Kids Into Discovering Science: A Framework for Place-Based, Hands-On Ecology

The Kids Into Discovering Science (KiDS) curriculum, designed for 5th grade students, includes 10 classroom lesson plans and one field trip lesson plan centered on a plant science experiment. Over 10 lessons and a field day, students practice observation, set up and monitor an experiment, analyze and present their data, and learn about plant ecology, soil ecology, habitats, and their local environments. Students gain an understanding of many ecological concepts, get experience with the scientific process, and develop a sense of place. The curriculum emphasizes local ecology in Lake County, CA, but is written such that its structure or individual lessons may be adapted to other locations and ecosystems.

Associated files	EcoEd_Lesson9A.docx EcoEd_Lesson9Revised.docx EcoEd_Lesson8Revised.docx EcoEd_Lesson6Revised.docx EcoEd_Lesson7Revised.docx EcoEd_Lesson5Revised.docx EcoEd_Lesson4Revised.docx EcoEd_Lesson3Revised.docx EcoEd_Lesson1Revised.docx EcoEd_Lesson2Revised.docx EcoEd_KiDSCurriculumOverviewRevised.docx EcoEd_FieldTripRevised.docx EcoEd_FireLessonRevised.docx EcoEd_Lesson1_Smartboard.docx EcoEd_Lesson3_Smartboard.docx EcoEd_Lesson4_SmartBoard.docx EcoEd_Lesson5_Smartboard.docx EcoEd_Lesson6_SmartBoard.docx EcoEd_Lesson7_Smartboard.docx EcoEd_Lesson9_Smartboard.docx EcoEd_ExpLog_Revised.docx EcoEd_ExpLog_Key.docx EcoEd_KiDS_AllLessons_Revised.pdf
Temporal and geographic description	This curriculum was designed for Lake County, California, but notes throughout the curriculum provide suggestions for adapting to other locations.
Format	doc
Primary or BEN resource type	Lesson plan
Secondary resource type	Assessment- tool Field activity Fieldtrip guide laboratory exercise Laboratory manual Manual Teaching strategies & guidelines
General Biology Core Concepts	Next Generation Science Standards (for K-12) Next Generation Science Standards (for K-12) -- Structures and Processes -- Organization of Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms Next Generation Science Standards (for K-12) -- Ecosystems Next Generation Science Standards (for K-12) -- Ecosystems -- Cycles of Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems
Discipline Specific Core Concepts	Ecological Core Concepts -- The science of ecology Ecological Core Concepts -- Ecosystems -- Food webs and trophic cascades Ecological Core Concepts -- Ecosystems -- Production and respiration Ecological Core Concepts -- Individuals -- Morphology Ecological Core Concepts -- Interspecific interactions -- Competition Ecological Core Concepts -- Populations -- Life history traits and reproduction Ecological Core Concepts -- The science of ecology -- Scientific method and experimental design Ecological Core Concepts -- The science of ecology -- Statistical analysis Botanical Core Concepts -- Ecosystems Botanical Core Concepts -- Ecosystems -- Cycles of Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems Botanical Core Concepts -- Ecosystems -- Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience Botanical Core Concepts -- Structures and Processes -- Growth and Development of Organisms
General Biology Competencies	Next Generation Science Standards (for K-12) -- Asking questions for science Next Generation Science Standards (for K-12) -- Developing and using models Next Generation Science Standards (for K-12) -- Planning and carrying out investigations Next Generation Science Standards (for K-12) -- Analyzing and interpreting data Next Generation Science Standards (for K-12) -- Using mathematics and computational thinking Next Generation Science Standards (for K-12) -- Constructing explanations for science Next Generation Science Standards (for K-12) -- Engaging in argument from evidence Next Generation Science Standards (for K-12) -- Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information
Life science discipline (subject)	Botany & Plant Science Ecology Environmental Sciences Natural History Soil Biology
Keywords	plants, soils, place-based education, scientific process, seeds, serpentine
Audience	Grades 6 - 8
Intended End User Role	Teacher
Language	English
Educational Language	English
Pedagogical Use Category	Teach
Pedagogical Use Description	This curriculum is intended to be used as an ongoing program over 10+ weeks to teach scientific process and local ecology. It was designed for use in Northern California, with lessons taught by graduate and undergraduate student volunteer instructors visiting a rural elementary school in a nearby region once a week. However, we encourage people to adapt our curriculum and framework so that it suits their setting, audience, curricular requirements, and logistical constraints. Many lessons or the general framework can be adapted to different systems and lessons can be adapted to stand alone or as subsets of the full curriculum. We provide a section of the Curriculum Overview as well as "Adapt This!" boxes throughout the lesson plans with our suggestions for tailoring the curriculum to your needs. Indeed, we hope that you will adapt the curriculum in ways that centers the local ecology in the location where the curriculum is taught. We suggest that you begin with the Curriculum Overview and/or the PDF of the overview and the lesson plans (AllLessons document) to get a sense for the curriculum as a whole and what each lesson contains.
Uniqueness	This curriculum includes 10 classroom and 1 field-based lessons that fit together to teach the scientific process, plant ecology, and place-based ecology to late elementary or early middle-school aged students. We provide here all of the lesson plans, along with a program framework and suggestions for adapting the program's lessons or the entire program structure to other systems while maintaining the place-based ecology emphasis.
Aggregation Level	1
Structure	atomic
Full Name of Primary Author	Alexandra Weill
Primary Author Controlled Name	Alexandra Weill
Primary Author Affiliation	University of California, Davis
Primary Author email	amweill@ucdavis.edu
Secondary Author Name(s)	Barbara Fernandez, Maureen Stanton, Stella Copeland, Carmen Cortez, Lauren Camp, Jan Ng, Kara Moore
Added By Id	alweill
Submitter Name	Alexandra Weill
Submitter Email	amweill@ucdavis.edu
Rights	The KiDS program is available for free and open use and adaptation. We ask that you credit the authors and program if you use our work.
License	Author holds Copyright
Publisher	EcoEd Digital Library PlantEd Digital Library
Review type	Peer review
Drought and Water Ecosystem Services Collection	Off
Conservation Targets Under Global Change Collection	Off
Big Data Collection	Off
Editors Choice	No
Resource Status	Available: Final
Date Of Record Submission	2016-09-10
I Agree to EcoEdDL's Copyright Policy & Terms of Use	No
Date Of Record Release	2017-11-09 19:04:16
Last Modified By Id	tmourad
Date Last Modified	2017-11-09 19:04:16
Release Flag	Published

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Kids Into Discovering Science: A Framework for Place-Based, Hands-On Ecology

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