LESSON 1 Oh, Deer!

Essential Objectives: The student will identify and describe interactions (i.e., nesting, pollination, seed dispersal) for plants and animals in their habitat, and explain the effects of their competition for space, food, and water. Students will use the following skills and processes of science: Develop explanations using knowledge possessed and evidence from observations, reliable print resources, and investigations. Offer reasons for their findings and consider reasons suggested by others. Teacher Background: In the previous unit, A Global View, students learned about habitats and ecosystems. They used reading passages and investigations to explain how organisms interact with each other and their environment. They also discussed how some organisms are best suited to survive in their environment and what adaptations they made to endure the changes in their environment. This information will be used in this unit to help the students create a schoolyard habitat. In lessons one and two, students will discover the effects on plants and animals when they compete for the same food, water, space, and shelter in a habitat. In order for plants and animals to survive in a habitat, the environmental factors that meet their needs must be balanced. For example, a drought may cause some kinds of plants to die and that in turn will affect the animals that depend on that plant for food. The animals will need to compete for the diminished food supply.
IMPORTANT NOTE: There are two folders to download from the Document Repository (DR) for each fourth grade science unit, a Teacher Tech Resources folder and a Student Tech Resources folder. (In the DR, under Elementary Programs, then Elementary Science, you can find these folders under Curriculum Guides for your grade level and unit.) These folders have been zipped (compressed) for you to be able to download all at once. When you click on the "zip" folder, it will duplicate the zip folder on your desktop When you double click on this, you will have all the folders and files for the unit (the actual "zip" folder can be trashed at this point). It is recommended that the Teacher Tech Resources folder be kept on your teacher laptop, and the Student Tech Resources folder be placed in your teacher handout folder on the school server.

The Teacher Tech Resources folder includes two items: a Lesson Websites document that includes hyperlinks to all websites needed for each lesson throughout the unit, and Lesson Folders that include PowerPoint presentations, Kidspiration teacher keys, Excel teacher keys and images as needed. By downloading this to your laptop, you will have all the electronic items you need for each lesson of this unit. The Student Tech Resources folder is organized by lesson and includes all documents and websites students need for technology activities. Websites and programs have been renamed with descriptive, hyperlinked titles that describe the content. By downloading this to your teacher handout folder on the school server, your students will have access to any document they need to read, keyboard, or link to internet research.
G4 Q3 TRG HCPSS Elementary Science Curriculum, 2007

LESSON 1 Oh, Deer!

Teacher Preparation: Retrieve electronic resources needed for this lesson from the Teacher and Student Tech Resources folders. Obtain chart paper for the Engagement. Become familiar with the Oh, Deer! game directions. For EACH group of 4 players: Collect 48 playing pieces for the game. Each player will need 12 pieces of one color cube or pieces of construction paper. Snap-cubes, Unifix cubes, or Rainbow cubes commonly used in mathematics could be used. Copy and laminate a copy of the Oh Deer! Game Board on TRG page 4 for each group of 4 students. Make a deck of playing cards located on TRG pages 9 - 12 for each group of students. Locate copies of The War in Your Backyard: Life in an Ecosystem by Raintree for the Extension activity. Refer to the chart entitled, Information Literacy - Science Correlations, located in the front of the unit, to identify which Information Literacy components are embedded in this lesson. MATERIALS needed for: Nonconsumables Provided in the KIT: Consumables To be ordered from Science Resource Center:
8 pieces of 8.5 x 11 white cardstock

Locate in your SCHOOL:

Chart paper and marker Construction paper to make playing cards

Teacher Group of 4 Students Pair of Students Individual Students

48 playing pieces (12 pieces of one color per player) 1 copy of The War in Your Backyard for the Optional Extension

G4 Q3 TRG HCPSS Elementary Science Curriculum, 2007

LESSON 1 Oh, Deer!

Engagement: 1. Pose the question, What do plants and animals need to survive in an ecosystem? Allow some time for Think-Pair-Share. (Answers should include food, water, shelter, space.) Teacher could record answers on chart paper or the board. 2. Ask, What could happen to the organisms if one of these factors (food, water, shelter, space) was missing or not available in their habitat? Allow some time for students to Think-Pair-Share and record their answers. Exploration: 1. Have students read SNB page 1, Oh, Deer! Game Directions, and clarify any student questions. 2. Distribute game materials to groups of 4 students. Allow students to play Oh, Deer! for approximately 15 minutes. 3. Have students answer questions about the game on SNB page 2, Oh, Deer! Review answers with students. 4. Have students participate in a jigsaw reading activity to reinforce the concept of competition. 5. Students who represented deer looking for food or shelter should read the appropriate section on SNB page 3; those who were deer looking for space or water should read one of the sections on SNB page 4. 6. Each student should locate the appropriate section to read and complete the corresponding section of the chart on SNB page 5, Competition for Resources. 7. Then each member of the group should share their notes with one another. All group members should complete the chart as each section is discussed. (Alternatives: Have all deer looking for food, etc. form expert groups and record information on chart paper to present their findings to the entire class; have expert groups write information on chart paper displayed around the room so that other groups can move around in a gallery walk to record information.) Explanation: 1. Engage students in a discussion about how playing the game and reading information gathered by experts explained how competition affects the population of plants and animals in an ecosystem. Extension: 1. Use the Oh Deer! Game as a center or allow students to take it home to play with family and friends. 2. Have students read The War in Your Backyard: Life in an Ecosystem by Raintree; specifically pages 10 17 and 22 23 to complete the comprehension questions on SNB page 6. Evaluation: 1. Student participation in the game and reading activity. 2. SNB page 2, Oh, Deer! (Answer Key TRG page 5) 3. SNB page 5, Competition for Resources (Answer Key TRG page 8) 4. Optional, SNB page 6 (Answer Key TRG page 13)
G4 Q3 TRG HCPSS Elementary Science Curriculum, 2007

LESSON 1 Oh, Deer!

Oh, Deer!
Game Board

WATER

WATER

SPACE

SPACE

SPACE

FOOD

FOOD

SPACE

FOOD

WATER

WATER

FOOD

FOOD

SPACE

SHELTER

SHELTER

FOOD

FOOD

WATER

WATER

SPACE

SPACE

SHELTER

SHELTER

SHELTER

SHELTER

WATER

WATER

SPACE

FOOD

FOOD

FOOD

SHELTER

SHELTER

WATER

WATER

WATER

WATER

FOOD

FOOD

SPACE

SPACE

SHELTER

SHELTER

SHELTER

SHELTER

SPACE

SPACE

G4 Q3 TRG HCPSS Elementary Science Curriculum, 2007

LESSON 1 Oh, Deer!

OH, DEER! (Answer Key)

1. Use your math skills to answer the questions below. How many blocks are on the game board? 48 How many blocks are labeled food? 12 How many blocks are labeled space? 12 How many blocks are labeled shelter? 12 How many blocks are labeled water? 12 What is the probability of the first playing card selected being marked SPACE? (1:4) 2. The game demonstrated what happens when there is too much competition for the same resources by the same population. What does the word competition mean when it is used this way? Competition is when two or more plants or animals actively seek and use an environmental resource so that it becomes a limited supply. 3. What could the deer population do to prevent this over-competition that was demonstrated on the game board? When one of the resources is being limited, the deer population could migrate (travel) to another area where there is more of that resource. 4. How does the over-competition from the deer population affect the other plants and animals in the habitat? When resources become limited by the over-competition of the deer population this means that other plants and animals may not survive or will have to move to another place because their needs for food, water, space, and shelter may not be met.

G4 Q3 TRG HCPSS Elementary Science Curriculum, 2007

LESSON 1 Oh, Deer!

Competition for FOOD:

All animals need food to meet their energy needs: to grow, reproduce, escape predators and survive chilling winters or long migrations. Each species selects particular foods from many items that are present in its environment. Not just any kind of food will do. For a bighorn sheep to survive, for example, there must be enough grass to last throughout the winter, and the grass must also have sufficient nutritional value. The quality of food, as well as the amount present, is important for survival. Food quality may vary with the season, or even the location. Food must also be accessible to the animals. In winter, deep, crusted snows may bury much of the food supply. Winter food shortage is the most important limiting factor for many wildlife species.
Information from: http://homestudy.ihea.com/wildlife/062habitat.htm (information is directly taken from the article)

Competition for SHELTER:

Birds and mammals need shelter or cover to hide in, and to protect them from bad weather. Dense vegetation is the most common kind of cover, but cover may also include rock piles, burrows in the ground, holes in logs or water bodies. Some small animals, like beaver and muskrats, build their own cover in the form of houses.
Information from: http://homestudy.ihea.com/wildlife/062habitat.htm (information is directly taken from the article)

G4 Q3 TRG HCPSS Elementary Science Curriculum, 2007

LESSON 1 Oh, Deer!

Competition for WATER:

All animals need water to survive. Water travels through the organism, carrying nutrients and waste to and from all cells. Water allows for proper food digestion in animals. Many of our wildlife species get enough water from the food they eat, such as succulent plants, but some also need to drink water, particularly in dry regions.
Information from: http://homestudy.ihea.com/wildlife/062habitat.htm and http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/stay_healthy/food/water.html (adapted)

Competition for SPACE:

Animals need space to survive. Lack of space leads to severe competition for food and breeding sites. Eventually, it could lead to malnutrition and rapid spread of disease and parasites. Many animals are territorial; that is, they will occupy specific sites and keep other animals out. Because of the need for space, a given area will only support so many animals, no matter how much food, water or shelter they receive.
Information from: http://homestudy.ihea.com/wildlife/062habitat.htm (adapted)

G4 Q3 TRG HCPSS Elementary Science Curriculum, 2007

LESSON 1 Oh, Deer!

Competition for Resources (KEY)

Resource What is the importance of the resource? Draw a picture to describe the resource.

Food

Food helps animals to grow, reproduce, escape predators, and survive chilly winters or long migrations.

Shelter

Shelters are used for hiding and protection from the weather.

Water

Water carries nutrients and waste out of the organisms and promotes proper digestion.

Space

Space limits competition that could lead to malnutrition and the spread of disease and parasites.

G4 Q3 TRG HCPSS Elementary Science Curriculum, 2007