Last updated: August 30, 2021
Lesson Plan
4th Grade Virtual Field Trip - Growing Communities
- Grade Level:
- Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade
- Subject:
- Science
- Lesson Duration:
- 60 Minutes
- State Standards:
- 4-LS1-1 - Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction
- Additional Standards:
- LS1.A: Structure and Function
Plants and animals have both internal and external structures that serve various functions in growth, survival, behavior, and reproduction. (4-LS1-1) - Thinking Skills:
- Understanding: Understand the main idea of material heard, viewed, or read. Interpret or summarize the ideas in own words. Analyzing: Break down a concept or idea into parts and show the relationships among the parts.
Essential Question
How do the internal and external structures on plants help support their survival?
Objective
Students can engage in argument from evidence that plants and animals have
internal and external structures that serve various functions in growth, survival, behavior, and reproduction.
Background
Plants of the Mojave Desert live in a land of extreme temperatures and little precipitation and depend on a variety of adaptations for their own survival. Mojave Desert animals have a number of different adaptations, which is a physical or behavioral feature of an animal that helps it survive in its habitat.
Preparation
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To start, the teacher will give some background to the Mojave Desert and Lake Mead National Recreation Area. There is information included for the teacher in the background information section below or find additional educational resources through Additional Education Resources - Lake Mead National Recreation Area (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)
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The students will all receive a copy of the field trip guide, digitally or hard copy,and begin the field trip.
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If there is limited technology available, the teacher can make this a group field trip instead of an individual one by showing the slide show and connected video.
Materials
This presite will allow students to gain an introduction to Lake Mead before taking a virtual field trip.
Download Lake Mead Field Trip Presite Powerpoint
This teacher outline will allow educators to introduce Lake Mead National Recreation Area in advance of a group's virtual visit.
Download Lake Mead Field Trip Presite Teacher Outline
Procedure
1.) Introduce the students to Lake Mead National Recreation Area by using the "Lake Mead Presite" powerpooint.
2.) Utilize the "Who Lives Here" teacher lesson and follow the prompts to open the field trip video.
3.) Open the "Who Lives Here" virtual field trip video.
Vocabulary
- adaptation - a physical or behavioral feature of an animal or plant that helps it survive in its habitat
- environment - the surroundings or conditions in which a plant, person or animal lives or operates
- structure - an identifiable part of an organism
- function - how a structure works or how it is used by an animal
- reproduce - produce offspring by a sexual or asexual process
- tolerance - the capacity to endure continued subjection to something, especially a drug, transplant, antigen, or environmental conditions, without adverse reaction.