Click here for a video playlist of today's lesson
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Lesson 5: Wetlands & Estuaries |
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We are having some uncharacteristic weather here in central Texas and so my classes for this week are online.
The context of this week's lesson reflects redemption. While it seems that there were men that orchestrated the redemption of a devastated wetland, it was the processes set up by our Creator God that allowed the redemption to happen for this wetland. May God receive the Glory. When I think of redemption, I think of the greatest redemption that has ever happened, God's adoption of us as sons and daughters. Galations 4:4-5 "But when the fullness of time had come, God set forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons." |
The first video is reading aloud of Meadowlands A Wetland Survival Story by Thomas E. Yezerski
This will be the basis for learning about the wetlands this week.
The Wetlands is a broad category and under it are estuaries, bogs, swamps and marshes. The Meadowlands in New Jersey is an estuary.
An estuary is a type of wetland where freshwater flows into saltwater. These are very productive ecosystems. Some of its characteristics are:
The common flora in estuaries include salt-tolerant grasses like a rush and/or mangrove trees. These plants help filter the salt out of the water for the freshwater side and then help filter out silt and other materials so that these don't flow into the ocean. This is especially helpful to coral reefs as they need clear water in order for the algae to perform photosynthesis.
Some of the animals that you might find in the wetlands include:
This will be the basis for learning about the wetlands this week.
The Wetlands is a broad category and under it are estuaries, bogs, swamps and marshes. The Meadowlands in New Jersey is an estuary.
An estuary is a type of wetland where freshwater flows into saltwater. These are very productive ecosystems. Some of its characteristics are:
- there is a constant flow of freshwater into the ocean
- the consistency of tides (set up by our Creator God) stirs up and delivers nutrients to many plants and algae
- more plants in an area bring more animals
- the amount of salt in the water is always changing depending on the season. (More salt in the summer with more evaporation and less rainfall, less salt in the winter with less evaporation and more rainfall)
- flora and fauna in this ecosystem must learn to live with strong currents from the ever-changing water flow.
The common flora in estuaries include salt-tolerant grasses like a rush and/or mangrove trees. These plants help filter the salt out of the water for the freshwater side and then help filter out silt and other materials so that these don't flow into the ocean. This is especially helpful to coral reefs as they need clear water in order for the algae to perform photosynthesis.
Some of the animals that you might find in the wetlands include:
- mud snails and marine worms (our resident decomposers that help turn dead organisms into nutritive soil that can grow plants)
- shellfish
- fish like mullet, flounder, sole
- birds like shorebirds, heron, tern, egrets
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An activity that you can do to help apply this learning to your students is creating a record of this ecosystem. Here is a wonderful handout that has animals already there for you where you can just color, cut and paste. Make this your own and draw any animals that you really want to have on your sheet.
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The third video that I uploaded is doing this science experiment.
Let's learn about saltwater and freshwater and if they mix well or not.
We will do a simple investigation to see what happens. Make sure to grab your investigation sheet here. This will walk any student through the scientific process which will be very helpful for any student who is aspiring to create a science fair project.
Let's learn about saltwater and freshwater and if they mix well or not.
We will do a simple investigation to see what happens. Make sure to grab your investigation sheet here. This will walk any student through the scientific process which will be very helpful for any student who is aspiring to create a science fair project.
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On the video, I placed the saltwater just on top of the freshwater. As it sank to the bottom, it would mix.
When I took these pictures, I decided that I would let the saltwater out on the bottom. The saltwater then remained on the bottom for a better illustration. |
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Adding the freshwater to the saltwater
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The result of adding freshwater to the saltwater.
These are the results just after I finished the experiment.
For a more details guide to the procedure, please grab your investigation guide.
For a more details guide to the procedure, please grab your investigation guide.
These are the results of the freshwater mixing with the freshwater and the saltwater mixing with the freshwater after waiting a few minutes to see if they would mix.
These are extra websites that document more of the story of the Meadowlands for your enjoyment.
https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/new-jersey/articles/why-you-should-explore-the-meadowlands-in-new-jersey/
https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/new-jersey/articles/why-you-should-explore-the-meadowlands-in-new-jersey/
Lesson 4: Beaches & Erosion
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I asked the students that if I had a nice floppy hat, a beach towel, a beach ball and a pair of sunglasses, where they thought I would be going. They all answered "The Beach"
Yes! Off to the beach we went to learn about the flora and fauna in this ecosystem. The book that I focused on today during our interactive read aloud time was actually a Shine-A-Light Book from Usborne. I had never used one of their books in my science classes but this actually lent itself well to having interaction during the read aloud time. We read Secrets of the Seashore by Carron Brown and Alyssa Nassner 
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One of the significant features of every beach are the waves from the ocean. So I had all the students make a wave bottle.
I filled empty water bottles a third of the way full with vegetable oil.
Then I poured another third of the bottle with water.
Finally, I placed four drops of blue food coloring in each bottle.
It was neat to watch how the food coloring acted in the oil versus the water but that is a chemistry lesson for another day. I wanted the students to focus on making waves within the bottle. It seemed to work best if the bottle was on its side on the table and then you move it side to side.
I filled empty water bottles a third of the way full with vegetable oil.
Then I poured another third of the bottle with water.
Finally, I placed four drops of blue food coloring in each bottle.
It was neat to watch how the food coloring acted in the oil versus the water but that is a chemistry lesson for another day. I wanted the students to focus on making waves within the bottle. It seemed to work best if the bottle was on its side on the table and then you move it side to side.
After making the wave bottles, I went into a lesson on weathering, erosion and deposition. On the back of their ecosystem sheet, I have a sketch of a landscape where they can label the different places where weathering occurs, erosion occurs and then deposition.
- Weathering is about breaking up rocks. So I placed rocks falling off a mountain headed towards a stream.
- Erosion is about taking that sediment or broken up rock to another place so I drew the falling rocks in the stream
- Deposition is about dropping that sediment in a new location so I drew rocks re locating on the ocean floor
The last activity that I was able to do was a Candy Weathering Experiment. I am gearing my students up to get ready for a science fair and so this experiment was done using the scientific process.
First, we asked our question of whether moving water would weather rock faster than standing water. We reviewed the information that I had just presented about weathering, erosion and deposition.
The students made their hypothesis and then we tested it.
We used
Next I would put a piece of each type of candy in another jar and shake each candy for about two minutes.
After we finished, we documented our analysis and made our conclusion. The guide that is provided here helps with all the wording so that the students can focus on the experiment and not on the writing aspect. This a is a great scaffolding experiment.
First, we asked our question of whether moving water would weather rock faster than standing water. We reviewed the information that I had just presented about weathering, erosion and deposition.
The students made their hypothesis and then we tested it.
We used
- 6 glass jars
- 2 peppermints
- 2 chocolate chips
- 2 M&Ms
- 3 cups of water
Next I would put a piece of each type of candy in another jar and shake each candy for about two minutes.
After we finished, we documented our analysis and made our conclusion. The guide that is provided here helps with all the wording so that the students can focus on the experiment and not on the writing aspect. This a is a great scaffolding experiment.
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I was wanting to wrap up all of the class with some more information about the two different kinds of beaches and the animals and plants that live in each one but time was not my friend so I will share here what I didn't get to share in class. Many of the following animals are provided in the above Cut and Paste handout mentioned above where I had mentioned the weathering diagram.
Beach- where the ocean meets the land. Beaches are actively changing ecosystems because of the waves always bringing in and taking away different organisms
Dynamic equilibrium- This is where the amount of material brought into the shore is almost equal to the amount of erosion happening
Inter-tidal zone- This is an area of land along the beach that is covered by high tide and uncovered by low tide.
What plants and animals you find at a beach depends on what the beach is made of.
Rocky beaches have soil and crevices which gives plants an area to become attached well. These plants provide food and protection for animals that can't live on a sandy shore. Some of these plants include sea lettuce, swamp periwinkle and seaweed (enteromorpha).
The animals that can live on a rocky beach are
Tide pools are areas that fill at high tide an stay full at low tide.
Animals that live on sandy beaches are:
Beach- where the ocean meets the land. Beaches are actively changing ecosystems because of the waves always bringing in and taking away different organisms
Dynamic equilibrium- This is where the amount of material brought into the shore is almost equal to the amount of erosion happening
Inter-tidal zone- This is an area of land along the beach that is covered by high tide and uncovered by low tide.
What plants and animals you find at a beach depends on what the beach is made of.
Rocky beaches have soil and crevices which gives plants an area to become attached well. These plants provide food and protection for animals that can't live on a sandy shore. Some of these plants include sea lettuce, swamp periwinkle and seaweed (enteromorpha).
The animals that can live on a rocky beach are
- sea stars
- mussels
- oysters and
- barnacles
- gulls
- shorebirds
Tide pools are areas that fill at high tide an stay full at low tide.
Animals that live on sandy beaches are:
- Gulls
- Shorebirds
- Sand dollars
- Crabs
- Clams
- Turtles
The information here was gleaned from Answers in Genesis God's Design Curriculum Properties of Ecosystems
Lesson 3: Coral Reefs
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From Louie Giglio's How Great is Our God science devotion book, there is a devotion about coral reefs. We read this today in class to correlate a science concept to our daily living. This devotion emphasized the importance of unity among believers as the coral unite to form the coral reefs and creates an amazing ecosystem that provides animals of the ocean with safety from predators, food and sunlight for organisms, the unity of believers can create the same kind of refuge from the world as Christ leads us to be unified.
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We then took a dive with the Magic School Bus into a coral reef to learn about symbiotic relationships.
Note: As much as I love the creative stories that teach science concepts in this series of books, these are not written with a biblical worldview.
Note: As much as I love the creative stories that teach science concepts in this series of books, these are not written with a biblical worldview.
The specific symbiotic relationships that we learned about were mutualistic where both animals in the relationship benefit.
To demonstrate this, I had the students partner up and do three legged walks (some chose to run) and then made a maze out of chairs for a blindfolded partner to be guided through. It was wonderful to see how they all worked together.
To demonstrate this, I had the students partner up and do three legged walks (some chose to run) and then made a maze out of chairs for a blindfolded partner to be guided through. It was wonderful to see how they all worked together.
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As with all the ecosystems that we have been learning, here is a handout that reviews all the animals and plants that we went over today in class.
We did do a brief review at the beginning of class of the animals and the ocean zones. I was so proud that most of the students were able to complete their handout.
We also reviewed photosynthesis using the relay race game. One student ran to put 'water' in the envelope attached to a large construction paper leaf. Then the next student in line ran to put 'carbon dioxide' in the envelope. The third student had to use a flashlight to shine light on the leaf and flip the leaf over. The next student brought back one of the products of photosynthesis ie: glucose and then the final student in the relay brought back oxygen. The line that completed that cycle the most, won.
Photosynthesis is important in the ocean and especially coral reefs. If the waters are murky or polluted, the algae that helps the coral survive can't make food through photosynthesis because its not getting the energy it needs from the sun.
Providentially, coral reefs are found in the tropical zone of our world where sun can shine the most. The students below were able to locate the equador signifying the middle of the tropical zone
We also reviewed photosynthesis using the relay race game. One student ran to put 'water' in the envelope attached to a large construction paper leaf. Then the next student in line ran to put 'carbon dioxide' in the envelope. The third student had to use a flashlight to shine light on the leaf and flip the leaf over. The next student brought back one of the products of photosynthesis ie: glucose and then the final student in the relay brought back oxygen. The line that completed that cycle the most, won.
Photosynthesis is important in the ocean and especially coral reefs. If the waters are murky or polluted, the algae that helps the coral survive can't make food through photosynthesis because its not getting the energy it needs from the sun.
Providentially, coral reefs are found in the tropical zone of our world where sun can shine the most. The students below were able to locate the equador signifying the middle of the tropical zone
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Instead of having the students complete another food chain, I had them complete the symbiotic relationships that we had talked about during class.
Here is a wonderful video of a green sea turtle being cleaned
https://oliveridleyproject.org/blog/sea-turtle-hitchhikers-symbiotic-relationships-of-sea-turtles
- Coral and algae- Algae attach themselves to the coral and make food that the coral uses to survive while the coral provides a safe place for algae to live as to not be consumed by hungry ocean animals.
- Hermit crabs and Anemones- The anemones protect the hermit crabs from predators and the hermit crabs can transport anemones along the ocean floor.
- Sharks and remoras- Remoras are fish that have suction like mouths that eat the copepods off of sharks. This is a meal for them and it also cleans the sharks
- Green sea turtle and the yellow tang- The yellow tang is a cleaner fish for the sea turtle. So the cleaning provides food for the yellow tang and the turtle can stay clean.
Here is a wonderful video of a green sea turtle being cleaned
https://oliveridleyproject.org/blog/sea-turtle-hitchhikers-symbiotic-relationships-of-sea-turtles
Coral Reefs are beautiful ecosystems made of limestone built from the exoskeletons of many tiny invertebrates called corals.
Corals are tiny tube-like creatures with tentacles that look like upside down jellyfish. They build a protective exoskeleton around itself and receive most of their energy from a special type of algae that lives inside them and performs photosynthesis.
Coral reefs grow fastest in areas with strong wave action. The waves bring in calcium and other minerals necessary for them to build their exoskeleton.
Corals are tiny tube-like creatures with tentacles that look like upside down jellyfish. They build a protective exoskeleton around itself and receive most of their energy from a special type of algae that lives inside them and performs photosynthesis.
Coral reefs grow fastest in areas with strong wave action. The waves bring in calcium and other minerals necessary for them to build their exoskeleton.
A great resource that I have been using for these ecosystems if the Properties of Ecosystems by Answers in Genesis God's Design Curriculum
Lesson 2: Oceans
Review! I love reviewing what we have already learned to keep the concepts fresh in our brains so we can attach new information to it.
I began class today with a review of our vocabulary words from last semester: Habitat, Biosphere, Abiotic, Biotic, Flora and Fauna. Here is the matching sheet that I used.
After the warm up, I had the students get in groups with fly swatters. As soon as I called out a definition they would yell the answer and 'swat' that 'fly' aka flashcard. These are the same flashcards I used last semester but you can find them here.
I began class today with a review of our vocabulary words from last semester: Habitat, Biosphere, Abiotic, Biotic, Flora and Fauna. Here is the matching sheet that I used.
After the warm up, I had the students get in groups with fly swatters. As soon as I called out a definition they would yell the answer and 'swat' that 'fly' aka flashcard. These are the same flashcards I used last semester but you can find them here.
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Since, we were learning about Oceans today, I thought we would go ahead and jump into the different oceans and learn where the different oceans are located. Here my student is jumping into the Atlantic Ocean. We learned where the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and Antarctic Oceans were located.
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Next, I taught them about the different zones in the ocean.
The Sunlit/Euphotic Zone The Twilight/Disphotic Zone The Midnight/Aphotic Zone. I had the students jump into each of these sections as I named them so they would become familiar with the names. |
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Along with the three ocean zones, I introduced three types of living organisms that live in the ocean.
Benthos- plants and animals that live on the ocean floor in areas near the shore. Examples include clams, crabs, worms, starfish, snails and sponges.
Nekton- free moving animals. These are not dependent on the ocean currents to take them places. Examples include fish, whales, shrimp, lobsters, squid.
Plankton- algae and animals that go where the ocean currents take them and live on the surface of the ocean.
This information I gleaned from the Answers in Genesis God's Design curriculum Properties of Ecosystems.
Benthos- plants and animals that live on the ocean floor in areas near the shore. Examples include clams, crabs, worms, starfish, snails and sponges.
Nekton- free moving animals. These are not dependent on the ocean currents to take them places. Examples include fish, whales, shrimp, lobsters, squid.
Plankton- algae and animals that go where the ocean currents take them and live on the surface of the ocean.
This information I gleaned from the Answers in Genesis God's Design curriculum Properties of Ecosystems.
I did an interactive read aloud for the students using the Magic School Bus On the Ocean Floor. The Magic School Bus series are not creation based but I like to use the illustrations and story line to help apply what we are learning. As I was reading through this book, I would stop at an animal mentioned and ask what kind of living organism it is; a Benthos, Nekton, or Plankton. As we traveled through the book, I would ask which ocean zone we were in as well.
Lastly, I gave them their Biome sheet to do for homework. They were to match animals that I had on the sheet with the different zones of the ocean. This might be a little difficult for them so I am supplying a key for parents to look at in order to help their student succeed. The information for this I gleaned from Why is the Sea Salty? and Other Questions About Oceans by Benjamin Richmond
Sunlit/Euphotic Zone:
Twilight/Disphotic Zone
Midnight Zone
Sunlit/Euphotic Zone:
- Plankton
- Blue Whale
- Green Sea Turtle
- Bottlenose dolphin
- Jack Mackerel
- Harbor Seal
- Clownfish
Twilight/Disphotic Zone
- Swordfish
- Comb jelly
- Longfin inshore squid
Midnight Zone
- Cookiecutter shark
- Angler fish
- Opossum shrimp
Lesson 1: Sustaining Life in the desert
We are continuing our study of Ecology and Ecosystems this semester for the second and third grade science class.
For a quick review of some of the objectives that we covered last semester, I had the students make food chains using Dyno Cards for the Desert. When they finished making a food chain, they were to go to the board and put into order which animals were producers, consumers, herbivores, carnivores, omnivores and decomposers. From this review, I introduced primary, secondary and tertiary consumers.
For a quick review of some of the objectives that we covered last semester, I had the students make food chains using Dyno Cards for the Desert. When they finished making a food chain, they were to go to the board and put into order which animals were producers, consumers, herbivores, carnivores, omnivores and decomposers. From this review, I introduced primary, secondary and tertiary consumers.
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I used these biome sheets to introduce the students to the characteristics of a desert. We filled in where in the world deserts are located (Africa, Asia, North America, South America, and Australia), the average and high temperatures of deserts (68-77 degrees Fahrenheit, 109-120 degrees Fahrenheit). We also mentioned that Antarctica is a desert as well as it receives 0 inches of rain a year. Any biome that receives 10 inches or less of rainfall each year is considered a desert.
The students did think that it was odd that the average temperature of the desert is about 70 degrees Fahrenheit. This is because temperatures in dry areas can drop below freezing during different parts of the year. Some examples of deserts that do this are the Atacama Desert in Chile, Gobi Desert in China, and the Great Basin in the United States. |
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I asked the students if they had drank any water before class because we were going to the desert today! As they gathered around I read to them a devotion about the desert. Often times the physical can parallel the spiritual. I read to them "Rain or Shine" from How Great is Our God by Louis Giglio. This devotion focused on the extremes of life just as the desert is an extreme environment. God is still present and working even in the extremes of life.
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I gathered some books from the library to show them what kind of research we can do when we are studying something like biomes. I particularly enjoyed A Walk in the Desert by Rebecca Johnson. This book allowed us to see the common plants and animals of this biome.
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I wanted to showcase one animal from the desert, the spadefoot toad. I read this short, interesting and informative book called Dig, Wait, Listen A Desert Toad's Tale by April Pulley Sayre. This was a wonderful book about the spadefoot toad that keeps itself under the desert ground until there is a huge downpour of rain. As soon as it begins to rain, they immediately dig their way up to the service to find a mate, mate, lay eggs and allow their tadpoles to mature into frogs before all the water evaporates from the desert and they go underground again.
Most of the animals in the desert are omnivores because they need to be able to eat whatever is available to them. Animals of the desert include lizards, scorpions, roadrunners, burrowing owls, rattlesnakes, coral snakes, sidewinders, and camels.
How do these animals cope with the heat? Most of the animals in the desert are nocturnal meaning that they are active during the night. Other animals such as camels can store water well and then other animals estivate or go into a deep sleep in the summer. Estivation is like hibernation except it is done throughout the summer instead of the winter.
Most of the animals in the desert are omnivores because they need to be able to eat whatever is available to them. Animals of the desert include lizards, scorpions, roadrunners, burrowing owls, rattlesnakes, coral snakes, sidewinders, and camels.
How do these animals cope with the heat? Most of the animals in the desert are nocturnal meaning that they are active during the night. Other animals such as camels can store water well and then other animals estivate or go into a deep sleep in the summer. Estivation is like hibernation except it is done throughout the summer instead of the winter.
Let us not forget the clean up crew of the desert, the scavengers and the decomposers. Some carnivores can be scavengers and eat dead animals. The desert decomposers are worms, termites, and snails which eat on dead animals and plants and turn those dead things into nutrients for soil in order to grow more plants. From death there is life. God's redeeming fingerprint.
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Next, we delved into the plant life of the desert and focused on cacti and other succulents. Succulents are plants that store water. These plants are perfect for the desert as they do not have a continual access to water. As we were talking about cactus, one student asked if the spikes on cactus pads were there to protect the cactus. I told him that they were and for more than one reason.
1. The spikes on a cactus do protect it from animals trying to sap them of their stored water but also 2. Cacti do not have leaves like other plants. This was an intentional design by our Creator. He purposefully knew that the cactus could not spare any water leaving this plant through transpiration like other plants with regular leaves. Cacti needed to conserve their water thus they have spikes instead of leaves so as not to lose any water through transpiration. Cactus also have a waxy coat. This also prevents water from evaporating from the cactus. We live in Texas and Nopalitos is a common food here. I bought some nopalitos and made cactus queso. Some really enjoyed having some chips and queso while others were more reserved. To go with their chips and cactus queso, I served Aloe juice to them. This juice comes from another succulent, the aloe vera plant. I brought in part of an aloe vera plant to class to dissect and observe. This is also a plant that stores water. Aloe has many healing properties. It was interesting to see that the Aloe Vera plant was firm yet spongy to the touch. The outside waxy coat is green but the aloe within is completely clear and slimy. The students were fascinated. You can also eat aloe and some of my students did try this. I believe only one came back for more. |
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