ANIMAL HABITATS AND ADAPTATIONS

Ontario Curriculum: Science and Technology, Life Systems, Habitats and Communities

Students will learn how animals interact with, and adapt to their environment through observation and investigation of the Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre. Food chains and food webs will be constructed using the plants and animals of the marsh, woodland and field areas of the centre. Human interactions and impacts on these areas will be examined throughout the program.

Vocabulary:

Species - A category of classification consisting of related organisms capable of interbreeding.

Marsh - A wetland characterized by soft, wet, low-lying land, marked by herbaceous vegetation.

Woodlot - An area with trees growing as the primary vegetation.

Food Chain - A group of organisms whereby food energy is passed from one organism to another as each consumes and is turn preyed upon by others.

Food Web - A complex of interrelated food chains in an ecological community.

Plant - A member of the vegetable kingdom, a living organism that eats, breathes but cannot move on its own power.

Animal - A living organism that eats, breathes and moves on its own power.

Fungi - Mushrooms

Adaptation - A change in behaviour in response to new stimuli.

GOING ON A ROCK HUNT

Ontario Curriculum: Science and Technology, Earth and Space Systems, Rocks, Minerals and Erosion

Students will discover the difference between the difference between minerals and rocks, learn to classify them according to type and investigate how soil is formed from rocks. Physical properties of rocks and minerals will be tested and their associated uses determined. The relationship between water, humans and erosion will be examined.

Vocabulary:

Rock - Any mass of mineral matter which forms part of the earth's crust.

Mineral - A structurally homogeneous solid of definite chemical composition.

Hardness - A measurement of minerals known as scratch hardness when they are scratched on different objects to get a scratch mark.

Soil - The accumulation of loose weathered material which covers much of the land surface of the earth to a depth ranging from a fraction of an inch to many feet.

PH - A measure of alkalinity and acidity.

Erosion - The process of wearing away the land surface by the mechanical action of water.

Quarry - A place where stone is extracted.