Format
1. Introduction to the Zoo and the Aquarium
2. Discussing the world(s) Ocean(s)
3. A look at the Shark Tank and the very large fish and reptiles it contains
4. What do you know about sharks already?
6. Visit the Jellyfish exhibits
7. Animal or Not game.
8. Explore the coral reef exhibits
9. Trash or Treasure & What you can do to save the Oceans
11. Extra time for Questions
Objectives
• Describe the diversity of life that lives in the ocean
• Explain what makes something an animal
• Understand how decisions affect the ocean even if we live a thousand miles away
Standards Alignment
National Standards
Kindergarten:
Performance expectations
K-ESS3-1. Use a model to represent the relationship between the needs of different plants or animals (including humans) and the places they live
K-ESS3-3. Communicate solutions that will reduce the impact of humans on the land, water, air, and/or other living things in the local environment.
Science and Engineering Practices: Use observations (firsthand or from media) to describe patterns in the natural world in order to answer scientific questions.
Disciplinary Core Ideas: ESS3.C: Things that people do to live comfortably can affect the world around them. But they can make choices that reduce their impacts on the land, water, air, and other living things.
Crosscutting concepts: Systems and System Models – Systems in the natural and designed world have parts that work together.
Grade 1:
Performance expectations
1-LS1-2. Read texts and use media to determine patterns in behavior of parents and offspring that help offspring survive.
Science and Engineering Practices: Make observations (firsthand or from media) to construct an evidence based account for natural phenomena.
Disciplinary Core Ideas
LS1.A: All organisms have external parts. Different animals use their body parts in different ways to see, hear, grasp objects, protect themselves, move from place to place, and seek, find, and take in food, water and air. Plants also have different parts (roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits) that help them survive and grow.
LS3.B: Individuals of the same kind of plant or animal are recognizable as similar but can also vary in many ways.
Crosscutting Concepts: The shape and stability of structures of natural and designed objects are related to their function(s).
Grade 2:
Performance expectations
2-LS4-1. Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats.
Science and Engineering Practices: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations – Make observations (firsthand or from media) to collect data which can be used to make comparisons.
Disciplinary Core Idea - LS4.D There are many different kinds of living things in any area, and they exist in different places on land and in water.
Crosscutting Concepts: Structure and Function – the shape and stability of structures of natural and designed objects are related to their function(s).
Grade 3:
Performance Expectations:
3-LS4-3 – Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.
3-LS2-2. Construct an argument that some animals for groups that help members survive.
Scientific and Engineering Practices: Analyze and interpret data to make sense of phenomena using logical reasoning.
Disciplinary Core Ideas:
• LS2.C: When the environment changes in ways that affect a place’s physical characteristics, temperature, or availability of resources, some organisms survive and reproduce, others move to new locations, yet others move into the transformed environment, and some die.
• LS4.D: Populations live in a variety of habitats, and change in those habitats affects the organisms living there
Crosscutting Concepts: science assumes consistent patterns in natural systems.
Grade 4:
Performance Expectations: 4-LS1-1 – Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.
Science and Engineering Practices: Construct an argument with evidence, data, and/or a model.
Disciplinary Core Ideas: LS1.A – Plants and animals have both internal and external structures that serve various functions in growth, survival, behavior, and reproduction.
Crosscutting Concepts: A system can be described in terms of its components and their interactions.
Grade 5:
Performance Expectations: 5-LS1-1. Support an argument that plants get the materials they need for growth chiefly from air and water.
Science and Engineering Practices: Support an argument with evidence, data, or a model.
Disciplinary Core Ideas: LS1.C: Food provides animals with the materials they need for body repair and growth and the energy they need to maintain body warmth and for motion.
Crosscutting Concepts: A system can be described in terms of its components and their interactions.
Middle School:
MS-LS2-4: Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.
Science and Engineering Practices: Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for phenomena.
Disciplinary Core Ideas: LS2.B: Ecosystems are dynamic in nature; their characteristics can vary over time. Disruptions to any physical or biological component of an ecosystem can lead to shifts in all its populations.
Crosscutting Concepts: Small changes in one part of a system might cause large changes in another part.
State Standards
Nebraska Science Standards
SC2.3.1 Students will investigate the characteristics of living things.
SC2.3.1.a Differentiate between living and nonliving things
SC2.4.2.b Recognize ways in which individuals and families can conserve Earth’s resources by reducing, reusing, and recycling
or
SC5.3.1 Students will investigate and compare the characteristics of living things.
SC5.3.1.a Compare and contrast characteristics of living and nonliving things
SC5.3.3 Students will describe relationships within an ecosystem.
SC5.3.4.a Describe adaptations made by plants or animals to survive environmental changes
or
SC8.3.3 Students will describe populations and ecosystems
SC8.3.4 Students will identify characteristics of organisms that help them survive