Nuts About Nature – Week 3 ~ Coping with the Cold
First of all I want to say a huge thank you for all your well wishes. I am starting to feel a bit better today, hopefully this means it’s going to be a quick one and I’m on my way to being done with it.
We have now finished our third week of class, and it was another wonderful one! I have such a great group of 4th graders!
AND this week we added a second group to the class roster, I am now teaching this class to the 5/6 graders. They are also a wonderful group! I’m trying something different this week; I’m simply pasting in my notes from Word here and modifying things a bit. I think this will be much easier. If you have any questions about anything I’ve written, please feel free to leave me a comment.
Nuts About Nature – Coping with the Cold
Literature Resources:
Explore Winter: 25 Great Ways to Learn About Winter
Why Do Bears Sleep All Winter?: A Book About Hibernation
Why Do Geese Fly South in the Winter?: A Book About Migration
On the Wing: American Birds in Migration
First Snow in the Woods: A Photographic Fantasy
Internet Resources:
http://www.kidsregen.org/bigStory/
http://www.brainpop.com/science/ecologyandbehavior/hibernation/
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/coloring/Hibernate.shtml
http://www.exploringnature.org/db/detail.php?dbID=5&detID=2280
Key Words to Define:
Dormant
Migrate
Hibernate
Adapt
Camouflage
Insulate
Estivation
Torpor
Diapause
Questions to be answered this week: Why does the landscape change in winter? Where did the plants and animals go? Why did some disappear and others didn’t? How do animals stay warm?
1) Contrast two lists up on the whiteboard: Nature in Summer/Nature in Winter
- What are some things that we see and feel in nature in summer versus nature in winter?
Summer – green grass, insects/butterflies, green trees, more animals, gardens, flowers, warm and hot temperatures
Winter – brown/yellow grass, lack of insects/butterflies, bare trees, fewer animals out, no flowers, snow, cooler/cold temperatures, ice, different birds
2) What happens to plants in the winter? Why is there such a lack of green?
It all has to do with the sun – remember that from last week?
There are some key ingredients that plants need to grow and flourish. Three of those are water, dirt, and sunshine. Which of those is lacking in the winter? – sunshine (less direct light) and water (frozen)
Trees and plants look dead in the winter, are they? No, they are dormant. To be dormant means to lie asleep, or be inactive. They shed their leaves in order to preserve water so that they can survive the lack of sunshine. They will “wake up” and return to cycle again in the spring. Evergreens are an exception to this, we will be learning about them next week.
3) Bible Lesson from Nature – Coming Back to Life
When the plants and trees go dormant for the winter, you might think they were dead, but they are simply in a temporary state waiting for when they will burst back forth into life again. What does this remind you of from God’s Word? When Jesus gave the greatest sacrifice for mankind by dying for them, hope was temporarily lost, but then He burst back forth into life triumphant over sin.
4) What happens to the animals in winter? Why do some leave and others do not?
Because of the changes in nature in winter, lots of animals are faced with a shortage of food and proper shelter. So, what do they do?
They do one of three things (write the following things up on the board):
1. Migrate – to pass at times from one region or climate to another
2. Hibernate – to pass the winter in an inactive sleeping state
3. Adapt/Cope – stay and make the changes necessary to survive
5) We are specifically going to discuss in more detail about how the animals that stay cope and survive the winter.
(put the following list up on the whiteboard as the kids brainstorm the following question)
How do animals adapt and cope in winter?
- change their food source – one example – the Carolina Wren eats insects most in summer, then changes to seeds in the winter
- grow thicker fur, feathers – notice dogs get thicker hair
- camouflage themselves – the American Goldfinch loses it’s yellow; snowshoe hare turns from brown to white in winter
- puff up feathers – birds will puff up their feathers a lot in the winter to trap heat in
- store up food in summer – squirrels will store up acorns and other nuts to eat throughout the winter
- gain fat for insulation – animals eat more during the summer/fall to gain more fat on their bodies to insulate themselves from the cold
- search under snow for food- dig down under the snow and leaves to search for food
- sleep more, wake up to eat (not officially hibernate) – bears, raccoons
- find alternate shelter – deer will travel to find groups of evergreens to protect themselves from the cold
6) Science Experiment – Fat Insulation
This experiment was to show the kids how extra fat helps to keep the animals insulated in the winter.
Materials Needed for the Experiment:
Petroleum Jelly
Ice Water in Bowls
Cotton Swabs
I first had the kids divide up in pairs. Then each group was provided with a bowl of ice water. One student then helps the other to coat one of their index fingers with petroleum jelly (the fat) using a cotton swab. The student then dips both index fingers (one coated and one not) into the ice water. Which one gets colder first? Then the students switched so that the other one in the pair could do the experiment.
7) Notebook Entries
Our notebook entries consisted of a picture of a groundhog under the word “Hibernate”, a flock of geese flying under the word “Migrate”, and under the word “Adapt” we listed the things that animals do to cope in the winter (from above #5) and pasted in two pictures of animals adapting (chipmunk storing food, American Goldfinch in winter plumage). And at the bottom is a list of “key words” with their definitions (from above). Again, those of you doing this at home, you could just have the students draw pictures if you have the time.
Nature Challenge
With your parent’s permission, take a nature walk and notice the changes in nature during the winter. What do the trees look like, the grass, how about the sky? How about animals, what kinds do you see? Can you see any birds? If so, can you identify them? What about insects, do you see any at all? Make a list of the things you observed, such as: bare trees, birds singing, wind blowing, cool breeze, etc. Make this list as long as you can. And be specific if you can, such as list a specific type of tree, bird or other animal that you observed. Draw pictures if you’d like. How much of what you’ve observed will change in the summer?
Bonus: Pick one animal and find out how it spends the winter. Research it further. How does it prepare for the winter? Does it hibernate, migrate, or adapt? Why? Write a short report on this animal.
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