Life Science Lessons

A Day in the Pond | Vital Signs | Origami Frogs

Discovering Differences and Similarities in Animals

Minnesota Graduation Standard:
A student shall demonstrate an understanding of characteristics of organisms including animals and the ability to create a model to illustrate a concept.
Objective: Develop an awareness of similarities and differences of animals/
Assessment:
Explanation of their created animal that includes habitat, body design etc.
Observing interactions of the students with the materials and each other
Observing how the student approaches and follows through on his/her own experiment with mealworms. They will draw their animal and give a brief explanation of what they say either orally or written
Problem to solve: How are animals alike and different in the ways that they respond, eat, and move?
Materials:
Animal tags for icebreaker, masking tape. One side has picture and label of an animal, other side has red/blue circle. See animal sheet attachment
Animals: snails, mealworms, crayfish, beta fish, Monarch butterflies, slugs, hissing cockroaches, guppies, snake and possible others.
Covered containers, hand lenses, mirror, cages, two water spray bottles
Habitat: (leaves, acorn, grass, gravel, glue, markers, crayons, rocks, straw, tag-board in 8 1/2 by 11)
Clipboards/pencils for each student
Art Creations:
Clay – one pkg. Per 5 students – five color sticks per box
Toothpicks, feathers, movable eyes, tagboard pieces, crayons, scissors, glue, tape
Living specimen experiment:
Paper plates, mealworms (2 per child), bran cereal, apples, bananas, cheerios, lettuce, water, alcohol, vinegar, perfume, lemon cleaner, cotton balls, popsicle sticks (8 per student approx.), crayons, markers, pennies, gloves
Extension-blindfold with scents (put potent scent in film containers to be opened at this time); perfume, lemon cleaner, cinnamon, etc.
The SalamanderRoom by Anne Mazer.

Introduction:
Ice breaker- Mystery Animals!!!
Have a broad range of animals on sheets of paper. Tape one picture and name of an animal to each student’s back. Do not allow the student to see the picture. The student must ask other students yes/no questions to try and discover what animal they are. (these animal tags will also have a blue or red circle on the back side to transition into group time. Do not inform the students of this so there is not switching of groups)
*Before starting go through a sample question and ask the students what kind of questions would be appropriate for the game (i.e.; Does it live in the swamp/desert? Is it bigger than ______? Etc.)
Part One:
A. Observation of living specimens, a skull (15 min)
B. Hands on with living specimens (meal worms and snails) (colored paper, water, wax-paper, bananas, apples, lettuce) (30 min)
Part Two:
A. Book reading with puppets (optional) (15 min)
B. Building an animal (pipe cleaners, clay, feathers, toothpicks, moveable eyes, scissors, small tag-board, markers, glue, tape) (20-30)
C. Habitat building (leaves, acorn, grass, gravel, glue, markers, crayons, rocks, straw) (30 min)

Observations of Animals
Materials Needed:
The following are just idea starters for the following station: snails, mealworms, crayfish, beta fish, Monarch butterflies, slugs, hissing cockroaches, guppies, snake and possibly others.
Safety Caution: Check District policy on live animals in the classroom and student allergies when deciding when/ if to use animals in the classroom.
Instruction:
Divide the students into two groups.
Begin to guide the students through the observations of the animals.
Take the live animals out for the students to look at. Do not allow them to handle the animals but guided touching is strongly encouraged.
Guide the students in noticing:
Size-relate it to another object. For example a paper clip, ruler. Look at thin and thickness of the animals
Color-are all of the animals the same color? Same animals?
Type of skin-texture, temperature, wet/dry, hard or soft, How will this help them in their own environment/habitat.
Body structure-hard skin (exoskeleton) appendages-arms, legs, claws, feelers (antennae), do you see the eyes, mouth, nose? Where are they?

Hands On With Living Specimens
Materials
Paper plates, mealworms (2 per child), bran cereal, apples, bananas, cheerios, lettuce, water, alcohol, vinegar, perfume, lemon cleaner, cotton balls, popsicle sticks, crayons, markers, pennies
Instruction
Start by discussing how to handle the animals. Students will have the option of whether or not they want to handle the animals. We do not want anyone who is afraid to handle the animals and will drop and possibly hurt the animal.
Begin by having the students observe their mealworm. Have the students look for it’s normal behavior. How do they move? Is it moving? Now that you know this, what else would you like to know?
Have the students design an experiment that they want to test with the mealworms.
Food preferences
Reactions to liquids- place a scented cotton ball in the corners of the paper plate. (Use at least three scents) Place the mealworm in the center of the paper plate. Observe what the mealworm does in reaction to the scents. Is it attracted or repelled to the scents?
Climbing ability- over different types of obstacles, different textured objects
Any other topics that the students feel lead to explore
Explain to the students that scientific experiments need to be done more than once to collect any data to see if there are any real effects of the variable on the animal. Also instruct the students not to guide the animals with fingers, pencils, etc. Allow them to move freely.
Have them draw their findings and either give an oral explanation or a written explanation on their paper of how their animal reacted to the experiment.

Extension
Blind fold a few students and have them locate a scent in the room. (Possible ideas; perfume, lemon cleaner, potpourri etc.) This exercise demonstrates how the mealworm would follow after a scent. The mealworm is weaker than their sense of smell and therefore they rely on their sense of smell to get themselves around.
Literature Connection:
The Salamander Room by Anne Mazer.
Ideas for discussion questions:
1. How did he change his room?
2. What does it involve to have a wild pet?
3. What are other wild pets?
How would you like to survive in another habitat? (Be sure that students know the meaning of habitat).

Creating an Animal
Materials needed:
Clay – one pkg. Per 5 students – five color sticks per box, precut-each stick cut into five sections give the students the option to pick five pieces of any color
Toothpicks, feathers, movable eyes, tagboard pieces, crayons, scissors, glue, tape
Instruction:
Based on what you learned and discovered by observation and interaction with the animals think about what kind of animal you would like to create. Think about the following questions
How will your animal eat?
How will your animal move?
How will your animal protect itself?
Any other questions that are relevant
Open it up and let the students develop their creativity. Walk around the classroom and ask the students to tell you about their animal. Ask them questions to get the thought process going if they are in a slump.
Habitat Building
Materials Needed:
Habitat : (leaves, acorn, grass, gravel, glue, markers, crayons, rocks, straw, tag-board in 8 1/2 by 11, sand, leaves, pint sized milk cartons for dimensional interaction with their creation, string, or anything applicable to creating a habitat)
Instruction:
Based on what the students have created for their animal allow them to dive into the materials to create an environment that is suitable for their animal. Make sure that they think about the following:
What does your animal need to survive, food, water, housing?
Will it have land and/or water?

A Day in the Pond

Skill level: Primary
Estimated Time: 2 1/2 hours

Minnesota Graduation Standard:
A student shall demonstrate an understanding of characteristics of organisms including plants, animals and microorganisms.
Concepts:
Ponds are diverse and essential habitats.
Organisms in a pond are interdependent.
Macroinvertebrates are an important part of the pond ecosystem.
Several life cycle stages typical in pond organisms.
Objectives:
Students will learn common pond organisms and how they are valuable to the pond habitat. They will learn about predator/ prey relationships. They will investigate organisms in pond water. Finally they will experience life in a pond through a movement activity.
Problem:
What would you find in a pond and why are those organisms significant?
Materials:
Lesson 1:
Blue tarp
Paper bag
Sponge
Soap
Doll Pillow
Antacid
Egg beater
Doll cradle
Strainer
Coffee filter
Snack food
Pictures of pond organisms on a string for a necklace.(one per student)
Pictures of pond organisms or a book such as Pond Life for students to draw examples
Lesson 2:
One envelope for each student
One feeding behavior card for each student (these could be on the back of the necklaces used in lesson 1.
25 colored tokens (5 each of red, blue, yellow, green, white)
Lesson 3:
Bucket of pond water or mixed protozoa from a scientific supply company
Petri dishes
Hand lenses, bug boxes or scopes
Plastic cup per pair of students
Journal paper
Invertebrate identification cards or book
Lesson 4:
Blue tarp
Strips of paper for tadpole tails
Frog call tape
Combs
Nature music
Long ribbon on a stick

Lesson 1:
What Would You Find in a Pond?
The teacher will have a bag of “mystery” items such as a sponge, a pillow, an egg beater, a doll cradle, a strainer, a filter, antacid, soap and snack food. Have the students guess how each of these is like a pond. Examples: a sponge absorbs water like a pond, soap cleans like a pond cleans the environment, snacks represent food found in a pond, ponds are resting places for migratory birds like the pillow, strainers and filters remove impurities like the pond, a cradle represents how a pond is like a nursery, the pond mixes nutrients and oxygen into the water like an egg beater, the pond neutralizes toxic substances like antacid.
Ask students; What you would find in a pond? After students have given their answers, give students roles to represent in a pond tableau. Spread a blue tarp on the floor to represent the pond. Give each student a card on a string necklace to represent various pond organisms, several students will have the same. (These same groups can be used for the food chain game and for snack time.) Make sure to have more plants and lower level consumers than the higher order consumers. Examples might be: crayfish, mosquitoes, raccoons, tadpoles, cat tails, marsh marigolds, blue gill, herons, minnows, and mallards. Have them act out the organism they are representing.

Assessment:
As a culmination and evaluation of the lesson, have the students create a mural on a large strip of blue chart paper. Using pictures of pond organisms the students can draw and color animals and plants. They can cut them out and tape them to the mural.

Lesson 2:
Pond Water Exploration
Have the students gather around the bucket of pond water. Ask them what they observe about it. Give each pair of students a small cup of the water. Remind them to only use as much as they need as the pond water is an organism’s home. Depending on materials available, have the students observe drops of the pond water on petri dishes with hand lenses, bug boxes or scopes. Have the students draw what they see on journal paper and/or describe how it moves or interacts with other organisms. (Adjust for the age and skill level of students.)
Assessment: Discuss observations as a class. Invite students to share what they have drawn.

Lesson 3:
Movement Activity and the Life Cycle of a Frog
Talk about the life cycle of a frog. What do students already know about how a frog “grows up”? Play a tape of frog calls and have students experiment with making the frog calls.
Start the tape of nature sounds. Have students curl up on the blue tarp in an egg position. Give them instructions so that they act out the stages of a frog’s life. Including hatching, swimming like a tadpole, losing their tails, hopping, burrowing in the mud, catching bugs, and laying eggs. One of the facilitators could act like the “pond fairy” in the middle of the pond. This person could tell the students when to change into a new stage and give directions. Use the ribbon to wave over the frogs. Give students a strip of one piece of paper to use as their tails when they are tadpoles. End this drama by playing leapfrog.
Assessment: present the dance to another group, (the life cycle of a frog) and explain what it represents.

Vital Signs

This three-part lesson plan explores and compares changes in temperature and pulse rate of humans and cold-blooded animals. The first lesson will explore the concept of body temperature in human beings. The next lesson will compare the effects of rest and activity on pulse rate. The final lesson will explore the ways that temperature effects the pulse rate and activity of a cold-blooded animal.
Minnesota Graduation Standard: A student shall demonstrate an understanding of the basic structures and functions of the human body.

Lesson 1
Body temperature is a balance between how much heat is produced and how much is lost. The brain acts as a thermostat sending and receiving signals to and from parts of the body to keep the body temperature as constant as possible. When the brain receives a signal telling it that there is a change in body temperature, it sends out messages telling the sweat gland to increase or decrease sweating, the blood capillaries on skin to constrict or dilate, the erector muscles to flatten or erect body hairs, the endocrine glands to decrease or increase metabolic rate, or the skeletal muscles to shiver. The human body, whose average temperature is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, is able to adapt and function within only a small degree range.
Concept: How does the human body react to temperature change?
Minnesota Graduation Standard:
Students shall demonstrate an understanding of basic functions of the human body and gain the ability to make systematic observations of events.
Assessment: Teacher observation of student behavior and whole group discussion
One Rich, Multi-step Problem to Solve: What is the underlying effect of temperature on human body systems?
Materials:
Class set of thermometer strips, room thermometers
An ice water bath big enough to fit an arm
Variety of hot spicy foods, i.e. Cinnamon gum, salsa, hot peppers, atomic fireballs, hot Doritos
Three bowls, ice, thermos of hot water
Caution: Be sure the hot water is a safe temperature that will not harm anyone.
Towel for drying
Two medium size boxes, one painted black and the other lined with aluminum foil
Directions to Students as They Start Activity:
Discuss situations where their temperature may have been measured. Students take their temperatures using disposable paper strip thermometers. Students predict how their body will react when they are very active and engaging in physical activity. Direct students as a whole group in at least five minutes of strenuous activity such as running laps, running in place, sit-ups, and jumping jacks. Play appropriate “work out” music. Return to discuss what reactions are occurring in their bodies and take sample temperature. Compare beginning body temperature with temperature after working out. (20 minutes)
Group Work:
Introduce stations, which will be available for students to move around classroom and explore the concept of body temperature. Students will be given approximately 10 minutes at each station with a total of four stations available. Food tasting station will be optional, carefully respectful of any food allergies or preferences.

Station 1: Freezing Fingers
Students will take their temperature and also the temperature of the forearm that will be placed in an ice bath. These temperatures will be a baseline to compare with results. Students will place their forearm in the ice bath for two or three minutes. Remove and try their arm with a towel. Retake the oral and forearm temperature. Compare the internal and external body temperatures when exposed to a cold environment.

Station 2: Hot Box
Students will place one hand in a box that is completely painted black and the other in a box that is lined with aluminum foil. Have students compare the temperatures of their hands. The hand placed in the aluminum foil will feel warmer because that aluminum foil reflects heat back to the hand. The hand placed in the black box will feel cooler because the black surfaces absorb heat from your hand. The students will feel heat transferred by infrared radiation.

Station 3: Trick Yourself
Student will place one hand in ice cold water and the other in hot water. Leave the hands there for a minute or two. Then students will place both hands in lukewarm water. The water will feel cool to the hand that had been in hot water, and it will feel warm to the hand that had been in cold water. Sensory adaptation is the “trick” to this station. When your senses are exposed to the same strong sensation for a while, your sense receptors get use to it and stop sending reports to your brain. Its only when the sensation changes that you notice it again.

Station 4: Serving Picante
A variety of hot, spicy foods will be available for students to taste. Each food sample will be packaged in single serving packages or baggies. Samples may include: a stick of cinnamon gum, a baggie of Hot Doritos, one jalapeno pepper, 1/4 cup of hot salsa, or one atomic fireball. Students will chew the food item for a minute or two (less in the case of the jalapeno pepper), then either spit it out or swallow, and immediately take their temperature.
Key Vocabulary: Sensory adaptation, sense receptors, external temperature, internal temperature, heat energy, thermometer, oral temperature, shivering, sweating, dilation, constriction
Conclusion: Students will discuss results and make several summary conclusions regarding body temperature variations, noticing that the human body has many physical reactions, but that body temperature is relatively constant.

Lesson 2
When the heart contracts, blood is pushed through arteries and is distributed to every part of the body. This results in the blood being pushed through arteries at the same rhythm as the heart beats. We can detect our pulse rate most easily at the temple, the neck, or the wrist. Strenuous physical activity will increase the pulse rate and improve the functioning of the heart.
Concept: How does our behavior affect our pulse rate and the functioning of our heart?
Minnesota Graduation Standard:
Students shall demonstrate an understanding of basic functions of the human body.
Assessment: Teacher observation of students’ behavior and whole group discussion
One Rich, Multi-step Problem to Solve: Investigate the changes that occur in pulse rates as people change their level of activity.
Materials:
Timepiece with a second hand
Directions to Students as They Start Activity on Own:
Discuss pulse rate and where it can be found on the body. Have students find their own pulse and be able to measure it. Students may locate the pulse rate in the wrist, neck or temple. Students will record the results of their own discovery on paper, and teacher will record class pulse rates on large chart paper. (10 minutes)
Divide the group into three small groups. Each small group will engage in a different activity for 10 minutes. One group will read a book and talk quietly in the classroom. One group will run up and down a flight of stairs. One group will play with balls in the gym. As an option, groups may choose other games, either indoors or outdoors. Groups may select a favorite activity, but it must involve every student participating equally. Immediately following the 10 minutes of activity, students will retake their pulse levels and record the results on their papers. Students should find the difference between their first pulse rate and their post-activity pulse rate. (20 minutes)
Group Work: Students will come together and record differences in pulse rate for each of the three groups. Students will find the average difference in pulse rate for their activity group. (Teachers may need to provide assistance in finding averages.) (10 minutes)
Key Vocabulary: artery, pulse, heart rate
Conclusion: Students will analyze the results of their experiment, comparing the three activity groups and drawing conclusions about the benefits of various kinds of physical activity. (5 minutes)

Lesson 3
Animals that are able to maintain their own body temperature are called warm-blooded animals. Humans and other mammals are examples of warm-blooded animals. Warm-blooded animals must regulate their body-temperature within a small range. Lesson 2 in this series explores this concept in more depth. Cold-blooded animals, however, don’t have the body-system to maintain their temperature and must adapt by slowing body function when the environment is cold.
Concept: How does temperature effect a cold-blooded animal, such as an earthworm?
Minnesota Graduation Standard:
Students shall demonstrate an understanding of characteristics of organisms including animals and be able to make systematic observations of objects and events by recording data and predicting change.
Assessment: Teacher observation of students’ behavior and whole group discussion
One Rich, Multi-step Problem to Solve: How will changes in environmental temperature effect a cold-blooded animal’s pulse rate?
Materials:
Earthworms, room thermometers, ice, container for holding hot water, petri dishes, magnifying glasses, paper towels, pencil, data recording sheet, buckets, and optional rubber gloves
Caution: Students should not be forced to hold live animals.
Hot water should not exceed 35 degrees Celsius.
Live animals should be treated with care and are intended to be returned
to the soil.
Directions to Students As They Start Activity on Own:
Begin with a drawing of an earthworm. Discuss body parts, behavior, and pulse. Make special note to discuss cold and warm-blooded animals. (10 minutes) Supply area will be set up with three marked container of water, one at 5 degrees Celsius, one at 20 degrees Celsius, and one at 35 degrees Celsius. Earthworms will be stored in soil until use. Each student will receive one petri dish and one worm. There will be empty buckets provided for dumping used water. Place earthworm in petri dish and observe behavior and pulse.
Record pulse rate of worm (5 minutes) Cover the worm with water set at 5 degree Celsius. After a minute, students will record pulse rate again. Dump out cold water. Continuing with the same worm, record data from 20 degree Celsius water, and 35-degree Celsius water. Worms placed back in soil (25 minutes) Return to whole group and discuss findings. Be sure to discuss connection between cold and warm-blooded animals. (10 minutes)
Key Vocabulary: Endothermic animals, exothermic animals, petri dish
Conclusions: Students will come together to draw conclusions about the activity of cold-blooded animals. Create a classroom chart to compare the results. Students may conclude that pulse rate slows in cold water and increases in warm water. Use caution not to exceed the recommended temperatures, and remind students to treat animals respectfully, returning them to their soil environment.

Origami Frogs

3-5th grades – 50 minutes

The following site provides excellent instruction for constructing origami frogs: Welcome to Froggyville

Minnesota Graduation Standard: Inquiry: Student shall demonstrate the ability to gather information to answer a question by gathering information from direct observations or experiments with a variable, including framing a question; collecting, recording, displaying data, and through direct observation and interviews, recording and organizing information, and evaluating the findings to identify areas for further investigation.

Objectives:
• Analyze and create new shapes (space, shape and measurement)

• Measure, including identifying type of measurement required, selecting appropriate tools and units of measurement, and measuring accurately

• Generate and describe more than one method to solve problems (number sense)

• Conduct experiments (chance and data handling)

• Describe patterns or relationships in data displayed in graphs, tables or charts (chance and data handling)

Assessment: Were students able to construct, test and graphically compare the jumps made by the three frogs? Were students able to predict how far a fourth frog would jump based on their graph? Were students able to successfully identify and test variables that affected frog jumping ability?
Multi-Step Problem to Solve: Build an origami frog that can jump the farthest
Materials Needed:
¸ Paper (various sizes – including 8.5 x 11 in)
¸ Scissors
¸ Meter sticks
¸ Calculators
¸ Graph paper
¸ Art supplies to decorate frogs (to be used if time permits at the end of the lesson)
¸ Activity sheet 18
Directions to Students (20 minutes)
Show the students the preconstructed frog and how to make it jump.
Allow them to make the same sized frog and experiment with it to make it jump
Show two different sized frogs (63 mm wide paper and 140 mm wide paper) and allow them to make the same.
Before they begin experimenting with their frog family, predict how far each frog will jump.
Group Work (10 minutes)

Divide students into groups and have them test their frogs for distance jumping abilities
Using meter sticks, record three good jumps per frog and then calculate the average jump distance for each of the three frogs. Then graph the three averages (frog size on the x-axis and jump distance on the y-axis)

Whole Group Presentations (10 minutes)
Each group should present their findings to the rest of the large group. The teacher should create a large class graph showing the different group averages so that the students can compare their distances with that of the others.
As a class, ask them to predict how far they think a fourth frog that is even larger could jump. Have each group build the fourth sized frog and measure its jumping distance.
Introduce the concept of variables and ask the class what things have an affect on the frog’s jumping ability (like paper, weight or design). Then instruct each group to pick a different variable and explore with that variable and recording their findings and report back to the group.
Questions for Discussion (10 minutes)
1. How is the paper frog similar to a real frog? How is it different?
2. Why do real frogs jump? Why would a real frog that can jump far have a survival advantage over a frog that can’t jump as well?
Extension Activities
¸ Read “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” by Mark Twain
¸ Hold other jumping contests (like which frog can jump the highest or the most accurate)
¸ Allow the students to decorate their frogs