Wondering About the Living World
Objectives
- D06.S1.01.01 Use the five senses to observe and describe objects, plants, animals, and weather.
- D06.S1.01.02 Ask a question about something they notice and offer a guess they can check.
- D06.S2.01.01 Observe and describe what living things need to stay alive (food, water, air, and shelter).
- D06.S2.01.02 Sort things into living and nonliving, and tell what living things do (grow, move, and reproduce).
- D06.S3.01.01 Observe and describe the properties of materials (such as hard, soft, shiny, heavy, and light).
- D06.S3.01.02 Describe how objects move (push, pull, roll, and slide) and what makes them start or stop.
- D06.S4.01.01 Observe and describe patterns of the Sun, Moon, and stars, and how day turns into night.
- D06.S4.01.02 Observe and describe weather and seasons where they live and in other places.
Essential questions
- What is alive, and what do living things need?
- How can I ask questions and look closely to find things out?
Big ideas
- Science begins with wondering: I observe with my senses and ask "why" and "how".
- Living things need food, water, air, and shelter, and the world is full of patterns to notice.
Lessons
- 1 My Five Senses 45 minutes
- 2 Look Closely and Describe 45 minutes
- 3 Ask a Question and Make a Guess 45 minutes
- 4 What Living Things Need 45 minutes
- 5 Living and Nonliving 45 minutes
- 6 Properties of Materials 45 minutes
- 7 How Objects Move 45 minutes
- 8 Sun, Moon, and Stars 45 minutes
- 9 Weather and Seasons 45 minutes
- 10 The Wonder Fair 45 minutes
Assessment plan
Observation of sense-based description and testable guesses; a living/nonliving sort and a day-night or weather observation chart as portfolio artifacts.
Unit 6 — Wondering About the Living World
Overview
This unit opens the year’s science as inquiry. Learners use the five senses to observe and describe objects, plants, animals, and weather, and ask a question about something they notice, offering a guess they can check. They observe what living things need and sort things into living and nonliving; describe the properties of materials and how objects move (push, pull, roll, slide); and notice the patterns of the Sun, Moon, and stars, day and night, and the weather and seasons where they live and elsewhere. Big questions stay open — science is wondering, observing, and weighing evidence, never dogma.
Essential questions
- What is alive, and what do living things need?
- How can I ask questions and look closely to find things out?
Lessons
| Lesson | Title | Standards |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | My Five Senses | D06.S1.01.01 |
| 2 | Look Closely and Describe | D06.S1.01.01 |
| 3 | Ask a Question and Make a Guess | D06.S1.01.02 |
| 4 | What Living Things Need | D06.S2.01.01 |
| 5 | Living and Nonliving | D06.S2.01.02 |
| 6 | Properties of Materials | D06.S3.01.01 |
| 7 | How Objects Move | D06.S3.01.02 |
| 8 | Sun, Moon, and Stars | D06.S4.01.01 |
| 9 | Weather and Seasons | D06.S4.01.02 |
| 10 | The Wonder Fair | D06.S1.01.01, D06.S1.01.02, D06.S2.01.01, D06.S2.01.02, D06.S3.01.01, D06.S3.01.02, D06.S4.01.01, D06.S4.01.02 |