First grade ecologists will understand the growth and development of both plants and animals. Animals and plants take on the traits of their parents. Students will learn that all living things have basic needs including food, water, air, shelter, and protection. These young biologists will study the structure and function of animals and how animals use their body parts to survive. Some of the topics that will be covered are vertebrates and invertebrates, warm-blooded and cold-blooded animals, animal classification (mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, and fish), and habitats.
What You Can Do at Home
Activities
With your child, find out about some of the animals that live in your area including the kinds of pets people have. As you walk around your neighborhood, list all the different animals you see. Ask your child to identify if the animal has a spine (vertebrate) or no spine (invertebrate). Have your child carefully observe the animal's habitat. Where does this animal live and what type of shelter does it use to protect itself? Where does it get its food?
Websites
Scholastic Studyjams: Invertebrates. Check out the invertebrates in this slide show.
http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/animals/invertebrates.htm
Scholastic Studyjams: Vertebrates.
If you liked the Studyjams Invertebrate slide show, then you will enjoy learning about animals with a spinal column too.
http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/animals/vertebrates.htm
Animal Adventures: Walk, Swim, or Fly.
Some animals live in the water, other animals like to fly in the air, and others make their homes on land. Can you find where each animal belongs?
http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/walk_swim_fly/index_intro.html
Suggested Reading
Rabbits & Raindrops by Jim Arnosky. Five baby rabbits follow their mother and discover grass, clover, grasshoppers and bees, and share their shelter with other creatures to escape the rain.
Those Amazing Ants by Patricia Brennan Demuth. Amazing facts about ants, how they hunt, eat, build their homes, and organize themselves.
For a list of science nonfiction books, please click on the link titled Favorite Links and Books to Read. Click on the sublink Grades K-2 Science Nonfiction Books, where you will find a detailed list of books related to many different topics in science.
What You Can Do at Home
Activities
With your child, find out about some of the animals that live in your area including the kinds of pets people have. As you walk around your neighborhood, list all the different animals you see. Ask your child to identify if the animal has a spine (vertebrate) or no spine (invertebrate). Have your child carefully observe the animal's habitat. Where does this animal live and what type of shelter does it use to protect itself? Where does it get its food?
Websites
Scholastic Studyjams: Invertebrates. Check out the invertebrates in this slide show.
http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/animals/invertebrates.htm
Scholastic Studyjams: Vertebrates.
If you liked the Studyjams Invertebrate slide show, then you will enjoy learning about animals with a spinal column too.
http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/animals/vertebrates.htm
Animal Adventures: Walk, Swim, or Fly.
Some animals live in the water, other animals like to fly in the air, and others make their homes on land. Can you find where each animal belongs?
http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/walk_swim_fly/index_intro.html
Suggested Reading
Rabbits & Raindrops by Jim Arnosky. Five baby rabbits follow their mother and discover grass, clover, grasshoppers and bees, and share their shelter with other creatures to escape the rain.
Those Amazing Ants by Patricia Brennan Demuth. Amazing facts about ants, how they hunt, eat, build their homes, and organize themselves.
For a list of science nonfiction books, please click on the link titled Favorite Links and Books to Read. Click on the sublink Grades K-2 Science Nonfiction Books, where you will find a detailed list of books related to many different topics in science.