Construct an argument supported by evidence for how plants and animals (including humans) can change the environment to meet their needs

Standards Alignment

• K-ESS2-2 primary
  Construct an argument supported by evidence for how plants and animals (including humans) can change the environment to meet their needs.

Lesson Overview

This kindergarten science lesson engages students in understanding how plants and animals, including humans, can change their environment to meet their needs. Through observation, discussion, and hands-on activities, students will construct arguments supported by evidence about these environmental changes. The lesson integrates NGSS and TEKS standards focusing on interdependent relationships in ecosystems and scientific practices such as asking questions, collecting data, and communicating explanations.

Learning Objectives

• Ask questions and make observations about how plants and animals change their environment.
• Use evidence from observations to explain how plants and animals can change their environment to meet their needs.
• Construct a simple argument supported by evidence about environmental changes caused by plants and animals.
• Use tools and models to observe and represent how living things interact with their environment.
• Communicate explanations about how plants and animals change their environment individually and with peers.

Success Criteria

• Students can describe ways plants and animals change their environment using examples.
• Students can support their explanations with observations or evidence collected during investigations.
• Students can use drawings, words, or models to represent environmental changes caused by living things.
• Students participate in discussions and listen respectfully to others' ideas about environmental changes.
• Students demonstrate safe practices during investigations and use tools appropriately.

Prerequisite Knowledge

Students should understand basic needs of plants and animals, such as air, water, food, and shelter, and be familiar with simple observation and discussion routines.

Key Vocabulary

• Environment
• Needs
• Change
• Plants
• Animals
• Evidence
• Argument
• Observation
• Model

Materials and Resources

• Pictures or videos showing examples of plants and animals changing their environment (e.g., squirrel digging, tree roots breaking concrete).
• Hand lenses
• Notebooks or science journals
• Drawing materials (crayons, markers, paper)
• Simple models or props (e.g., toy animals, plant parts)
• Samples of soil, rocks, or plants
• Safety goggles

Teacher Preparation

• Prepare visual examples of environmental changes caused by plants and animals.
• Set up a safe investigation area with materials for observation and drawing.
• Prepare guiding questions to support student inquiry and argument construction.
• Review safety procedures for using tools like hand lenses and for classroom investigations.
• Prepare a simple chart or anchor chart to record student observations and evidence.

Detailed Lesson Notes

Understanding How Plants and Animals Change Their Environment

Plants and animals do not just live in their environment; they can change it to meet their needs. For example, a squirrel digs holes in the ground to hide food, which changes the soil. Tree roots can grow and break through concrete or sidewalks. These changes help the plants and animals survive but also affect the environment around them. Understanding these interactions helps students see that living things and their surroundings are connected and influence each other.

Constructing Arguments with Evidence

Constructing an argument means explaining a claim or idea and supporting it with evidence. In kindergarten, this involves using observations and examples to explain how plants and animals change their environment. Students learn to gather evidence from what they see or investigate, then use that evidence to support their explanation. For example, if a student observes a bird building a nest in a tree, they can argue that the bird changes the environment by adding the nest to meet its need for shelter.

Scientific Practices for Kindergarten Students

Students engage in scientific practices such as asking questions about how living things interact with their environment, planning and conducting simple investigations, using tools like hand lenses to observe closely, collecting and recording observations in notebooks or drawings, and communicating their findings. They also learn to listen to others' explanations and use evidence to support their own ideas. Safety is emphasized when using tools and during investigations.

Using Models and Representations

Models help students represent and understand how plants and animals change their environment. Simple models or drawings can show how a tree's roots grow and break concrete or how an animal digs a hole. These models help students visualize processes that may be hard to see directly. Teachers guide students to recognize that models have advantages, like showing details clearly, but also limitations, such as not being the actual object or process.

Examples of Environmental Changes by Plants and Animals

- Squirrels digging holes to hide food, which changes the soil structure. - Tree roots growing and breaking through sidewalks or concrete. - Beavers building dams that change water flow. - Humans planting gardens or building homes that alter the environment. These examples help students connect the idea that living things actively change their surroundings to meet their needs.

Worked Examples

Classroom Activity

Use tools to observe samples closely, make drawings or notes about what they see, and discuss their observations with peers.

Guided Practice

Independent Practice

1. Foundational: What do plants and animals need to live?
2. Developing: Name one way an animal can change its environment to meet its needs.
3. Application: If you see a tree root breaking a sidewalk, how is the tree changing its environment?
4. Analysis: Look at a picture of a beaver building a dam. Explain how this changes the environment and helps the beaver.
5. Challenge: Think about how humans change the environment. What is one way people can change the environment to help plants and animals?

Independent Practice Teacher Answer Key

1. 1. Plants and animals need air, water, food, space, and shelter to live.
2. 2. An animal can dig a hole to hide food or build a nest for shelter.
3. 3. The tree is changing its environment by breaking the sidewalk with its roots to get water and nutrients.
4. 4. The beaver builds a dam that changes the flow of water, creating a pond. This helps the beaver by providing a safe home and access to food.
5. 5. People can plant gardens or create parks that provide food and shelter for plants and animals.

Guiding Questions

• How do plants and animals change their environment?
• Why do they make these changes?
• What evidence can we find to show these changes?
• How do these changes help plants and animals?
• Can people also change the environment? How?

Common Misconceptions

• Plants and animals do not change their environment; they only live in it.
• Only humans can change the environment, not animals or plants.
• Environmental changes by living things always harm the environment.
• Observations are just guesses and not useful as evidence.
• Models show the exact real environment without any limitations.

Differentiation

Assessment

• Observe student participation in discussions and investigations.
• Check student drawings and explanations for use of evidence.
• Ask guiding questions to assess understanding during activities.
• Draw or write one way a plant or animal changes its environment to meet its needs.
• Explain why the plant or animal makes this change.
• Create a simple poster showing examples of how plants and animals change their environment with explanations.
• Present their poster to the class explaining their evidence and argument.

Answer Guide

• What do plants and animals need to live?
  Answer: Plants and animals need air, water, food, space, and shelter to live.
• Name one way an animal can change its environment to meet its needs.
  Answer: An animal can dig a hole to hide food or build a nest for shelter.
• If you see a tree root breaking a sidewalk, how is the tree changing its environment?
  Answer: The tree is changing its environment by breaking the sidewalk with its roots to get water and nutrients.
• Look at a picture of a beaver building a dam. Explain how this changes the environment and helps the beaver.
  Answer: The beaver builds a dam that changes the flow of water, creating a pond. This helps the beaver by providing a safe home and access to food.
• Think about how humans change the environment. What is one way people can change the environment to help plants and animals?
  Answer: People can plant gardens or create parks that provide food and shelter for plants and animals.

Real-Life Application

Encourage families to talk about ways they change their home environment to help plants or animals, such as planting flowers or feeding birds. Students can share these examples at school.

Homework or Home Connection

• Encourage families to talk about ways they change their home environment to help plants or animals, such as planting flowers or feeding birds. Students can share these examples at school.

Lesson Summary

Plants and animals, including humans, can change their environment to meet their needs. These changes can include digging, building, or growing in ways that affect the surroundings. By observing and collecting evidence, students learn to explain these changes and support their ideas with examples. Understanding these interactions helps students see the connections between living things and their environment.

Teacher Notes

Use the exact standards alignment and retrieved-source provenance stored with this enrichment.

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