58. Winter Animals and Water: 2nd and 5th Grade NGSS Activities

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So if you listen to last week's episode, episode 57, winter animals and hibernation, first and fourth grade next generation science standard activities, you heard a couple of ideas for taking first and fourth graders outside to look for evidence of animals that are wake versus those that are asleep. This week we'll continue the theme of animals in winter, but more specifically

we'll focus on winter animals and the relationship with water in connection to second and fifth grade next generation science standards. So second and fifth grade standards have water properties in common and luckily states of matter plays a big role in animal winter survival. So in this episode I'm going to describe winter animal activities for grades 2nd and 5th.

For each activity I'll share the next generation science standard that inspired that activity, as well as the scientific phenomenon that the activity helps explain. And make sure that you listen through to the end of the episode, because even though I've paired these activities to particular standards, you may find yourself inspired to use a similar concept

for your curriculum, or even use the same activity for a different grade. Also, if you're new to taking your students outside for learning, check out episode 6. five outer education safety tips for teaching outside for suggestions to make teaching outside easier. Now let's get into these winter animals activities.

So for second grade, the next generation science standard that I pulled was 2-ESS2-3. Of team information to identify where water is found on Earth and that it can be solid or liquid. So for the activity for second grade, I would suggest doing an experiment with water and freezing temperatures to determine how important liquid water actually is to animals in your area.

To do this experiment, select a classroom window that doesn't have a water source near it. Then fill a shallow container with liquid water from inside and place it outside the classroom window.

With your students, watch the container for about 10 minutes at least 2 times on the day that you put it out, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. While you're watching, look for animals that visit the water to get a drink. to write animals you and your students see visiting the water. It may take some time for the animals

to find the water, which is why it's helpful to watch at least twice before it freezes, or maybe over the course of a couple of different days, making sure that the water is like wed. It may be worth walking outside after your second observation and taking note of any animal science that you see around the container, including track, scat, feathers, etc.

And if you're in a region with freezing temps, the water will likely be frozen by the second day. So if you want to do an additional observation with liquid water, you'd want to swap it out. And if you're ready to move on to frozen water and seeing the impact of frozen water versus the liquid water, make sure to leave it in the frozen state for your next observation.

So you'll want to make sure to observe the frozen water twice similarly to the liquid water. Record what animals you and your student see visiting the frozen water. And again, you could walk outside and take note of any of the signs of the animals that you see around the dish. But as a scientific side note, it'll be hard for your students to tell if the signs they find

are from when the water was liquid versus frozen, but it's okay for your budding scientists to consider any tracks as part of the population that visited the frozen water and disregard the liquid water. They probably won't even think about it. After you've watched and recorded animals from both the liquid water and frozen water visitors, Set down with your second graders and talk about the results.

First, work together to decide what defines, quote-unquote, more in this experiment. As it more individuals, or more variety of animal species, once you work together to make this definition,

take a look at your class's results. Did more animals visit the liquid water, or the frozen water? Why do they think that is? Are animals meeting their needs in a world of frozen water?

How are they doing in? Do they prefer liquid? Do they prefer frozen? in. This will get your students thinking about how much water is frozen during different seasons

and how that can affect animal survival. It could also potentially inspire great conversations about different winter animal adaptations, such as hibernation and migration and the role of water in those adaptations. The next generation science standard that I pulled for fifth grade is 5-ES-2-1, develop a model using an example to describe ways the geospiro biosphere hydrosphere

and or atmosphere interact. For the activity for fifth grade, I would suggest doing a multi-day observational study. This is like a more detailed and amped up version

of the experiment for second grade. So first, I would suggest going outside with your students to scope out an area outside of your classroom window and search of water for animals.

All animals need food, shelter, space, and water to survive. Where do they think that the local animals are finding water?