1. Assessment Activities
SKL1. Students will sort living organisms and non-living materials into groups by observable physical attributes. b. Group animals according to their observable features such as appearance, size, motion, where it lives, etc. (example: a frog has four legs and hops. A rabbit also has four legs and hops.)
Not Yet Demonstrated
Student does not group animals by observable features.
Progressing
Student groups animals according to one observable feature (e.g., size).
Meets
Student groups animals according to observable features.
Exceeds
Student groups animals according to more than two observable features.
Assessment Activities
(1) Have students group animals according to observable features (size, appearance, motion, where it lives, etc.). Lead students to regroup according to different features. For example, students can first group animals according to whether they have fur, then according to whether they fly, walk, or crawl, and then by where they live, etc. Teacher will observe students while sorting and record responses.
(2) Take a field trip to the zoo or have someone visit the classroom with different types of animals. After learning about the animals, create a class graph as children sort the animals by features.
(3) Create a class set of pictures of real animals for children to sort by features. Place this activity in a center for children. Teacher will note observations.
See SKL2 – a for additional activities.
All students must have the opportunity to observe a variety of plants and animals in the classroom, on the school grounds, in the neighborhood, at home, in plants and streams and gardens, and at the zoo; but observing is not enough. The students should have reasons for their observations – reasons that prompt them to do something with the information they collect. The point is to encourage them to ask questions for which they can find answers by looking carefully at plants and animals and then checking their observations with one another. GeorgiaStandards.Org, Benchmarks for Science Literacy.
Note: Students may group animals according to one feature at a time.