Grades 3-5

Correlations to Ohio Academic Content Standards

Owl Pellets

Standard – Life Sciences
Organizer – Diversity and Interdependence of Life
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator –  Benchmark B 3.2, Benchmark B 3.3

Standard – Scientific Inquiry
Organizer – Doing Scientific Inquiry
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark B 3.2, Benchmark B 3.3,
Benchmark C 3.6

Standard – Scientific Ways of Knowing
Organizer – Nature of Science
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark B 3.1

Animal Tracks and Wildlife

Students view a variety of animal skins and discuss animal characteristics. They learn about how pollution and litter can affect animals within an ecosystem. Students take home an animal track made from plaster of Paris.

Standard – Scientific Inquiry
Organizer – Doing Scientific Inquiry
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark C 3.6

Standard – Life Sciences
Organizer – Diversity and Interdependence of Life
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark B 3.2, Benchmark B 3.3,
Benchmark C 5.4, Benchmark C 5.5, Benchmark C 5.6

Ohio Deer

Standard – Life Sciences
Organizer – Diversity and Interdependence of Life
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark C 3.6, Benchmark C 5.4,
Benchmark C 5.5, Benchmark C 5.6

Standard – Scientific Inquiry
Organizer  – Doing Scientific Inquiry
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark B 3.3

Standard – Scientific Ways of Knowing
Organizer – Nature of Science
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark B 5.2

Soil and Erosion

Students learn the characteristics of soil such as color and texture. They investigate how soil is created and how long it takes.

Standard – Earth and Space Sciences
Organizer – Processes that Shape the Earth
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark B 4.8, Benchmark B 4.9,
Benchmark B 4.10, Benchmark B 4.10

Standard – Earth and Space Sciences
Organizer – Earth Systems
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark C 5.6

Standard – Science and Technology
Organizer – Understanding Technology
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark A 3.2, Benchmark A 5.1

Ohio Rocks and Minerals

Standard – Earth and Space Sciences
Organizer – Processes that Shape the Earth
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark B 4.8, Benchmark B 4.10

Standard – Earth and Space Sciences
Organizer – Earth Systems
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark C 3.1, Benchmark C 3.2,
Benchmark C 3.3, Benchmark C 3.4, Benchmark C 3.5, Benchmark C 3.6,
Benchmark C 5.6

Ohio Fossils

Standard – Life Sciences
Organizer – Diversity and Interdependence of Life
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark C 3.4, Benchmark C 3.5,
Benchmark C 3.6, Benchmark C 4.4, Benchmark C 5.4, Benchmark C 5.5,
Benchmark C 5.6

Standard – Earth and Space Sciences
Organizer – Processes that Shape the Earth
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark B 4.8

Standard – Earth and Space Sciences
Organizer – Earth Systems
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark C 3.2, Benchmark C 3.4

Standard – Scientific Inquiry
Organizer – Doing Scientific Inquiry
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark B 3.2, Benchmark B 4.2,
Benchmark B 5.3, Benchmark C 4.6

Standard – Scientific Ways of Knowing
Organizer – Nature of Science
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark A 4.1, Benchmark A 5.1,
Benchmark B 4.1, Benchmark B 5.3, Benchmark B 5.4

Standard – Scientific Ways of Knowing
Organizer – Ethical Practices
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark C 4.4

Web of Life / Links in the Chain

By playing a game, students learn how pollution enters the aquatic ecosystem. They learn how non-point source pollution affects the organisms in the food chain of that ecosystem, what a food chain is, and how biological magnification affects those organisms.

Standard – Earth and Space Sciences
Organizer – Earth Systems
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark C 5.6

Standard – Life Sciences
Organizer – Diversity and Interdependence of Life
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark B 5.1, Benchmark B 5.2,
Benchmark B 5.3, Benchmark C 3.6, Benchmark C 5.4, Benchmark C 5.5,
Benchmark C 5.6

Standard – Science and Technology
Organizer – Understanding Technology
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark A 3.2, Benchmark A 5.1

Finding the Connection

Students construct a poster and connect the insects and animals in a given food chain and ecosystem while they describe the interdependence between them.

Standard – Life Sciences
Organizer – Diversity and Interdependence of Life
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark B 3.2, Benchmark B 5.1,
Benchmark B 5.3, Benchmark C 5.4, Benchmark C 5.5, Benchmark C 5.6

Making Paper

This program teaches students to recycle old newspapers into new products such as decorative magnets, pins, Christmas ornaments and more. Students learn the advantages of recycling and paint their own ornaments to keep.

Standard – Earth and Space Sciences
Organizer – Earth Systems
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark C 5.6

Pollution on the Move

Standard – Life Sciences
Organizer – Diversity and Interdependence of Life
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark C 5.6

Standard – Science and Technology
Organizer – Understanding Technology
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark A 3.2, Benchmark A 5.1

Plant Address

Created for fourth grade. By listening to plant adaptation clues in a riddle, teams of students try to identify the plants and their habitats. The clues and riddles describe many water-related adaptations by plants.

Standard – Life Sciences
Organizer – Heredity
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark A 4.1, Benchmark A 4.5

Standard – Life Sciences
Organizer – Diversity and Interdependence of Life
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark A 4.2, Benchmark A 4.3

Water Address

By listening to animal adaptation clues in a riddle, teams of students identify the animals and their habitats. The clues and riddles describe water-related adaptations by animals.

Standard – Life Sciences
Organizer – Diversity and Interdependence of Life
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark B 3.2, Benchmark B 3.3,
Benchmark C 5.5

Life Cycle of the Monarch Butterfly

Standard – Life Sciences
Organizer – Heredity
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark A 3.1

Life Cycle of the Milkweed Plant

Standard – Life Sciences
Organizer – Heredity
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark A 4.1, Benchmark A 4.5

Standard – Life Sciences
Organizer – Diversity and Interdependence of Life
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark A 4.3

Recycling Presentation

Standard-Earth and Space Sciences
Organizer – Earth Systems
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark C 5.6

Habitat Lap Sit

Standard – Life Sciences
Organizer – Diversity and Interdependence of Life
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark C 3.6, Benchmark C 5.4,
Benchmark C 5.5

Standard – Earth and Space Sciences
Organizer – Earth Systems
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark C 5.6

Standard – Earth and Space Sciences
Organizer – Heredity
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark A 4.5

Humpty Dumpty

Students relate the challenge of environmental restoration projects to assembling a puzzle that they create. They learn about the challenges of restoring an altered natural environment.

Standard – Earth and Space Sciences
Organizer – Processes that Shape the Earth
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark B 4.9, Benchmark B 4.10

Standard – Earth and Space Sciences
Organizer – Earth Systems
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark C 5.6

Standard – Life Sciences
Organizer – Diversity and Interdependence of Life
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark C 3.6, Benchmark C 5.4,
Benchmark C 5.5, Benchmark C 5.6

Standard – Life Sciences
Organizer – Heredity
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark A 4.5

Standard – Science and Technology
Organizer – Abilities to Do Technical Design
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark B 3.4, Benchmark B 4.3,
Benchmark B 5.2

Standard – Science and Technology
Organizer – Understanding Technology
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark A 5.1, Benchmark A 4.2,
Benchmark A 3.2

Stream Table

This is an exciting hands-on way to learn about stream morphology. The stream table is available for loan, teaching concepts of stream behavior. A teaching guide is included; the stream table can demonstrate streambank erosion, streambank protection, stream energy and slope change, among other concepts.

Standard – Earth and Space Sciences
Organizer – Earth Systems
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark C 5.6

Adaptation Artistry

Students identify and describe the advantages of adaptations by animals such as birds. Students design and create an imaginary bird with adaptations made from recycled materials. The students then write a short story describing their bird and the importance of their adaptations.

Standard – Life Sciences
Organizer – Diversity and Interdependence of Life
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark B 3.2, Benchmark B 3.3

Incredible Journey

Students play a game where they learn the three states of water as water molecules move through the water cycle.

Standard – Earth and Space Sciences
Organizer – Earth Systems
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark D 4.2, Benchmark D 4.3

Standard – Physical Sciences
Organizer – Nature of Matter
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark A 4.1

Enviroscape Watershed Model

This models helps students understand what a watershed is and how it drains. Students will place simulated pollutants on the land to see how we contribute to water pollution.

Standard – Earth and Space Sciences
Organizer – Earth Systems
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark C 5.6

Standard – Life Sciences
Organizer – Diversity and Interdependence of Life
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark C 3.6, Benchmark C 5.4,
Benchmark C 5.5, Benchmark C 5.6

Standard – Science and Technology
Organizer – Ability to do Technological Design
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark B 3.5, Benchmark B 5.3

Standard – Science and Technology
Organizer – Understanding Technology
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark A 3.1, Benchmark A 3.2,
Benchmark A 5.1

Standard – Scientific Inquiry
Organizer – Doing Scientific Inquiry
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark B 3.5, Benchmark B 4.2,
Benchmark B 5.3, Benchmark B 3.6, Benchmark B 5.6

SUM of the Parts

Students demonstrate how everyone contributes to the pollution of a river and recognize that everyone has a responsibility to reduce their contribution.

Standard – Life Sciences
Organizer – Diversity and Interdependence of Life
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark C 3.6, Benchmark C 5.5,
Benchmark C 5.6

Standard – Earth and Space Sciences
Organizer – Earth Systems
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark C 5.5, Benchmark C 5.6

Standard – Science and Technology
Organizer – Understanding Technology
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark A 3.2, Benchmark A 3.3,
Benchmark A 5.1

Standard – Science and Technology
Organizer – Ability to do Technological Design
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark B 3.4, Benchmark B 5.2

Groundwater Model

Standard – Earth and Space Sciences
Organizer – Earth Systems
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark C 3.5, Benchmark C 3.6

Standard – Earth and Space Sciences
Organizer – The Universe
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark C 3.4

Get the Groundwater Picture

Students learn the basic principles of groundwater as they create a geologic cross-section or “earth window.”

Standard – Earth and Space Sciences
Organizer – Earth Systems
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark C 3.5, Benchmark C 3.6

Standard – Science and Technology
Organizer – Understanding Technology
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark A 5.1

Standard – Scientific Inquiry
Organizer – Doing Scientific Inquiry
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark C 4.3, Benchmark C 4.4,
Benchmark B 5.2

Macroinvertebrate Mayhem

Standard-Life Sciences
Organizer – Diversity and Interdependence of Life
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark B 3.2, Benchmark B 3.3,
Benchmark B 3.6, Benchmark C 5.4, Benchmark C 5.5, Benchmark C 5.6

Standard – Science and Technology
Organizer – Ability to do Technological Design
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark B 5.3

Standard – Science and Technology
Organizer – Understanding Technology
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark A 3.2, Benchmark A 5.1

Standard – Scientific Inquiry
Organizer – Doing Scientific Inquiry
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark B 3.2, Benchmark B 3.5,
Benchmark B 5.2, Benchmark B 5.3, Benchmark C 5.4

Standard – Scientific Ways of Knowing
Organizer – Ethical Practices
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark C 4.4

Standard – Scientific Ways of Knowing
Organizer – Nature of Science
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark B 5.2, Benchmark C 4.2

Indoor Stream Monitoring

Students utilize scientific inquiry to compare two different artificial streams. They seine for macroinvertebrates and learn how these macroinvertebrates can determine the quality of water in a stream. Students learn how tolerance to water quality conditions varies from species to species.

Standard – Life Sciences
Organizer – Diversity and Interdependence of Life
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark B 3.2, Benchmark B 3.3,
Benchmark C 3.6, Benchmark B 5.2, Benchmark B 5.3, Benchmark C 5.4,
Benchmark C 5.5, Benchmark C 5.6

Standard – Life Sciences
Organizer – Heredity
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark A 3.1

Standard – Science and Technology
Organizer – Ability to do Technological Design
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark B 5.3

Standard – Science and Technology
Organizer – Understanding Technology
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark A 3.2, Benchmark A 3.3,
Benchmark A 5.1

Standard – Scientific Inquiry
Organizer – Doing Scientific Inquiry
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark A 3.1, Benchmark B 3.2,
Benchmark B 3.3, Benchmark B 3.5, Benchmark C 3.4, Benchmark C 3.6,
Benchmark A 4.1, Benchmark C 4.4, Benchmark C 4.5, Benchmark C 4.6,
Benchmark A 5.1, Benchmark B 5.2, Benchmark B 5.3, Benchmark C 5.4,
Benchmark C 5.5, Benchmark C 5.6

Standard – Scientific Ways of Knowing
Organizer – Ethical Practices
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark C 3.2, Benchmark C 4.4,
Benchmark C 5.5

Standard – Scientific Ways of Knowing
Organizer – Nature of Science
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark B 3.1, Benchmark A 4.1,
Benchmark B 4.3, Benchmark C 4.2, Benchmark A 5.1, Benchmark B 5.2,
Benchmark B 5.3, Benchmark B 5.4

Standard – Scientific Ways of Knowing
Organizer – Science and Technology
Benchmark and Grade Level Indicator – Benchmark D 3.4, Benchmark D 3.5,
Benchmark D 5.6