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Students begin their study of trees
by going on a walk to look at
the variety and structure of trees
in the schoolyard. A living tree
becomes part of the classroom
for 2 weeks, and students work
with representational materials
to look more closely at the shapes
of trees and their parts. Students
adopt trees to observe changes
throughout the year, and complete
the activity by planting their class
tree on the school grounds. |
LS2a Observe and describe similarities
and differences in the appearance
and behavior of plants and
animals.
LS2c Identify major structures of
common plants and animals.
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I&E4a Observe common objects by
using the five senses.
I&E4b Describe the properties of
common objects.
I&E4e Communicate observations
orally and through drawings.
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Students take a schoolyard
walk, focusing on the leaves of
trees. They match leaves with
geometric shapes, go on a leaf
hunt to compare leaves, work
at centers with representational
materials, and make a leaf book.
They study photos on sets of
cards showing different landforms
and look for similarities and
differences. Students read about
where and how trees grow. This
investigation concludes with a
book, Our Very Own Tree. |
LS2a Observe and describe similarities
and differences in the appearance
and behavior of plants and
animals.
LS2c Identify major structures of
common plants and animals.
ES3a Identify characteristics of
mountains, rivers, oceans, valleys,
deserts, and local landforms.
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I&E4a Observe common objects by
using the five senses.
I&E4b Describe the properties of
common objects.
I&E4d Compare and sort objects.
I&E4e Communicate observations
orally and through drawings.
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Students extend their
understanding of trees as a
growing, changing, living part
of their world. They keep a class
calendar monitoring weather
conditions each day. During each
season, they visit the schoolyard
trees and observe their twigs,
leaves, flowers, and seeds.
They compare tree structures at
different seasons. Students read
about trees through the seasons. |
LS2c Identify major structures of
common plants and animals.
ES3b Changes in weather occur from
day to day and across seasons,
affecting Earth and its inhabitants.
ES3c Identify resources from Earth
that are used in everyday life and
understand that many resources
can be conserved.
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I&E4a Observe common objects by
using the five senses.
I&E4b Describe the properties of
common objects.
I&E4e Communicate observations
orally and through drawings.
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