Boston School Forest

First Grade

Curriculum


Introduction

The mission of the Boston School Forest is toprovide the youth of Stevens Point area schools educational opportunities that foster personal growth as well as awareness, knowledge, and appreciation of the natural world leading to sound stewardship of the earth.

Environmental education programs that are the most effective emphasize students’ involvement and interaction with the natural environment. The Boston School Forest is the living laboratory for our youth to study, learn from, and explore. The Boston School Forest curriculum is intended to provide classroom teachers, school forest staff, and volunteers with lessons, activities, and background information on the environmental education topics studied in our living laboratory, the school forest.

The Boston School Forest’s curriculum is designed to correlate directly with the Stevens Point Area Public School District curriculum. Our goal is to have students benefit the most from their school forest experiences. They will develop a deeper understanding of the concepts learned at the school forest if they are prepared and have time to reflect and review concepts learned.

The curriculum contains optional pre and post fieldtrip lessons that are flexible and brief. Teachers can apply their professional knowledge and insight as to how extensively these activities will fit into their teaching plans. These activities aren’t intended to add an additional burden to our very busy classroom schedules. It is hoped that they can be of help to teachers and enhance the learning experiences of our students.

When teachers have a multi-aged or split grade class, they can choose which school forest lessons they would like to have the school forest staff teach. Contact the Environmental Education Coordinator to make arrangements.

The first curriculum written for the school forest in the 1967-1968 school year has been lost in time. It is intended that this renewed effort will be continued into the future with regular updates and additions. The curriculum writers invite teachers to share their ideas and suggestions for additional activities that will enhance this document. All contributors’ activities included will be acknowledged in updated copies of the curriculum.

The following people deserve acknowledgement for their time, dedication and thoughtful insight into the planning and development of this document; Allison Bancker, Jerry Corgiat, Karen Dostal, Pat Hoffman, Kathy Kruthoff, Lori Lampert, Judy Mansavage, Cris Miller, Casey Nye, and Susan Zook.

Curriculum

Scope and Sequence

Students in the Stevens Point Area Public School District visit the Boston School Forest each year from Kindergarten through 6th Grade. The visit occurs in a designated season and engages students in activities related to an age-appropriate theme.

Environmental Education Curriculum Topics
Grade / Environmental Appreciation / Sensory Awareness / Adaptations / Biodiversity / Ecology / Ecosystems / Energy / Forestry / Habitat / Life Cycles / Outdoor Recreation / Service Learning / Taxonomy
K /  /  /  / 
1 /  /  /  /  / 
2 /  /  /  /  /  /  /  / 
3 /  /  /  /  /  /  / 
4 /  /  /  / 
5 /  /  /  /  / 
6 /  /  /  /  / 
Seasons and Themes by Grade Level
Grade / Season / Major Theme(s)
K / Winter / Basic Needs
1 / Winter / Life Cycles through the Seasons, Animal Groupings
2 / Spring / Pond and Forest Ecosystems, Life Cycles
3 / Fall / Biodiversity, Food Chains and Webs
4 / Winter / Wisconsin Forests, Seasonal Differences
5 / Fall / Orienteering, Classification and Characteristics of Trees
6 / Spring / Renewable Energy, Geocaching, Service Learning

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Stevens Point Area Public Schools

FirstGradeBostonSchoolForest Curriculum

Curriculum Areas:
Environmental Science,
Social Studies, Language Arts,
Math, Physical Education / General Topic:
Lifecycles / Subtopics:
Lifecycles of Plants and Animals,
Animal Groupings
Standards and Benchmarks / Teaching Strategies & Student Activities / Teacher Resources / Assessment tools

Science

A.4.1Make observations, ask questions, and plan environmental investigations
A.4.2Collect information, make predictions, and offer explanations about questions asked
Environmental Education
A.4.1 Make observations, ask questions and plan environmental investigations *(see Science [SC] Inquiry; English/Language Arts [LA] Research)
A.4.2 Collect information, make predictions, and offer explanations about questions asked (see: SC Inquiry)
A.4.4 Communicate their understanding to others in simple terms (see LA Writing)
B.4.6 Cite examples of how different organisms adapt to their habitat* / Pond Freeze Experiment
Life Cyclesby Michael Elsohn Ross - Read aloud with discussion
Writing and Painting Activities
Music and Movement to be a Tree
Un-Nature Trail &Hike
Trees Are Terrific
Life Cycle Scavenger Hunt
Animal Adaptation Sort
Pine Cone Critters
Follow-up Discussion to Life Cycles by Michael Elsohn Ross and Writing and Painting Activities / Life Cycles by Michael Elsohn Ross / Summative Assessment discussion of life cycles and writing/painting activity

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Boston School Forest

First Grade Lesson Outline

I.Purpose
These lessons are intended as options for classroom teachers to
extend students’ Boston School Forest experiences. The pre- and
post-field trip first grade lessonscan help your students prepare for their field trip and, afterwards, synthesize information from their day at the Boston School Forest. The optional follow-up family activity letter is included for you to copy and send home if you choose.
II.Pre-Field Trip Options
  1. Pond Freeze Experiment
  2. Read Aloud and Discuss Life Cycles by Michael Elsohn Ross
  3. Writing and Painting Activities

III. Post-Field Trip Options
  1. Follow-up Discussion of Life Cycles by Michael Elsohn Ross
  2. Writing and Painting Activities
  3. Life Cycle Sort
/ 10
IV.Family Extension Activities
  1. Growing and Changing
b. The Four Seasons / 16
V.Boston School Forest Activities / 17
a.UnNature Trail
b.Nature Hike
c.Life Cycle Scavenger Hunt / d.Trees Are Terrific
e.Discovery Center
f.Animal Adaptation Sort and Pine Cone Critters
VI.Appendix 1. Multiple Intelligences Chart / 20
VII. Appendix 2. EE Subgoals Model / 21
VIII. Appendix 3. Boston School Forest History / 22
IX. Appendix 4. Location and Directions / 25

Boston School Forest

First Grade Pre-Field Trip Option

District Curriculum Topic:Life Cycles

School Forest Theme:Life Cycles, Animal Groupings

Topics:How do fish survive when the pond freezes?

Alignment to State Standards:SCI A.4.1 Make observations, ask questions, and plan environmental investigations.

Multiple Intelligence Connections: Naturalistic, Linguistic-Verbal, Logical-Mathematical

Lesson Length:10 minute introduction and set-up followed by checking the progress of the water freezing every 15 minutes for the length of time you choose to continue the experiment.

Supplies/Technology:

1

  • Clear plastic cup
  • Water
  • Freezer
  • Timer or clock

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Boston School Forest

First Grade Pre- and Post-Field Trip Option

District Curriculum Topic:Life Cycles

School Forest Theme: Life Cycles, Animal Groupings

Topics: Life Cycles –Definition and examples of plant and animal cycles

Alignment to State Standards: SCI A.4.2 Collect information, make predictions, and offer explanations about questions asked.

Multiple Intelligence Connections: Naturalistic, Linguistic-Verbal, Visual-Spatial

Lesson Length: 10 minute story/discussion and as much time as your class needs to paint, write a title, and discuss the project. (Similar time frame for the post-field trip lesson.)

Supplies/Technology:

  • Life Cycles by Michael Elsohn Ross
  • Watercolor paints and brushes
  • Water in cups
  • 8.5” x11” paper for each student
  • Newspaper as a work surface

Process:(Strategies and Activities)

Pre-Field Trip

  1. ReadLife Cycles and discuss and appreciate the descriptive text and detailed watercolor artwork.
  2. Remind students of your procedures for using watercolors in the classroom. Direct them to fold their paper in halflengthways (hot dog fold).
  3. Ask them to think of and paint some living thing they expect to see at the Boston School Forest. They should only paint on the first half of the paper. When they finish, have them include a title. Discuss/share paintings. Model and encourage students to ask questions of their classmates’ predictions/paintings.

Post-Field Trip

  1. After returning from the Boston School Forest, re-read Life Cycles. Compare the information in the book with what you each noticed at the forest.
  2. Complete the art project by using the other half of the paper to paint the same living things they expected to see at the forest the way they actually looked. For example: They may have first painted fish jumping in the pond but the pond had ice on it and they could not see the fish swimming below the layers of ice. Their second painting shows the icy pond. If they painted something they did not actually see at the forest, they could paint a living thing that was there. Challenge them to compare and paint any differences in the life cycle of what they expected to see and the reality of what they saw. For example: They painted a bush using mostly green; their second painting can show how different it looked now during your fall/winter visit to the forest.

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Boston School Forest

First Post-Field Trip Option

Life Cycle Sort (Make a Tree Book)

Objective:Directions:

Students will learn about the1. Explain that you have just received a loose collection of different developmental stages photographs of an individual over the years and you’d like

in the life of an organism.the students’ help putting them in chronological order. Ask

them to brainstorm a list of the important events or stages in

Grade Level: 3-6a person’s life that might be recorded in the photographs.

(Adapted for 1st grade)Record their ideas on the blackboard. Once the list is com- plete, work together to sequence their suggestions in chrono-

logical order.

Materials: A selection of

photographs of one individual2. Randomly label your photographs and lay them in a

from infancy through adult-central location for the students to observe. Allow time for

hood; Tree Life Cycle cardsthe students to study the photographs. Have them guess the

(following pages)proper sequence and record their guesses using the labels.

When everyone has finished, ask the class what they think

the right order is. Have them match the photos to the stages

and events they brainstormed.

Time Allotment: 30 minutes

3. Explain that all living things go through different stages of

development in their lives just as we do. The sequence of

these stages from beginning to end is called a life cycle. Can

they think of any examples in nature? (Egg, tadpole, frog;

egg, chick, chicken; calf, heifer, cow; puppy, dog)

4. Tell the class you have pictures of a tree throughout its

life. Once again, they are out of order. Ask them to put these

in the correct sequence, staple, and color the pages.

5. When all the students are finished, ask each student to look carefully at the life cycle stages represented in the picture of their completed tree book. By seeing what comes before and after, can they guess what stage of a tree’s life is represented on their card?

6. Review the life cycle order. Finish by making comparisons between the stages in a tree’s life and ours.



Boston School Forest

First Grade Family Activity

Dear Parents,

Today your child took a field trip to the Boston School Forest. Our topics of study were Life Cycles and Animal Groupings.

Here are a few activities your family may enjoy doing together. This will allow your child to share some of what he or she experienced today at the forest and build on that learning. Enjoy!

Growing and Changing

Concept:Humans have life cycles just as other animals do.

Vocabulary:A life cycle is the sequence of changes that all plants, animals, and humans go through as they are born, grow, change, and die.

Materials:Family photographs and photo albums.

Activity:Look through the photos and talk about the ways your child has changed since he or she was a baby. Compare baby pictures with those of childhood to show physical changes. Discuss how some characteristics are more likely to change than others such as shoe size versus skin color. Notice pictures that show how other family members have changed, too. Talk about how abilities and skills change also: being able to feed him or herself, make the bed, ride a bike, drive a car some day, and more. Talk about stages of human life: infant, toddler, preschooler, child, teenager, young adult, and so on. Discuss how animals grow up too and become more independent and responsible. Enjoy sharing the memories that the pictures spark and have fun telling stories.

The Four Seasons

Concept:The changing seasons affect lifecycles

Vocabulary:Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn(Fall)

Materials: Some living things outside your home

Activity: Talk about the seasons. Choose a tree, bush, plant, or animal in your yard and make a journal entry describing how it looks/acts. Watch it change through the seasons and record your observations. You could also record changes in your child’s height and weight through the year and include that information with your written notes. You may also want to choose a non-living thing like a rock for comparison, and discuss and write your observations of this object as well.

Boston School Forest

First Grade Field Trip Program

Environmental Education Curriculum Topics: Environmental Appreciation, Sensory Awareness, Adaptations, Life Cycles, Outdoor Recreation, Taxonomy

School Forest Theme: Life Cycles through the Seasons, Animal Groupings

Alignment to State Standards:EE – A.4.1, A.4.2, A4.4, B.4.6

  1. Introduction to the Day: Un-Nature Trail
  • Have students explore the forest with their senses. Explain that when they are visiting the forest today, they should use all of their senses to help them learn, observe, and explore. Review their senses of sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch.
  • Set up two blindfold hikes or un-nature trails. Divide the group in two. Have half the class do one of the courses. When they have explored the course once, have them process the experience and discuss how the use of their senses helped them observe along the trail.
  • Then have the students go through the course a second time. Discuss what surprises they found the second time.
  1. Hike
  • Introduce students to the concept of life cycles. Take students on a hike through the forest and allow them to observe the life cycles of as many living things as they can find during the hike. Look for tree seeds, seedlings, mature trees, and decaying trees. Explore nesting sites and animal adaptations to winter as part of the lifecycle.
  1. Discovery Center
  • Following the hike, meet the rest of the group at the Discovery Center for hands-on exploration time. Students can work on the life cycle puzzle.
  1. Trees are Terrific
  • Meet a Tree (from Sharing Nature with Children, Cornell, 1979)
  • Tree Play (from Sharing Nature with Children, Cornell, 1979)

  1. Life Cycle Scavenger Hunt

Adapted from Project Seasons, D. Parrella, 1995. See attached information.

Students will learn about the developmental stages in the life of an organism.

Materials: Tree life cycle cards showing tree seeds, seeds in the soil, sprouting tree, seedling, and young tree, mature tree, tree in decline, and fallen tree in decay. Attach a string so the cards can be worn around the neck.

  • Discuss the life stages of a chicken or frog beginning with the egg and ending with a mature animal that eventually grows old and dies. Define this as a life cycle. If time allows, read the Cycles Book, Yellowstone Press.
  • Explain that all living things go through a life cycle. Tell the students that you have a set of pictures of the life cycle of a tree. But the pictures are mixed up and they will need to put them into the right order. They will need to do this sorting without talking. Have a quick discussion about how they can communicate without talking. Have each group form a circle. Hang one card around the neck of each student with the picture on the back. Explain that they can look at the other students’ pictures but not their own. (If this is too difficult, hang pictures on the front so students can see them.)
  • When the signal is given, have the students carefully observe everyone’s pictures and arrange themselves in order. When a group is sure they have their life cycle in order, have them sit down as a signal that they are finished.
  • When all are settled, have them look at the pictures of the students on either side of them and guess what stage of life their own picture shows.
  • Review the life cycle in order. Then give each pair of students a life cycle scavenger hunt sheet. Have them go outdoors and find as many of the tree life stages as possible in the forest.
  1. Animal Adaptation Sort

Students will learn about the various groups of animals (mammals, birds, fish, insects and spiders, reptiles and amphibians) at the school forest and demonstrate their understanding of the interactions between the living and non-living components of the ecosystem.