Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES (2024)

The Circle of Life: Life Cycles and Traits

• Develop models to describe that organisms have unique and diverse life cycles but all have in common birth, growth, reproduction, and death.
• Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence that plants and animals have traits inherited from parents and that variation of these traits exist in a group of similar organisms.
• Use evidence to support the explanation that traits can be influenced by the environment.
• Use evidence to construct an explanation for how the variations in characteristics among individuals of the same species may provide advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing.

Unit Overview
This unit covers the life cycle of a butterfly and then expands upon that concept. The students will journal the development of the Painted Lady from egg until butterfly. The kit also covers inherited vs. acquired traits and how the traits are exhibited in an organism. Students will explore how traits can cause or lead to natural selection within a species.
Scheduling
This kit contains two strands:

• Strand One focuses on how organisms have specific life cycles but patterns can be found when comparing them. Students will be caring for a caterpillar and eventually a butterfly. The first strand contains elevensessions.
• Strand Two focuses on how traits in organisms can be inherited or acquired and these traits make organisms similar but different. The second strand contains sevensessions.
• Please note that a session may take more than one class period.
• Therearelive materials in this kit.?

Add video to your instruction
Note:Your District Must Have Access to the Erie 2 BOCES LibraryMedia Services to Access The Videos Below. Science Kit Units can be completed with the videos below.

• ?Life Cycles- Length: 00:14:37, Visual Learning, 2008-Living things go through changes in the course of their lives, referred to as life cycles. This program takes a look at the life cyclesof living organisms, specifically focusing on plants and animals. Exciting video footage and colorful animations illustrate how living things change as their lives progress. Important terminology includes: egg, seed, growth, metamorphosis, germination, stage, larva, pupa, nymph, and adult.
• Adaptations- Length: 00:014:39, Visual Learning, 2008-Characteristics enabling organisms to survive and reproduce are referred to as adaptations. This program explores the wide range ofadaptationshumans, plants, animals, and all living things exhibit. Beautiful instructive video footage from throughout the world including the Galapagos Islands, Canadian Rockies, and New England, depictsadaptationsfor getting food, finding a mate, and escaping predators. Important terminology includes: environment, characteristics, competition, survival, structuraladaptations, and behavioraladaptations.
• Traits and Heredity- Length: 00:10:00, Visual Learning, 2013-This fascinating program helps students understand the basics of heredity.Acquired traits andinherited traitsare defined andcontrasted. Special emphasis is placed on some easy to understand human traitsthat are inherited. Concepts andterminology: characteristics, traits, andinheritance.
• Animal Behavior- Length: 00:14:44, Visual Learning, 2008- Animalsengage in a variety of behaviorsthroughout their lives. This program explores animal behaviorand gives special attention to specific types of behaviors, such as obtaining food, avoiding predators, and finding a mate. Vivid footage filmed in various locations around the world, including the Florida Everglades, Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, Canadian Rockies, and the coast of Maine, captures the behaviorof animalsin their natural environments. Additional concepts and terminology explored in this video include: stimulus, response, instinctive behavior, learnedbehavior, migration, seasonalbehavior, courtshipbehavior, survivalbehavior, socialbehavior, and communication.

Needs of Living Things- Length: 00:13:56, Visual Learning, 2008-What are the characteristics and needs of living things? This question is addressed through live-action footage shot at exciting locations, such as the Galapagos Islands, Canadian Rockies, Mojave Desert, and Florida Everglades. The program begins by discussing the basic characteristics common to living things. Next, some ofthe needs of living thingsare highlighted, including the needfor livingspace, food, water, air, and proper temperature. Important terminology includes: cell, metabolism, movement, stimuli, reproduction, habitat, and homeostasis.

Materials List (DOC - 83 KB)

Kit Video Tutorial Request (DOCX - 25 KB)

Generation Genius Videos (DOCX - 1.30 MB)

Strand Two Explain 1 Inherited vs Acquired Traits PowerPoint Presentation (PPTX - 23.58 MB)

Student Notebook (PDF - 31.32 MB)

Suggested Timeline (PDF - 103 KB)

Strand Video Links (DOCX - 13 KB)

Strand One Explain Butterfly Life Cycle Guided Notes (PPTX - 276.64 MB)

Teacher Manual (PDF - 136.21 MB)

Strand Two Explore 1 Deer and Cactus Photos (PPTX - 142.74 MB)

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