Exploring Biomes

Wednesday co-op is all about science for our family.  This year, other classes are offered, but our family chose to only participate in the afternoon science classes.  I am teaching the Kindergarten through third grade class.  We will cover three units this year: Exploring Biomes of the World, Journey to Outer Space, and Studying the Human Body.  Each unit will last 11 weeks.  The final class will be a fun review of the entire school year. 

Our first class was introductory.  The class has doubled in size, which means I needed to learn ten new names. Naturally, we began with a name and introduction activity.  Afterward, I tried to name them all.  Since I had pretty much memorized the class roster before class, it was easier to match faces to names.

The class moved from the floor to tables, and a brief lecture followed.  I needed to introduce the main vocabulary words for the entire unit and set about to do so with a discussion.  The children were eager to talk, and this made for a lively conversation about habitats, ecosystems, and ecology in general.  {Our ten main vocabulary words for this unit: ecology, habitat, biosphere, biotic, abiotic, ecosystem, biome, flora, fauna, climate - these are from our main spine book.}

Afterward, I had them each complete a narration (either orally or in writing, depending on age and ability).  This was simply to assess their comprehension and level of writing skills.  This, of course, will give me a better idea for planning upcoming classes. 

We then moved to the floor again.  This time, I read them Who Eats What? Food Chains and Food Webs, by Patricia Lauber.  There was much discussion about sharks and how they are "definitely at the top of the food chain, since they can eat people and all." (as one little boy reminded us several times)

We returned to our tables to organize our three prong folders with a label and title page.  Once these were completed, the children did a "Find the Habitat" page from an Evan-Moor workbook, Habitats: Science Works for Kids Series.

Spine Book and Main Resources:
God's Design for Chemistry & Ecology: Properties of Ecosystems, Answers in Genesis
Habitats: Science Works for Kids Series, Grades 1-3, Evan-Moore
Easy Make & Learn Projects: Animal Habitats, Grades 2-3, Scholastic
Animal Habitats! by Judy Press
The Usborne Living World Encyclopedia, by Leslie Colvin and Emma Speare


Next time, we'll begin studying each ecosystem, or biome, separately.  Grasslands will be first.