learn360.com]
 * “What is an ecosystem?”
 * “Grasslands, Rainforests and Oceans”
 * ”Earth’s Geographical Features: Regions of the World”
 * “Geographically Speaking”, etc. videos
 * [|www.brainpop.com] (resources on land biomes, tundra, etc.)
 * [|www.harcourtschool.com] - Science grade 2,3
 * [|www.atomiclearning.com] - videos and stories (specify which)
 * [|www.prometheanplanet.com/en/Resources/Item/32505/biome-introduction]
 * [|www.dpnr.gov]
 * [|www.vifishandwildlife.com]

**Lesson 2**

 * (12 days - twice a week for 6 weeks)**

__ Essential Question(s): __
 * How are biomes similar and different from each other?

Lesson Plan/Activities Compare and contrast animals and plants from the student’s environment to the United States region. This lesson builds upon the research conducted in the previous lesson and applies students' understanding of "what is a biome" to the study of a non-local biome. Students will then compare and contrast their learning to develop an understanding of how biomes vary by region and how - and why - these other biomes are different from the local environment and how organisms adapt to different ecosystems. [NETS skills are the same as indicated in the previous lesson]


 * Students are divided into groups to research (via resource websites, books, etc.) the animals and plants in a non-VI biome of their choice (alternatively, the teacher can assign the selection of non-local biomes...with each group taking a different biome to study). Teacher needs to determine what categories of information need to be researched and presented.
 * Students use technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and understanding in ways that others can view, use, and assess.
 * Students collect data on the organisms within their biome and their regions and record their findings in Microsoft Excel.
 * Students create models or multimedia presentation of the animals and plants in their biome.

EXTENSION/ENRICHMENT Activity – students can create a website showing their biomes and the info associated with each. [NETS 2c]

EXTENSION/ENRICHMENT Activity - students can create models (using physical media or software simulations) of biomes.

__Resources__
 * [|www.Learn360.com]
 * “What is an ecosystem?”
 * “Grasslands, Rainforests and Oceans”
 * ”Earth’s Geographical Features: Regions of the World”
 * “Geographically Speaking”, etc. videos
 * [|www.brainpop.com] (resources on land biomes, tundra, etc.)
 * [|www.harcourtschool.com] - Science grade 2,3
 * [|www.atomiclearning.com] - videos and stories (specify which)
 * [|www.prometheanplanet.com/en/Resources/Item/32505/biome-introduction]
 * [|www.harcourtschool.com/activity/exploring_ecosystems/index.html]
 * [|www.ebscohost.com] - info on biomes

○ bi·ome. American Heritage Student Science Dictionary, 2009, p41-41, 1/9p, 1 Map ○ ENVIRONMENT. World Almanac for Kids, 2008, p64-75, 12p, 6 Color Photographs, 2 Charts ○ What biome do you call home? By: Salisbury, Bill. Saint Paul Pioneer Press (MN), 10/19/2007 (AN 2W62W63203623680) ○ Introduction. Oceans (9781590363485), 2006, p4-5, 2p, 1 Color Photograph, 1 Landscape ○ FURTHER RESEARCH. Tundras, 2006, p31-31, 1p ○ The largest biome. By: Smithyman, Kathryn; Kalman, Bobbie. Ocean Biome, 2003, p4-5, 2p, 1 Color Photograph, 1 Map ○ Biomes. By: Farndon, John. Planet Earth (1-59084-469-6), 2003, p37, 1/2p ○ The Subarctic Forest-Tundra: The Structure of a Biome in a Changing Climate. By: Payette, Serge; Fortin, Marie-Josée; Gamache, Isabelle. Bioscience, Sep2001, Vol. 51 Issue 9, p709, 10p, 1 Diagram, 1 Chart, 3 Graphs, 1 Map ○ THE LAKE AND POND BIOME. By: Sayre, April Pulley. Lake & Pond, 1996, p7, 5p, 2 Color Photographs ○ THE GRASSLAND BIOME. By: Sayre, April Pulley. Grassland, 1994, p7, 5p, 1 Color Photograph, 1 Map
 * [|www.epals.com]
 * [|www.vifishandwildlife.com]
 * [|www.dpnr.gov]

Other Related Resources
 * Book from BookFlix (“Living on Farms” by Adam Fowler; “A Bear Cub Grows Up” by Pam Zollman)
 * Local Resources (Agriculture VI, Planning and Natural Resources, VI Fish and Wildlife)

Portions derived from Understanding By Design Worksheet Backwards Design Process (Developed by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, 2002) and Creating 21st Century Classrooms III: Connecting the Dots unit template (VT Department of Education, 2010)