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Kindergarten - K-ESS3 Earth and Human Activity

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Grade 0 (Kindergarten) - K-ESS3 Earth and Human Activity

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Disciplinary Core Ideas

ESS3.A: Natural Resources
Living things need water, air, and resources from the land, and they live in places that have the things they need. Humans use natural resources for everything they do. (K-ESS3-1)

ESS3.B: Natural Hazards
• Some kinds of severe weather are more likely than others in a given region. Weather scientists forecast severe weather so that the communities can prepare for and respond to these events. (K-ESS3-2)

ESS3.C: Human Impacts on Earth Systems
• 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. (K-ESS3-3)

ETS1.A: Defining and Delimiting an Engineering Problem
• Asking questions, making observations, and gathering information are helpful in thinking about problems. (secondary to K-ESS3-2)

ETS1.B: Developing Possible Solutions
• Designs can be conveyed through sketches, drawings, or physical models. These representations are useful in communicating ideas for a problem’s solutions to other people. (secondary to K-ESS3-3)

Performance Expectations  Students who demonstrate understanding can:
K-ESS3-1.
Use a model to represent the relationship between the needs of different plants and animals (including humans) and the places they live.  [Clarification Statement: Examples of relationships could include that deer eat buds and leaves, therefore, they usually live in forested areas; and, grasses need sunlight so they often grow in meadows. Plants, animals, and their surroundings make up a system.]

K-ESS3-2. Ask questions to obtain information about the purpose of weather forecasting to prepare for, and respond to, severe weather.*    [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on local forms of severe weather.]

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.*  [Clarification Statement: Examples of human impact on the land could include cutting trees to produce paper and using resources to produce bottles. Examples of solutions could include reusing paper and recycling cans and bottles.]

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Use the Template and Resource Links to Fulfill NGSS

l. Goals:

  1. Understand that living things need water, air, resources from the land, and they live in places that have the things they need. Humans use natural resources for everything they do.
  2. Understand that some kinds of severe weather are more likely than others in a given region. Weather scientists forecast severe weather so that the communities can prepare for and respond to these events.
  3. Understand that 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.
  4. Understand that asking questions, making observations, and gathering information are helpful in thinking about problems.
  5. Understand that designs can be conveyed through sketches, drawings, or physical models. These representations are useful in communicating ideas for a problem’s solutions to other people.

Essential Questions:

  1. What do living things need from the places they live to survive?
  2. Why does severe weather form in certain regions and how do we know how to predict it?
  3. How do plants and animals affect their environment?
  4. How do the lives of people affect the world's land, water, air, and other living things?
  5. How can people reduce their impact on the world's land, water, air, and other living things?

NGSS Note: Think, question, entertain ideas.

 

ll. Introductory Activities to Assess Prior Knowledge

ESS3.A: Natural Resources

A. Simple Activities - that assess students’ understanding of what animal need to survive in their habitats.

What Do Living Things Need? Fill in The Blank
What Do Living Things Need - Matching
What Living Things Need - Labeling

ESS3.C: Human Impacts on Earth Systems

How Do Humans Affect Their Environment? Critical Thinking

ESS3.B: Natural Hazards

Weather – Matching
 

lll. New Knowledge - Text

A. Read to your students about weather and environmental issues:

Weather and Seasons

Changing Seasons

Seasonal Posters - Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall

ESS3.B: Natural Hazards

Storms - Hurricanes

Storms - Thunderstorms

Storms - Tornadoes

ESS3.C: Human Impacts on Earth Systems

Human Impacts on Earth Systems - Poster

Humans Affect Earth Systems - Coloring Page
Environmental Issues

Global Warming and Climate Change

 

ESS3.A: Natural Resources

B. Familiarize students with what animals need to survive and how specific habitats suit their survival needs:

Animals in their Habitat - Model Making (K-1)

What Do Lions Eat? Foldable Activity

What Do Grizzly Bears Eat? Foldable Activity

What Do Polar Bears Eat? Foldable Activity

 

Natural Resources - Read Aloud

Natural Resources - Comparing Turtles Mini-Poster

Natural Resources - Vocabulary Cut and Paste

Natural Resources for Turtles - Matching

What Natural Resources Living Things Need - Matching

Habitats and the Natural Resource Needs of Animals - Matching

Natural Resources Living Things Need - Cut & Paste

Ocean Natural Resources - Matching

Rainforest Natural Resources - Matching

Desert Natural Resources - Matching

 

Examples of Models (depicts the concept expressed in the reading):

Ask students to look at the models of what animals need, weather phenomenon and environmental issues and explain how each illustrates the concepts in this standard.

What Animal Need Diagram
Thunderstorm Poster
what animals need to live Poster
Climate Change Poster

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lV. Experiments, Activities, Model-making (Critical Thinking)

ESS3.C: Human Impacts on Earth Systems
How Do Humans Affect Their Environment? Critical Thinking
Humans Affect Their Environment - Poster Making Activity

Which Resources Do YOU Use - Critical Thinking


Inquiry
related to human over-use and destruction of Earth's resources:

Smog-making Activity

Use critical thinking to devise ways to protect people from natural hazards. Read about wetlands and how they protect us from natural processes (storms) that produce natural hazards (flooding). Knowing this, what actions do you think we should take to help protect us from storm flooding?
Wetlands - Their Important and Why

Human Actions: Sometimes human actions combine with natural processes to create new natural hazards. Read about acid rain and its effect on us. Use critical thinking about ways we can reduce this hazard.

V. Summarize Knowledge - Enduring Understandings

  1. Living things need water, air, and resources from the land, and they live in places that have the things they need. Humans use natural resources for everything they do.
  2. Some kinds of severe weather are more likely than others in a given region. Weather scientists forecast severe weather so that the communities can prepare for and respond to these events.
  3. 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.
  4. Asking questions, making observations, and gathering information are helpful in thinking about problems.
  5. Designs can be conveyed through sketches, drawings, or physical models. These representations are useful in communicating ideas for a problem’s solutions to other people.

 

Vl. Next Generation of Science Standards (NGSS) - Kindergarten

Disciplinary Core Ideas

ESS3.A: Natural Resources
Living things need water, air, and resources from the land, and they live in places that have the things they need. Humans use natural resources for everything they do. (K-ESS3-1)

ESS3.B: Natural Hazards
• Some kinds of severe weather are more likely than others in a given region. Weather scientists forecast severe weather so that the communities can prepare for and respond to these events. (K-ESS3-2)

ESS3.C: Human Impacts on Earth Systems
• 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. (K-ESS3-3)

ETS1.A: Defining and Delimiting an Engineering Problem
• Asking questions, making observations, and gathering information are helpful in thinking about problems. (secondary to K-ESS3-2)

ETS1.B: Developing Possible Solutions
•    Designs can be conveyed through sketches, drawings, or physical models. These representations are useful in communicating ideas for a problem’s solutions to other people. (secondary to K-ESS3-3)

Science and Engineering Practices

Asking Questions and Defining Problems
Asking questions and defining problems in grades K–2 builds on prior experiences and progresses to simple descriptive questions that can be tested.
• Ask questions based on observations to find more information about the designed world. (K-ESS3-2)

Developing and Using Models
Analyzing Modeling in K–2 builds on prior experiences and progresses to include using and developing models (i.e., diagram, drawing, physical replica, diorama, dramatization, storyboard) that represent concrete events or design solutions.
• Use a model to represent relationships in the natural world. (K-ESS3-1)

Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information
Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information in K–2 builds on prior experiences and uses observations and texts to communicate new information.
• Read grade-appropriate texts and/or use media to obtain scientific information to describe patterns in the natural world. (K-ESS3-2)
• Communicate solutions with others in oral and/or written forms using models and/or drawings that provide detail about scientific ideas. (K-ESS3-3)

Crosscutting Concepts

Cause and Effect
• Events have causes that generate observable patterns. (K-ESS3-2),(K-ESS3-3)

Systems and System Models
• Systems in the natural and designed world have parts that work together. (K-ESS3-1)

Connections to Engineering, Technology and Applications of Science

Interdependence of Science, Engineering, and Technology
• People encounter questions about the natural world every day. (K-ESS3-2)

Influence of Science, Engineering, and Technology on Society and the Natural World
•  People depend on various technologies in their lives; human life would be very different without technology. (K-ESS3-2)

Performance Expectations

Students who demonstrate understanding can:

K-ESS3-1. Use a model to represent the relationship between the needs of different plants and animals (including humans) and the places they live.  [Clarification Statement: Examples of relationships could include that deer eat buds and leaves, therefore, they usually live in forested areas; and, grasses need sunlight so they often grow in meadows. Plants, animals, and their surroundings make up a system.]

K-ESS3-2. Ask questions to obtain information about the purpose of weather forecasting to prepare for, and respond to, severe weather.*    [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on local forms of severe weather.]

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.*  [Clarification Statement: Examples of human impact on the land could include cutting trees to produce paper and using resources to produce bottles. Examples of solutions could include reusing paper and recycling cans and bottles.]

Common Core State Standards Connections:
RI.K.1 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text. (K-ESS3-2)
W.K.2  Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic. (K-ESS3-3)
SL.K.3 Ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get information, or clarify something that is not understood. (K-ESS3-2)
SL.K.5    Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions as desired to provide additional detail. (K-ESS3-1)

Mathematics
MP.2 Reason abstractly and quantitatively. (K-ESS3-1)
MP.4 Model with mathematics. (K-ESS3-1),(K-ESS3-2)
K.CC  Counting and Cardinality (K-ESS3-1),(K-ESS3-2)

Grade 0 (Kindergarten) - K-ESS3 Earth and Human Activity
Grade 0 (Kindergarten) - K-ESS3 Earth and Human Activity

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