olorado
Reader
Purpose :
Students will explore the concept of a food ecosytem - human society , animal agriculture , and plant agriculture all rely on each other and together to protect our environment .
Cross Curricular Connections and Colorado Academic Standards :
3rd Grade Science : Life Science
• Make a claim about the merit of a solution to a problem caused when the environment changes and the types of plants and animals that live there may change ( 3-LS4-4 )
4th Grade Science : Life Science
• Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival , growth , behavior , and reproduction ( 4-LS1-1 )
5th Grade Science : Life Science
• Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants , animals , decomposers , and the environment ( 5-LS2-1 )
3rd , 4th , and 5th Grade Reading , Writing , and Communicating : Reading for all Purposes
• Apply strategies to fluently read , comprehend , interpret , and analyze various types of informational texts .
How to use :
Pass out one copy of the Colorado Reader to each student . You could also send these items home with your students ( or include in homework / enrichment packets ) to complete at home on virtual learning days . Review the provided vocabulary with your students . Ask your students to read the Colorado Reader , completing the activities within the Reader as they go . Answers to the activities in the Reader are on the back , should you desire to collect and score responses . An online assessment for student responses is also available . Link : https :// bit . ly / 3mcxtsK . An essay question has been added to the online assessment asking students to predict what would happen if they eliminated one factor of the food ecosystem .
Educator ’ s Guide - 2021-2022 School Year The Food Ecosystem
The Colorado Reader is a FREE cross curricular resource designed to reinforce Colorado Academic Standards using real-world , fact-based , unbiased agricultural and food content that is relatable to students .
Vocabulary : abiotic : relating to nonliving things in an environment
anaerobic digestion : a sequence of processes by which microorganisms break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen
biofuel : a fuel derived directly from living matter
biogas : a gas mixture produced during anaerobic digestion that contains methane and carbon dioxide ; biogas can be burned as an energy source
biotic : relating to living things in an environment byproduct : something that is made in addition to or that is leftover from the production of the desired good ; can still be very useful in different ways
calorie : a unit of heat energy ; the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one gram of water one degree Celsius . It is used to indicate the amount of energy that foods will produce in the human body
climate : the weather of a particular region over a series of years
ecosystem : a biological community of living organisms interacting with nonliving parts of their environment
fossil fuels : a natural fuel , such as coal or gas , formed in the geological past from the remains of living organisms
grazing : to eat grass or other plants that are growing in a field , pasture , etc .
greenhouse effect : the trapping of the sun ’ s warmth in a planet ’ s lower atmosphere
greenhouse gas : a gas that contributes to the greenhouse effect by absorbing infrared radiation
methane : a colorless , odorless flammable gas which is the main constituent of natural gas
monogastric : an animal with a simple single-chambered stomach ( one stomach )
nutrient : a substance that provides nourishment essential for growth and maintenance of life
renewable resource : natural resources that can be replaced naturally or by human efforts at a sustainable rate
rumen : the first stomach of a ruminant , which receives food or cud from the esophagus , partly digests it with the aid of bacteria , and passes it to the reticulum
ruminant : an animal that uses a series of stomach compartments and chew its cud in order to digest plant cellulose
shearing : cutting wool off of an animal
upcycle : reuse discarded material in such a way as to create a produce of higher quality or value than the original
weather : the state of the atmosphere in regard to heat or cold , wetness or dryness , calm or storm , clearness or cloudiness
Support Videos :
A variety of student-appropriate videos for various grade levels are available to support the content of the Colorado Reader . Access the video playlist by searching for the Colorado Foundation for Agriculture on YouTube or using this link : https :// bit . ly / 3ALUPJL