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Knowledge and Skills Statement

Organisms and environments. The student describes patterns, cycles, systems, and relationships within environments.

In grade 2, students described how the physical characteristics of environments support plants and animals within an ecosystem. In grade 3, students now explore how changes in physical characteristics impact plant and animal behavior. 

interval of time during which a sequence of a recurring succession of events or phenomena is completed; a course or series of events or operations that recur regularly and usually lead back to the starting point

a state of inactivity due to a slowed metabolic rate as a result of harsh environmental factors such as lack of water, food, or decreased temperature or amount of daylight

the circumstances, objects, or conditions that surround an organism including abiotic (climate and soil) and biotic (living organisms) that act upon an organism or an ecological community and ultimately determine its form and survival

a type of winter dormancy in animals that involves slowed metabolic, heart, and respiration rates

movement to a new location in search of food, water, a mate, or a different temperature

regular sequences that can be found throughout nature

the process by which water vapor in the atmosphere turns into liquid or solid water and falls to the Earth as rain, ice, snow, sleet, or hail

a regularly interacting or interdependent group of items forming a unified whole

the measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles within a substance; a measure of heat energy; measured in degrees Celcius

Research

"Schmidt, Pamela, Joan Chadde, Schumaker,  and Michael Buenzli. 2003. “Snowy Entomology.” Science and Children 41, no. 3 (November/December 2003): 40–45.
https://www.proquest.com/docview/236938692?pq-origsite=gscholar&fromopenview=true&sourcetype=Scholarly%20Journals. "

Summary: Winter is a good time for students to explore the outdoors and witness how many plants and animals adapt to survive the colder temperatures. Third-grade students in this article participated in a field trip to observe how insects survive in the cold. Before the field trip, students reviewed what they already knew about the habitat they would be exploring, what animals lived there, and how many of them survived by migrating or hibernating. Most students assumed that insects either died or went to sleep during the winter months. The class discussed the challenges living thing face when living outside in cold temperatures. On their field trip, students collected data on the types of insects they saw, where they were located, and what stage of their life cycle they were in. Because insects are cold-blooded and cannot move around easily in low temperatures, they were easy for students to observe. After the field trip, students discussed how insects adapted to survive winter outside and how this compared to other animal adaptions they have learned about.