Category: Ecosystems

Pond Life – Activities

FOCUS:  The varied environment of a pond provides homes for a rich array of plants and animals. All these pond dwellers face the challenges of life in the water – obtaining nutrients, avoiding predators, moving from here to there, getting air. The many organisms in a pond ecosystem are dependent upon each other and on the aquatic environment to meet their needs for survival.

INTRODUCTION
Objective: To begin to explore and ask questions about pond life.

Standing near a pond, take a minute to stop, listen, and look. Ask children what they notice and wonder about the pond.

A VISIT TO A POND
Objective: To explore a pond, looking for evidence of its inhabitants and noticing the different habitats in which they live.

Pond Profile Poster
Ahead of time, make a large diagram on poster board showing a pond in profile. Continue reading Pond Life – Activities

Pond Life – Puppet Show

Once Upon a Pond

Characters: Tadpole, Frog, Whirligig Beetle, Lily Pad, Damselfly Nymph, Dragonfly Nymph.

Props: water lilies, crown, loop on back of stage to hold up lily prop.

 

Tadpole  Tell me a story, Daddy!

Father Frog  Once upon a time there was a fierce dragon who lived at the bottom of a pond.

Tadpole  Ooooh, a scary fairy tale. Continue reading Pond Life – Puppet Show

Pond Life – Standards

POND LIFE ALIGNMENT WITH
NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS

The activities in this unit help children understand the basic concepts in the Disciplinary Core Ideas listed here. You can use the following list as a guide for lesson planning. These Disciplinary Core Ideas are taken from Grade Band Endpoints in A Framework for K-12 Science Education. Additionally, our activities give children opportunities to engage in many of the Science and Engineering Practices and reflect on the Crosscutting Concepts as identified in the Next Generation Science Standards. Continue reading Pond Life – Standards