Photosynthesis

On Thursday I worked with the grade 2 and 3 students (4 classes) at Findon PS to introduce them to the concept of Photosynthesis.

We started out addressing the needs (input) of a plant: sunlight, nutrients, carbon dioxide, water etc.We then discussed what a plant produces (output): flowers, leaves, fruit, oxygen etc. The students demnstrated a good understanding of this, although they did get confused between the role of gases (carbon dioxide and oxygen). The students worked in teams to produce a diagram of these processes.

One student dressed up as the sun and the other students dressed up as trees. They acted out the lifecycle of a plant: waiting as a seed until the sun came along and gave them energy (tapped them on the shoulder). The trees grew slowly, putting out branches and leaves until they were fully grown, blowing in the breeze.

The classes then watched the Photosynthesis Song (YouTube video) and acted this out as trees.

The students really enjoyed the lesson, especially dressing up. One student commented "I think that was the best lesson this year... I love it when Andrew does fun things with us - and we learnt so much about Photosythesis".

From Dinosaurs to Kangaroos

I often refer to the ‘Dinosaur Principal’ when I speak about the complexities of language and problem solving that young (F-3) students are capable of exhibiting. Anyone who has a 6 to 8 year old (particularly boys) would know that there is a certain fascination around Dinosaurs. In the classes I worked with at Findon there was at least one student in each class who had an exceptional knowledge of Dinosaurs and a large proportion could name at least 5 or 6, as well as describe features of them.

So the teachers at Findon chose this lesson (From Dinosaurs to Kangaroos) as the ‘Carrot’ to develop a unit around understanding animals and their features, as well as how animals have evolved and adapted over time. These are quite complex concepts, but I figure, if a student can name and describe in detail a Tyrannosaurus Rex and their interactions with other Dinosaurs, then they are capable of understanding concepts of evolution, ecology, adaptation and complex interactions that occur in nature.

I delivered the lesson to four different classes with a 1 hour time slot for each group. There were two grade 2 classes, a 2/3 class and a grade 3 class so there was slight variation in the way each session was approached, with the predominantly grade 2 sessions focused more on activity, rather than the presentation.  If I do this lesson again, I would probably re-write the topic to cover two sessions; one on the classification of Dinosaurs and another on modern animals (with similar features). Another aspect worth reviewing would be how to establish a deep understanding of the concepts in individual students. So a follow up lesson could include a reflection on the session and a word match game that could clearly demonstrate a link between the features of animals and their behavior.

The lesson was delivered in three parts (See the Full Lesson Plan):

1. Expert talk (approx 30mins). I introduced the students to the concept of a dinosaur and how they are categorised. The students had an opportunity to express their own knowledge by answering questions such as "What does Bipedal mean?", "How many horns does a Triceratops have?", "How many toes does an Ornithopod have?" I related dinosaurs to the annual Inverloch Dinosaur dig and the students handed around a piece of mudstone and some examples of fossils.
2. Exploration (10-15mins) Students explored a variety of animal bones and asked questions about the particular features - especially different types of teeth.
3. Explanation / Elaboration (10-15mins) We played 'Animal Bingo'. The students worked in teams to match animals and features (such as sharp teeth, grinding teeth, long neck etc.) to the words on the bingo sheet (carnivore, omnivore, herbivore, arboreal etc.).

The 'From Dinosaurs to Kangaroos' presentation and 'Animal Bingo' sheets are available as resources for teachers.

Beneficial insects and Butterfly pots

In our last session with CLT OV for 2013, we explored why insects are important to people with the Beneficial Insects – how insects help people activity, evaluating their understanding of this with the Insect/Benefit worksheet, with the majority of students correctly linking insects to their benefit.

The 'Beneficial Insects – how insects help people' activity is available as a resource for teachers.

We harnessed the student’s love of crafty activities to elaborate on this with students Making Butterfly Pots which they potted up with indigenous “butterfly attracting” plants to attract these pollinators to their gardens.

'Creating Butterfly Pots' is available as a resource for teachers.

 

Students finished the year with a bit of friendly team competition being pollinators themselves in the Butterfly Game (which Andrew has also written about).

- Amanda Dare (Education Senior Officer)

Making an insect!

Today the CLT OV Grade 1/2 students had an opportunity the build their own insects out of art-and-craft materials. This activity really engaged the students whilst making them think about the body parts (e.g. how many pipe cleaners did they need to collect to make the legs).

'Make an insect' is available as a resource for teachers.

We further evaluated students understanding of body parts with a visit by a male and female spiny leaf insect for them to indicate body parts on a living insect. This gave students the opportunity to revisit their knowledge of body parts as well as exploring the differences between the male and female. Most students were keen to have a hold of the stick insects, but for others this activity was a bit of a personal challenge. To allay fears of being bitten we discussed what stick insects eat and the fact that when frightened their strategy is not to bite but to mimic a leaf blowing in the wind – which students were able to witness.

Juvenile Spiny Leaf Insect

- Amanda Dare (Education Senior Officer)

What do we know about minibeasts?

This week at CLT OV, the Grade 1/2 students reviewed their knowledge on minibeasts and we wrote it up on the whiteboard:

We then discussed some of the characteristics that determine insects from other invertebrates. We also went over the body parts of an insect (head, body (2 parts – thorax and abdomen), 6 legs, 2 sets of wings, antennae) in preparation for our activity next week...
- Amanda Dare (Education Senior Officer)

Close Encounters

This week, Andrew visited CLT OV, as I was away. Using microscopes, they had an up-close look at some minibeasts that occur in wetlands at the Sanctuary.
For many students this was the first time they had used microscopes, and the students were very excited (and a bit disgusted) to see the minibeats up close. Andrew asked the students to pay close examine the minibeasts and answer simple questions, such as: What colour is it? How many legs does it have? Does it have any other appendages?
At the end of the session, the teacher asked Alana to stand up and talk to the rest of the class about what she had experienced…

I found a bit red worm that was called a blood worm… it sucks the blood of other animals (not people) and that is why it is red.

There is also another animal that looks like a lady beetle, but it is smaller and black with lots of blue legs – it was called a blue legged water mite.

The 'Close Encounters' activity is available as a resource for teachers

- Amanda Dare (Education Senior Officer)

Pull-apart-a-Poa

Today was my first visit to Charles La Trobe Olympic Village to work with the Grade 1/2 students, the future Sustainability Leaders of the school. After discussion with the teacher, and consideration of the topics the students have previously covered, I have proposed that we start with a focus on minibeasts (aka insects) as there seems to be a natural interest in this area. We can then tie this into veggie patch/other vegetation, and move on to veggie activities.

Today we got to know one another and played a game called 'Pull-apart-a-Poa'. In this game the students pull-apart a native grass tussock, which is a natural habitat for many insects and other invertebrates. The students then try and collect the invertebreates into observation containers for a closer look.

This activity introduced the students to the topic of minibeasts as well as the idea that plants may form their home (habitat).

'Pull-apart-a-Poa' is available as a resource for teachers.

- Amanda Dare (Education Senior Officer)