ALEX Learning Activity

  

What Lives in a Pond and Desert?

A Learning Activity is a strategy a teacher chooses to actively engage students in learning a concept or skill using a digital tool/resource.

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  This learning activity provided by:  
Author: Stephanie Carver
System:Cullman City
School:Cullman City Board Of Education
  General Activity Information  
Activity ID: 2037
Title:
What Lives in a Pond and Desert?
Digital Tool/Resource:
ReadWorks
Web Address – URL:
Overview:

Students will use ReadWorks to read two articles and discuss that there are many different kinds of living things and that they exist in different places on land and in water. The students will create a Venn diagram to compare and contrast water and land animals.

This activity results from the ALEX Resource Gap Project.
  Associated Standards and Objectives  
Content Standard(s):
Science
SC2015 (2015)
Grade: 2
7 ) Obtain information from literature and other media to illustrate that there are many different kinds of living things and that they exist in different places on land and in water (e.g., woodland, tundra, desert, rainforest, ocean, river).

NAEP Framework
NAEP Statement::
L4.1: Organisms need food, water, and air; a way to dispose of waste; and an environment in which they can live.*

NAEP Statement::
L4.2: Organisms have basic needs. Animals require air, water, and a source of energy and building material for growth and repair. Plants also require light.

NAEP Statement::
L4.3: Organisms interact and are interdependent in various ways, including providing food and shelter to one another. Organisms can survive only in environments in which their needs are met. Some interactions are beneficial; others are detrimental to the organism and other organisms.

NAEP Statement::
L4.4: When the environment changes, some plants and animals survive and reproduce; others die or move to new locations.

NAEP Statement::
L4.7: Different kinds of organisms have characteristics that enable them to survive in different environments. Individuals of the same kind differ in their characteristics, and sometimes the differences give individuals an advantage in surviving and reproducing.

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information
Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns
Disciplinary Core Idea: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Illustrate the diversity of living things in different habitats, including both land and water.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Literature
  • Media
  • Diversity
  • Habitats
  • Woodland
  • Tundra
  • Desert
  • Rainforest
  • Ocean
  • River
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Plants and animals are diverse within different habitats.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Obtain information from literature and other media.
  • Illustrate the different kinds of living things and the different habitats in which they can be found.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • There are many different kinds of living things in any area, and they exist in different places on land and in water.
AMSTI Resources:
Be sure students are aware of credible media resources when obtaining information.
AMSTI Module:
Plants and Bugs
Plant Growth and Development, STC
The Best of Bugs: Designing Hand Pollinators, EiE
Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.2.7- Participate in activities that show many different living things in different environments.
Digital Literacy and Computer Science
DLIT (2018)
Grade: 2
R5) Locate and curate information from digital sources to answer research questions.

Unpacked Content
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • will find and collect information about a specific topic using a digital tool.
  • will use key words in a search engine to find information out about a specific topic.
  • will use search techniques, such as using a + sign or quotations, to make the search more specific.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • video
  • text
  • image
  • webpage
  • ebook
  • search engine
  • key words
  • phrases
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • search engines use key words and phrases to find specific information.
  • devices give access to many different forms of information.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • choose and type key words and phrases into a search engine that results in specific information pertaining to a topic when given support and guidance from an adult.
  • use + symbol which combines to words/phrases and quotation marks which tell the search engine to look for an entire phrase.
  • find information about a specific topic or to answer a specific question using a digital resource such as a webpage, ebook, and/or video.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • a search engine will find specific resources and information for you based on key words.
  • answers to questions can be found in many different digital resources such as a webpages, ebooks, and/or video.
  • one can focus a search by using the + symbol and quotation marks around words or phrases one wishes to search for as a whole.
English Language Arts
ELA2021 (2021)
Grade: 2
26. Compare and contrast important details presented by two texts on the same topic or theme.

a. Compare and contrast different versions of the same story by different authors, from different cultures, or from different points of view.

Examples: The Three Little Pigs and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs; Cinderella and The Rough-Face Girl

b. Compare and contrast story elements of literary texts.

Examples: characters, settings, sequence of events, plots
Unpacked Content
Teacher Vocabulary:
26.
  • Compare
  • Contrast
  • Topic
  • Theme
26a.
  • Compare
  • Contrast
  • Authors
  • Cultures
  • Points of view
26b.
  • Compare
  • Contrast
  • Story elements
  • Literary texts
Knowledge:
26. Students know:
  • Compare means tell how things are alike or similar.
  • Contrast means tell how things are different.
26a.
  • Compare means tell how things are alike or similar.
  • Contrast means tell how things are different.
  • The same story can be told by different authors, can exist in different cultures, or can be told by different narrators.
26b.
  • Compare means tell how things are alike or similar.
  • Contrast means tell how things are different.
  • Literary texts include common story elements.
Skills:
26. Students are able to:
  • Compare and contrast important details after reading two texts that have a common theme or topic.
26a.
  • Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story by different authors, from different cultures, or from different points of view.
  • For example, The Three Little Pigs and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs or Cinderella and The Rough-Face Girl.
26b.
  • Compare and contrast story elements in literary texts, such as characters, settings, sequence of events, and plots.
Understanding:
26. Students understand that:
  • Texts about the same topic or theme will have similarities and differences.
  • Comparing and contrasting texts with the same topic or theme will improve their overall comprehension of the texts.
26a.
  • Similarities and differences between the same stories can teach the reader about different cultures and explain different points of view.
26b.
  • Comparing and contrasting story elements of literary texts can improve their comprehension, or understanding, of the texts.
Learning Objectives:

I can identify that there are many different kinds of animals and that they exist in different places on land and in water.

I can compare and contrast land and water animals by researching information from digital sources.
  Strategies, Preparations and Variations  
Phase:
During/Explore/Explain
Activity:

The students will read and discuss two articles from ReadWorks.org: "What Lives in a Pond?" and "What Lives in the Desert?" The articles have questions at the end that can be used to guide a class discussion. The teacher will need to guide the class discussion to identify that there are many different kinds of animals and that they exist in different places on land and in water.

After reading and discussing the two articles, the teacher will draw a Venn diagram on chart paper or the board. The teacher will put water animals in one circle and land animals in the other circle. The students will copy the diagram in their science journals. Allow the students 5-7 minutes to discuss (with partners or groups) and list differences and similarities between the two animals on the Venn diagram. Make sure the students are listing differences in the outside circles and similarities in the overlapping section. The students should use information from the articles. After 5-7 minutes allow the students to share their responses and complete the class Venn diagram. 
Assessment Strategies:

Students will identify that there are many different kinds of animals and that they exist in different places on land and in water through class discussions.

Students will use the Venn diagram to compare and contrast land and water animals using information from research.
Advanced Preparation:

The teacher and students will need ReadWorks.org accounts. ReadWorks is a free online resource that includes a variety of reading passages. Students can simply use their Google account to create a ReadWorks account. The teacher will need to create student accounts if the students do not have Google accounts. Once the teacher has created his or her account, simply create a class and give the class code to the students to join. The teacher can search for the two articles "What Lives in a Pond?" and "What Lives in the Desert?" and assign them to the class. 
Variation Tips (optional):

If students do not have access to a device with internet, then the teacher can use a classroom projector to display the articles or print and copy the articles for the students.
Notes or Recommendations (optional):
 
  Keywords and Search Tags  
Keywords and Search Tags: