Science in the Garden Series: More Science In the Garden by Teacher Superstore

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Ready-Ed

Acknowledgements i. Clip art images have been obtained from Microsoft Design Gallery Live and are used under the terms of the End User License Agreement for Microsoft Word 2000. Please refer to www.microsoft.com/permission.

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Permission has been granted by Australia Post to use the image of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie on page 35.

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Publications

The purchasing educational institution and its staff have the right to make copies of the whole or part of this book, beyond their rights under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act), provided that: The number of copies does not exceed the number reasonably required by the educational institution to satisfy its teaching purposes;

For details of the CAL licence for educational institutions contact: Copyright Agency Limited Level 19, 157 Liverpool Street Sydney NSW 2000 Telephone: (02) 9394 7600 Facsimile: (02) 9394 7601 E-mail: info@copyright.com.au

Copies are made only by reprographic means (photocopying), not by electronic/digital means, and not stored or transmitted;

Copies are not sold or lent;

Every copy made clearly shows the footnote, ‘Ready-Ed Publications’.

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Any copying of this book by an educational institution or its staff outside of this blackline master licence may fall within the educational statutory licence under the Act. The Act allows a maximum of one chapter or 10% of the pages of this book, whichever is the greater, to be reproduced and/or communicated by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that that

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Reproduction and Communication by others Except as otherwise permitted by this blackline master licence or under the Act (for example, any fair dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review) no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, communicated or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission. All inquiries should be made to the publisher at the address below.

o c . che e r o t r s super Published by: Ready-Ed Publications PO Box 276 Greenwood WA 6024 www.readyed.com.au info@readyed.com.au

ISBN: 978 1 86397 809 5 2

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educational institution (or the body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under Act.

Contents Teachers' Notes Curriculum Links The Right Place

7 8

Garden Odd Bods Teachers' Notes Activity

8 9

What Do We Call A Lot Of …? Teachers' Notes Activity

10 11

Generally Speaking Teacher's Notes Activity

12 13

Garden Nightlife Teachers' Notes Activity

30 31

Life Cycle Of A Ladybird Teachers' Notes Activity

Design A Stamp Teachers' Notes Activity

Give Me A Clue Teachers' Notes Activity

Defend Yourself!

32 33

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Teachers' Notes Activity

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34 35

36 37

38 39

Classified Information

14 15

A Garden Word Mandala Teachers' Notes Activity

16 17

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A Garden Family Album Teachers' Notes Activity

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19 20

20 22

Tiddalick The Greedy Frog Teachers' Notes Activity

40 41

Cool As A Cactus Teachers' Notes Activity

On The Menu Teachers' Notes Activity

42 43

44 45

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Make A Friendly Garden Teachers' Notes Activity

Teachers' Notes Activity

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Teachers' Notes Activity

22-23 24-25

What's Transpired? Teachers' Notes Activity

46 47

Bird Watching Teachers' Notes Activity

48 49

Whoops-A-Daisy! Teachers' Notes Activity

26 27

Answers

50-51

Design A Scarecrow Teachers' Notes Activity

28 29

Teachers' Notes More Science in the Garden is designed to encourage primary children to engage with the living laboratory that they can find on their classroom doorstep. As well as being accessible, the garden encourages close encounters with fuzzy critters, flowering plants, seeds, trees and leaves.

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Many of the activities in this book are practical and this should motivate children to learn, remember and have fun while ‘doing’.

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The resources needed for the practical activities are easy to assemble and the tasks are simple to set up and can be simplified or made more difficult for students of different age groups and abilities. All of the activities are curriculum linked and are created to develop scientific thinking, skills and processes. When completing the activities, the children will explore: •

the anatomy of plants, insects and animals

•

the classification of living things

•

the garden as an ecological system

•

health, nutrition and safety

•

fieldwork studies.

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plant, insect animal adaptations ©• R ea dand yEd Publ i cat i ons • garden biodiversity •f o rr evi ew pur posesonl y• • the conservation of natural resources

A set of teaching notes accompany each activity sheet. The teaching notes include an overview of the concepts covered in each lesson, detailed step-by-step instructions, suggestions for extension activities and recommended website resources.

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Particular effort has been made to develop scientific literacy through a variety of text types and specific skills, for example: drawing and labelling diagrams, note-making, using graphic organisers, report writing and framing enquiry questions. Wherever appropriate, links to other content areas of the curriculum have been incorporated. Answers can be found at the back of the book.

Curriculum Links NSW – Science and Technology

QLD - Science

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Living Things

ELs – by the end of Year 3 and Year 5

Physical Phenomena

Life and Living

Earth and its Surroundings

Earth and Beyond

TAS – Science

SA - Science

Standards 2 and 3

Standard 2

Scientific Inquiry

Earth and Space

Scientific Communication

Life Systems

Science as a Body of Knowledge – Living Things

VIC - Science

1. The student uses a range of strategies to think and learn.

WA - Science

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Stage 2

Levels 2 and 3 © ReadyEdPub l i cat i ons Knowledge and Understanding ACT - Science • or r e vi ew pur po se onl y• Science ats Work Earlyf and Later Childhood

19. The student understands and applies scientific knowledge.

(8) Life and Living

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NT - Science Bands 2 and 3

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Early and Middle Childhood

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2. The student understands and applies the inquiry process.

(1) Investigation

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Life and Living

Earth and Beyond

Teachers' Notes

The Right Place

Concepts and Objectives:

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Teaching Ideas: Recognising scientific words.

•

Sorting words into scientific categories.

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1. Model the task with an example. Place the following words on the board: dog, red, canary, cat, yellow, blue, hamster, brown. Then draw two rectangles on the board and ask the children to sort the words into two groups. After sorting the words, ask the class to add two more words that belong to the same category in each rectangle. To round off, ask what the words in each set have in common (colours and pets/animals).

2. Distribute the activity sheet and tell the children to sort the words into the correct categories. Children could work individually or in pairs.

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3. As an extension to this activity students could identify the animals that the sounds and animal parts relate to.

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ZActivity

The Right Place

What sound does a snake make?

Put the words in their right place. Animals/mammals

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Tree/plant parts

Animal sounds

snout

tentacles

purr

claw

shell

branch chirp

bat

hiss

gill

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wing bleat mouse

flower

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Teachers' Notes

Garden Odd Bods

Concepts and Objectives:

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Identifying the 'odd one out' in a set of animals and plants.

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Explaining the differences and similarities of elements in a set of plants and animals.

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Creating own 'odd one out' sets.

Materials:

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Set of images with an 'odd bod' (for example: snake, tortoise, frog, lizard).

Teaching Ideas:

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1. Show the children images of an 'odd bod' set that you have prepared. Elicit suggestions for the 'odd one out' with an accompanying explanation for the choice. Accept all attempts without judgment. In the example given above, an obvious choice would be 'frog' as it is an amphibian, whilst the others are reptiles. However, thinking flexibly, we could also justify 'tortoise' because it has a shell (carapace) and the others don’t or 'snake' because it has no apparent legs.

2. Hand out the activity sheet and allow the children to work individually or in pairs to identify the 'odd bods'.

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3. Discuss choices and explanations around the class. Ask children to construct their own sets with an 'odd bod' included for classmates to complete.

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4. Children could also compile sets using images from the Internet and by writing captions to explain the 'odd one out'.

ZActivity

Which is the odd one out?

Garden Odd Bods Complete the table by circling the odd bod in each set and giving a reason for your choice. Reason

r o e t s Bo r e twig branch p bark ok roots u S moth ladybird spider dragonfly

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Set

parsley basil rosemary poppy

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banksia willow . wattle eucalyptus te o c . che e r o t r s uper spade rakes sprinkler

shovel

cucumber bean pea carrot

Teachers' Notes

What Do We Call A Lot Of …?

Concepts and Objectives: •

Relating the physical characteristics of living things to the nouns used to refer to them collectively.

Materials:

Images of the animals/insects listed on the activity sheet, kaleidoscope (optional).

Teaching Ideas:

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1. (Part A) Children will have already encountered collective nouns for groups of animals and people, e.g. a herd of elephants, a flock of birds, a colony of ants, a class of students, etc. Give the children these examples and ask them to copy them onto their activity sheets. Ask the children for more examples and write their contributions on the board.

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and write their responses on the sheet. Explore the connections between the collective noun and the living organism. For example, what does a kaleidoscope and a group of butterflies have in common? Brainstorm ideas for each of the images.

3. (Part C) Challenge the children to create their own collective nouns for the groups on the sheet. Children can illustrate their analogies and share their ideas with others.

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4. On the back of the sheet, children can either research other interesting collective nouns relating to garden dwellers or create new ones. 5. During their research, children might discover that a 'lounge' of lizards (perhaps a little folkloric), a 'bed' of snakes and an 'army' of caterpillars have already been coined – but this shouldn’t stop them from suggesting alternatives that are just as apt.

Find out more websites: www.rinkworks.com/words/collective.shtml www.anapsid.org/beastly.html 10

ZActivity

What Do We Call A Lot Of …?

What do you call a group of birds?

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Collective nouns for groups of animals and people: 1. A __ __ __ __ of elephants.

3. A __ __ __ __ __ __ of ants.

4. A __ __ __ __ __ of students. r o e t s Bo r e p ok Part B u Scollective nouns to images. Match the 2. A __ __ __ __ __ of birds.

• a walk of

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___________________

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_________________of cicadas.

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Create a collective noun for the following groups. Include a picture. _________________of possums.

o c . che e r o t r s su e r _________________of weeds. p _________________of lizards.

Create more collective nouns for groups on the back of this sheet. 11

Teachers' Notes

Generally Speaking

Concepts and Objectives:

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Understanding how animals and plants are classified under generic terms.

•

Researching generic terms.

Teaching Ideas:

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1. Using the example provided on the activity sheet (or one of your own), model for the class how animals and plants that share the same basic characteristics can be classified under a generic name. Note the use of the singular form for the general term.

2. Working in pairs or individually, children can solve the acrostic crossword. They will know if they are successful because the word CATERPILLAR will appear under the arrow.

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3. During the course of the garden-based activities, children will have come across vertebrates, invertebrates and plants that have tickled their fancy in terms of engagement and a willingness to find out more. For an extension activity, children can research their own generic lists to illustrate and caption for class display.

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ZActivity

Generally Speaking Find the GENERAL terms that can be used to describe animals and plants which share similar characteristics. For example, the pobblebonk, green tree and corroboree are all FROG species. Now try to complete the acrostic crossword by reading the clues.

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Answers

1. red gum, blue gum, coolibah

__________________

2. rosella, budgerigar, galah

__________________

3. spinach, beetroot, eggplant

__________________

4. thistle, paspalum, bindi-eye

__________________

5. frilled neck, gecko, shingle back

__________________

6. pygmy, brushtail, honey glider

__________________

7. tarantula, St Andrew’s cross, leaf curler

__________________

8. rhinoceros, Christmas, dung

__________________

9. orchid, waratah, lily-of-the-valley

__________________

10.botanical, zoological, rose

__________________

11.basil, lemon grass, mint

__________________

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Clues

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What word appears under the arrow? _________________________ 13

Teachers' Notes

Classified Information

Concepts and Objectives: •

Identifying the characteristics of an arthropod and understanding that there are different types of arthropods: arachnids, crustaceans, insects and myriapods.

r o e t s Bo r e p o u k Materials: S Writing a fact file on an arthropod.

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An example of an invertebrate fact file, recommended library and Internet resources to use for information.

Teaching Ideas:

1. Review the characteristics of garden invertebrates with the class. Tell them that they will be doing personal research (using library and/or web resources) to write a fact file on an arthropod of their choice. They will record their information on the activity sheet.

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Does it have a pair of antennae? No (must be a crustacean)/ Yes

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Does it have more than six legs? No (must be an insect)/ Yes

Does it have eighteen or more legs? Yes (must be a myriapod).

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3. Show the children a fact file that you have prepared to familiarise them with the information that fits under each category.

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4. To extend the more enthusiastic invertebrate experts, invite them to 'discover' a new arthropod species and present a fact file. Remind them that only two-thirds of invertebrates have been identified and studied and that scientific names given to new species are often named after their discoverer.

Find out more websites: http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/_0_0/ arthropods_intro_01 http://australianmuseum.net.au/What-are-arthropods

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Classified Information

What is an arthropod?

An arthropod fact file researched by ______________________ I used this website/book for information: __________________ ____________________________________________________

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Habitat: Diet:

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r o Fact File e t s Bo r e Type of arthropod: p ok u CommonS name:

Life cycle:

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o c . che e Draw your r arthropod here. o t r s super More fascinating facts:

Teachers' Notes

A Garden Word Mandala

Concepts and Objectives: Reflecting on the role of the garden in a person’s life.

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Recording scientific words and phrases in a mandala shape.

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Expressing understandings by creating a personal mandala.

Materials: •

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Images of different types of mandalas (labyrinths, mazes, “yin-yang” symbol, Aztec calendar).

Teaching Ideas:

1. Mandala is a Sanskrit word which roughly translates to mean a circle or centre. Snail shells, flower petals, constellations and even molecules are the shape of mandalas. Engage the class by displaying a simple example of a mandala. Ask the children to identify the elements or patterns that have been repeated.

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2. Hand out the mandala activity sheet and ask the children where the mandala shape occurs in the garden. Tell them that they are going to place their ideas in the mandala shape working one ring at a time, from the centre outwards. The children can use individual words or phrases and embellish the spaces between words with little drawings. Younger children might like to complete a group mandala.

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3. Cut out the snails and hang them up.

4. Ask the children to draw a circle to design their own mandala. Show them the variety available to them with additional images. The mandalas could be based on pattern and colour repetition or they could be conceptual (like the garden mandala), and expanded to embrace feelings about family, friends, pets or the seasons.

Find out more websites: www.mandalaproject.org/What/Main.html www.mandalasofnature.com/

What is a mandala?

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A Garden Word Mandala

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Teachers' Notes

A Garden Family Album

Concepts and Objectives:

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Identifying characteristics of an earthworm, cricket, millipede and ladybird.

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Matching a description to a picture.

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Thinking about the 'family' of living things that inhabit a garden.

•

Making connections between living things.

Teaching Ideas:

1. Discuss with the class how a family photo album records people’s relationships with other members of the family. 2. Distribute the activity sheet and ask the children to read the descriptions of the garden dwellers. Ask them to cut out the text boxes and match them to the corresponding 'photos' by pasting them underneath.

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live in the same environment and whether it is to do with what they eat or what they like to do. (They are all invertebrates and are all maintenance workers in the garden. The earthworm, millipede and cricket eat decaying plants and break down organic matter to produce nutrients for the soil. Ladybirds keep pests like aphids and mealy bugs that damage plants away. The ladybird is known as the 'gardener's friend' and so are millipedes and crickets.)

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4. Children can draw backgrounds for each of the living things to reinforce the idea that they share the same habitat.

5. Invite the children to add their own 'photos' to the garden photo album. Their 'photos' should be of other animals and insects that live together. Help them to write short texts to accompany their pictures. Display the photo albums in the classroom.

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A Garden Family Album

What do earthworms like to do?

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Match the animal with its description.

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o c . che e r o t r s su r I come out at night to sing byp I’m long and thin. I have no eyes. e

rubbing my wings together. I eat grass, seeds and dead leaves.

I eat dead leaves to make the soil healthy and fertile.

I am brightly coloured with a round body and strong mouthparts. I eat the pests that can harm the plants.

I have lots of body segments and legs. I live under rocks and leaves. I clean up the dead plants. 19

Teachers' Notes

Make A Friendly Garden

Concepts and Objectives: •

Thinking about the interdependence of life in a garden habitat.

•

Identifying how we can attract animals and insects to a garden.

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Teaching Ideas:

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1. Cut up the cards on the activity sheet and separate the subject heading cards (bees, butterflies, etc) from the others. Put the sentence cards into an envelope so that they are jumbled. Organise the class into pairs. 2. Ask the children for the names of animals and insects that live in a garden. Discuss 'jobs' for these garden dwellers, such as,

Ladybirds and spiders M pest controllers. Worms and flies M cleaners. Bees and butterflies M pollinators. Birds and cicadas M singers.

Explain that like any successful family or business, a garden needs good workers, who collaborate to get jobs done.

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3. Give each pair the subject heading cards (bees, butterflies, etc) and ask them to draw a picture of the corresponding animal/insect on each card. Hand out the envelopes with the jumbled sentence cards inside and instruct the pairs to take turns reading out the sentences. They can decide together which sentence belongs to which insect or animal. When they have matched all the sentences with their subjects, tell them to glue their subject cards and matching sentence cards in their books. 4. To consolidate understanding, ask each pair to choose two of the animals or insects and design a garden which is 'friendly' for these creatures, using the suggestions from the cards together with their own ideas. They could also label and write simple explanations for their designs.

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5. Display the garden-friendly designs for the class to share and read. Give children time to revisit their original ideas and add new understandings. 6. Children could also design a 'workers wanted' poster and advertise for skilled garden 'workers'. Their advertisements would describe the specific talents required of each worker and the working conditions that the garden offers.

Find out more websites: www.australian-backyard-wildlife.com/ www.perthzoo.wa.gov.au/Animals--Plants/Fauna-friendly-Gardens/ 20

ZActivity

Make A Friendly Garden

Butterflies or eFrogs t

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Bo Birds okPlant trees Build a little pond and flowers about 30 centimetres deep in the garden for us to swim in.

bright colours and strong smells.

flat flowers because we can rest on them easily.

You can hang bamboo canes from trees for us to build our hives in.

Prune plants regularly so that they grow more flowers for us to visit.

Grow tall grass and flowers around the pond to give us shade and shelter.

Don’t touch our eggs on the leaves or we won’t have baby caterpillars!

Don’t put fish in the pond because they will eat our little tadpoles.

to give us homes, nectar and lots of seeds.

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s r e Plant plenty p Grow some u of flowersS and daisies plants with and big Bees

Put small amounts of seeds out in a safe place away from cats on the prowl.

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Don’t disturb our hives because we might get angry and chase you!

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Don’t feed us bread because it attracts hungry rats!

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Teachers' Notes

Tiddalick The Greedy Frog

Concepts and Objectives:

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Understanding that animals need water and identifying how they get water.

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Listening to an Australian Aboriginal Dreamtime story and thinking about the importance of sharing water resources.

Teaching Ideas:

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1. Tell the class that they are going to listen to a story about a greedy frog that comes from Australian Aboriginal culture.

2. Tell the story of Tiddalick (text on page 23). Repeat the chorus several times so that the children can join in. Invite them to act out the various attempts to make Tiddalick laugh. Cut up the pictures on page 24 and hold these up when reading out the corresponding parts of the story to help the students process the narrative.

© ReadyEdPubl i cat i ons •f or evi ew pu p othe se so y 3. Hand out the r activity sheet on page 24 r and ask children ton cutl out • and colour in the pictures and sequence them so that they reflect the order of events in the story.

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4. Hand out the activity sheet on page 25, discuss with the children the importance of sharing water, especially for people and animals living in arid environments. Ask the children to give examples of what it means to be “greedy”. Students can then fill in the first two questions on the activity sheet.

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5. Ask the children to write down what lesson Tiddalick learned from the story and ask them to discuss what they learned. 6. On the back of the sheet the students could work in pairs to add an additional paragraph to the story by choosing another Australian animal that lives in desert regions, for example, the dingo, taipan snake, goanna or cockatoo.

7. As an extension activity, discuss how each animal in the story adapts to a habitat with little rainfall.

Tiddalick The Greedy Frog (adapted by Lisa Craig)

A long time ago before people lived on Earth, there was a big frog called Tiddalick. Tiddalick lived in the hot Australian desert and he thought he was the boss of all the animals.

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CHORUS: Tiddalick was nasty, Tiddalick was mean, Tiddalick was a green, mean drinking machine!

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One day Tiddalick was very thirsty. He went to the only pond of water in the desert garden and he started to drink all the water. He drank and drank and drank. He grew bigger and bigger and bigger. (BLOW UP A GREEN BALLOON PAINTED WITH EYES TO ADD TO THE DRAMA.) He didn’t leave one drop of water in the pond. (CHORUS.) The other animals in the desert came to the pond to drink. There was no water! They were so thirsty. Then they saw big, fat Tiddalick. "Tiddalick drank all the water!” said the kangaroo. "What can we do?” asked the kookaburra.

© ReadyEdPubl i cat i ons •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y• The kangaroo hopped on one leg. Then she hopped on the other. She hopped “I know!” said the sleepy wombat. “Let’s make him laugh and laugh and laugh, then all the water will come out of his mouth.” (CHORUS.) up and down, up and down, up and down. But Tiddalick didn’t laugh.

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“My turn,” said the emu. The emu danced the can-can and wobbled his big bottom at the frog. Tiddalick didn’t laugh, Tiddalick didn’t even smile!

The frill-necked lizard was very confident. “Watch me, you big bad frog,” she cried. The lizard turned around and around and around like a ballerina on the desert sand until she was very dizzy, but Tiddalick didn’t laugh.

. tlived in the pond wriggled over to Tiddalick and started o The eel thate to tickle c . his leg with his tail…then he tickled him on the tummy…then under Tiddalick’s c e h r arms. Now the eel was around Tiddalick’s neck and suddenly Tiddalick started e o t r s s u to laugh. He laughed and laughed and laughed. erTiddalick laughed so much that p all the water came out of his mouth and there was water again for the animals of the desert.

The kangaroo, the kookaburra, the emu, the eel, the wombat and the lizard laughed too and they danced under the desert sun. All the animals were happy again. It’s true… (CHORUS). But Tiddalick learned something very important. Did you? 23

ZActivity

Tiddalick The Greedy Frog 1

What comes next?

Colour and cut out all the boxes.

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Tiddalick laughed so much that all the water came out of his mouth.

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Listen to the story 'Tiddalick The Greedy Frog' and arrange the pictures so that they reflect the order of events in the story.

The kangaroo hopped on one leg.

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The wombat had an idea.

The lizard turned around and around and around.

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The emu danced the can-can and wobbled his big bottom. 24

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The eel tickled Tiddalick with his tail.

ZActivity

Tiddalick The Greedy Frog 2

Why do animals need water?

1. What does it mean to be greedy? _____________________ ___________________________________________________

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2. Why is it important to share water? ___________________

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What lesson did you learn Tiddalick?

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What lesson did Tiddalick learn from the story? Write it in the speech bubble. Colour in Tiddalick.

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On the back of this sheet, work in a pair to add a paragraph to the story by choosing another Australian animal that lives in desert regions and describing what it tried to do to make Tiddalick laugh. 25

Teachers' Notes

Whoops-A-Daisy!

Concepts and Objectives: •

Understanding how humans can harm and be harmed by a garden and its inhabitants.

•

Recognising the consequences of not interacting responsibly with plants and animals.

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1. Relate a personal story to the children about a time when you (or someone you know) was injured whilst in the garden because they interacted with the garden irresponsibly. Invite the class to share their experiences.

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r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Teaching Ideas:

2. Make a list of behaviours that the children recognise as being risky when playing in a garden. Discuss causal relationships (risk assessment) such as:

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Give examples of how interacting irresponsibly with the garden and its inhabitants can injure plant life and animals. E.g. Forgetting to water plants, trampling on plants and animals.

3. Distribute the activity sheet and ask the class to work in pairs or individually to identify actions in the picture which could lead to humans, plants, or animals being harmed. Discuss how these actions could be changed. Ask the group to also identify responsible actions in the picture.

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4. Children could design their own safety posters for classroom display which include garden safety rules (for example, always wear gloves when you're gardening).

Find out more websites: http://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/schoolgardens/ hot_topics/garden_safety.shtml http://communitygarden.org.au/safety

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Whoops-A-Daisy!

Why act responsibly in the garden?

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Teachers' Notes

Design A Scarecrow

Concepts and Objectives: •

Understanding why birds are attracted to gardens.

•

Identifying a scarecrow’s job in the garden and designing a 21st century scarecrow.

•

Images of various models of scarecrows through the centuries from different cultures (or a real scarecrow).

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Teaching Ideas:

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r o e t s B r e oo Materials: p u k S

1. Elicit from the children why we put scarecrows in gardens (e.g. to scare away birds that eat young plants, seeds and fruit or for aesthetic purposes to brighten up the garden). Ask them to record this on their activity sheets. Show the class different models of scarecrows throughout the ages that you’ve found. What do they have in common? Children might like to know that scarecrows are also known as Jack-of-straws, mommets and scarebirds.

© ReadyEdPubl i cat i ons •af orr evactivity i ewwhere pu r po se supo nl y• 2. Do think-pair-share children could come with an explanation to share with the class about why birds would be frightened of scarecrows. Record answers on activity sheets.

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3. Ask the group if they know of other ways that gardeners try to shoo away birds from the garden (e.g. with reflective ribbons that shimmer and move in the wind, by making a loud noise). Ask them why the effects of these methods seem to wear off after a while. (Birds are clever creatures and they soon realise that scarecrows and other modern methods will not harm them.)

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4. Call for ideas on how to improve the traditional model of a scarecrow. (Traditionally scarecrows didn't have any moving parts. Birds are frightened by movement so a fluttering shiny ribbon might work for a while.) 5. Children can then design their own 21st century scarecrows and label their new and improved models on the activity sheet.

Find out more websites: www.scarecrows.me.uk/html/history.html www.cheekwood.org/media/Scarecrows!.pdf

ZActivity

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

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Design a Scarecrow

I'm not scared of scarecrows!

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1. Why do we put scarecrows in the garden?

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2. Why are birds scared of scarecrows? ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ 29

Teachers' Notes

Garden Nightlife

Concepts and Objectives: Observing the behaviours of nocturnal animals in a garden.

•

Identifying the adaptations of nocturnal animals to life in a garden.

•

Describing the interaction of nocturnal animals with their habitat.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

Materials:

•

Additional images of nocturnal animals (optional).

Teaching Ideas:

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•

© ReadyEdPubl i cat i ons •f o r evi e w pu r po.s eso n l y• 2. Check for r understanding of the term 'nocturnal' Brainstorm the names of 1. Ask the class if they have spent time in the garden at night when it’s quiet. If they have, ask them what animals and insects they saw or heard and how the garden is different during the night.

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nocturnal animals that the class know and make a list on the board. Tick off the ones on the list that they could encounter at night in a suburban garden.

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3. Hand out the activity sheet and give the children time to identify the nocturnal animals in the picture. They can colour them. Record names of unknown animals on the board. The children can copy these names onto their activity sheets under each animal. Ask the children to describe and record on their sheets what the animals are doing in the picture.

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4. Ask them how the animals have adapted to their nocturnal life in the garden habitat. Model answers such as, 'the boobook owl has strong claws for holding on to prey', 'geckos have large eyes for hunting insects', 'cats have excellent night vision for hunting mice' and 'possums have prehensile tails which help them to balance in trees'. 5. Focus on the bandicoot drinking water from the dog’s dish. Ask children how native nocturnal animals interact with humans and introduced species (like the cat) in their environment. Children may have personal experiences on this topic to share with others. 6. To conclude the activity, ask the children to write a descriptive paragraph outlining the web of life that they have analysed in the picture. 30

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Garden Nightlife

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Describe what the nocturnal animals are doing in this garden.

_______________________________________

What can you hear in the garden at night?

_______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ 31

Teachers' Notes

Life Cycle Of A Ladybird

Concepts and Objectives: •

Describing a person’s lifecycle.

•

Understanding the process of metamorphosis in invertebrates and sequencing the stages in a ladybird’s lifecycle.

•

Identifying parts of a ladybird and understanding the food chain of a ladybird.

•

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Materials:

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Pictures of people at various ages, copy of Eric Carle’s, The Bad-Tempered Ladybird.

Teaching Ideas:

1. Cut out pictures of people of various ages from magazines and newspapers and put them in envelopes for small groups.

2. Ask the children to sequence the pictures from the youngest to the oldest. Explain that this is the cycle of life for people. Make connections to the children’s own families.

3. Hand out the sheet and ask the children to sequence the stages in the ladybird’s life, paying attention to the time frames for each stage. Go through the cycle using time markers: first, then, later, finally. Explain the term metamorphosis. They can copy this word and its meaning on to their sheets.

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4. Identify other animals which go through this process such as butterflies and dragonflies, ask the students to list two of these animals on their sheets.

5. Look at the picture of the ladybird. Explore the children’s knowledge about ladybirds. Check that they can name as many parts of a ladybird’s body as possible (head, wings, antennae, legs, mouthparts, eyes). Ask what ladybirds do in the garden (help gardeners by eating pests), ask what they eat (aphids, mealy bugs, mites) and what might eat ladybirds (not many predators eat ladybirds because they excrete a foul-tasting chemical as a defence, but some hungry birds may take the risk).

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6. You could construct a simple food chain for the children to copy on the back of their sheets to link the ladybird’s life to its garden home and neighbours. (E.g. LADYBIRD INSECT EATING BIRD.) THISTLE M APHID 7. Shared reading of The Bad-Tempered Ladybird. Ask the children to predict what is going to happen next.

Find out more websites:

•

www.ento.csiro.au/biology/ladybirds/ladybirds.htm

•

www.backyardbuddies.net.au/buddies/Ladybirds.html

ZActivity

Life cycle Of A Ladybird

What is a life cycle?

Cut and paste the pictures to show a ladybird’s life cycle. Eggs

ZCut out

3 – 5 days

1 week

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3 weeks

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1. What is metamorphosis? _________________________________

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________________________________________________________ 2. Write down two more animals that go through this process.

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o c . che Part B e r o t r s___________________ su er pgarden? 1. What do ladybirds do in the

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____________________________________________________ 2. What do ladybirds eat? ______________________________ 3. What might eat ladybirds? ___________________________ 4. Draw a simple food chain that includes the ladybird.

Teachers' Notes

Design A Stamp

Concepts and Objectives: • •

Exploring a text's features and information found on a postage stamp as it relates to nature. Designing a stamp with a fauna or floral emblem or icon.

Materials:

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An assortment of postage stamps celebrating fauna and flora or images of fauna and flora. Gumnuts and eucalyptus leaves.

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•

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Courtesy of Australia Post

Teaching Ideas:

1. Bring to class some examples of stamps from around the world in various languages. Images of stamps could also be downloaded from the Internet and displayed on PowerPoint slides so that children can appreciate the artists’ attempts to capture the detail and essence of their subject. Children will be able to observe that cultures around the world like to depict the beauty of their natural heritage on stamps and other people like to collect these stamps.

© ReadyEdPubl i cat i ons •outf o r ev i e wgo p ur p se s onl y• 2. Hand ther activity sheet and through theo process of decoding the information on the stamp. Ask the children to extract factual information from the stamps and record this information by completing the table.

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3. Ask the class if they know who 'Snugglepot' and 'Cuddlepie' might be. The little gumnut babies, based on May Gibbs' children's book, live in eucalyptus trees (more commonly known as gum trees) and wear gumnut hats and clothes made from eucalyptus leaves. Show them some real gumnuts and eucalyptus leaves.

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4. Discuss why these fictional characters appeared on an Australian postage stamp.

5. Ask the children to design a stamp celebrating local fauna and flora. Write suggestions on the board for possible stamp subjects. Children can use layout ideas from the Snugglepot and Cuddlepot stamp or from other stamp images brought in to class. 6. Display the completed stamps so other classes and visitors to the classroom can see them.

Find out more websites: http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/bird-flo.htm http://www.auspost.com.au 34

ZActivity

Where can I find a honky nut?

Design A Stamp

r o t s Country ofe originB r e oo p Cost (name of currency) u k S

Courtesy of Australia Post

Name all the different tree parts that you can see on the stamp.

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Look at the stamp of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie and complete the table.

Design two stamps celebrating local fauna and flora. You might want to collect a variety of flora from around the school to help you with your design.

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Teachers' Notes

Give Me A Clue

Concepts and Objectives: •

Identifying and describing the properties of fruit and vegetables.

r o e t s Bo r e Teaching Ideas: p ok u S

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1. Organise the class into pairs. Cut the activity sheets in half. One person from each pair receives crossword A and the other person receives crossword B. Emphasise that they cannot show their incomplete crosswords to one another. 2. They need to complete their crosswords by asking their partner for clues (descriptions) of the missing words. Pairs may help each other by confirming correct spellings. 3. Model a clue like this:

It’s a fruit. It’s green on the outside and red in the middle. It has lots of seeds. It’s messy to eat, but sweet. We usually eat this fruit in the summer. It can be as big as a beach ball. (A: watermelon.)

© ReadyEdPubl i cat i ons 4. The clues could mention size, colour, shape, seeds, flavour, texture, how the •f orr evi ew p ur p se son l y •to fruit/vegetable grows and how we prepare it o to eat. Encourage the children consult dictionaries for ideas when writing clues.

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5. Circulate to help with clues.

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ZA 1

C 3

P 7

P A S

S H

O N F R U

r o e t s r C E R B e oo p U O u k L I M E S E M O P E

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2 3

. t I N e

L 4

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P E A S

A C H

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A o cW . che DE e r B o t r s sup r e L E 9

A C H

K I

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P A R S

O N

B E

R T R O O T Y

Teachers' Notes

Defend Yourself!

Concepts and Objectives: •

Understanding that plants and animals have features which they use to protect themselves from being eaten or damaged. These are referred to as adaptations.

Materials:

Images of some of the plants mentioned in the text (roses, stinging nettles, oleander, African acacia, pitcher plants).

Teaching Ideas:

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•

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1. Choose an easily recognisable animal or plant which uses defence mechanisms against predators. Write the name of the plant or animal on the board and elicit from the class how the animal/plant defends itself, for example:

© ReadyEdPubl i cat i ons 2. Tap the prior knowledge about plants that defence •into f o rchildren’s r evi ew pur po se shave on l y• ECHIDNA: Strong claws for digging a hole to disappear into. Can roll up into a spiky ball. Can run away quite quickly on a flat surface.

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mechanisms. Record ideas on the board with specific plant names and their adaptations, for example, a cactus has spiky leaves, a Venus fly trap traps insects by closing its leaves. Children can copy some examples down on the back of the activity sheet.

3. Explain that they will be reading a text about the different ways that plants protect themselves against being eaten. However, there are missing words in the text that need to be filled in.

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4. Working individually or in pairs, children should read through the text and complete the gaps using the listed words at the top of the sheet.

5. Using coloured highlighter pens, they can mark the different defence tactics on the activity sheet. 6. To complete the lesson, ask the children which defence tactic they liked the best, ask them to give a reason for their choice and illustrate its adaptation.

Find out more websites: http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Stories/AnimalsNature/Meat-eating-plants http://www.morning-earth.org/Graphic-E/BIOSPHERE/Bios-C-PlantsDefense.html

ZActivity

Why do echidnas have strong claws?

Defend Yourself! Use the words in the box to complete the text. thorns enzymes defences nectar bristles

r o e t s Bobut plants can’t simply r e Flies can buzz off and snails can slip into their shells, p oplants avoid being lift up their leaves and run away, can they? How then dok u Sgarden (1) ___________________? For thousands of years nibbled on by poisonous

dependent

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herbivores sap predators

plants, animals and people have been (2) ____________________on one another to live. But this hasn’t stopped some plants developing interesting (3) ___________________ to protect them from their hungry neighbours.

Some plants have developed body armour. Lemon trees and roses have (4) __________________, which can stab an insect’s body or stick in an animal’s mouth. The prickly pear frightens diners away with its sharp (5) _________________that are like long needles. If you touch a stinging nettle, it can hurt for many days. Even being hairy helps. Sticky hairs on a plant’s stem and leaves can trap insects and stick in an animal’s throat, which gives it an unpleasant fuzzy feeling.

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Other plants are just plain irritating! Oleander and poinsettia have a milky (6) __________________that can cause painful skin blisters. Holly and lantana go one step further to protect themselves. Their colourful berries look delicious but they are full of (7) __________________ chemicals that can make a predator very sick.

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o c . c e hparticularly r The yuk! method workse well. If yout don’t like the taste, you won’t o r s s r u e p come back for more. Some African acacia trees release a horrible tasting chemical through their leaves so (8) __________________will go to another place to snack. But if all these defence methods fail, use the ultimate weapon – catch and kill your predators! Carnivorous plants attract insects with a pool of strong-smelling (9) _________________. Once inside the plant’s pitfall trap, the insects find that they can’t climb out. The plant slowly digests its food with special (10) __________________ that it produces. 39

Teachers' Notes

Operation Observation

Concepts and Objectives: •

Identifying and recording how vertebrates and invertebrates interact with one another in a garden ecosystem. Understanding the web of life in a school garden.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok Teaching Ideas: u S

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•

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1. Explain to the class that they will be observing the interactions between invertebrates and vertebrates in the school’s garden/ grounds. Hand out the activity sheet and go through the information that they need to gather (name of living thing, description, what it eats, what its predators are). Establish that they don’t need to actually see things eating and being eaten (would be wonderful though). By identifying the different garden dwellers interacting with each other they will be able to make informed guesses, for example, ants on flowers are probably eating its nectar and birds pecking at bark on a tree are most likely looking for larvae.

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various observation 'stations' in the garden. Emphasise that this is a 'look, but don’t touch' activity. Set a time limit, within which the children must gather their ecosystem data.

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3. Circulate around the groups helping children to identify insects and animals.

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4. Children should present their findings in table form. If time permits, they can research the scientific names of the vertebrates and invertebrates.

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5. Discuss the biodiversity in the school’s garden and the types of interactions observed. Perhaps they would like to present their findings graphically as a food web or bar graph indicating invertebrate versus vertebrate occupation of the ecosystem.

ZActivity

What can you observe in the garden?

Operation Observation Choose from the words in the box to fill in the spaces in the text.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Description or sketch

What it eats

What it is eaten by

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Living thing

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Teachers' Notes

Cool As A Cactus

Concepts and Objectives: • •

Understanding how a cactus adapts to an environment with little rainfall. Labelling the cactus’ adaptations and annotating them on a diagram.

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Materials: •

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Cactus plant or images, additional images of drought-resistant plants, such as rosemary, agave, gardenias and roses.

Teaching Ideas:

1. Bring a cactus plant (or images) in to class for the children to observe. Ask them how its shape, texture and colour help the cactus to survive with little rainfall and ask them what makes a cactus as cool as a cucumber. Elicit suggestions from the class and write them up on the board. Adaptations could include:

Its leaves are long, thin and spiky so that the cactus doesn’t lose water through transpiration. plants growing close to the cactus and 'stealing' precious water and nutrients. Its ribbed stem funnels water to the roots and can expand to store water when it rains.

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• •

Its waxy stem helps stop water loss and reflects the sun’s heat.

•

Its blue-greyish colour reflects heat from the sun (like eucalyptus leaves).

•

Its large shallow root system absorbs rainwater quickly.

•

A cactus flower closes when it’s hot so that it doesn’t transpire.

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2. Children can annotate the cactus diagram by labelling adaptations and briefly describing how they help the cactus to survive in its environment. They can colour in the cactus using the images or the real plant brought into class. 3. To round off the lesson, ask why it’s a good idea to have plants in a garden that don’t need much water (drought-tolerant, conserve water, less time to look after them). Children can complete this answer on the activity sheet.

Find out more websites: http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Cactus www.desertmuseum.org/kids/oz/long-fact-sheets/Saguaro%20Cactus.php

ZActivity

Cool As A Cactus

A cactus can survive with very little rainfall!

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Label the cactus' adaptations and briefly describe how they help the cactus to survive in a dry environment.

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. te o A cactus is a good plant to have in the garden. because: c che e r ______________________________________________ o r st super ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________

Teachers' Notes

On The Menu

Concepts and Objectives: • • •

Identifying relationships amongst garden dwellers. Understanding that there are producers and consumers in a food chain. Constructing food chains with energy flow arrows.

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1. Ask the children what happens when they don’t eat for a long time. How do they feel? Ask them why people and animals need to eat regularly to keep healthy. (Food gives people and animals energy so that they can have an active life.)

2. Why are plants different? Write up suggestions on the board. Review the process of photosynthesis which enables plants to produce their own food from sunlight (carbon dioxide + water + light energyM glucose + oxygen). Establish that plants are producers in a food chain. Animals and people are called consumers.

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whom. The arrows also show the flow of energy from one organism to another. The further away from the producer in the food chain we get, the less energy the consumer receives. That’s why the toad has to eat a lot of grasshoppers to keep up its energy.

4. Go through the names of the garden dwellers on the cards to check for understanding, for example, a fingerling is a young fish. Working in pairs or individually, children can cut up the cards and arrows to construct garden ecosystem food chains. Possible food chains could be: LETTUCEMCATERPILLARMFROGMHAWK ALGAEMTADPOLEMDIVING BEETLE

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5. Children can illustrate their favourite food chain for classroom display.

Find out more websites: http://www.gould.edu.au/foodwebs/kids_web.htm http://www.ecokids.ca/pub/eco_info/topics/frogs/chain_reaction/index.cfm

ZActivity

What does a gecko eat for lunch?

On The Menu

Cut out the cards and arrows to build FOOD CHAINS.

r o e t s Bo r e psunflower butterfly u ladybird o diving beetle k S tadpole

skink

cat

fingerling

hawk

lettuce

pollen

frog

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nectar

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kookaburra

tick

spider

snake

magpie

moth

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caterpillar

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snail

sparrow

Teachers' Notes

What's Transpired?

Concepts and Objectives: • •

•

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Materials:

•

Test tubes, test tube holders, plant cuttings, nonpermanent markers, olive oil, rulers, extra leaves for the children to examine.

Teaching Ideas:

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•

Following experiment instructions to carry out a 'fair test'. Understanding how a plant releases water vapour through its leaves (transpiration). Observing how weather conditions affect the rate of transpiration. Recording and evaluating experiment results.

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1. Explain to the class that they will be carrying out an experiment to see how much water a plant can transpire through its leaves in three days. 2. Before setting up the experiment, distribute the extra leaves brought to class and ask the children to examine them. How could a plant release water through its leaves (transpire)? (It has pores called stomata on the underside of its leaves.) 3. Read through the experiment instructions and answer any queries. Ask the group what the purpose of the oil is. Explain that we don’t want to lose water through evaporation from the test tube, only through the plant’s transpiration. 4. Organise the class into groups to collect and set up their equipment. Check that the plant cutting sits firmly in the test tube and its leaves are not blocking the tube’s opening. Help with pouring the olive oil. 5. To show how temperature and wind can affect the rate of transpiration, place the test tubes in three different places: one group in a well-lit, warm area, a second group with less light and the third group exposed to sunlight and wind. Children will record the water level on the test tubes with markers over the next three days. 6. Discuss observations with the children, who can then complete their results on the experiment sheet and draw labelled diagrams.

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ZActivity

Make an observation!

What's Transpired?

How much water does a plant transpire through its leaves?

r o e t s Bo r e p ok My prediction: u S •test tubes and test tube holders

To measure how much water a plant transpires through its leaves.

Equipment:

•plant cutting with stem and leaves •olive oil •non-permanent pen markers

Method:

• Fill the test tubes to three centimetres below the rim with water and put the plant cuttings into the tubes. • Gently pour a little olive oil into the test tubes. It will stay on the surface. • Place the test tubes in the area indicated by your teacher. • Record over the next three days the water level in the test tubes with a non-permanent marker.

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Aim:

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Observations:

My diagram:

Teachers' Notes

Bird Watching

Concepts and Objectives: • •

Understanding that the lorikeet and willie wagtail are different types of birds that are adapted to live in different ways. Identifying birds' body parts and their colours accurately.

•

Images of a rainbow lorikeet and a willie wagtail.

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Teaching Ideas:

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r o e t s Bo r e Materials: p ok u S

1. Brainstorm the parts of a bird’s body (beak, feathers, wings, tail, head, eyes, rump, breast, feet). Record the vocabulary on the board. Ask children to name their favourite bird and give a brief description of it using the body part terms. Tell the group that they are going birdwatching. Their job is to identify a bird by describing its body parts, size and colour. They also need to record where they spotted the bird and what it was eating.

© ReadyEdPubl i cat i ons 2. Hand out the activity sheet and ask the class to observe the two birds, •willie f owagtail rr e vi e wp ur p os es y• the and the rainbow lorikeet. They need to fillo in n thel fact

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cards for each bird. Show the images of the two birds so the children can colour the birds on the 'observation sheet' accurately and label their body parts.

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3. Discuss how their body parts help them to eat and survive. For example, the lorikeet uses its strong curved beak to crack hard seeds and nuts and its strong feet to hold onto branches. The willie wagtail uses its thin beak like a toothpick to catch insects and its light body to change direction quickly when chasing insects.

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4. Discuss how willie wagtails and rainbow lorikeets are both much admired visitors to people’s gardens in Australia. Ask the children how we can make these birds welcome (leaving out seeds and fruit in a safe place, growing insect attracting plants, providing nesting boxes, locking the cat up at night, etc.)

Find out more websites: http://birdsinbackyards.net/species/Rhipidura-leucophrys http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/animals/Parrots.htm

ZActivity

Can you spot a willy wagtail in the garden?

Bird Watching

Complete the fact cards of the willy wagtail and the rainbow lorikeet.

Willy Wagtail

Indication of size: 20cm

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Feet:

____________________________

Colour:

____________________________

Beak:

____________________________

Wings:

____________________________

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Scientific name: Rhipidura leucophrys

Feathers: ____________________________ Tail:

____________________________

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Rainbow Lorikeet

____________________________

Scientific name: Trichoglossus haematodus Feet:

____________________________

o c . che Wings: ____________________________ e r o t r s suFeathers: per ____________________________ Colour:

____________________________

Beak:

____________________________

Tail:

____________________________

Eyes:

____________________________

Breast:

____________________________

Diet:

____________________________ 49

Answers The ladybird = I am brightly coloured.

Page 7 - The Right Place Animals/mammals: rat, bat, echidna, mouse, bandicoot, possum. Tree/plant parts: leaf, bark, seed, branch, flower, fruit.

Sequence: the wombat, the kangaroo, the emu, the lizard, the eel and Tiddalick laughing.

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Animal sounds: growl, purr, tweet, hiss, bleat, chirp, (bark). Animal body parts: claw, wing, shell, snout, gill, tentacles.

Page 9 - Garden Odd bods Suggested answers: roots (mostly found underground); spider (arachnid, not insect); skink (reptile, not insect); poppy (not an herb); willow (introduced species or deciduous); sprinkler (can work on its own); carrot (we eat the root and it does not have seeds, botanically-speaking, the others are fruits).

Page 25 - Tiddalick The Greedy Frog 2 Extension activity on adaptations (mentioned in Teachers' Notes) : desert frog (burrows underground, emerges after heavy rainfall); kangaroo (pants, sweats and licks paws to keep cool); emu (thick feathers to keep the body a constant temperature, pants when its hot); lizard (digs burrows to avoid high temperatures); wombat (nocturnal, emerging at night to feed, lives in burrows); eel (can survive in little water as its oily skin keeps it moist); kookaburra (doesn’t need to drink much, gets moisture from its reptile prey).

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Page 24 - Tiddalick The Greedy Frog 1

Page 11 - What Do We Call A Lot Of...?

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A cloud of crickets, a kaleidoscope of butterflies and a walk of snails.

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Actions which lead to humans, plants or animals being harmed: Girl trampling on flowers, boy pulling tree branches and knocking over nest with eggs in, magpie swooping on boy to protect eggs, girl disturbing and being stung by wasps, boy disturbing an ants' nest, boy littering a pond.

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Page 13 - Generally Speaking

1)eucalyptus 2)parrot 3)vegetable 4) weed 5)lizard 6)possum 7)spider 8) beetle 9)flower 10)garden 11)herb Hidden word: CATERPILLAR.

Page 19 - A Garden Family Album

Responsible actions: girl gardening with gloves on, girl watering flowers.

The earthworm = I'm long and thin. The cricket = I come out at night to sing.

Page 31 - Garden Nightlife

The millipede = I have lots of body segments.

The mice have found a dropped lolly/ fallen apple to eat on the lawn. The

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crickets are nibbling the fallen leaves and fruit. One frog is swimming in the garden pond and the other is planning on catching the moths which are attracted to the light. The cat is walking along the fence, possibly looking for some mice, but the bell around its neck warns the other animals of its approach. The possum is sitting in the hollow of the tree, and the bandicoot is taking advantage of the water left out by the dog. The owl is sitting on the tree branch probably looking for food. The gecko is preying on the moths fluttering around the light. Page 33 - Life Cycle Of A Ladybird 1) Metamorphosis is the change in the way an insect looks as it goes through different stages of its development to become an adult insect.

2) Other insects which undergo complete metamorphosis are butterflies, beetles, bees and dragonflies.

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Page 37 - Give Me A Clue

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Page 39 - Defend Yourself! 1)predators 2)dependent 3)defences 4) thorns 5)bristles 6)sap 7)poisonous 8) herbivores 9)nectar 10)enzymes.

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