Living Things and their Environment- science notebooks

I do deviate from our science curriculum because I really like a "place based" curriculum that students can relate to; however, I start with a good foundation of vocabulary and information about environments and living things from the textbook.  I found a great slideshare this year by Mr. Schumaeir and you can link to it here.  It is awesome for introducing the concepts and using your student engagement strategies prior to reading the chapter.  There is no reason for reinventing the wheel when there are so many amazing teachers out there sharing their stuff.  Then, we go through the chapter using this graphic organizer...

Living Things and their Environments

Our second lesson covers the Energy Flow in Ecosystems chapter.  First we do a simple organizer with definitions and notes. Then, the students have to cut, paste, and sort a group of pictures that I give them next to the right category of producer, consumer, or decomposer.

Producers, Consumers, and Decomposers

These activities get the students ready to talk about various types of ecosystems and how the biotic and abiotic factors all work together.  They will spend about three weeks closely examining the Redwood Forest so these chapters are essential to understanding this local biome and national treasure.

Please check my upcoming posts for information and resources for teaching about the Redwood Forest.