“Biomes and Regions of the United States”

4th and 5th grade
Yates Elementary School
Developed by: Laura Gullette, Wendy Dick, and Pat Nicholson

 Organizer:

How do the characteristics of different biomes affect the living things within the biome?

 Academic Expectations and Demonstrators

 

1.1 Students use reference tools such as dictionaries, almanacs, encyclopedias, and computer reference programs and research tools such as interviews and surveys to find the information they need to meet specific demands, explore interests, or solve specific problems. 
1.2  Students make sense of the variety of materials they read. 
2.19   Students recognize and understand the relationship between people and geography and apply their knowledge in real-life situations. 
2.18  Students understand economic principles and are able to make economic decisions that have consequences in daily living. 
2.2  Students identify, analyze, and use patterns such as cycles and trends to understand past and present events and predict possible future events. 
2.3  Students identify and analyze systems and the ways their components work together or affect each other. 

Essential Questions

Culminating activity

    The student will create a PowerPoint which will include factual information addressed in the essential questions about a biome of their choice, then transfer this information to a web page to be shared in a school wide function.

           

Rubric

Student-                                    Date-

4

Student follows all directions clearly. 

Student clearly answered all essential questions. 

Student's work is neat and has much detail.

3

Student follows most of the directions. 

Student answered essential questions but not in a clear fashion.

Student's work is neat and has some detail.

2

Student follows some of the directions. 

Student attempted to answer some of the essential questions, but has few details.

1

Student shows minimal effort and is unable to follow directions.

Comments:

 

 

 

 

 

Knowledge (Core Content)

RD-E-1.0.10 Connect literature to students’ lives and real world issues.
RD-E-2.0.6 Use text features (e.g., pictures, lists, tables, charts, graphs, tables of contents, indexes, glossaries, headings, captions) to understand a passage.
RD-E-2.0.9 Make predictions and draw conclusions based on what is read.
RD-E-2.0.10 Connect the content of a passage to students’ lives and/or real world issues.
RD-E-4.0.6 Locate and apply information for authentic purposes.
RD-E-4.0.9 Interpret specialized vocabulary (words and terms specific to understanding the content) found in practical/workplace passages.
WR-E-1.4 Transactive Writing
SC-E-3.3.1 Plants make their own food.  All animals depend on plants.  Some animals eat plants for food.  Other animals eat animals that eat the plants.
SC-E-3.3.2 The world has many different environments.  Distinct environments support the lives of different types of organisms. When the environment changes, some plants and animals survive and reproduce, and others die or move to new locations.
SC-E-3.3.3 All organisms, including humans, cause changes in the environment where they live.  Some of these changes are detrimental to the organism or to other organisms; other changes are beneficial (e.g., dams built by beavers benefit some aquatic organisms but are detrimental to others).
SS-E-2.2.1 All cultures develop institutions, customs, beliefs, and holidays reflecting their unique histories, situations, and perspectives.
SS-E-4.4.1 People depend upon the physical environment for food, shelter, and clothing.
SS-E-4.4.2 People adapt to or modify the environment (e.g., produce food, build shelter, make clothing) to meet their needs.
SS-E-4.4.3 The physical environment both promotes and limits human activities (e.g., mountains as barriers or as protection, rivers used as boundaries or transportation routes).
SS-E-4.4.4 People may have different perspectives concerning the use of land (e.g., building developments, cutting down rain forest for farming).
SS-E-4.2.1 Every place is unique and can be described by its human (e.g., language, religion, housing) and physical characteristics (e.g., landforms, climates, water).
SS-E-4.2.2 Regions are areas that have one or more physical or human characteristics in common (e.g., physical: geographical regions of Kentucky, South, Midwest, Western Hemisphere; human: Appalachia, the Cornbelt, Amish country).
SS-E-4.3.1 Human populations gather in groups of different sizes and in different locations in the world.
SS-E-4.3.2 Humans usually settle where there are adequate resources to meet their needs (e.g., areas with water, fertile land, protected land, different modes of transportation).

Technology Standards

T3.1.3 Cite web pages

T3.2 Communicate responsibly and respectfully

T3.2.2 Use correct grammar, mechanics and spelling

T4.4 Locate information using the Internet

T5.6 Enter and edit word processing information

T6.2 Publish information on the Internet.

T6.3 Integrate two or more programs

T6.5 Create a presentation or product using application software.

 

Websites

National Geographic map machine:   http://www.nationalgeographic.com/maps/index.html

World Atlas: http://www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/world.htm

Animal communities by Harcourt: http://www.hbschool.com/activity/animalcom/animalcom.html

Biome ThinkQuest: http://tqjunior.thinkquest.org/6225/

Biomes of the World: http://mbgnet.mobot.org/sets/

Biomes: http://curriculum.calstatela.edu/courses/builders/lessons/less/biomes/introbiomes.html

Tour of Biomes: http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/msese/earthsysflr/biomes.html

World’s Biomes: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss5/biome/index.html

 

Week Day Objective Suggested Activities Assessment Critical Resources
1 1

Sc.  TLW identify and locate the different biomes.

 

SS.  TLW identify and locate the different regions of the world.

Sc.  Students are given a map to locate, following a color key, the different biomes of the world.

 

SS.  (same as above except regions)		 Teacher checks student work.

*Endangered Species:  Teacher Created Materials

*Websites:  various search engines i.e. www.askjeeves.com

Each week focus on different biome/region

Tundra/Northeastern &Appalachian

Coniferous/Central Plains

Deciduous/Midwestern

Rainforest/Western

Desert-Aquatic/Pacific Coast

1

 Sc. & SS.  TLW determine the characteristics that identify a region/biome. Students look at information/pictures on websites and organize information using given graphic organizer.  Student completes graphic organizer.  
 

2

SS.  TLW Share, compare, analyze information from graphic organizer. 

Sc.  TLW complete a science experiment to evaluate a physical characteristic of the biome.

Discuss organizer.

 

Sc. Experiment (for each week)

Solid as a Rock

Create
Bird houses		 Student participation.  
    SS.  TLW construct a dwelling suitable for given region.      
           
        Student completes graphic organizer.  Open response:  Identify the region/biome and give 3 characteristics that makes that region unique.  

Back to Yates Elementary

Back to PET Project