Discussion for 4-6th graders:
Students: Please answer one or all of the following in a comment.
1. What makes something alive?
2. What characteristics do living things have that none living things don't?
3. What kind of tests could you preform to tell if something is alive?
4th grade science standard 5- Utah has diverse plant and animal life that is adapted to and interacts in areas that can be described as wetlands, forests, and deserts. The characteristics of the wetlands, forests, and deserts influence which plants and animals survive best there. Living and nonliving things in these areas are classified based on physical features.
6th grade science standard 5- Microorganisms are those living things that are visible as individual organisms only with the aid of magnification. Microorganisms are components of every ecosystem on Earth. Microorganisms range in complexity from single to multicellular organisms. Most microorganisms do not cause disease and many are beneficial. Microorganisms require food, water, air, ways to dispose of waste, and an environment in which they can live. Investigation of microorganisms is accomplished by observing organisms using direct observation with the aid of magnification, observation of colonies of these organisms and their waste, and observation of microorganisms' effects on an environment and other organisms.
I think these are great questions and the comparing and contrasting of living and non living things can be a great visual in a childs mind. I like how you set how the curriculum standards.
ReplyDeleteKatherine,
ReplyDeleteYou have a nice set of questions here to probe students' prior knowledge/thinking, to promote explanation and comparison (two deep learning processes), and to help them try to apply scientific processes to an interesting question. One suggestion that I have is, in the classroom, to list each question as a separate post. This way, students' responses will be organized under the relevant question and they won't forget to answer one or more of the questions in the list (which is common when they are writing one comment for multiple questions). Overall, I think you are on the right track to using your blog to spur deeper student thinking and reflection. Nice job.