Learning From Plants & Animals
Arts Integrated Lesson Plans and Materials for Teaching Plants and Animals & SABES Grade 1 “Wonders of Life”
My Favorite Animal
Arts Integrated Daily Routine
Help students transition into science instruction through a predictable routine. Students will choose their animal and then every day during circle time, one or two students will share, starting with the animal chant. Students then choose an emotion and make their animal noise using that emotion.
NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS
- NGSS Life Science Disciplinary Core Idea: LS1.A – Structure and Function: All organisms have external parts. Different animals use their body parts in different ways to see, hear, grasp objects, protect themselves, move from place to place, and seek, find, and take in food, water, and air.
NATIONAL ARTS STANDARDS
- Anchor Standard 10: Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art:
- Students draw parallels between their own traits and those of their animal, fostering personal and emotional connections through art.
- Anchor Standard 6: Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work:
- Students share their animal and self-expression through speech, movement, and sound, adapting their performance (animal calls) to various emotions.
SABES LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Students will be able to describe key characteristics of an animal, including its habitat, behavior, and classification, and compare these characteristics with their own traits
WHEN TO USE
- Can be used throughout the unit as a daily practice
INTRODUCTION
STEP ONE
Watch the video below to facilitate My Favorite Animal and use the accompanying slides to support your teaching:
BRAIN TARGETED TEACHING IN THE CLASSROOM
Learn more about Brain Targeted Teaching via Dr. Mariale Hardiman’s site.
The Physical Environment:
ROOT BRANCH MEDIA GROUP
BRING ROOT BRANCH TO YOUR SCHOOL!
All video content made in partnership with Baltimore’s Root Branch Media Group.
MITCH HARRIS
BRING MITCH TO YOUR SCHOOL!
Mitch Harris is an educator, actor, and writer with more than 12 years of experience integrating the arts into core subject areas in K-12 schools throughout the country and around the world. As a member of the Inner City Teaching Corps in Chicago, the Program Director of the Paramount Story Wranglers in Austin, and most recently a Resident Teaching Artist Fellow with Arts Every Day in Baltimore, Mitch believes that students learn best when utilizing their bodies, voices, and imaginations to actively embody curricular content in a way that sticks long after leaving the classroom. To connect or learn more about his work, visit www.mitchharris.org.
GRACE SANTIAGO
Grace Santiago, born and raised in Baltimore, is a middle school science teacher in Baltimore City Public Schools. After graduating from Morgan State University with a BS in Biology with a chemistry minor, she began teaching 7th & 8th Grade Science at a middle school in West Baltimore in 2016. Finishing her 6th year of teaching, she has recently been awarded the status of Baltimore City Model Teacher and Science Department Chair at the Crossroads School. As a teacher in an Arts Everyday partner school, she has been utilizing Arts Integration in her classroom and incorporating Arts Integrated lessons and projects, like the States of Matter Improv Show and Marbled Molecules Art Exhibition, in her curriculum. Grace is currently pursuing a masters degree in Gifted and Creative Education at Towson University and spends her free time with her 5-year-old son, at the gym, or binge-watching YouTube. She is passionate about Science and Arts Integration!
The Plants Dance
Pairs with SABES Chapter 1, Lesson 4
Students will learn a song and dance to embody the different parts of a plant. Key vocabulary includes roots, stem, leaves, soil, seeds, and more. Lyrics are included while students are responsbile for creating the dance moves.
NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS
- NGSS Life Science Disciplinary Core Idea: LS1.A – Structure and Function: All organisms have parts that help them survive (plants have roots, stems, etc. that perform specific roles).
NATIONAL ARTS STANDARDS
- Dance: DA:Cr2.1.1a (Creating, Grade 1):Explore and improvise movement based on prompts in response to a variety of stimuli.
- Students use vocabulary and definitions (prompt/stimulus) to generate original movement that symbolizes plant structures and functions—a creative and interpretive dance-based activity.
SABES LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Students will be able to identify and describe the functions of major plant parts—roots, stems, leaves, flowers, seeds, and fruit—by creating and performing movements that represent each part’s role in plant growth and survival.
WHEN TO USE
- Use with SABES Chapter 1, Lesson 4
INTRODUCTION
ASSESSMENT
STEP ONE
Watch the video below to facilitate the Plants Dance with accompanying lyrics:
BRAIN TARGETED TEACHING IN THE CLASSROOM
Learn more about Brain Targeted Teaching via Dr. Mariale Hardiman’s site.
The Physical Environment:
ROOT BRANCH MEDIA GROUP
BRING ROOT BRANCH TO YOUR SCHOOL!
All video content made in partnership with Baltimore’s Root Branch Media Group.
MITCH HARRIS
BRING MITCH TO YOUR SCHOOL!
Mitch Harris is an educator, actor, and writer with more than 12 years of experience integrating the arts into core subject areas in K-12 schools throughout the country and around the world. As a member of the Inner City Teaching Corps in Chicago, the Program Director of the Paramount Story Wranglers in Austin, and most recently a Resident Teaching Artist Fellow with Arts Every Day in Baltimore, Mitch believes that students learn best when utilizing their bodies, voices, and imaginations to actively embody curricular content in a way that sticks long after leaving the classroom. To connect or learn more about his work, visit www.mitchharris.org.
GRACE SANTIAGO
Grace Santiago, born and raised in Baltimore, is a middle school science teacher in Baltimore City Public Schools. After graduating from Morgan State University with a BS in Biology with a chemistry minor, she began teaching 7th & 8th Grade Science at a middle school in West Baltimore in 2016. Finishing her 6th year of teaching, she has recently been awarded the status of Baltimore City Model Teacher and Science Department Chair at the Crossroads School. As a teacher in an Arts Everyday partner school, she has been utilizing Arts Integration in her classroom and incorporating Arts Integrated lessons and projects, like the States of Matter Improv Show and Marbled Molecules Art Exhibition, in her curriculum. Grace is currently pursuing a masters degree in Gifted and Creative Education at Towson University and spends her free time with her 5-year-old son, at the gym, or binge-watching YouTube. She is passionate about Science and Arts Integration!
Basic Needs Tableaux
Pairs with SABES Chapter 2; Extensions Apply to Lessons 7 & 16
Students will embody animals and the elements of a habitat in a stage picture or tableau.
NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS
- NGSS K-ESS3-1:Use a model to represent the relationship between the needs of different plants or animals (including humans) and the places they live.
- DCI: ESS3.A – Natural Resources: Living things need water, air, and resources from the land, and they depend on their habitats to meet these needs.
NATIONAL ARTS STANDARDS
- Theatre: TH:Pr6.1.1a (Performing, Grade 1): With prompting and support, share small-group Drama/Theatre work, such as a tableau, with peers.
- Theatre: TH:Cr3.1.1a (Creating): Identify and describe choices made in creating tableaux or improvisations.
SABES LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Students will be able to identify and represent the basic needs of an animal—food, water, shelter, and air—by creating a tableau that includes the animal and elements of its habitat, using physical poses and descriptive language.
WHEN TO USE
- Use with SABES Chapter 2; Extensions can be applied to lessons 7 & 16
INTRODUCTION
ASSESSMENT
STEP ONE
Watch the video below to facilitate the Basic Needs Tableaux:
STEP TWO
Watch an example of tableau in the following video:
EXTENSIONS
Consider incorporating the following extensions when teaching lesson 7 and 16:
BRAIN TARGETED TEACHING IN THE CLASSROOM
Learn more about Brain Targeted Teaching via Dr. Mariale Hardiman’s site.
The Physical Environment:
ROOT BRANCH MEDIA GROUP
BRING ROOT BRANCH TO YOUR SCHOOL!
All video content made in partnership with Baltimore’s Root Branch Media Group.
MITCH HARRIS
BRING MITCH TO YOUR SCHOOL!
Mitch Harris is an educator, actor, and writer with more than 12 years of experience integrating the arts into core subject areas in K-12 schools throughout the country and around the world. As a member of the Inner City Teaching Corps in Chicago, the Program Director of the Paramount Story Wranglers in Austin, and most recently a Resident Teaching Artist Fellow with Arts Every Day in Baltimore, Mitch believes that students learn best when utilizing their bodies, voices, and imaginations to actively embody curricular content in a way that sticks long after leaving the classroom. To connect or learn more about his work, visit www.mitchharris.org.
GRACE SANTIAGO
Grace Santiago, born and raised in Baltimore, is a middle school science teacher in Baltimore City Public Schools. After graduating from Morgan State University with a BS in Biology with a chemistry minor, she began teaching 7th & 8th Grade Science at a middle school in West Baltimore in 2016. Finishing her 6th year of teaching, she has recently been awarded the status of Baltimore City Model Teacher and Science Department Chair at the Crossroads School. As a teacher in an Arts Everyday partner school, she has been utilizing Arts Integration in her classroom and incorporating Arts Integrated lessons and projects, like the States of Matter Improv Show and Marbled Molecules Art Exhibition, in her curriculum. Grace is currently pursuing a masters degree in Gifted and Creative Education at Towson University and spends her free time with her 5-year-old son, at the gym, or binge-watching YouTube. She is passionate about Science and Arts Integration!
Animal Avatar
Pairs with SABES Chapter 3
Inspired by Pokémon trading cards, students will imagine and create trading cards of an animal of their very on creation. Students will draw their own unique animal by combining characteristics and adaptations learned in their unit.
NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS
- Life Science core idea LS1.A – Structure and Function: organisms have certain traits that help them survive.
NATIONAL ARTS STANDARDS
- Visual Arts: VA:Cr1.1.1a (Creating, Grade 1): Engage collaboratively in exploration and imaginative play with materials.
SABES LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Students will be able to design and describe an original “animal avatar” that combines characteristics of two different animal classes and explain how its features help it survive in a specific seasonal environment.
WHEN TO USE
- Use with SABES Chapter 3
INTRODUCTION
ASSESSMENT
PREP
Watch the video below to prepare for the Animal Avatar activity:
DEMO
Watch Animal Avatar in action in the video below:
BRAIN TARGETED TEACHING IN THE CLASSROOM
Learn more about Brain Targeted Teaching via Dr. Mariale Hardiman’s site.
The Physical Environment:
ROOT BRANCH MEDIA GROUP
BRING ROOT BRANCH TO YOUR SCHOOL!
All video content made in partnership with Baltimore’s Root Branch Media Group.
MITCH HARRIS
BRING MITCH TO YOUR SCHOOL!
Mitch Harris is an educator, actor, and writer with more than 12 years of experience integrating the arts into core subject areas in K-12 schools throughout the country and around the world. As a member of the Inner City Teaching Corps in Chicago, the Program Director of the Paramount Story Wranglers in Austin, and most recently a Resident Teaching Artist Fellow with Arts Every Day in Baltimore, Mitch believes that students learn best when utilizing their bodies, voices, and imaginations to actively embody curricular content in a way that sticks long after leaving the classroom. To connect or learn more about his work, visit www.mitchharris.org.
GRACE SANTIAGO
Grace Santiago, born and raised in Baltimore, is a middle school science teacher in Baltimore City Public Schools. After graduating from Morgan State University with a BS in Biology with a chemistry minor, she began teaching 7th & 8th Grade Science at a middle school in West Baltimore in 2016. Finishing her 6th year of teaching, she has recently been awarded the status of Baltimore City Model Teacher and Science Department Chair at the Crossroads School. As a teacher in an Arts Everyday partner school, she has been utilizing Arts Integration in her classroom and incorporating Arts Integrated lessons and projects, like the States of Matter Improv Show and Marbled Molecules Art Exhibition, in her curriculum. Grace is currently pursuing a masters degree in Gifted and Creative Education at Towson University and spends her free time with her 5-year-old son, at the gym, or binge-watching YouTube. She is passionate about Science and Arts Integration!
Biomimicry Mirror
Pairs with SABES Chapter 4, Lesson 18 & EDC
Students identify an example of plant or animal biomimicry and create a visual representation of biomimicry. They create a mirror with the animal or plant on one side, and what they are mimicing on the other side, visually reinforcing student understanding of biomimicry.
NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS
- NGSS 1-LS1-1: Use materials to design a solution to a human problem by mimicking how plants and/or animals use their external parts to help them survive, grow, and meet their needs.
NATIONAL ARTS STANDARDS
- Visual Arts: VA:Cr2.1.1a (Creating, Grade 1): Explore uses of materials and tools to create works of art or design.
- Visual Arts: VA:Re7.1.1a (Responding): Select and describe objects, images, and artworks that illustrate daily life experiences in the community.
SABES LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Students will be able to identify and visually represent an example of biomimicry by drawing a plant or animal feature alongside the human-made invention inspired by it, explaining how the natural design influences the human solution.
WHEN TO USE
- Use with SABES Chapter 4, Lesson 18. This activity helps prepare students for the Engineering Design Challenge
INTRODUCTION
ASSESSMENT
STEP ONE
Watch the video below to prepare for the Biomimicry Mirror activity:
DEMO
Watch Mirror Mirror on the Wall in action in the video below:
BRAIN TARGETED TEACHING IN THE CLASSROOM
Learn more about Brain Targeted Teaching via Dr. Mariale Hardiman’s site.
The Physical Environment:
ROOT BRANCH MEDIA GROUP
BRING ROOT BRANCH TO YOUR SCHOOL!
All video content made in partnership with Baltimore’s Root Branch Media Group.
MITCH HARRIS
BRING MITCH TO YOUR SCHOOL!
Mitch Harris is an educator, actor, and writer with more than 12 years of experience integrating the arts into core subject areas in K-12 schools throughout the country and around the world. As a member of the Inner City Teaching Corps in Chicago, the Program Director of the Paramount Story Wranglers in Austin, and most recently a Resident Teaching Artist Fellow with Arts Every Day in Baltimore, Mitch believes that students learn best when utilizing their bodies, voices, and imaginations to actively embody curricular content in a way that sticks long after leaving the classroom. To connect or learn more about his work, visit www.mitchharris.org.
GRACE SANTIAGO
Grace Santiago, born and raised in Baltimore, is a middle school science teacher in Baltimore City Public Schools. After graduating from Morgan State University with a BS in Biology with a chemistry minor, she began teaching 7th & 8th Grade Science at a middle school in West Baltimore in 2016. Finishing her 6th year of teaching, she has recently been awarded the status of Baltimore City Model Teacher and Science Department Chair at the Crossroads School. As a teacher in an Arts Everyday partner school, she has been utilizing Arts Integration in her classroom and incorporating Arts Integrated lessons and projects, like the States of Matter Improv Show and Marbled Molecules Art Exhibition, in her curriculum. Grace is currently pursuing a masters degree in Gifted and Creative Education at Towson University and spends her free time with her 5-year-old son, at the gym, or binge-watching YouTube. She is passionate about Science and Arts Integration!
Biomimicry Fashion Show
Pairs with SABES Engineering Design Challenge
In this extension, your class will put on a fashion show. Students will walk the runway putting on a piece of clothing or accessory that demonstrates biomimicry.
NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS
- NGSS 1-LS1-1: Use materials to design a solution to a human problem by mimicking how plants and/or animals use their external parts to help them survive, grow, and meet their needs.
NATIONAL ARTS STANDARDS
- Theatre: TH:Pr6.1.1 (Presenting, Grade 1): With prompting and support, use voice and movement to present a character or narrative in informal performances.
- Visual Arts: VA:Cr1.1.1a (Creating): Engage collaboratively in exploration and imaginative play with materials.
SABES LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Students will be able to creatively demonstrate their understanding of biomimicry by selecting or designing a clothing item inspired by a plant or animal structure and explaining how the natural adaptation informs the function of their fashion piece.
WHEN TO USE
- Use with SABES Engineering Design Challenge
INTRODUCTION
ASSESSMENT
STEP ONE
Watch the video below to prepare for the Biomimicry Fashion Show:
BRAIN TARGETED TEACHING IN THE CLASSROOM
Learn more about Brain Targeted Teaching via Dr. Mariale Hardiman’s site.
The Physical Environment:
ROOT BRANCH MEDIA GROUP
BRING ROOT BRANCH TO YOUR SCHOOL!
All video content made in partnership with Baltimore’s Root Branch Media Group.
MITCH HARRIS
BRING MITCH TO YOUR SCHOOL!
Mitch Harris is an educator, actor, and writer with more than 12 years of experience integrating the arts into core subject areas in K-12 schools throughout the country and around the world. As a member of the Inner City Teaching Corps in Chicago, the Program Director of the Paramount Story Wranglers in Austin, and most recently a Resident Teaching Artist Fellow with Arts Every Day in Baltimore, Mitch believes that students learn best when utilizing their bodies, voices, and imaginations to actively embody curricular content in a way that sticks long after leaving the classroom. To connect or learn more about his work, visit www.mitchharris.org.
GRACE SANTIAGO
Grace Santiago, born and raised in Baltimore, is a middle school science teacher in Baltimore City Public Schools. After graduating from Morgan State University with a BS in Biology with a chemistry minor, she began teaching 7th & 8th Grade Science at a middle school in West Baltimore in 2016. Finishing her 6th year of teaching, she has recently been awarded the status of Baltimore City Model Teacher and Science Department Chair at the Crossroads School. As a teacher in an Arts Everyday partner school, she has been utilizing Arts Integration in her classroom and incorporating Arts Integrated lessons and projects, like the States of Matter Improv Show and Marbled Molecules Art Exhibition, in her curriculum. Grace is currently pursuing a masters degree in Gifted and Creative Education at Towson University and spends her free time with her 5-year-old son, at the gym, or binge-watching YouTube. She is passionate about Science and Arts Integration!
