Observing

DRAFT DEVELOPING PAGE PENDING CONTENT REVIEW

Biocontrol In Your Backyard is designed for educators to access content by
State required core and standards. The purpose is to seamlessly integrate
biocontrol, integrated pest management, and noxious weed lesson plans into
existing programs by Grade level, Core Subjects, Core Skills, Core Concepts
and Core Objectives.

CORE SKILLS - Observing

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Be a naturalist! Lesson Plan. Explore the natural world! Use your five senses to observe the world around you. Students will learn to develop their skills as nature detectives through senses investigatons, journaling and drawing in a micro-mapping project.
Senses Investigations (45 minutes)
Micro Maps (45 minutes)
Grades 4-8. Subjects: Art, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science.
Explore Your World With Lewis and Clark
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Spotted Knapweed Lesson Plan. How do noxious weeds spread? Investigate seeds and the special adaptations that seeds have to spread and grow into new plants. Students will observe a variety of seeds and examine the techniques that plants use to spread their seeds. Students will also participate in a journaling activity on Spotted Knapweed to learn the tricks this plant uses to spread quickly across the landscape.Grades 4-8. Subjects: Science, Mathematics, Language Arts.
Seed Dispersal Investigation (50 minutes)
Ode to Spotted Knapweed Poem (20 minutes)
Spotted Knapweed Seed Collection and Dissection (50 minutes)
Grades 4-8. Subjects: Language Arts, Science, Mathematics.
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Yellow Starthistle Lesson Plan. Look closely at the Yellow Starthistle -- the base of each flower is guarded by long, sharp spines that poke out in all directions. Seen from above, these spines look like the points of a star. Each spine is almost one inch long and as sharp as a sewing needle. That's starthistle's way of saying, Don't touch me! Students will take a closer look at this plant and other noxious weeds through back to back drawings. Students will also learn ore about plants and the plant life cycle through flower dissections.
Back to Back Observations (30 minutes)
Plant Life Cycle and Flower Dissection (40 minutes)
Grades 4-8. Subjects: Science, Art, Language Arts.
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Purple Loosestrife Lesson Plan. Purple loosestrife spreads rapidly through wetlands and quickly replaces native plants. Sooon nothing but loosestrife grows there. How do we control the spread of purple loose-strife? Students will examine the use of bio-controls to limit the spread of noxious weeds in a bio-control blast!
Bio-Control Blast! Discussion and Role Play (30 minutes)
Inspiring Insects - Collection and Observation (40 minutes)
Grades 4-8. Subjects: Science, Performing Arts, Language Arts.
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Leafy Spurge Activities. Science Project. Cork-like and Wax-like Plant Defenses. The lesson plan engages students in a classroom lab experiment to learn mechanisms that plants use to protect their physiology. Radio plays to enhance learning are available at Interesting Facts.
Cork-Like and Wax-like Plant Defenses (20 minuates)
Grades 4-8. Subjects: Science.
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Leafy Spurge Activities. Meet the Beetles Part One - Before and After. Part Two The lesson plan engages students in identifying, drawing, and monitoring the impacts of biological weed control insects on leafy spurge. Students will learn how to make observations and demonstrate their findings. Radio plays to enhance learning are available at Interesting Facts.
Materials, Time Consideratons, Lesson Overview, Background
Biological Control of Leafy Spurge (20 minutes)
Grades 3-6. Subjects: Science, Art.
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Aquatic Invasive Species

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Water Cycle. In this lesson students will participate in discussions, brainstorming, and hands on activities to discover the continuous movement of water on, above, and below the surface of the earth.
Water Cycle Chant (10 minutes) and Water Cycle Bracelet (25 minutes)
A Drop in a Bucket (45 minutes) and WOW The Wonders of Wetlands
Grades: All. Subjects: Language Arts, Social Studies, Mathematics.
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Purple Loosestrife Parts of a Plant (30 minutes) and Mapping a Wetland and Controlling Purple Loosestrife (60 minutes)
Students will be introduced to the 6 plant parts and participate in a hands-on investigation of plant parts and the function of each plant.
Grades: 1 and up: Parts of a Plant; 4 and up: Mapping a Wetland and Controlling Purple Loosestrife
Subjects: Language Arts, Science, Performing Arts.
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Macroinvertebrate and Mudsnails. Students will explore a local stream to determine its relative health, physical attributes and plant/animal populations. During the investigation students collect and classify aquatic insects and learn how they are adapted to stream life.
What is a Sream? Mudsnail Invasion (15 minutes)
Dichotomous Keys (20 minutes) and Stream Exploration (45 minutes)
Grades: All. Subjects: Language Arts, Science, Mathematics.
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Eurasian Watermilfoil. Students will learn about the diversity of animal life in a pond and the interdependence among pond organisms. Students will illustrate how tolerance to water quality conditions varies among macroinvertebrate organisms and explain how population diversity provides insight into health of an ecosystem.
Grades: All. Subjects: Language Arts, Science, Mathematics.
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Stand Alone Media Elements Gateway to biocontrol still and motion video and graphics
for assembling in a sequence for individualized lesson plans will be available later this year.

Content for Biocontrol in Your Backyard is provided by individual program sponsors.

Content is formatted and uploaded by InterMedia

The Biocontrol In Your Backyard Portal collaboration with The Bugwood Network and its

content accessible format are sponsored by USDA Forest Service, State and Private Forestry

Regions 1, 4, and Northeastern Area; and Forest Health Protection Technology Enterprise Team.