Turtle Hurdles
Fourth and Fifth Grade
Lesson Plan
For more information, please contact:
Veronica Frehm
Director of Education
John D. MacArthur Beach State Park
T: (561) 776-7449 Ext 104
Email: [email protected]
[September 2014]
Turtle Hurdles
(EKG Activity)
Answer Key
1. Explain how animals get their energy.
Animals must consume (eat) plants or other animals to get their energy.
2. Show the flow of energy in an ocean from a producer to a carnivore.
Sargassum
Baby Sea turtle
Large fish
Shark
3. What do all animals need in order to survive?
Animals need food, water, shelter and space.
4. Tell what happens if an animal cannot meet its basic needs in its environment.
If an animal cannot meet its needs the animal may move to a new location or it will die.
5. Choose an animal and describe an adaptation the animal has to help it survive in its
environment.
(Answers will vary.) One example may be a sea turtle. Sea turtles have flippers for
swimming because they spend their entire life in the ocean.
6. Pick one of the following ecosystems and create a food web. (hammock, estuary, dune
and beach, or rock reef)
Osprey
Large Fish
Great Blue Heron
Rosette Spoonbill
Small Fish
crabs
shrimp
Sea grasses
7. Name a positive and negative impact humans can have on an environment.
Negative Impacts: Fishing line, nets, boat traffic, trash in the water, etc…
Positive Impacts: Beach Clean-ups, Rescues and releases, Laws about lighting and
general protection of sea turtles, etc....
Title
Turtle Hurdles (Mini-Lesson)
Grade level
Fourth and Fifth Grade
Student Target
NGSS (4th)
SC.4.N.1.1
SC.4.L.17.2
SC.4.L.17.3
SC.4.L.17.4
NGSS (5th)
SC.5.L.15.1
SC.5.L.17.1
Raise questions about the natural world, use appropriate reference
materials that support understanding to obtain information (identifying the
source), conduct both individual and team investigations through free
exploration and systematic investigations, and generate appropriate
explanations based on those explorations.
Explain that animals, including humans, cannot make their own food and
that when animals eat plants or other animals, the energy stored in the
food source is passed to them.
Trace the flow of energy from the Sun as it is transferred along the food
chain through the producers to the consumers.
Recognize ways plants and animals, including humans, can impact the
environment.
Describe how, when the environment changes, differences between
individuals allow some plants and animals to survive and reproduce while
others die or move to new locations.
Compare and contrast adaptations displayed by animals and plants that
enable them to survive in different environments such as life cycles
variations, animal behaviors and physical characteristics.
Materials
Teacher
 Choose from one of the following books:
Turtle Bay by Saviour Pirotta
Turtle, Turtle, Watch Out! by April Pulley Sayre
 Copies of the pretest from the packet
 Picture Perfect Science Lesson Guide
 MacArthur Beach Background Information
Student
Key Vocabulary
Herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, producers, consumers, adaptation, structures, functions,
survival, food chain
Warm-up
1. Administer the EKG activity provided in packet.
2. Engage the students with one of the books listed in teacher’s materials as per the Picture Perfect
Science Lessons p. 155.
Main Lesson
3. Play the Turtle, Turtle, Watch Out! Game as described on page 155-157 of Picture Perfect Science
Lessons. (Components for the Game on pages 161- 166)
Reflection
4. Use questions on page 157 of the Picture Perfect Science Lessons to review the lesson.
Assessment
EKG Activity
Participation in the activity
Attachments
 Background Information about John D. MacArthur Beach State Park
Making STEM Connections/Common Core Standards
Science
(All of the above)
Technology
6. Visit myFWC.com to analyze the data collected on sea turtle nesting throughout Florida.
7. Use the computer to investigate the negative impacts on sea turtles due to human or
natural issues.
Engineering
8. (Divide the children into teams of 3 to 4) Select one of the human or natural issues and
create a solution for the problem. For example your solution can be an invention to
protect sea turtle nests on the beaches, or a way to get rid of all the plastic floating in the
ocean. It can be a new law enacted. Make sure your solutions are something new and
creative.
9. Write about the problem you selected and how you want to solve the problem.
10. Present your solution to the rest of the class.
Mathematics (Common Core Standards)
4.MD.A.1; 4.MD.A.2; 4.MD.A.3; 5.MD.A.1; 5.MD.B.2; 5.G.A.2
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------English Language Arts Common Core Standards:
RI.4.5; RI.4.7; RI.4.9; W.4.2; SL.4.4; RI.5.1; RI.5.7; W.5.2; SL.5.4
Title
Turtle Hurdles (Regular Lesson)
Grade level
Fourth and Fifth Grade
Student Target
NGSS (4th)
SC.4.N.1.1
SC.4.L.17.2
SC.4.L.17.3
SC.4.L.17.4
NGSS (5th)
SC.5.L.15.1
SC.5.L.17.1
Raise questions about the natural world, use appropriate reference
materials that support understanding to obtain information (identifying the
source), conduct both individual and team investigations through free
exploration and systematic investigations, and generate appropriate
explanations based on those explorations.
Explain that animals, including humans, cannot make their own food and
that when animals eat plants or other animals, the energy stored in the
food source is passed to them.
Trace the flow of energy from the Sun as it is transferred along the food
chain through the producers to the consumers.
Recognize ways plants and animals, including humans, can impact the
environment.
Describe how, when the environment changes, differences between
individuals allow some plants and animals to survive and reproduce while
others die or move to new locations.
Compare and contrast adaptations displayed by animals and plants that
enable them to survive in different environments such as life cycles
variations, animal behaviors and physical characteristics.
Materials for Pre & Post Lessons
Teacher
 MacArthur Beach Background Information
 Prior to your visit: Watch our “Island in Time” video about John D. MacArthur Beach
State Park by logging onto http://weblogs.pbspaces.com/macbeachexplorations/.
Student
 Paper
 Colored pencils or crayons
Pre-visit Warm-up Lesson (completed in classroom before visiting)
1. Review the information in the MacArthur Beach Background Information and view “Island in Time”
with your students.
Main Lesson (completed during visit with their staff)
1. Welcome, Introductions to park, overview of park, and safety talk.
2. Divide the students into 2 groups to rotate through 2 different activities:
A. Beach and Dune Hike: Students will explore the trail along the beach and dune
focusing on the habitat for sea turtles and how this area is vital to the survival of
these animals and many others. Students will learn about the structures that
enable the plants and animals to survive in this environment.
B. Hands-On: Students will participate in an activity about turtles and their ability to
survive in their ocean environment as well as explore our nature center and get a
close encounter with our resident loggerhead.
Post-visit Reflection Lesson (completed in classroom after visiting)
1. Describe and illustrate the major stages of sea turtles’ life cycle, beginning with the egg.
2. Write a law to help protect sea turtles. What would the law include? Who would enforce it?
3. Write about your experiences at John D. MacArthur Beach State Park.
Assessment
Participation in the program
EKG Activity
Attachments
 Background Information about John D. MacArthur Beach State Park
Making STEM Connections/Common Core Standards
Science
(All of the above)
Technology
1. Visit myFWC.com to analyze the data collected on sea turtle nesting throughout Florida.
2. Use the computer to investigate the negative impacts on sea turtles due to human or
natural issues.
Engineering
3. (Divide the children into teams of 3 to 4) Select one of the human or natural issues and
create a solution for the problem. For example your solution can be an invention to
protect sea turtle nests on the beaches, or a way to get rid of all the plastic floating in the
ocean. It can be a new law enacted. Make sure your solutions are something new and
creative.
4. Write about the problem you selected and how you want to solve the problem.
5. Present your solution to the rest of the class.
Mathematics (Common Core Standards)
4.MD.A.1; 4.MD.A.2; 4.MD.A.3; 5.MD.A.1; 5.MD.B.2; 5.G.A.2
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------English Language Arts Common Core Standards:
RI.4.5; RI.4.7; RI.4.9; W.4.2; SL.4.4; RI.5.1; RI.5.7; W.5.2; SL.5.4