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Core Curriculum

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Elementary


 
Survivor's Guide to the Natural World
• Getting the Right Fit...There are over one million different species of animal. They can look very different from one another. Many of these differences are the result of structural (adaptations) that occur as animals become better suited to their environments. Adaptations usually occur over long periods of time. A structural adaptation refers to the way an animal’s body looks (characteristics or traits). For example, skin coverings (hair, feather, fur, scales), coloring and texture are structural adaptations. Body shape, facial structure, and feet and claw design are structural adaptations as well. Think of an elephant and how its long nose looks. What might an elephant use this nose for? Could you imagine how an elephant would look bending over and eating grass like a zebra? One adaptation of an elephant is how its nose formed and now works like a special hand, picking up anything the elephant might want. The endless variety of adaptations in organisms leads to the vast biodiversity that exists in the world.
• Acting Out...Not only do animals come in many different colors, shapes and sizes. Animals can also behave very differently from one another. Animals behave in specific ways to protect themselves, find food and water, move about, maintain body temperature, and find a mate and raise their young. These types of adaptations are call behavioral adaptations and, like structural adaptations, help the animals survive in their environments.
• The Animals’ Habitat Survival Guide... Every organism lives within an ecosystem. An ecosystem includes all living things (biotic factors) and non-living things (abiotic factors) in an environment and how they interact. Within ecosystems, each animal lives in a “habitat” which provides for its basic needs such as food, water, shelter and a place to breed and rear young. All organisms are adapted to their habitats.
• The Plants’ Habitat Survival Guide...Humans and animals are not the only ones who have to adapt to their surroundings. So do plants. The large number of plant species that exist must make adaptations (either structural or behavioral) to help them survive in their natural areas. Adaptation refers to the special features that enable a plant to live successfully in a particular habitat.
All Over the World
• Oh, The Places You'll Go!...Students will be introduced to a variety of biomes. They will investigate how each biome supports a unique collection of flora and fauna, and how those plants and animals, in turn, contribute to the biome.
• Life- Deal with It...Students will explore how different biomes affect the appearance and behaviors of the animals living there.
• The Human Footprint...Our world is covered with beautiful natural places, each rich with natural resources. The challenge for humans is how to harness those natural resources while protecting the sustainability of the ecosystem. It requires planning and care. In some places, and with some species, our impact has been destructive, even fatal. In others, our actions have been more responsible. Come explore the human footprint on biomes around the world.
The Circle of Life
• What is Life?...Different organisms use different structures to accomplish the activities that enable them to survive. For instance, humans use their arms and hands to get food and put it into their bodies. Plants use roots to absorb water needed to make their food. Over time, changes have occurred in structures and processes of living things. Some living things that have experienced these changes, or adaptations, have survived and reproduced in their environments. Living things that do not have structures that are helpful in one place either move to another place or die, and their species becomes extinct.
• Living and Dying...All organisms go through a life cycle. Some living things, such as humans, cats and dogs, start life looking similar to what they will look like as adults. Other organisms, including plants and butterflies, undergo major changes as they mature. Every organism is adapted to live in its environment, and the stages it goes through as it gets older are a reflection of this, and as organisms grow and develop, they are better prepared to defend themselves. Once living things become adults, they are able to reproduce, continuing the cycle of life.
• Babies!...In order to keep a species living on the planet, organisms produce offspring of their own kind. All organisms reproduce. Plants and animals all create new plants and animals. They reproduce through different methods. Each organism is made up of special organs or parts that help it reproduce.
• You look just like your mom....Every living thing on earth is part of the circle of life. This includes plants, animals, and humans. Parents produce babies; babies grow up and produce their own children. This cycle continues indefinitely, thus contributing to the great circle of life. Similar characteristics, or traits, are passed from parent to offspring. This is called heredity. We measure and understand heredity by units called genes. Each parent gives you one half of your genes. Genes make you the extraordinary person that you are. There is no other person in the world that is just like you.
Eat and Be Eaten
• Living Relationships-CLONED...For living things to stay alive, they must face many tests. Finding the basics needs of food, water, shelter, and space is not enough. One of the most common relationships is between living beings who can make their own food and those who cannot. Producers can make their own food while consumers eat what the producers make. Plants produce their own food by trapping the sun’s energy. They mix carbon dioxide and water with the sunlight to build sugars. In turn, consumers eat the sugars created by plants. Consumers are classified as herbivores, which eat plants, carnivores, which eat meat, and omnivores, which eat both plants and meat. Food webs and chains show how living things survive in relation to each other. All food chains start with sunlight that plants trap and turn into sugars. All food chains end with decomposers which break down dead materials. A simple chain shows how predator and prey act together. A predator is a creature that eats others. Prey is what is eaten by the predator. For example, a rabbit eats plants, and a wolf in turn eats the rabbit. When the wolf dies, decomposers break down its remains. Many living things live together in a close relationship known as symbiosis. Sometimes, both living things are helped; other times, one is harmed because of the living together. These relationships occur in biomes, which areas that have all these different types of plants and animals living and interacting in specific environments.
• Everyone Needs to Eat...Grass gets energy from the sun. Cows like to eat grass. Milk comes from a cow and people like to drink milk. The grass, cows, and people is an example of a food chain. Without the cows, people would not have milk. Without grass, cows would not get energy to make milk. Every part of a food chain is important for the cycle of life.
• We're All in this Together v1...Plants and animals depend on each other to live. Plants and animals need each other. This is called interdependence. A caterpillar depends on a wheat plant for food. A baker depends on the wheat plant to make flour. People need the flour to bake cookies, cakes and pies. This is called a food web. In the web, plants and animals are connected to each other. Think about your breakfast today. Did you eat cereal with milk? Did the milk come from a cow? Did the cow eat grass to produce the milk? What other animals might need grass to live? If you drew a picture with lines to connect the plants and animals, it would look like a web. The interdependence of plants and animals is called a food web.
• That's the ecology of it...Civilizations across time have investigated livings things. They have attempted to understand how and where they live, how they relate to each other, and how they behave. Scientists now recognize that living organisms are dependent on both the nonliving and living features of a habitat. The elements around us, such as trees, soil, water, and air, form all living organisms. Some of these primary components include nitrogen, oxygen, carbon, and phosphorus. All of these are recyclable and constantly interchange between living and nonliving entities. All life begins with energy from the sun. Plants capture the sun's energy and use it to make food. They are the basic food source for all living creatures. Other organisms rely on plants this primary source in different ways, organized in the food chain. These organisms live in all sorts of arrangements, including niches, habitats, ecosystems, which all form the larger arrangements called biomes. Within all these systems, there are producers, those organisms that can photosynthesize, consumers that eat the producers, and decomposers that break down living materials into the original inorganic elements. The world is composed of a hierarchy of environments called biomes. Examples of biomes include forest, desert, grassland, tundra, and mountain, among others. In all these environments, organisms establish themselves as producers, consumers and decomposers. Biomass is the term for plant material or agricultural waste used as a fuel or energy source. It may eventually be used as a fuel source and possibly even replace some fossil fuels.
What is That?!
• Introduction to Animals-CLONED...Scientists group animals together according to various characteristics under one classification system that all scientists around the world use. This classification system is called taxonomy. While some animals fit clearly into one classification or another, it is not always so simple to place other animals into one specific group. Numerous animals have adapted to their changing environments over time and successfully maintained their populations. However, other animals are not so fortunate and therefore we have witnessed several species become endangered, even extinct. While there are millions of species yet undiscovered, it would be tragic to lose a species forever.
Growing up Green
• Living by the Sun...In this lesson, we will learn about many different kinds of plants. We will look at some ways other living things use plants. We will meet some very special plants and see why we should protect them.
What is That?!
• Animal Groups-CLONED...The world of animals ranges from very basic, single-celled organisms such as protists and amoebae to the complex mammal, the human being. Within that range, you will find a massive array of fascinating creatures. With every body type, behavior pattern, and living style imaginable, a plethora of animals await discovery. While biologists continue to hunt for new species, we can study the exceptional creatures that we have already discovered. Joint-legged arthropods, soft-bodied mollusks, swift-swimming cephalopods, and prickly echinoderms are all invertebrates. Vertebrates include amphibians, reptiles, fish, birds and mammals. Within all of these animal groups is a fascinating range of differences. Each animal has its own unique body structure, behaviors, living environment, and abilities. Humans are the most sophisticated of all animals, and one of our most intense curiosities is to learn about all of the animals around us.
Growing up Green
• It's not easy being green...We do not usually think of plants as having bodies like we do, but if you look at a plant, it is easy to see that most of them are made of different parts. While most people can name different parts, such as roots, leaves, stems, or petals, it is also important to learn about the jobs of each of these plant parts. Some plant parts have the job of getting food to the right parts of the body, while other parts help the plant reproduce. Not all plants have the same parts or design to their body. These differences can affect where a plant can grow, survive, and reproduce. Our lesson begins by looking at plants from a new point of view.
 <<Back
Secondary


 
Survivor's Guide to the Natural World
• Getting the Right Fit...There are over one million different species of animal. They can look very different from one another. Many of these differences are the result of structural (adaptations) that occur as animals become better suited to their environments. Adaptations usually occur over long periods of time. A structural adaptation refers to the way an animal’s body looks (characteristics or traits). For example, skin coverings (hair, feather, fur, scales), coloring and texture are structural adaptations. Body shape, facial structure, and feet and claw design are structural adaptations as well. Think of an elephant and how its long nose looks. What might an elephant use this nose for? Could you imagine how an elephant would look bending over and eating grass like a zebra? One adaptation of an elephant is how its nose formed and now works like a special hand, picking up anything the elephant might want. The endless variety of adaptations in organisms leads to the vast biodiversity that exists in the world.
• Acting Out...Not only do animals come in many different colors, shapes and sizes. Animals can also behave very differently from one another. Animals behave in specific ways to protect themselves, find food and water, move about, maintain body temperature, and find a mate and raise their young. These types of adaptations are call behavioral adaptations and, like structural adaptations, help the animals survive in their environments.
• The Animals’ Habitat Survival Guide... Every organism lives within an ecosystem. An ecosystem includes all living things (biotic factors) and non-living things (abiotic factors) in an environment and how they interact. Within ecosystems, each animal lives in a “habitat” which provides for its basic needs such as food, water, shelter and a place to breed and rear young. All organisms are adapted to their habitats.
• The Plants’ Habitat Survival Guide...Humans and animals are not the only ones who have to adapt to their surroundings. So do plants. The large number of plant species that exist must make adaptations (either structural or behavioral) to help them survive in their natural areas. Adaptation refers to the special features that enable a plant to live successfully in a particular habitat.
All Over the World
• Oh, The Places You'll Go!...Students will be introduced to a variety of biomes. They will investigate how each biome supports a unique collection of flora and fauna, and how those plants and animals, in turn, contribute to the biome.
• Life- Deal with It...Students will explore how different biomes affect the appearance and behaviors of the animals living there.
• The Human Footprint...Our world is covered with beautiful natural places, each rich with natural resources. The challenge for humans is how to harness those natural resources while protecting the sustainability of the ecosystem. It requires planning and care. In some places, and with some species, our impact has been destructive, even fatal. In others, our actions have been more responsible. Come explore the human footprint on biomes around the world.
The Circle of Life
• What is Life?...Different organisms use different structures to accomplish the activities that enable them to survive. For instance, humans use their arms and hands to get food and put it into their bodies. Plants use roots to absorb water needed to make their food. Over time, changes have occurred in structures and processes of living things. Some living things that have experienced these changes, or adaptations, have survived and reproduced in their environments. Living things that do not have structures that are helpful in one place either move to another place or die, and their species becomes extinct.
• Living and Dying...All organisms go through a life cycle. Some living things, such as humans, cats and dogs, start life looking similar to what they will look like as adults. Other organisms, including plants and butterflies, undergo major changes as they mature. Every organism is adapted to live in its environment, and the stages it goes through as it gets older are a reflection of this, and as organisms grow and develop, they are better prepared to defend themselves. Once living things become adults, they are able to reproduce, continuing the cycle of life.
• Babies!...In order to keep a species living on the planet, organisms produce offspring of their own kind. All organisms reproduce. Plants and animals all create new plants and animals. They reproduce through different methods. Each organism is made up of special organs or parts that help it reproduce.
• You look just like your mom....Every living thing on earth is part of the circle of life. This includes plants, animals, and humans. Parents produce babies; babies grow up and produce their own children. This cycle continues indefinitely, thus contributing to the great circle of life. Similar characteristics, or traits, are passed from parent to offspring. This is called heredity. We measure and understand heredity by units called genes. Each parent gives you one half of your genes. Genes make you the extraordinary person that you are. There is no other person in the world that is just like you.
Eat and Be Eaten
• Living Relationships-CLONED...For living things to stay alive, they must face many tests. Finding the basics needs of food, water, shelter, and space is not enough. One of the most common relationships is between living beings who can make their own food and those who cannot. Producers can make their own food while consumers eat what the producers make. Plants produce their own food by trapping the sun’s energy. They mix carbon dioxide and water with the sunlight to build sugars. In turn, consumers eat the sugars created by plants. Consumers are classified as herbivores, which eat plants, carnivores, which eat meat, and omnivores, which eat both plants and meat. Food webs and chains show how living things survive in relation to each other. All food chains start with sunlight that plants trap and turn into sugars. All food chains end with decomposers which break down dead materials. A simple chain shows how predator and prey act together. A predator is a creature that eats others. Prey is what is eaten by the predator. For example, a rabbit eats plants, and a wolf in turn eats the rabbit. When the wolf dies, decomposers break down its remains. Many living things live together in a close relationship known as symbiosis. Sometimes, both living things are helped; other times, one is harmed because of the living together. These relationships occur in biomes, which areas that have all these different types of plants and animals living and interacting in specific environments.
• Everyone Needs to Eat...Grass gets energy from the sun. Cows like to eat grass. Milk comes from a cow and people like to drink milk. The grass, cows, and people is an example of a food chain. Without the cows, people would not have milk. Without grass, cows would not get energy to make milk. Every part of a food chain is important for the cycle of life.
• We're All in this Together v1...Plants and animals depend on each other to live. Plants and animals need each other. This is called interdependence. A caterpillar depends on a wheat plant for food. A baker depends on the wheat plant to make flour. People need the flour to bake cookies, cakes and pies. This is called a food web. In the web, plants and animals are connected to each other. Think about your breakfast today. Did you eat cereal with milk? Did the milk come from a cow? Did the cow eat grass to produce the milk? What other animals might need grass to live? If you drew a picture with lines to connect the plants and animals, it would look like a web. The interdependence of plants and animals is called a food web.
• That's the ecology of it...Civilizations across time have investigated livings things. They have attempted to understand how and where they live, how they relate to each other, and how they behave. Scientists now recognize that living organisms are dependent on both the nonliving and living features of a habitat. The elements around us, such as trees, soil, water, and air, form all living organisms. Some of these primary components include nitrogen, oxygen, carbon, and phosphorus. All of these are recyclable and constantly interchange between living and nonliving entities. All life begins with energy from the sun. Plants capture the sun's energy and use it to make food. They are the basic food source for all living creatures. Other organisms rely on plants this primary source in different ways, organized in the food chain. These organisms live in all sorts of arrangements, including niches, habitats, ecosystems, which all form the larger arrangements called biomes. Within all these systems, there are producers, those organisms that can photosynthesize, consumers that eat the producers, and decomposers that break down living materials into the original inorganic elements. The world is composed of a hierarchy of environments called biomes. Examples of biomes include forest, desert, grassland, tundra, and mountain, among others. In all these environments, organisms establish themselves as producers, consumers and decomposers. Biomass is the term for plant material or agricultural waste used as a fuel or energy source. It may eventually be used as a fuel source and possibly even replace some fossil fuels.
What is That?!
• Introduction to Animals-CLONED...Scientists group animals together according to various characteristics under one classification system that all scientists around the world use. This classification system is called taxonomy. While some animals fit clearly into one classification or another, it is not always so simple to place other animals into one specific group. Numerous animals have adapted to their changing environments over time and successfully maintained their populations. However, other animals are not so fortunate and therefore we have witnessed several species become endangered, even extinct. While there are millions of species yet undiscovered, it would be tragic to lose a species forever.
Growing up Green
• Living by the Sun...In this lesson, we will learn about many different kinds of plants. We will look at some ways other living things use plants. We will meet some very special plants and see why we should protect them.
What is That?!
• Animal Groups-CLONED...The world of animals ranges from very basic, single-celled organisms such as protists and amoebae to the complex mammal, the human being. Within that range, you will find a massive array of fascinating creatures. With every body type, behavior pattern, and living style imaginable, a plethora of animals await discovery. While biologists continue to hunt for new species, we can study the exceptional creatures that we have already discovered. Joint-legged arthropods, soft-bodied mollusks, swift-swimming cephalopods, and prickly echinoderms are all invertebrates. Vertebrates include amphibians, reptiles, fish, birds and mammals. Within all of these animal groups is a fascinating range of differences. Each animal has its own unique body structure, behaviors, living environment, and abilities. Humans are the most sophisticated of all animals, and one of our most intense curiosities is to learn about all of the animals around us.
Growing up Green
• It's not easy being green...We do not usually think of plants as having bodies like we do, but if you look at a plant, it is easy to see that most of them are made of different parts. While most people can name different parts, such as roots, leaves, stems, or petals, it is also important to learn about the jobs of each of these plant parts. Some plant parts have the job of getting food to the right parts of the body, while other parts help the plant reproduce. Not all plants have the same parts or design to their body. These differences can affect where a plant can grow, survive, and reproduce. Our lesson begins by looking at plants from a new point of view.
 <<Back
 

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