The following lessons represent a sample of the different elements that are part of this unit and with the main goal of having second language students understand and interact with the content regarding biodiversity and the web of life through a second language in a cross cultural environment. The main goal of these lessons is to develop second language and science content academic proficiency. For such a purpose, close attention is placed upon key concepts, outcomes, assessments, appropriateness of language, lessons developed with the L2 learner in mind, and selected vocabulary. For an expanded description of the Dual Language model offered, please read Mendia-Landa (2004)
As part of the concept development strategy, three types of lessons are demonstrated: 1) concept comprehension (presented in L1), 2) integrated group lesson, and 3) second language development.
Introduction
In order to activate students' prior knowledge of what biodiversity is and the importance that it has in our lives, the unit will begin with a shared reading of the
El autobus mágico: Mariposa y el monstruo del pantano
by Joanna Cole. This
Magic School Bus
book will be revisited throughout the unit as a means to center our discussion on the experiences and discoveries that the students make about butterflies and the other animals in the swamp and relate it to those animals and discoveries we are making in our permanent plot samples. The key concepts will be written as they are introduced and will anchor the activities that follow. The students will be able to explain in their own words these statements.
In order to activate prior knowledge and find out how much the students know, as the story is being read will pose some guiding questions. The following might be some possible questions.
What would happen to a plant/animal/ human if there were no sun? What do plants and animals need in order to live? What happens when we don't have food, shelter? Could you find a ..... in a swamp/park/garden, etc.
As children freely respond, the teacher writes down the comments and makes a list of what the children know, and talk about. This will be repeated at the completion of the unit to evaluate how much information the students have gathered.
Next, the teacher will show the students two of the key concepts that will direct the discussion prior to a hands-on activity that will follow the whole class mini-lesson on food and food sources:
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- Humans depend on other species as sources of food, shelter, and economic gains
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- Life on earth is dependent on food chains, webs and pyramids
The food magnifying glass
Some classic books, such as
Little Red Hen
, a favorite of mine, can be read through a "food magnifying glass", focusing on the different types of food that are either used by the characters, the different seasons when the story takes place, and how food is used throughout the story. This focus on specific elements can serve as an additional way of bringing key concepts to life through story telling.
This story will allow the teacher and students to begin looking at the importance that the sun plays in the growth cycle, the seasons. How the wheat converts the sunlight into food allowing it to germinate, grow, and produce seeds, which will be the crop that once milled will allow the Little Red Hen to make the bread needed to feed herself so she can do her work. Here, the children will begin to understand food chains, primary sources, and primary consumers, and the importance of food to life. Thus, this story is used as the springboard to bring the children's attention to the different types of food sources and producers and how important they are in our lives.
The biodiversity magnifying glass
Next, the same story will be read through a "biodiversity magnifying glass" where we will focus our attention on the fauna and flora. The students will make two lists; one list with all the animals and a second list with all the plants and trees.
Through this whole group exercise, we can revisit almost any book, and begin to create a word bank that gives us the names of the most common plants and animals we will observe in the habitat that we will focus our study on: the urban habitat characterized by the school lawn and the butterfly garden. Thus, this is a way of presenting some of the vocabulary so when observing the permanent plot; the children can use it in context. When we do field work and find animals or plants that are discovered for the first time and not part of our list, we will add them to our list.
There will be much more fauna and flora that neither the children, nor the teacher, will be able to name. For such a purpose it is important to introduce the use of a field guide to the students. There are many field guides specific to almost any region in North America. I suggest that prior to the introduction on how to use the field guide the teacher emphasizes and teaches a lesson on the importance of gathering data. That is, the students need to be able to describe the shape, size, color, pattern and sounds in order to seek help from an adult or to look it up in the field guide.
Permanent Plots
Prior to this event, the teacher will have familiarized himself or herself with the fauna and flora present in the permanent plot to be studied, so as to introduce the needed vocabulary and pick a spot that has a wider representation of species. In this plot is where the first and most critical lessons will take place. It is here that we want to ensure that students understand what senses to use, how to gather data through observing a specific element on the plot, and what are the necessary procedures to follow in order for us to later be able to observe other plots.
One of the first lessons needs to be on how to make observations and how to gather data using the senses. Children need to be guided step by step through this process so they can later be independent in gathering data and entering it on their naturist journal.
Schoolyard fieldwork
Due to the importance of fieldwork as a step-by-step process to the success of the unit, I concentrate my sample lessons on how to present it to the class. On the first observation that takes place at one of the permanent plots, the students will be directed to use only the sense of sight and gather the data in a naturalist journal. The purpose is to introduce to the students the importance of using the sense of sight, smell, hearing, and at times touch and taste to identify a plant or an animal. However, this will be done in separate lessons so as to introduce the specific vocabulary related to each of the senses.
The students then will write an entry in their own naturalist journal, which will include the date, season, time of the day, and a drawing of the plant or animal they are seeing. If the child knows the name of the plant or animal he or she will write it down next to the drawing. Back in the classroom the children will self-assess their entries and share with the rest of the students. This lesson will be repeated with the senses of smell, hearing, and touch. Note the importance that these lessons have to vocabulary development and how important, especially in the case of second language learners, to scaffold the vocabulary through the use of word banks, webs, and organizers.
Once the children are able to make simple observations, create a journal entry and use of the basic vocabulary needed to describe some of the living organisms that are represented in the plot, we will take another field trip to the schoolyard where the plot is located. Of course, many other organisms, not on the plot, will grasp the student's attention, such as birds and squirrels. In this case our observation procedure might be to make three lists. One list for plants in the lot, another for the living organisms in the lot, and a third for those plants and organisms not in the plot; but always emphasizing that it is the permanent plot where our attention needs to be focused.
Control and experimental permanent plots
Having delineated the permanent plot for study, previous observations made to ensure some significant diversity, and after doing some fieldwork to talk about the methods of data collection and data gathering, another permanent plot is located in the schoolyard.
This plot will possibly have a combination of grass, annuals, biennials, and perennials. This lot will be the control permanent plot. Here, we will let all plants grow we can compare it with the one that is maintained as a regular lawn.
The butterfly garden
Early in the fall, the teacher, with the help of the students will locate an area in the schoolyard to create a butterfly garden. This will be a controlled area with the main purpose of attracting butterflies and other organisms so the students can observe and compare the previous two permanent plots to this one.
There are many excellent resources on plants and how to create a butterfly garden though local gardening clubs, community gardens and via the Internet. The list of electronic resources at the end of this unit highlights some of the most important ones. Because it takes more that one growing season to grow a butterfly garden, this will be a long-range project.
Through the planning and implementing process of the butterfly garden, the teacher will highlight, and the children will learn about the differences between annual, biennial, and perennial plants. Students will compare these plants to those of the two other plots, and will observe differences and similarities between them.
