ArtStream West Plains 4th Grade Spring 07

West Plains 4th Grade Spring 07

Students are doing research in the computer lab on a Missouri critter selected from a list. Research includes information on how human activity has had a beneficial or harmful effect on the organism, the place of the animal in a food chain, and its habitat. The students’ study includes polluted run-off as a specific human activity.

Upon completion of the research, students will produce a movie using "Movie Maker" in the computer lab. In their homeroom classroom, students write poems and informative reports using the materials on the Watershed Atlas website. In the art classroom, students are experiencing linoleum printing and nature journaling.

School: West Plains Elementary
Lead teacher: Cindy Rasor
Artist in residence: Pat Hight
Collaborating teachers: Cindy Rasor, Tracy Waggoner, Jodi Ficken, Brandi Montgomery, Kathy Grigsby, Kathy Davis, Jackie Wright, Sarah Gatewood
Grade level: 4
Number of students involved: 140
Subject areas: Science, Communication Arts

Key GLEs:
• SC 4 Changes in Ecosystems and Interactions of Organisms with their Environment, 1, 4 a. Identify the ways a specific organism may interact with other organisms or with the environment., b. Recognize different environments support the life of different types of plants and animals.
• SC 4, 1 D, 4a, Identify examples in Missouri where human activity has had a beneficial or harmful effect on other organisms.
• SC 4, 2 A, 4 a. Classify populations of organisms as producers, consumers, or decomposers by the role they serve in the ecosystem. b. Differentiate between the three types of consumers (herbivore, carnivore, omnivore). c. Categorize organisms as predator or prey in a given ecosystem.
• CA Writing, 3 Write effectively in various forms and types of writing. E, 4 Write informational reports, diary/journal entries….in a format appropriate to an intended audience and purpose.
• CA Information Literacy, 1 Develop and apply effective research process skills to gather analyze, and evaluate information. B, 4 Locate and use various resources to find information on keywords and questions.
• CA Information Literacy, 1DAER, C. 4 Identify relevant information and record main ideas and important details in own words.