SCHOOL FIELD TRIP PROGRAMS for 2012

Kindergarten Program - The Diversity of Animals

Students will compare the similarities and differences in groups of organisms. This program focuses on helping students to utilize their powers of observation to distinguish between various types of animals. Exercises will educate students on distinguishing insects (which all have 6 legs) from other types of animals.

Georgia Performance Science Standards

SKL1. Students will sort living organisms and non-living materials into groups by observable physical attributes.

a. Recognize the difference between living organisms and nonliving materials.

b. Group animals according to their observable features such as appearance, size, motion, where it lives, etc. (Example: A green frog has four legs and hops. A rabbit also hops.)

c. Group plants according to their observable features such as appearance, size, etc.

SKL2. Students will compare the similarities and differences in groups of organisms.

a. Explain the similarities and differences in animals. (color, size, appearance, etc.)

b. Explain the similarities and differences in plants. (color, size, appearance, etc.)

c. Recognize the similarities and differences between a parent and a baby.

d. Match pictures of animal parents and their offspring explaining your reasoning. (Example: dog/puppy; cat/kitten; cow/calf; duck/ducklings, etc.)

e. Recognize that you are similar and different from other students. (senses, appearance)

1st Grade Program - Basic Needs of Plants and Animals

Students will investigate the characteristics and basic needs of plants and animals. Plants and animals each need 4 basic things to survive. In this program we will investigate the needs of these organisms, and explore how different species meet these needs.

Georgia Performance Science Standards

S1L1. Students will investigate the characteristics and basic needs of plants and animals.

a. Identify the basic needs of a plant.

1. Air

2. Water

3. Light

4. Nutrients

b. Identify the basic needs of an animal.

1. Air

2. Water

3. Food

4. Shelter

c. Identify the parts of a plant—root, stem, leaf, and flower.

d. Compare and describe various animals—appearance, motion, growth, basic needs.

2nd Grade Program - Life Cycles and Life Histories

Students will investigate the life cycles of different living organisms. In this program we explore variations in life cycles that we see in the animal kingdom. We will discuss for instance the reasons that some species lay eggs while others have live birth.

Georgia Performance Science Standards

S2L1. Students will investigate the life cycles of different living organisms.

a. Determine the sequence of the life cycle of common animals in your area: a mammal such as a cat or dog or classroom pet, a bird such as a chicken, an amphibian such as a frog, and an insect such as a butterfly.

b. Relate seasonal changes to observations of how a tree changes throughout a school year.

c. Investigate the life cycle of a plant by growing a plant from a seed and by recording changes over a period of time.

d. Identify fungi (mushroom) as living organisms.

3rd Grade Program - The Importance of Habitats

Students will investigate the habitats of different organisms and the dependence of organisms on their habitat. We will explore the differences in various habitats, and how the animals that live in these habitats meet their basic needs. It is highly recommended that this program be scheduled as an ‘Extended’ program so as to include a guided nature hike through our habitats.

Georgia Performance Science Standards

S3L1. Students will investigate the habitats of different organisms and the dependence of organisms on their habitat.

a. Differentiate between habitats of Georgia (mountains, marsh/swamp, coast, Piedmont, Atlantic Ocean) and the organisms that live there.

b. Identify features of green plants that allow them to live and thrive in different regions of Georgia.

c. Identify features of animals that allow them to live and thrive in different regions of Georgia.

d. Explain what will happen to an organism if the habitat is changed.

S3L2. Students will recognize the effects of pollution and humans on the environment.

a. Explain the effects of pollution (such as littering) to the habitats of plants and animals.

b. Identify ways to protect the environment.

• Conservation of resources

4th Grade Program - Energy Flow through Ecosystems and Food Webs

Students will describe the roles of organisms and the flow of energy within an ecosystem. This program is designed to illustrate the inter-connectedness of all life on the planet. The concepts of food chains/ food webs will help facilitate students’ understanding of ecosystems and communities as opposed to individuals of a species.

Georgia Performance Science Standards

S4L1. Students will describe the roles of organisms and the flow of energy within an ecosystem.

a. Identify the roles of producers, consumers, and decomposers in a community.

b. Demonstrate the flow of energy through a food web/food chain beginning with sunlight and including producers, consumers, and decomposers.

c. Predict how changes in the environment would affect a community (ecosystem) of organisms.

d. Predict effects on a population if some of the plants or animals in the community are scarce or if there are too many.

S4L2. Students will identify factors that affect the survival or extinction of organisms such as adaptation, variation of behaviors (hibernation), and external features (camouflage and protection).

a. Identify external features of organisms that allow them to survive or reproduce better than organisms that do not have these features (for example: camouflage, use of hibernation, protection, etc.).

b. Identify factors that may have led to the extinction of some organisms.

5th Grade Program - The Importance and Impact of Micro-organisms

Students will relate how micro-organisms benefit or harm larger organisms. Micro-organisms are crucial to life, as we know it. Many species that we can’t even see, affect our everyday lives, and vice versa. We will utilize a modeled watershed to illustrate how human activities affect these important life forms.

Georgia Performance Science Standards

S5L1. Students will classify organisms into groups and relate how they determined the groups with how and why scientists use classification

a. Demonstrate how animals are sorted into groups (vertebrate and invertebrate) and how vertebrates are sorted into groups (fish, amphibian, reptile, bird, and mammal).

b. Demonstrate how plants are sorted into groups.

S5L2. Students will recognize that offspring can resemble parents in inherited traits and learned behaviors.

a. Compare and contrast the characteristics of learned behaviors and of inherited traits.

b. Discuss what a gene is and the role genes play in the transfer of traits.

Teacher note: Be sensitive to this topic since biological parents may be unavailable.

S5L3. Students will diagram and label parts of various cells (plant, animal, single-celled, multi-celled).

a. Use magnifiers such as microscopes or hand lenses to observe cells and their structure.

b. Identify parts of a plant cell (membrane, wall, cytoplasm, nucleus, chloroplasts) and of an animal cell (membrane, cytoplasm, and nucleus) and determine the function of the parts.

c. Explain how cells in multi-celled organisms are similar and different in structure and function to single-celled organisms.

S5L4. Students will relate how microorganisms benefit or harm larger organisms.

a. Identify beneficial microorganisms and explain why they are beneficial.

b. Identify harmful microorganisms and explain why they are harmful.

7th Grade Program - Natural Selection
NEW PROGRAM for 2012

Students will examine examples of natural selection and evolution across a variety of plants and animals.
Students will explore concepts such as vestigial organs, convergent / divergent evolution, and co-evolution. Live plants and animals as well as artifacts will be used to demonstrate these concepts.

Georgia Performance Science Standards

S7L1. Students will investigate the diversity of living organisms and how they can be compared scientifically.

a. Demonstrate the process for the development of a dichotomous key.

b. Classify organisms based on physical characteristics using a dichotomous key of the six kingdom system (archaebacteria, eubacteria, protists, fungi, plants, and animals).

S7L4. Students will examine the dependence of organisms on one another and their environments.

a. Demonstrate in a food web that matter is transferred from one organism to another and can recycle between organisms and their environments.

b. Explain in a food web that sunlight is the source of energy and that this energy moves from organism to organism.

c. Recognize that changes in environmental conditions can affect the survival of both individuals and entire species.

d. Categorize relationships between organisms that are competitive or mutually beneficial.

e. Describe the characteristics of Earth’s major terrestrial biomes (i.e. tropical rain forest, savannah, temperate, desert, taiga, tundra, and mountain) and aquatic communities (i.e.
freshwater, estuaries, and marine).

S7L5. Students will examine the evolution of living organisms through inherited characteristics that promote survival of organisms and the survival of successive generations of their offspring.

a. Explain that physical characteristics of organisms have changed over successive generations (e.g. Darwin’s finches and peppered moths of Manchester).

b. Describe ways in which species on earth have evolved due to natural selection.

c. Trace evidence that the fossil record found in sedimentary rock provides evidence for the long history of changing life forms.

All Ages - Reptiles of the World

Students will have the chance to meet and learn about reptiles native to Georgia and from around the world. Please contact us to determine which performance standards would be most applicable to your class.

All Ages - Heritage Tour Program

Students will be led on tours of several historic houses and buildings on the property and will do a grade-appropriate heritage activity. Please contact us to determine which performance standards would be most applicable to your class.

All Ages - Birds of the Autrey Mill Forest
NEW PROGRAM for 2012

Students will learn about the birds that call the Nature Preserve home. Autrey Mill is home to about 40 species of bird, each with their own niche and lifestyle. Learn identification tips and some of the habits of the more common varieties. It is strongly recommended that this program be scheduled as an “extended” field trip, so that the students can spend time viewing the birds in their natural habitat. Please contact us to determine which performance standards would be most applicable to your class.