Hi. I am taking a science teaching methods course and we have been assigned to create a backwards design unit on a topic. I would like to focus on the flow of energy and matter, so stuff like food webs, the levels of energy, types of consumers, etc. I was wondering if anyone here could give me some resources to help me with planning out this unit. I'm thinking this would be for second grade. Thanks!
Food webs are good examples of this and easily understood by 2nd grade
I definitely agree
I agree with food webs & food chains for flow of energy. Webs are a little more trickier than chains, but they could understand it if it's presented in an age appropriate manner. If you want to focus on electrical energy flow in circuits, I'm sure there are some interactive games online. My professor actually has us using the explore learning website, which I think you may have to pay with. It has simulations that are interactive!
Food webs are definitely one thing that you should use with your second graders. They should be able to understand it.
You can start by reading Children's Literature that focuses on this topic possibly food web or food chain. You can then demonstrate a personalized visual by informing students what you ate for breakfast or for lunch. You can then create a web or chain based on this information, this can be used as a model so that you engage your students by having them create their own chain or web based on what they ate for lunch or breakfast. After this you can assess students by having them work in groups. Give each group a set of pictures that focus on the four major parts of the food chain such as sun, producers, consumers and decomposers.
I have been attempting to design a similar unit but for my 5th grade class. I found some resources on NSTA that I think might be helpful for you. I decided to slightly change my topic to concentrate on the NGSS standard that plants get the material they need for life chiefly from the air and water, not the soil. For this unit I have decided to grow sweet potatoes in water as a way to demonstrate to my students that plant can grow in soil free environments and I also designed a lesson on hydroponics. Hope the resources in my collection can help you in some way.
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