Marcia L. Gerencser
In nature non-living things such as carbon-dioxide, nitrogen and water are used over and over again through their own cycle.
In the carbon dioxide-oxygen cycle living things take in oxygen and give off carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide is absorbed by plants and oxygen is expelled when the plants manufacture their food. Plants take in carbon when they take in carbon dioxide and animals take in carbon when they eat the plants or other animals. When plants and animals die and decay the carbon is released through carbon dioxide and the cycle begins again.
In the nitrogen cycle the air is absorbed by soil and bacteria in the soil changes the nitrogen to nitrates. The nitrates are passed on to the plants and the plants are consumed by animals. When the plants and animals die and decay nitrogen again is released into the air to begin the cycle once again.
During the water cycle, water is heated by the sun and changes to water vapor. The water vapor rises into the atmosphere and forms clouds which eventually descends as rain and replenishes bodies of water and food supplies. Again the water evaporates and the water cycle begins again.
The balance of the above non-living things is necessary for the balance of living things. An activity that will help children understand the physical factors of an environment would be a drawing that they would make that would revolve around an animal of their choice.
Skills:
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1. Applying learned knowledge.
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2. Inference.
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3. Categorizing living and non-living things.
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4. Relating living things and non-living things to each other.
Prior to the children implementing this activity, you will:
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1. Set the stage. Instruct them on the concepts to be taught.
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a. ecology is the study of living things and how they are interdependent on the environment around them.
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b. the physical factors of an environment are light, air, water, temperature, atmospheric gases and various land forms.
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2. Elicit background.
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a. brainstorm with children about what they already know about different animals.
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b. have available books on a variety of animals that contain facts about where they live, how they live and how they survive.
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3. Have materials available.
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a. 12x18 sheet of white drawing paper.
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b. crayons, markers, pencils.
Instruct children to:
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1. Draw an animal of their choice on the paper.
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2. Add in the terrain in which the animal lives—mountains, hills, forests, jungle, desert, polar regions, valley, plains, coastal areas, ocean, lake, river, etc.
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3. Show where he gets his water.
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4. Draw what he eats.
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5. Show how he keeps his body at a comfortable temperature.
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6. Illustrate the animal’s camouflaging technique.
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7. Draw around your animal the other animals that live with him.
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8. Draw around your animal the plants, trees, or other types of ground cover that are around your animal.
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9. Give an oral presentation about your animal explaining why all of the above are important.