Lower elementary students have been learning about living things and their environments. Kindergarteners and second graders are getting up close and personal with earthworms and mealworms, observing their structures and behaviors with hands-on experiences. Through close observations, students are learning what these critters need to survive and how they change throughout their lifecycle. First graders are finishing up a unit on lawns and have spent the past few weeks tending to their own mini lawns of ryegrass and alfalfa. By taking care of these living organisms students are discovering what plants need to survive. The third graders have begun their own unit on plants with a focus on seeds. Students have gone on a seed search and just set up their own mini sprouters to observe over the next week.
In upper elementary, fourth grade is also diving into the world of plants with a focus on terrestrial environments. Students have been conducting daily observations of terrariums set up around campus. Through note taking, discussions, and trial and error, students are laying the foundational knowledge needed to conduct their own experiments in the future, while also understanding how living and nonliving things impact an environment. The fifth graders are wrapping up a unit on Earth’s water, with an emphasis on it’s impact here in California. In the coming weeks, they will move into their own living organism unit on humans with a focus on the circulatory, respiratory, and digestive systems.
In upper elementary, fourth grade is also diving into the world of plants with a focus on terrestrial environments. Students have been conducting daily observations of terrariums set up around campus. Through note taking, discussions, and trial and error, students are laying the foundational knowledge needed to conduct their own experiments in the future, while also understanding how living and nonliving things impact an environment. The fifth graders are wrapping up a unit on Earth’s water, with an emphasis on it’s impact here in California. In the coming weeks, they will move into their own living organism unit on humans with a focus on the circulatory, respiratory, and digestive systems.
As a whole, it has been wonderful to watch students’ eyes light up at the sight of new plant growth and others swell with pride as they hold their worm for the first time. We can’t wait to see what happens next!