Learning Cycle 1

Exploring Our Environment

Living and nonliving organisms

Learning Cycle one focuses students on the topic of living and nonliving organisms and serves as
pre-unit assessment of their knowledge and questions related to ecosystems. Once they classify
living and nonliving organisms in their environment they will begin to consider the relationships
that exist between living and nonliving things.

Getting Started Phase:

On the overhead, make two vertical columns. Label the columns living and nonliving. Tell the
students that all living things in their habitat fit into one of these two categories.

Equipment/Preparation

For the Scientist Pairs

Yarn for circle, 1 ½ ft. Assign each student a partner
Hand lens
Living/Nonliving data chart
For each student
Science notebook
Pencil
For the teacher:
A whistle
Key Science Process Skills:
1. Observe living and nonliving organisms.
2. Predict if they will find more living or nonliving things.
3. Communication: Share their observations and predictions.
Safety Issues
1. Come in when the whistle is blown to avoid being left outside.
2. Avoid disturbing the habitats that you are observing.

Exploration Phase:

 Explain that each pair will use a yarn circle on the playground. They will place the yarn
circle in an area (flowerbed, sandbox, tree, grass) and will record the living and nonliving
things they find inside the yarn circle. They should find four living and four nonliving
things within the circle. If necessary, they may move their circle to other locations. If
they have to move their circles to other locations, they must record their move on their
data sheets.
 Model examples of some things that might be collected, on the board or overhead.
Remind students that an important rule of the data collection process includes the careful
observation of the organism and its habitat. There should be no digging in the soil or
uprooting of plants.
 Prior to going outside have the students predict in their science notebook if they will find
more living or nonliving elements on the playground and why. Record some their
responses on the board.
  Once you call a pair of students have them line up together in the back of the classroom.
Have them bring a pencil and science notebook. Pass out a living/nonliving data chart
and yarn circle to each group of two students as they walk out side.
 Take the students outside and tell them that you will give them 10-15 minutes to observe
their organisms and collect their data. Advise the students that they will line up again
when the whistle is blown.
 Encourage the students to ask questions about their observations. (Are there more
organisms in the shade or sun? Do plants grow bigger in shady areas?)

Process for Meaning Phase:

 Return to the classroom to compare and compile the data the students collected to
determine what the characteristics are of living and nonliving things.
 Have each group share 2 living and 2 nonliving things they found in their circle. Write
these things on the board or overhead on a T-chart labeled living and nonliving.
 List characteristics of things that are observed in the living column (growth, movement,
reproduction), then list characteristics of things that are observed in the nonliving
column. Attention focusing question.
 Compare the results obtained with the students’ predictions.
 Discuss why and where they found more living elements.
Questions for developing children’s ideas
 Comparison question: Were there more living elements in sunny or shady areas?
(Sunny areas) Try thinking about what living things need to grow.
 Attention-focusing question: Why would this be?
(Light makes living things grow)
 Comparison question: Were there areas where the numbers of living and
nonliving elements were similar? (Yes, areas in the oak and on the field)
 Attention-focusing question: Why would this be? (They both have soil, and
plants) Think about how the areas were similar and what nonliving components
were the same.
 Attention-focusing question: What were some of the interesting or unusual
elements students found in the areas? (Different temperature, amount of light,
more animals)
 Comparison questions: Were they natural or man made? (Answers could vary
depending on where they chose to conduct their observations
 Define and give examples of living and nonliving organisms for the class.

Application Phase:

A discussion prompted by an illustration of a riverbank provides additional information about

ideas regarding these relationships. You can use this information as a baseline when, at the end of
the unit you assess students’ growth in concepts and skills.

Materials/Preparation:

For each student:

Science notebook
The Riverbank Environment worksheet – in activity packet
For the teacher:
Overhead transparency of The Riverbank Environment
Overhead projector

 Distribute the Student Activity Packets

 Show students the illustration of the riverbank environment and have them find this
illustration in their Student Activity Packets.
 Ask students to describe the different kinds of relationships they see. The following
questions may be helpful to focus the discussion.
Identify the living things in this environment. How do the plants depend on
animals? How do the animals depend on the plants? How do the animals depend
on each other?
Which of these living things needs others to survive?
Identify the nonliving things in this environment. What part do they play in the
lives of the living things?
What might be going on that you cannot see?
 Then ask students to record in their notebooks some thoughts on the following:
Describe a situation in this picture where one living thing depends on another
living thing, and where one living thing depends on a nonliving thing.

Notebook Entries:
In the individual notebook entries, you can assess students’ baseline knowledge by
looking for the following:
Clearly depicted a living and nonliving thing when indicated.
An attempt to describe the complexity of the relationships, including those that
pertain to food, shelter and safety from predators, would show an increased
knowledge of living and nonliving organisms.
Use of a vocabulary that indicates a familiarity with the interdependent
relationships that exist in an environment.

Throughout the unit, students will record what they are learning in their science
notebooks or on record sheets. By comparing these entries at different times, you will be
able to assess individual growth.