South Carolina ETV

South Carolina ETV
1101 George Rogers Boulevard
Columbia, SC 29201-4761
Phone: 803-737-3545

Water, Water Everywhere (Pond Animals) (Grade 2)

Master Teacher

Tina Rivers

Time Allotment
Ten 45-minute periods over two consecutive weeks

Overview
The students will gain an understanding of the characteristics and needs of animals which interact in a pond environment. They will learn about the basic needs of pond animals in their habitat and the life cycle of a frog. Each student will work with another student to create either a slide presentation or publication.

Subject Matter
Science

Learning Objectives
Students will be able to:

Identify the basic needs of pond animals.
Describe the stages in the life cycle of a frog.
Identify the physical characteristics of various pond animals.

South Carolina Curriculum Standards
(From the South Carolina Science Curriculum Standards, grade 2, available online at www.myscscshools.com)

South Carolina Science Academic Standards

Animals
Standard 2-2: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the needs and characteristics of animals as they interact in their own distinct environments. (Life Science)

Indicators
2-2.1: Recall the basic needs of animals (including air, water, food, and shelter) for energy, growth, and protection.
2-2.2: Classify animals according to their physical characteristics and the distinct environments in which they live.
2-2.3: Explain how distinct environments throughout the world support the life of different types of animals.
2-2.4: Summarize the interdependence between animals and plants as sources of food and shelter.
2-2.5: Illustrate the various life cycles of animals, including birth, stages of development and reproduction.

Media Components

Video
In the Small, Small Pond, based on the children’s book of the same name, introduces students to the life found in a pond in spring and summer.

Habitats: Homes for Living Things peeks into the habitats of different kinds of animals to see how they meet their needs.

Directions: To access these programs, log on to ETV’s StreamlineSC Web page (http://etv.streamlinesc.org). Select Keyword: pond. Click on “In the Small, Small Pond” and select “a” in front of the clip “Life in the Pond in Summer” (3:57). This adds the clip to “My Playlist.” Select Continue button. Click to close window. Follow the steps to add the clip “Life in the Pond in Winter” (:35). Return to the Search Results and click on “Habitats: Homes for Living Things.” Select the “a” in front of the clip “Pond Habitat” (1:13). This adds the clip to “My Playlist.” Select Continue button. Click to close window. When finished, log off.

(Note to Teacher: If you don’t have an account with ETV’s StreamlineSC, check with your media specialist about signing up for one.)

Web Sites
Enchanted Learning (www.enchantedlearning.com) Animals are listed by alphabet, type, and continent. This site also provides printouts to color, descriptions, and information on diet and habitat.

SC Discus (www.scdiscus.org) is South Carolina’s virtual library and provides free access for South Carolina teachers and students. Kids Infobits has kid friendly information about animals with lots of pictures.

Google (www.google.com) is a search engine to locate information on animals and pond habitat.

Pics4Learning (www.pics4learning) has free pictures of all kinds of animals.

Clip Art and Media (http://office.microsoft.com/clipart) has clip art pictures of all types of animals.

Other Media
The students will use Microsoft PowerPoint to make a slide presentation describing their assigned pond animal or they will use Microsoft Word to write and illustrate a story about their assigned pond animal.

Materials

Books:
Discovering Frogs by Douglas Florian (Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, 1986)
Frogs and Toads and Tadpoles, Too! by Alan Fowler (Scholastic Library Publishing, 1992)
Frogs by Gail Gibbons (Holiday House, Inc., 1994)
A New Frog by Pamela Hickman (Kids Can Press, Limited, 1999)
Life Cycle of a Frog by Angela Royston (Heinemann, 1999)
Other non-fiction books about pond animals

Per student:
Pond Animals Word Search Puzzle
“Which are found in a pond habitat?” worksheet
writing paper
pencils
crayons
markers

Equipment
Computer with Internet connection
Projector and screen or TV and TVconverter
PowerPoint and Word software
Digital camera

Prep for Teachers

Gather necessary art supplies.
Check out books and equipment from the library.
Bookmark Internet sites to be used by the students.
Make a copy of the Pond Animals Word Search Puzzle for each student. It is found at the end of the lesson.
Make a copy of the “Which are found in a pond habitat?” worksheet for each student. It’s found at the end of the lesson.
Arrange a field trip to a pond.
Create a PowerPoint presentation about a pond. Slides will include the following: definition of a pond (a man-made body of water usually surrounded by trees), pictures of ponds, pictures of some pond animals, the basic needs of pond animals (air, food, water, shelter), and information on the life cycle of a frog.
When using media, provide students with a Focus for Media Interaction, a specific task to complete and/or information to identify during or after viewing of video segments, Web sites, or other multimedia elements.

Introductory ActivityStep 1: Lead the students in a discussion about what they know and what they would like to learn about pond animals.

Step 2: Introduce the students to the unit by viewing your PowerPoint presentation on a pond.

Learning Activities
Step 1: Log on to ETV’s StreamlineSC to retrieve the video segments from your Playlist. (Note to Teacher: It is probably better if you download it to your desktop computer’s hard drive or a CD to start with. Many schools actually don’t have the band width to live stream.) Students will view segments from In the Small, Small Pond (“Life in the Pond in Summer” and “Life in the Pond in Winter”) and a clip on a pond habitat from: Habitats: Homes for Living Things. Prior to viewing each segment, tell the class the Focus for Media Interaction question or questions. After viewing each segment, discuss the students’ answers to the questions.

Step 2: The Focus for Media Interaction questions for 1. “Life in the Pond in Summer” (3:57) are “Where does the story take place?” (in the small pond) “What are some animals that live at the pond?” (frogs, geese, ducks, minnows, fish, muskrats, tadpoles, turtles, swallows, raccoons) Instructions: Locate the video clip on your hard drive or CD. Double click video clip icon. Click on silver circle in the bottom right of the video screen to show full screen. Click the x in the upper right corner when the clip is complete. Repeat the steps for the next clip. The Focus for Media Interaction questions for 2. “Life in the Pond in Winter” (:35) are “What is winter at the small pond like?” (chill breeze, water freezes, snow, cold night) “What does the frog do in the winter?” (sleep tight, under the mud)

Step 3: Repeat the steps for the next clip from Habitats: Homes for Living Things. The Focus for Media Interaction questions for “Pond Habitat” (1:13) are “What is a pond?” (water with land all around it) “Where does the fresh water come from in a pond?” (rain) “Where does an otter find shelter?” (Digs a hole in the mud at the edge of a pond.) “What do insects eat at the pond?” (plants that float on the top of the water)
Step 4: Now have students complete the Pond Animals Word Search Puzzle which is based on the information seen in the video clips.
Step 5: After the students have finished the puzzle, provide them with the many non-fiction books about various pond animals you gathered. Read several to the students and allow the students to read others independently.

Step 6: Allow the students to research the life cycle of a frog AND/OR pond animals in the school’s media center. They will look for the answers to these questions:

“How does the animal meet its basic needs for air, water, food, and shelter?”
“Where in the pond habitat does the animal live?”
“How does a pond habitat support the lives of the animals which live in it?”

The answer to each question will be a PowerPoint slide or part of a publication.

Step 7: Allow the students to work on their projects using the computers in the classroom and the media center. Students will work at the computer as partners to locate information. They will also use the computer to type the information learned. Students can use clipart to illustrate their work.

Step 8: Have students complete the “Which are found in a pond habitat?” worksheet. The activity requires the student to determine whether various animals live in a pond habitat.

Step 9: Each pair of students will present their slide presentation or publication to their classmates.

Culminating Activity
Step 1: Take the students on a field trip to a nearby pond. Allow students to take pictures with digital cameras.

Step 2: When you return to class, have them create a classroom display to share the pictures taken at the pond.

Cross-Curricular Extensions
Language Arts: Students will write a journal entry about their trip to the pond. The will describe what they saw and heard.

Art: Students will draw and color a picture of something they saw at the pond.

Community Connections

Invite parents and community to see the class display and listen to the presentations.

Student Materials

Pond Animals Word Search Puzzle (PDF)
Pond Animals Word Search Puzzle Answers (PDF)