what is a system? - bernice pauahi bishop...

GRADE

3

Authors: H. Blondin and K. Ricca Lesson #: 1

Unit Title: Earth System Science Time Frames: Two 50Minute Periods

What Is a System?

ABSTRACT Students will work in teams to build an aquarium, which serves as an Earth system model. Using a matching game, they will identify each part of the aquarium and the important job each part plays. As students observe the interactions within the aquarium, they learn how each part contributes towards a healthy and balanced system.

PLANNING INSTRUCTION ASSESSMENT STANDARDS REFERENCES

BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR TEACHERS A system is a group of interacting components that make up a whole. The processes that occur within systems range from microscopic to immense. Earth is a dynamic planet where complex and interconnected processes make up the Earth system. The Earth system consists of four subsystems; the hydrosphere (water/ice), biosphere (life), geosphere (land), and atmosphere (air). Many systems are interrelated, with smaller systems operating inside larger systems. For example, the sun is not within the Earth system, but is still a major driver of Earth system processes since it shapes the weather, climate, and life on Earth. An aquarium is a physical representation of an Earth system that will be used for students to observe a system’s components and how they interact. The water in the aquarium represents the hydrosphere. The fish, snails, and plants represent the biosphere. The gravel represents the geosphere, and the presence of air bubbles represent the atmosphere; when combined all of these components form a system. Creating a system model will help students to understand the complexity of a system and observe how parts work together. For example in an aquarium, the fish represents a part of one system. The fish eats protein, passes these proteins through its digestive system, which creates waste that might be consumed by the snails. Using sunlight to begin the process of photosynthesis, the plants convert the carbon dioxide created by the fish and snails into oxygen.

PLANNING

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Essential Questions Am I a part in a system? Why or why not? How can our classroom aquarium help us understand more about Earth’s systems?

Instructional Objectives

Students will: Understand more about Earth’s systems by building and observe an aquarium as a system. Identify each part of the system and its function or importance to the whole system by playing

a matching game with peers. Begin to understand the definition of a system by engaging in a group discussion about the

aquarium's parts and interactions. Begin to identify interactions within the aquarium by learning and writing about the job of

each part of the aquarium. Work as a team to cooperate, collaborate, and discuss new ideas.

Key Vocabulary

Aquarium Habitat Model System Interactions

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INSTRUCTION Materials

Science notebook Class set “Aquarium Observer” worksheet Digital camera or mobile device camera “The Habitat Song” from the Bishop Museum ‘Ōhi’a Project

For Each Group One Aquarium tank or container per five students (no filters necessary) Enough fresh water to fill each of the tank (filtered water or let stand a few days to make sure the

chlorine evaporates) Enough gravel to cover the bottom of each fish tank At least two fish (guppies recommended) At least two snails At least two aquarium plants (e.g., duckweed, elodea, or anacharis) Fish food One box for each aquarium kit “Aquarium Matching Game” wax pencil

Preparation

Print or project the image of the NASA Earth systems poster. Print and cut out one set of “Aquarium Matching Game” for each team. Optional: print copies of the “Aquarium Observer” worksheet for each student. Prepare poster, chart, or some other way to show “The Habitat Song.”

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Assemble one box of aquarium materials for each team of five students. Recommended Aquarium Setup for Your Classroom:

We recommend creating one simple aquarium for each team of five students. This will allow all students to observe the aquarium up close, take part in the management of the system, and, most importantly, allow the class to make comparisons about each different aquarium.

Although aquariums can be very large and make use of lots of bells and whistles, we recommend a simple setup. No filters or fancy tanks are needed. Use plastic tanks or any other highwalled, clear, plastic container that will hold at least one gallon of water. Guppies are resilient fish and best suited for this project. Spread gravel on the bottom of the tank, add plants, a snail, and room temperature, chlorinefree water, and your model aquarium is ready to go. We recommend practicing with the setup you plan to use for your students at home before beginning this lesson. When finished with your classroom aquarium, we recommend sending home the aquarium with a student that has parent consent, or returning the animals to the pet store. Please respect our natural habitats and do not put these animals back into a stream or other natural body of water. Resources

NASA: NASA Earth systems poster:

http://pmm.nasa.gov/education/sites/default/files/styles/resource_top_image/public/resource_images/earth_system_thumb2.jpg?itok=x7zHMHNM

Bishop Museum: “The Habitat Song” from the Bishop Museum ‘Ōhi‘a Project, sung to the tune of “Twinkle,

Twinkle, Little Star”:

Shelter, water, food and space Make a happy living place.

I live in my habitat Eating bits of this and that.

Shelter water food and space Make a happy living place!

ENGAGE Session One:

1. Students work in teams of five. Each team explores the contents of a box filled with materials needed to build an aquarium. The teams will use materials in the box to make predictions about what they are going to create.

2. Have your students view the NASA Earth system science poster. Work with them to draw connections between the aquarium materials in boxes and the Earth systems they represent.

3. Teams discuss:

What is an aquarium? What makes a healthy aquarium? What changes will we see in our aquariums over time? How do you think the plant may change?

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What might happen to the fish and the snail over time? Will the water stay the same? Why or why not?

4. After students make predictions about the changes they might see, make sure to measure the plant

that will be put into the aquarium and record the height in their science notebooks. It is important students measure and record the height of the plant using the metric system, units cm. Also, students should mark a line with a wax pencil on the outside of the aquarium to show where the water level began. This will be important later in the unit where students make note of how much the plants have grown and observe changes in water level. After discussion, and with teacherguidance, students take turns adding materials to build the aquarium.

5. Check the completed habitat by singing “The Habitat Song” with the students. They will recognize

the tune and join in as it is repeated. Ask them to explain how each part of the song is represented in their aquarium.

EXPLORE

1. Students engage in quiet, focused observation of the aquarium. Then, they respond to the questions included on their “Aquarium Observer” worksheet. Discussion may be extended to include the following prompts:

What might happen if we took out one or more parts of the aquarium? Provide specific

examples, such as, what might happen if we removed the water? The gravel? The plant? How would removing a part affect the other parts still in the aquarium? How might your aquarium change over time? The aquarium represents an example of a system. What is a system? What other systems

do you know about?

EXPLAIN

1. Students work together in pairs to match up the parts of the aquarium with their job descriptions using cards on the “Aquarium Matching Game.” The teacher first posts an aquarium part on the board and then student pairs work together to try to find the job that best matches the part on the board. The teacher continues until all parts are on the board and the students have correctly matched them to their job description.

2. Students then shuffle all their cards and turn them face down to create a matching game. Students’ objective for the game is to correctly match the most pairs.

3. After playing game, each group picks one part and its corresponding job to present to the class. They explain how it accomplishes its job, and why its job is important to the system. Students from other groups contribute to, confirm or challenge the ideas they share.

EXTEND

Session Two:

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1. Students engage in quiet, focused observation of the aquarium and then work with their group torespond to the following prompts:

What is happening in your aquarium? What is interaction and which parts of the aquarium are interacting? How do you know? Can nonliving things, for example the gravel or the water, interact? If so, how? Can we always see, hear, smell or touch interactions? Explain. Do humans interact with the air around them? If so, how is this similar or different from the

way the fish interacts with the water in the tank?

2. Students use digital cameras or mobile device cameras to photograph their aquarium. These photoscan be taken throughout the unit to document changes happening in their aquarium over time.

3. Students work in partners or groups to create definitions for key vocabulary. Provide students withdictionaries or appropriate apps/websites for support. Write definitions in vocabulary section ofscience notebook.

4. Students can discuss definitions they found as a class and can confirm their findings and/or makecorrections to build their learning of these new words.

EVALUATE

1. In their science notebooks, students draw a picture of the aquarium, label the parts and write aboutthe job of each part. Students also write about how each part of the aquarium is important to thehealth and balance of the whole system.

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ASSESSMENT OPTIONS

Formative Assessment Students work with a team to identify the components of the aquarium and discuss how they interact

to make a healthy system.

Summative Assessment In their science notebooks, students draw a picture of the aquarium and label each of the parts.

Students also write about how each part of the aquarium is important to the health and balance of the whole system.

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CULTURE CONNECTION

When Polynesians first arrived to the Hawaiian Islands they created advanced systems for the cultivation of fish, an important part of their diet. These advanced systems were called, Loko Iʻa, or fish ponds.

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Restorations of fish ponds of old can still be seen on many islands today. Rock walls were built along the seashore with only a few openings. Over these openings, they hung specially designed doors which allowed only small fish to enter the flooded area enclosed by the rock wall. Here, the small fish would grow without the harm of large predators and be easy to harvest.

Image courtesy of B. Kutsunai.

Discuss:

How is the traditional Hawaiian, cultural view of fish different from the modern day view of fish? Is it okay to keep fish as pets, but also eat fish? What can we do to investigate and learn more about the Loko Iʻa?

Visit About HawaiiHistory.org & the Hukilau Network to find out more about Hawaiian fishponds from a community learning perspective: http://www.hawaiihistory.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=ig.page&PageID=517 HawaiiHistory.org is a part of the Hukilau Network, a family of communitybased websites. The sites are designed to help grow an understanding of Hawaii that can help set the stage for an active and informed dialogue about designing a sustainable future with references to our past.

DIFFERENTIATION Emerging Learners

Make sure students have access to the index cards with the job names and job parts as they are labeling the parts of the aquarium in their science notebooks.

Advanced Learners

Challenge students by inviting them to think about and draw or write an expository response to the following questions:

How does an aquarium compare to our house? How can the aquarium represent Earth?

English Language Learners

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http://www.hawaiihistory.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=ig.page&PageID=517

Make sure students have access to the index cards with the job names and job parts as they are labeling the parts of the aquarium in their science notebooks.

EXTENSIONS

Students may want to name their fish. In addition to naming the fish, plant and snail, encourage the students to give a name to the entire aquarium that makes use of the word system, or a word that is synonymous/associated with system. Invite students to design an eyecatching sign to post near their aquarium and refer to the tanks by their name to help promote systems thinking.

Examples:

Connection Command Center The Wet Net Link Place

Students complete an informative writing piece to explain how to build an aquarium. When

identifying each aquarium part in their procedure, students add supporting details to explain what the job is of each part in the system.

STANDARDS Next Generation Science Standards

Crosscutting Concepts: Systems and System Models In grades 35, students understand that a system is a group

of related parts that make up a whole and can carry out functions its individual parts cannot. They can also describe a system in terms of its components and their interactions.

Patterns In grades 35, students identify similarities and differences in order to sort and classify natural objects and designed products. They identify patterns related to time, including simple rates of change and cycles, and to use these patterns to make predictions.

Science and Engineering Practices: Asking questions Developing and using models Construct explanations

Disciplinary Core Idea: ESS2.A Earth Materials and Systems Earth’s major systems are the geosphere (solid and

molten rock, soil, and sediments), the hydrosphere (water and ice), the atmosphere (air), and the biosphere (living things, including humans). These systems interact in multiple ways to affect Earth’s surface materials and processes.

Common Core

W.3.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

Hawaii Content & Performance Standards

SC.3.1.1 Pose a question based upon observations. SC.3.3.1 Describe how plants depend on animals.

General Learner Outcomes

Community Contributor

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Effective Communicator Complex Thinker Effective and Ethical User of Technology

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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

What’s It Like to Be a Fish? by W. Pfeffer.

This book is a great read for kids who are interested in having a fish as a pet. It shows different environments in which a child may encounter a fish: a bowl, an aquarium, a plastic bag being brought home from the pet store, and swimming around in a backyard pond. It goes on to explain facts about fish such as, what different fins are called and how they function, how fish sleep, are they warm or coldblooded, how they breath in water when we can't, and other questions a young child might ask when they have their first fish.

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REFERENCES Bishop Museum, Moanalua Gardens Foundation. (1990). ‘Ōhiʻa project A happy place to live (Grade K,

Geography, p. 48). [Program of Studies]. Honolulu, Hawaii. Kutsunai, B. (photographer). (2015). Heʻeia Kea Fishpond [Photograph]. Pfeffer, W., & Keller, H. (1996). What's it like to be a fish? New York, New York: HarperCollins. Ricca, K. (photographer). (2015). Fish Food Canister [Photograph]. Rocks, boulders, rocks [Photograph] Retrieved April 21, 2015, from:

http://pixabay.com/static/uploads/photo/2012/05/07/12/16/rocks48279_640.png Ruzek, M. (2012). Earth Systems Poster. Retrieved June 22, 2015, from


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Aquarium Matching Game

Cutout the cards and work with a partner to match the picture with the job it fills in the aquarium.

plant

Image courtesy of Openclipart.

cleans the fish tank

snail


provides a habitat for the fish

water

image courtesy of Openclipart.

gives carbon dioxide to the plant and food to the snail

gravel

Image courtesy of Pixabay.

makes oxygen and shelter for the fish

fish


provides a balanced diet for the fish to keep it healthy

fish food

Image courtesy of K. Ricca.

filters waste that builds up in the aquarium

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Name________________________________________ Date_______________

Aquarium Observer

Directions: Answer the following questions with your group. Record the answers you discuss with your group.

1. List all the parts in the aquarium that you see. ____________________________________________________________________________. 2. Count the parts in your list. How many parts make up your aquarium system? ____________________________________________________________________________. 3. Which parts in your aquarium system are alive? What do they need to survive in your aquarium system? ___________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________. 4. Which parts are not alive? Why not? ___________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________.

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Aquarium Observer (Cont’d)

Think about why each part is in the aquarium. Make a prediction of what job each part has in the aquarium. Finish the sentence with your predictions.


Image courtesy of Image courtesy of Pixabay. Openclipart.

Image courtesy of Openclipart. Image courtesy of Openclipart.

Image courtesy of K. Ricca.

The gravel’s job is

_______________________________.

The water’s job is

_______________________________.

The fish’s job is

_______________________________.

The fish food is there to

_______________________________.

The plant’s job is

_______________________________.

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The snail’s job is

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