Kindergarten: Animal Homes
Find out what animals needs from their environment in order to survive! See if you can match animals with the types of homes they need. Meet an ornate box turtle up-close and learn about their day-to-day life to make new connections.
This program addresses the following NGSS standards for Kindergarten:
- K-LS1-1. Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans) need to survive.
- K-ESS3-1. Use a model to represent the relationship between the needs of different plants or animals (including humans) and the places they live.
Links to in-class activities:
1st Grade: Animals and Their Parents
Growing up is something we all do, whether we're a frog, a fox, or a sunflower. Meet a Virginia opossum, and learn more about how young animals (and plants) grow and develop into something that looks a lot like their parents!
This program addresses the following NGSS standards for 1st Grade:
- 1-LS3-1. Make observations to construct an evidence-based account that young plants and animals are like, but not exactly like, their parents.
Links to in-class activities:
2nd Grade: Diversity in Habitats
Our state has a diverse range of environments, from prairies to woodlands to wetlands and streams. Find out what types of animals call these habitats home, and how diverse places allows for diverse animals! You'll also meet an animal built for the most extreme environments in Kansas: a kangaroo rat!
This program addresses the following NGSS standards for 2nd Grade:
- 2-LS4-1. Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats.
Links to in-class activities:
3rd Grade: Life Cycles
Living things go through many phases in their unique journey from birth to adulthood. Sometimes, those phases get pretty complicated. Meet a barred tiger salamander, complete a life cycle craft, and explore the concept of metamorphosis!
This program addresses the following NGSS standards for 3rd Grade:
- 3-LS1-1. Develop models to describe those organisms have unique and diverse life cycles but all have in common birth, growth, reproduction, and death.
Links to in-class activities:
4th Grade: Amazing Adaptations
Discover the fascinating ways that animals and plants respond to the pressures of their environments using examples from the world of birds. Learn how to set up a bird-beak buffet in your classroom, and meet a bird of prey live!
This program addresses the following NGSS standards for 4th Grade:
- 4-LS1-1. Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.
Links to in-class activities:
5th Grade: Food Webs and Energy Transfer
Everything has to eat something to survive. Trace the movement and transfer of energy through an ecosystem by making your very own food web in the classroom. Explore these connections in-depths by meeting a predator-prey duo: the hognose snake and American toad.
This program addresses the following NGSS standards for 5th Grade:
- 5-PS3-1. Use models to describe that energy in animals’ food (used for body repair, growth, motion, and to maintain body warmth) was once energy from the sun.
- 5-LS2-1. (and LS2.A) Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment.
Links to in-class activities: