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Denver ZooToyota Elephant Passage Field Trip Discovery Unit5 th Grade – HEALTHY HUMAN, HEALTHY ANIMALOverviewUnit Overview: Learn about the intentions of this Field Trip Discovery Unit; the guiding question andColorado Academic Standard that provide the framework for this unit; the final project thatconnects to the before‐visit, at‐the‐zoo and after‐visit activities; and how long this unit will take toimplement.Table of Contents: See how the before‐visit, at‐the‐zoo and after‐visit activities connect and buildup to a final project.Best Practices in Field Trips: Understand how to best structure and utilize field trip experiences inorder to enhance and support your students’ learning.AcknowledgementsOverview of the Field Trip Discovery UnitWho should use this unit?The Healthy Human, Healthy Animal Field Trip Discovery Unit has been intentionally designed forColorado fifth grade students visiting Denver Zoo’s Toyota Elephant Passage exhibit. Depending on eachdistrict or school’s curriculum, as well as the students’ learning level, this unit can be adapted for othergrade levels.What academic standards does this unit focus on?The activities in this unit are focused on the following Colorado Academic Standard Grade LevelExpectations (GLEs) for fifth grade:Science 2.1: All organisms have structures and systems with separate functions.Science 2.2: Human body systems have basic structures, functions and needs.Additionally, many other activities in this unit secondarily focus on other Colorado Academic GLEs,including those from Reading, Writing and Communicating; Visual Arts; and Social Studies. Refer to eachactivity for specific alignment.What is the guiding question?In this unit, your students will explore the guiding question “How can the management of healthyhuman body systems be compared and contrasted to the management of healthy animal bodysystems?” within the context of the Toyota Elephant Passage exhibit, which is home to 16 species ofvertebrate animals and many species of plants. The exhibit is a perfect living laboratory for students tobegin to explore concepts of how the management of healthy body systems is similar and differentbetween humans and animals.1