ALEX Classroom Resources

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (3) 5 :

5 ) Obtain and combine information to describe that organisms are classified as living things, rather than nonliving things, based on their ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions while living in a constantly changing external environment.

[SC2015] (3) 11 :

11 ) Construct an argument from evidence to explain the likelihood of an organism's ability to survive when compared to the resources in a certain habitat (e.g., freshwater organisms survive well, less well, or not at all in saltwater; desert organisms survive well, less well, or not at all in woodlands).

a. Construct explanations that forming groups helps some organisms survive.

b. Create models that illustrate how organisms and their habitats make up a system in which the parts depend on each other.

c. Categorize resources in various habitats as basic materials (e.g., sunlight, air, freshwater, soil), produced materials (e.g., food, fuel, shelter), or as nonmaterial (e.g., safety, instinct, nature-learned behaviors).

In this lesson, students think about what might happen to plants and animals if their environment changed and they were faced with conditions to which they were not well adapted. First, students read The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest by Lynne Cherry. Then they watch a video about camouflage and learn that praying mantises are well suited for life in the rain forest. Next, students play a predator/prey game to simulate what might happen to the praying mantis if the rain forest were cut down. Finally, they use a Web activity to explore what would happen to living things if the concentration of oxygen in the air changed.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (3) 5 :

5 ) Obtain and combine information to describe that organisms are classified as living things, rather than nonliving things, based on their ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions while living in a constantly changing external environment.

In this lesson, students explore how plants are well adapted to their surroundings. First, a class discussion brings out that plants need a source of chemical energy, substances to build plant material, and water to survive. Students watch a series of short time-lapse videos in which they see how plants respond to their environment. Next, they view a video about plants living in the desert and identify ways in which plants are adapted to their surroundings. Finally, students extend their understanding by considering why some plants have evolved to get nutrients and energy from insects.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (3) 5 :

5 ) Obtain and combine information to describe that organisms are classified as living things, rather than nonliving things, based on their ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions while living in a constantly changing external environment.

[SC2015] (3) 6 :

6 ) Create representations to explain the unique and diverse life cycles of organisms other than humans (e.g., flowering plants, frogs, butterflies), including commonalities such as birth, growth, reproduction, and death.

Players take on the role of bilbies, rabbit-sized Australian marsupials, as they race through the landscape looking for food and avoiding predators—and trying not to run into rocks—in this interactive game from PLUM LANDING™. They also learn about the bilby’s life cycle and the plants and animals that share its ecosystem.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [ELA2015] (3) 18 :

18 ) Compare and contrast the most important points and key details presented in two texts on the same topic. [RI.3.9]

[SC2015] (3) 5 :

5 ) Obtain and combine information to describe that organisms are classified as living things, rather than nonliving things, based on their ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions while living in a constantly changing external environment.

Dive in and explore the wet and wonderful world of our friends, the manatees. Practice reading and learning like a scientist reads and learns. Have fun comparing and contrasting text and visual media, and read some very happy news about manatees.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (3) 5 :

5 ) Obtain and combine information to describe that organisms are classified as living things, rather than nonliving things, based on their ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions while living in a constantly changing external environment.

[SC2015] (3) 11 :

11 ) Construct an argument from evidence to explain the likelihood of an organism's ability to survive when compared to the resources in a certain habitat (e.g., freshwater organisms survive well, less well, or not at all in saltwater; desert organisms survive well, less well, or not at all in woodlands).

a. Construct explanations that forming groups helps some organisms survive.

b. Create models that illustrate how organisms and their habitats make up a system in which the parts depend on each other.

c. Categorize resources in various habitats as basic materials (e.g., sunlight, air, freshwater, soil), produced materials (e.g., food, fuel, shelter), or as nonmaterial (e.g., safety, instinct, nature-learned behaviors).

Players identify and remove invasive species from ecosystems around the world, in this interactive game from PLUM LANDING™. They must act quickly before the invasive species use up all the resources.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (3) 5 :

5 ) Obtain and combine information to describe that organisms are classified as living things, rather than nonliving things, based on their ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions while living in a constantly changing external environment.

Players are challenged to investigate a city neighborhood and explore relationships among living and non-living things in this interactive game from PLUM LANDING. Plum provides short prompts that encourage students to find animals and plants, consider how they meet their needs in a city environment, and discover connections among living and non-living things.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (3) 5 :

5 ) Obtain and combine information to describe that organisms are classified as living things, rather than nonliving things, based on their ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions while living in a constantly changing external environment.

Creature Power! Collaborate with Aviva to design power suits by deciding what types of animal features are best for certain environments.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (2) 7 :

7 ) Obtain information from literature and other media to illustrate that there are many different kinds of living things and that they exist in different places on land and in water (e.g., woodland, tundra, desert, rainforest, ocean, river).

[SC2015] (3) 5 :

5 ) Obtain and combine information to describe that organisms are classified as living things, rather than nonliving things, based on their ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions while living in a constantly changing external environment.

Learn how beavers are nature’s amazing engineers. This self-paced lesson is full of beautiful beaver videos, awesome fact-filled infographics, and all you can soak in about beavers, beaver dams, and beaver lodges.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (3) 5 :

5 ) Obtain and combine information to describe that organisms are classified as living things, rather than nonliving things, based on their ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions while living in a constantly changing external environment.

Invertebrates do not have backbones or vertebrae. Examples include jellyfish, sponges, worms, clams, snails, and octopuses. 

This resource presents a short slideshow about different invertebrates and their characteristics. The slideshow could be used to introduce students to the classification of organisms as living things, even if the organism does not have a skeleton! After utilizing this resource, the students can complete the short test to assess their understanding.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (3) 5 :

5 ) Obtain and combine information to describe that organisms are classified as living things, rather than nonliving things, based on their ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions while living in a constantly changing external environment.

Vertebrates have backbones that support their bodies and protect their inner organs. There are five main groups of vertebrates: fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

This resource presents a short slideshow about different vertebrates and their characteristics. The slideshow could be used to introduce students to the classification of organisms as living things that possess different characteristics. After utilizing this resource, the students can complete the short test to assess their understanding.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (3) 5 :

5 ) Obtain and combine information to describe that organisms are classified as living things, rather than nonliving things, based on their ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions while living in a constantly changing external environment.

Arthropods make up 75% of invertebrates. Arthropods have several qualities in common: jointed legs, bodies divided into sections, and an exoskeleton, or shell. Some of the arthropods you might know are lobsters, millipedes, spiders, ants, and butterflies.

This resource presents a short slideshow about different invertebrates and their characteristics. The slideshow could be used to introduce students to the classification of organisms as living things, even if the organism does not have a skeleton! After utilizing this resource, the students can complete the short test to assess their understanding.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [ELA2015] (3) 10 :

10 ) Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers. [RI.3.1]

[ELA2015] (3) 19 :

19 ) By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the Grades 2-3 text complexity band independently and proficiently. [RI.3.10]

[SC2015] (3) 5 :

5 ) Obtain and combine information to describe that organisms are classified as living things, rather than nonliving things, based on their ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions while living in a constantly changing external environment.

[SC2015] (3) 11 :

11 ) Construct an argument from evidence to explain the likelihood of an organism's ability to survive when compared to the resources in a certain habitat (e.g., freshwater organisms survive well, less well, or not at all in saltwater; desert organisms survive well, less well, or not at all in woodlands).

a. Construct explanations that forming groups helps some organisms survive.

b. Create models that illustrate how organisms and their habitats make up a system in which the parts depend on each other.

c. Categorize resources in various habitats as basic materials (e.g., sunlight, air, freshwater, soil), produced materials (e.g., food, fuel, shelter), or as nonmaterial (e.g., safety, instinct, nature-learned behaviors).

This lesson uses the book >Sisters & Brothers: Sibling Relationships in the Animal World by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page to explore the sibling relationships of different animals. In the book, the authors describe the sibling relationships of 19 animals and how they are alike and unlike other sibling relationships. While the book teaches children about the variety of relationships in the animal kingdom, it also includes other facts about animals, such as what they eat, their size, and their habitats in the world. The purpose of this lesson is to help students understand the great variety of organisms found in the animal world and their interdependence.