What Makes Something Alive - Virginia Department of Education

Session 3.8 – Square-Meter Habitats: Observation 1
Teacher Questions & Notes
Procedures
24. Remind groups that they will be returning to their site at least
three more times in the next few days. Have each group identify
a minimum of four location clues about their location (e.g., five
feet from the big tree, on the right side of the school building)
that will help them return to the same site.
25. When the designated time is over, have each group mark the
four corners of their square meter with the markers (e.g.,
toothpicks, Popsicle sticks, chalk powder borrowed from the
physical education teacher) you have selected. (If you use
Popsicle sticks, the students can put their names on their sticks
before they mark their square meter with them.) Then have the
groups gather up their string and meter sticks. Unless the meter
sticks are needed for something else before the remaining three
observations are made, have students leave the string taped to
their meter sticks. They will need their string and meter sticks
for each of the remaining three observations.
Determine three more times that the groups can set up their
square meters and make their observations. If possible, try
to schedule the observations at different times during the
day, and on different days. Topic 3, Session 10 will be the
second observation.
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Virginia Animals and their Habitats
Topic 3