Format
Teacher directed pre-session activities
- 20-60 minutes: Have student groups with computers go through the linked presentation found on the Teacher's Guide ("Why are National Parks Important?") Students do 1 or 2 worksheets to help them start thinking about cave environments (also found on the Teacher's Guide).
Test connection meeting
- Educator has a 10 minute connection test with our team. This allows time to sort any technical issues and understand your specific classroom’s needs.
Distance learning live session
- 45 - 60 minute Cave Creatures live session program. We will have 10-15 minutes at the end for student’s questions.
Teacher-directed post-session activities
- Have students use what they learned to Create their own Cave Creature (activity found on the Teacher's Guide)!
Objectives
- Students will gain an appreciation for why we have national parks.
- Students will gain an understanding about how animal adaptations allow animals to thrive in certain environments.
- Students will gain an appreciation for cave systems, how water shapes the earth, and the fragility of cave ecosystems.
Standards Alignment
National Standards
ESS3C 3-5 -- Human impacts on Earth systems
LS1A 3-5 -- Structure and function
LS1B 3-5 -- Growth and development of organisms
LS2A 3-5 -- Interdependent relationships in ecosystems
LS2C 3-5 -- Ecosystem dynamics, functioning, and resilience
Specific Next Generation Science Standards
3-LS4-3 - Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.
3-LS4-2 - Use evidence to support the explanation that traits can be influenced by the environment.
4-LS1-1 - Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.
5-PS3-1 - Use models to describe that energy in animals’ food (used for body repair, growth, and motion and to maintain body warmth) was once energy from the sun.
5-ESS3-1 - Obtain and combine ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth’s resources and environment.