School Tour
Curriculum
Click here to download a PDF copy of
the curriculum covered during School tours.
Grade 3
- Animals
Grade 4
- Weather
Grade 5
- Plant Structure and Function
Grade 6
- Ecosystems
Grade 7
- Adaptation and Succession
Grade 8
- Production and Interdependence
Grade 9
- Saskatchewan - The Environment
Grade
9 - Risks and Limits: To Fertilize or Not To Fertilize: That Is The Questions!
Grade
10 - Importance of Water
Biology
20 - Science-Technology-Society-Environment Focus
SCIENCE 3:
Animals
Foundational
Objectives
Key
Questions
- Why is it important to
conserve our wetlands?
- What food chains do you see
at the CLC?
- How do agricultural
practices affect wetlands?
Learning
Objectives
- 1.1 Identify food chains
for humans.
- 1.2 Identify food chains
for animals.
- 1.3 Describe some food webs
involving humans.
- 1.4 Describe food webs in
your locale that do not involve humans.
- 1.5 Apply the terms
predator, prey, grazer, scavenger to the members of the food chains
identified.
- 2.1 Examine reasons why
animals become endangered or extinct.
Resources
ReviseWise Science Site includes movie
to explain what a food chain is as well as on on-line quiz.
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/revisewise/science/living/03b_act.shtml
Food Chains and Webs
This site invites students to explore food chains with interactive activities.
http://www.vtaide.com/png/foodchains.htm
Kids' Planet ESPECIES
Animal Fact Sheets Endangered animals are listed by continent.
http://www.kidsplanet.org/factsheets/map.html
SCIENCE 4: Weather
Foundational
Objectives
·
Observing and Describing Weather Conditions
·
Appreciating the Importance of Weather
Key
Questions
·
Why should we pay attention to the weather?
·
How does a change in a weather pattern from
wet to very dry affect our wetland habitat?
·
How do the changing seasons affect the
wetland, woodland, and grassland habitat?
·
How do animals and plants adapt to changing
seasons?
·
In what ways can producers protect the soil
from extreme weather conditions?
·
How do soil temperatures affect plant growth?
Learning
Objectives
·
1.1 Observe and describe current weather
conditions
·
1.3 Identify instruments used to measure
weather conditions
·
1.5 Record measurements made with weather
instruments
·
3.1 Why people rely on accurate weather
information
·
3.2 Importance of weather to agriculture
·
3.1 Identify some hazards associated with bad
weather
·
3.2 Describe some ways in which weather
affects human activity
·
3.3 Describe some ways that weather affects
other living things
Resources
Multiple Intelligences Grade 4 Weather
The study of weather incorporates activities that reflect the Multiple Intelligences in this attractive
Website. www.saskschools.ca/curr_content/SESDmultint/units/g4-weath/index.html
Saskatchewan Weather - Environment Canada
Students can check out the weather for various communities in Saskatchewan.
http://weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/forecast/canada/index_e.html?id=SK
The Weather Unit This unit features lessons that integrate other subject
areas. http://faldo.atmos.uiuc.edu/w_unit/weather.html
Tornado Project Online This site includes facts about tornadoes, tornado
safety and tornado myths. www.tornadoproject.com
Other Curriculum Links Math recording various weather conditions and
creating charts
SCIENCE 5: Plant
Structure and Function
*Includes an in-school presentation prior to CLC visit
Foundational
Objectives
·
Functions of roots, stems, leaves, and
flowers
·
Agriculture in Saskatchewan: Field and Forage Crops
·
Observe and describe fibrous and tap root
systems
Key
Questions
·
How do plants work for us and for the
environment?
·
How do annual, biennial and perennial plants
differ? Consider life span, root structure, hardiness and plant size in your
answer.
·
How do soil characteristics determine which
agricultural crops grow best?
·
Why do producers/gardeners rotate their
crops?
Learning
Objectives
·
2.3 Describe the process of pollination and
seed production
·
2.4 Observe and describe plant adaptations
·
3.1 Identify some field crops and their
products
·
3.2 Importance of plants in prevention of
soil erosion
Resources
Plant Structure and Function Webquest Students
will learn about Pollination and Seed Production; Plant Adaptations; Seed
Germination; Field Crops and Their Products; Plants and the Prevention of Soil
Erosion. At the end of the quest students can test their knowledge by taking
the 'Plant Quiz' and then playing the game "The Great Plant Escape".
www.saskwest.ca/teacher/yellowlejon/wq/plant5
SCIENCE 6:
Ecosystems
*Includes an in-school presentation prior to CLC visit
Foundational
Objectives
·
Factors that influence an ecosystem
·
Effects of change in an ecosystem
·
Responsibility for preservation of an
ecosphere
Key
Questions
·
What can happen if one part of the ecosystem
changes?
·
How do we create or prevent change in an
ecosystem (positive an negative)?
·
What is the effect when a new species is
introduced into an ecosystem?
·
What is the importance of dense nesting cover
for birds and animals?
Learning
Objectives
·
1.1 Abiotic and
biotic components of an ecosystem
·
1.2 Interrelationships of abiotic
and biotic components
·
1.4 Information conveyed by food webs
·
2.1 Events that cause change in an ecosystem
·
2.4 Cooperation of living organism in an
ecosystem
·
2.5 Change cascades through an ecosystem
·
3.2 Impact of humans on an ecosystem
·
3.3 Role of humans in protecting and
destroying ecosystems
·
3.4 Actions that ensure ecosystem health
Resources
Canadian Terrestrial Ecozones In addition to
providing information regarding the landforms, climate, flora and fauna of each
Canadian ecozone, visitors to the site can also read
about the kinds of human activity which impact on each ecozone.
www.ec.gc.ca/soer-ree/English/vignettes/Terrestrial/terr.cfm
SCIENCE 7: Saskatchewan - The Land
and Resource Use
*Includes an in-school presentation prior to CLC visit
The
Land
Foundational
Objectives
·
Effects of Glaciation
on Saskatchewan
·
Weathering Process
·
Natural and Human Forces
Key
Questions
·
How have glaciers impacted soil profiles in
the Prince Albert
area?
·
How have humans impacted soil profiles in the
Prince Albert
area?
·
How does physical
weathering, chemical weathering and acid rain affect our soils and our
environment?
Learning
Objectives
·
2.3 Samples of sandy, silty,
and clayey soils
·
2.4 Nutrients stored and released by the soil
·
2.5 Nutrient cycles in the soil
·
3.3 Impact of agriculture on land
Resources
Soil Landscape Illustrations of the Prairie Provinces Images of soil
landscapes feature soil profiles, surface forms of mineral soils as well as surface
forms of organic soils.
http://sis.agr.gc.ca/cansis/taxa/landscape/slc_prairie.html
The Dirt on Soil: DiscoverySchool.com In this mini-unit
students will be introduced to the difference between soil and dirt and
meet creatures that live in the soil. The unit concludes with the 'Soil Safari'
where students will see the importance of the organisms and physical structures
in soil at different size scales.
http://school.discovery.com/schooladventures/soil/teacher_tips.html#overview
Resource
Use
Foundational
Objectives
·
Decisions for Resource Use
Key
Questions
·
How can the "power of one" make a
difference to the impact of resource use?
·
What can farmers do to ensure that wildlife
habitat is not destroyed on their property?
·
How can individuals reduce greenhouse gas
emissions or slow down global warming?
Learning
Objectives
·
1.4 Management of soil, water, and forests
for sustained use
·
1.5 Interrelationship of soil and water
·
2.4 3 R's of waste reduction
·
2.5 Reduce more preferable than recycle
Resources
Our Water Resources The student will build a model of an aquifer using
materials of various porosity and permeability. Using the above model, the
student will infer how groundwater zones and a water table form. The student
will observe which types of rock and soil hold the most water. Then the student
will generalize the water-holding capacity of the minerals. The student will
make a model of two aquifers and measure the movement of contaminated
groundwater in each. The student will generalize from the model aquifers how
groundwater can become polluted. www.fhsu.edu/kga/lp/5/davidson.html
Other
Curriculum Links
Social Studies 7: Resources Foundational Objectives Appreciate the
vulnerability of the environment Appreciate that individuals and societies have
the responsibility to manage and conserve resources, both renewable and
nonrenewable
Science 7: Microorganisms Foundational Objectives Appreciate the beneficial
role of some microorganisms Describe how microorganisms and fungi are essential
in the nutrient cycles
SCIENCE 8:
Adaptation and Succession
*Includes an in-school presentation prior to CLC visit
Foundational
Objectives
·
Recognize how abiotic
components of an ecosystem support and influence life.
Key
Questions
·
What relationship exists between the amount
of topsoil in a given area and the quality and quantity of vegetation in that
same area?
·
What does a soil profile reveal about the
health of an ecosystem?
·
What examples of adaptation and succession
are found at the Conservation Learning Centre?
Learning
Objectives
·
1.1 Identify the nonliving conditions and
components of the ecosphere that influence life.
·
1.5 Appreciate how abiotic
factors influence which populations develop.
·
2.1 Find examples of succession in the
ecosystems of your area.
Other
Curriculum Links
Science
8: Plant Growth Foundational Objectives
·
Explore the factors which influence plant
growth
·
Understand the relationship between plant
growth and agricultural practices
Key
Questions
·
Why won't some plants grow at all in Saskatchewan?
·
If using fertilizers helps plants grow, will
using more fertilizers help them even more?
·
How does saline soil inhibit plant growth?
·
Importance of
agricultural crops in our lives.
Learning
Objectives
·
1.1 Identify factors important for plant
growth.
·
1.2 Classify factors as external or internal
to the plant. Note: at the CLC we focus on pH, effects of erosion on soil
quality, formation of and physical inspection of soil profiles, role of
salinity on agricultural practices.
SOCIAL
STUDIES 8: Production and Interdependence Foundational Objectives
·
Affects of technical changes on
interdependence of individuals and nations
·
Because of interconnectedness of society,
change has consequences
·
Change in values result in further change
Key
Questions
·
What role does automation play on the decline
or enhancement of the quality of farm life?
·
How do commodity prices relate to demand and
producer expenditures?
·
What evidence do we have that quality of life
is better and worse because of automation?
Learning
Objectives
·
1 Changes in technology and effects on
interdependence