Four Winds Nature Institute

4 Casey Rd. Chittenden, VT 05737

802-353-9440 www.fourwindsinstitute.org

ECOSYSTEMS: PONDS

~Teaching Outline~

Focus: A pond is composed of different habitats, each of which hosts a number of creatures specially adapted to live there (HON pgs. 114-119).

What are some of the challenges of living in a pond habitat?

Puppet Show: identify some adaptations needed to live in a pond.

Picture a Pond with Your Ears: become aware of the variety of sounds around a pond.

Water Critter Match-Up: become familiar with some of the inhabitants of local ponds.

Poking Around Pond Habitats: collect and observe creatures from different areas within a pond.

Upper Grades Challenge – Sorting Pond Critters: observe the variety of invertebrates in a pond.

Pond Mural: review and illustrate different habitats within a pond and the accompanying pond critters.

Pond Pantomime: observe and recreate the movements of various pond creatures.

Release Ceremony: return animals to their proper home in the pond.

Journal Activity: record through poetry or drawing observations and thoughts about pond life.

Sharing Circle: share new discoveries about the pond and its inhabitants.

SUGGESTED OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

Picture a Pond with Your Ears, Poking around Pond Habitats, Pond Mural, Release Ceremony, Pond Critter Dance (in Teaching Suggestions), Journal Activity (in Teaching Suggestions), Pond Haiku (in Teaching Suggestions), Sharing Circle

Unit Concepts/Ideas:

A. Insects living in pond habitats have special adaptations that make it possible for them to survive and reproduce.

B. Listening to sounds around a pond tells about the kinds of creatures that live there.

C. Animals and plants are adapted to live in different pond habitats: on the water’s surface, in open water, on the bottom, in bottom silt and debris, or along the pond edge.

D. Pond animals have various ways of moving on the water’s surface, through the water, or along the bottom of the pond.

E. Pond plants and animals collected for study must be gently returned to their habitat.

Unit Vocabulary: Habitat, Pond, Inhabitants, Adaptation, Surface film, Open water, Water’s edge, Bottom, Debris, Silt, Insect larvae, Insect nymph, Emergent plants

Science Grade Expectations:

Grades PK-K A pond is “home” for a variety of plants and animals. Plants and animals that live in a pond need water, food and air to live.

Grades 1-2 A pond as habitat provides water, food, shelter and space for plants and animals that live there. Living things are made up of body parts that enable them to get the food water and air they need to live and make it possible for them to survive in their particular environment.

Grades 3-4 An ecosystem consists of all the living and non-living things in a specific place. Organisms that live in a pond have physical and behavioral characteristics that help them to get what they need to survive in their environment. There are many different kinds of organisms that live in a pond. Plants and animals in a pond interact with one another in various ways including providing food.

Grades 5-6 A pond is habitat for plants and animals that are adapted to the conditions there.

Organisms that live in ponds can be sorted into groups using various features to decide which belong to which group. In classifying organisms, scientists consider details of both internal and external structures. Food webs model the interdependent relationships that organisms engage in as they meet their food and energy needs. The number of organisms an ecosystem can support depends on the kinds of organisms present and the availability of biotic and abiotic resources.

Science Skills:

A. Identifying through active listening some adaptations needed to live in a pond

B. Listening to the variety of sounds around a pond to determine the kinds of creatures that live there

C. Using tools to collect, observe and identify creatures from various pond habitats

D. Observing pond creatures and experiencing the ways they move in water through role-playing

E. Creating a model using paper, crayons, pencils or markers of the different habitats within a pond and the accompanying pond critters

Vermont Standards: Inquiry 7.1, The Living World 7.13, Universe, Earth and the Environment 7.15, Natural Resources and Agriculture 7.16, Listening 1.13, Questioning 2.1, Sustainability 3.9, Understanding Place 4.6

New Hampshire Standards: Science Process Skills SPS1, SPS3, SPS4, Life Science LS1, LS2, LS3, Earth Space Science ESS1, ESS2

Four Winds Nature Institute – 7/08.