R.E.A.L.

SCIENCE ODYSSEY
Life Level One Preview

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 cover from Life_1_ebook1side-2.pdf 12/10/2008 1:13:36 PM

R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey

Life (level one)
PREVIEW

CM

MY

CY

CMY

Life Science Curriculum

For Grades 1 – 4

R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey – R ead • E xplore • A bsorb • L earn Science

Pandia Press
Dear Customer,

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 Pandia Press
REAL Science Odyssey

Life (level one)

For Grades 1 – 4

Written & Illustrated by

Terri Williams

www.PandiaPress.com
This ebook version of RSO Life (1) is intended for use on a printer that prints on only one
side of the paper. Blank pages have been removed from this file. You are not missing any
part of the course, even though you might notice some missing page numbers. Only blank
pages have been removed.

copyright 2015 Pandia Press

ISBN: 978-0-9766057-0-6

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or used in

any form by any means — graphic, electronic, or mechanical including
photocopying, recording, taping, or information storage and retrieval
systems – without written permission from the publisher.

Note: The purchaser of this book is expressly given permission by the publisher
to copy any pages of this book for use with multiple children
within her or his family.

Extra student pages are available from Pandia Press.

For classroom, school, and co-op use, please contact Pandia Press
for copyright and licensing information.

www.PandiaPress.com
 WHAT’S IN THIS BOOK?
•Denotes the “For My Notebook” page *Denotes a lab or activity

3 An Introduction to R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey 163 •Unit 15: Echinoderms

5 What’s the Big Idea? 165 *Give Me Five (Echinoderm Patterns)
9 Lab Material List 169 *Animal Kingdom Book – Echinoderms
11 Suggested Weekly Schedule 173 •Unit 16: Arthropod – Insects
14 Collecting and Housing Garden Snails 175 *Butterfly Metamorphosis
15 Additional Reading Suggestions 179 *Caterpillar to Butterfly
19 Web site Suggestions 183 •Unit 17: Arthropod – Arachnids
21 Keep a Science Journal 185 *The Spider Song
23 •Unit 1: What Is Life? 187 *Insect or Spider
25 *Signs of Life 193 •Unit 18: Arthropod – Crustaceans
29 *Plot Study 195 *Isopod Hunt
33 •Unit 2: The Cell 199 *Roly-Poly Poetry
35 *An Egg Is a Cell 203 *A Home for Isopod
39 *Plant and Animal Cells Differ 207 *Animal Kingdom Book – Arthropods
43 Unit 3: The Human Body 211 •Unit 19: Vertebrates – Introduction
45 *Human Body Folder 213 *Invertebrate or Vertebrate
47 •Unit 4: Skeletal and Muscular Systems 215 •Unit 20: Vertebrates – Fish
49 *My Skeleton Holds Me Up 217 *Measure a Fish
53 *Muscles Aren’t Pushy 221 *Fish Floaters
59 •Unit 5: Circulatory System 225 •Unit 21: Vertebrates – Amphibians
61 *Your Heart Rate 227 *Metamorphosis Wheel
65 *Blood Model 231 *No “Ear” in Hearing
69 •Unit 6: Respiratory System 235 •Unit 22: Vertebrates – Reptiles
71 *Breathing Rate 237 *How Dry I Am
75 *I Need Oxygen 241 *Lizard Poem
79 •Unit 7: Digestive System 243 •Unit 23: Vertebrates – Birds
81 *Digestive Diagram 245 *Birds of a Feather (grouping birds)
85 *Food Travels Far! 249 *How Ducks Stay Dry
89 •Unit 8: Nervous System 251 *Are You My Brother?
91 *Reaction time 257 *My Wild Bird Life List
95 *I’m Sensible (Five senses) 259 •Unit 24: Vertebrates – Mammals
99 •Unit 9: Growth and Genetics 261 *What’s In a Name?
101 *I’m the Only Me! (Genetics) 265 *Coat of Blubber
105 *My Own Fingerprints 269 *Animal Kingdom Book – Vertebrates
109 •Unit 10: Six Kingdoms of Living Things 273 *Animal Kingdom Summary – What Am I?
111 *Classifying Critters 281 •Unit 25: Plant Kingdom – Flowers
117 Unit 11: Animal Kingdom 285 *Color The Flower
119 *Animal Kingdom Book 289 *What Makes Up a Flower?
121 •Unit 12: Cnidaria 293 •Unit 26: Plant Kingdom – Seeds
123 *Sea Jellies Change Shape 295 *Inside The Seed (seed dissection)
127 *Animal Kingdom Book – Cnidaria 299 *Traveling Seeds
131 •Unit 13: Worms 303 •Unit 27: Plant Kingdom – Leaves
133 *The Great Worm Hunt 305 *What Makes a Leaf Green? (chloroplast)
137 *Earthworms Aren’t Senseless 307 *Color Me Green
141 *Earthworm Composting 311 •Unit 28: Plant Kingdom – Stems and Roots
145 *Animal Kingdom Book – Worms 313 *Water Please!
149 •Unit 14: Mollusks 317 *Stems Move Water
151 *Mollusk? Who Me? 321 *Plant Summary – Plant Parts Salad
155 *Snail Anatomy 325 Vocabulary
159 *Animal Kingdom Book – Mollusks 329 Bibliography

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 AN INTRODUCTION TO R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey
This book was intended to be used from start to finish, much like a math book, and as such,
vocabulary and concepts build on one another. You may find words and concepts that you feel the
need to “review and practice.” Feel free to do so if you wish, but understand that vocabulary words
are repeated throughout the story sections, so your children will hear the same words many times.
This is intended to help them learn without having to drill. Having said that, review can be a good
thing, and anytime you can use a concept to refer to something you see in real life, your child will
benefit greatly. Eating fish for dinner (fish sticks excluded)? How about showing your child the gills
under those gill flaps? Taking a walk in the country? Point out the different footprints you see in
the mud. Are they bird, reptile, or amphibian? Next time you eat an egg, talk about the cell that it
is. Use real words for body parts. Babies grow up in a uterus, not a tummy. Science is only a foreign
language if it isn’t used in real life.
When used two or three times a week, this book is a complete, rigorous, vocabulary-rich life
science curriculum that needs no supplementation. It is not a collection of labs to do randomly and
with no flow from one to the other, nor is it an overwhelmingly long progression of trivial facts to be
memorized and forgotten (like we grew up with). This book is designed with the nonscience parent
in mind, so you can pick it up and follow along, with no need for further organizing or research. This
is the story of life, beginning with the child’s own body for reference. This book is a minds-on and
hands-on program. If you hate to touch “bugs,” wouldn’t think about letting your child handle worms,
and have no intention of getting gooey and dirty, RUN NOW! Science is about experimentation, but
read-and-report science curricula do exist for the faint of heart. Are you still here? If so, roll up
those sleeves and get ready to turn every household container into a critter keeper.
For every notebook page in this book, children will do 1-4 activities that build upon and
reinforce what they have heard. Labs also teach new material, so it is important to try to do
all of the labs included. In addition, we have included journaling ideas plus book and Web site
suggestions for a complete indoor and outdoor experience, which will allow your child to dig
into whatever he finds most fascinating. You will notice that many labs are infused with age-
appropriate math. Science is very mathematical for measuring, graphing, and calculating. If your
child struggles with the math or with writing the results, don’t let the lab papers overwhelm the
lesson. The idea is to enjoy science. Much of the learning comes from doing and discussing. Read
the questions to the pre-writing child and have him dictate the answers back to you, or if you
both find them tedious, skip them altogether.
A few words about big words: You know the ones I mean: monocot, chloroplast, echinoderm –
EEEK! It’s enough to make a person drop their science book and run in fear. Now, let me share a few
more with you. How about Tyrannosaurus Rex, Triceratops, and Velociraptor? All very long words
that we have learned right along with our three- and four-year-olds. Show no fear in the face of
these Latin-based words, and you too will be referring to arachnids at your next park day!
GETTING STARTED
1. If you are a computer person, pull out the website list (p. 19) and leave it by your computer so
you can look things up as your child shows interest.
2. If you are a book person, pull out the library book list (p. 15) and go over it a few weeks before
you do any given section. Leave it in your library book bag or by your computer so you can
check on the availability of the books.
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 3. If you are a nervous “Did I teach my child enough stuff” type of person, go over the “What’s the
Big Idea” pages in this book. It will tell you what sorts of things your child should know by the end
of the course. Use it with a grain of salt. Remember, the key here is exposure and fun.
4. Look ahead to what material you will need for the upcoming week or year if you’re an uber-planner!
It could be an egg, a piece of tagboard, or an earthworm. All required materials are listed on
pages 9-10 for easy reference. Be prepared. A few items need to be ordered as much as three
weeks in advance.
5. Read the “For My Notebook” section to yourself once so you know how to pronounce the new
words given there. Pronunciation of all words that I think you might not know are included right
there so you can read them as you go, but you may need to look up something I haven’t thought
of. I’m sorry I don’t know you that well.
6. Curl up under that weeping willow or in front of the fire and read the “For My Notebook” page to
your child, even if they can read by themselves. There is one for each major topic. Pause to do
whatever it tells you to—looking at a fish, finding a spider, etc. The notebook pages are written to
your child and should be saved in his own notebook. They are purposely short so you can go right
from the notebook page to the first activity if you would like.
7. There is a Suggested Weekly Schedule on page 11 that plots out the course, based on teaching
science once a week. But you should adapt the schedule to work for your family; maybe you will
choose to read the “For My Notebook” page on day one, and each activity on a separate day for
three shorter doses of science each week.
8. Follow up with a day of nature journaling, reading from the extra reading list, or drawing. Drawing
is an important skill for many scientists. Have fun. And did I mention you should have fun?

SOME UNIQUE HELPERS IN THIS BOOK

STUDENT PAGES (“For My Notebook” and lab sheets):
1. All student pages have a boxed outline around the material presented. That way it is easy to
identify what is for the child and what is for the teacher.
2. You’ll find all new vocabulary words underlined. You’ll notice that most of the vocabulary
doesn’t have a classic dictionary definition. Instead, the explanation is usually given in
context, so it is “felt” and not memorized.
3. All vocabulary is also listed in alphabetical order at the back of the book. This way, if you want
a “dictionary definition” you can find it there.
4. Pandia Press offers “Extra Student Pages” which is just as it sounds, an extra set of all the
For My Notebook pages and lab sheets. These are intended for those using the program with
more than one child. You also have the publisher’s permission to copy any pages of this book
for use with your child.

INSTRUCTION PAGES:
1. The instruction page is really for the parent/teacher, but the procedure is written as if for the
student. I have no way of knowing how capable your child is, so I leave it up to you to decide which
steps you want your child to participate in (disclaimer).
2. Each instruction page includes a prompt to read aloud to your child. This is for the parent who
wants it. If you hate those prompts, don’t sweat it. I’ll never know if you read them to your child
or not.
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 WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA?
Whenever you study a subject, you have main ideas to learn and little details to study as well,
which are a nice bonus. It’s true that science has a lot of new vocabulary and information. If you
are using a classical education approach to teaching, you will cover every subject three times
throughout your child’s education. Because of this, don’t sweat the small stuff. There are many
challenging words in here that are used because they are the right words, and after hearing them
over and over they will “sink in.” They are not here for your child to memorize the first time around.
This outline gives you the big idea that your child should get from each section, and the small
stuff that is an added bonus. If you and your child are timid scientists, just have fun as you try
to learn the big ideas. If you and your child have a strong science background, work on learning the
small stuff as well as the big ideas. Use these difficult words and science concepts gently, not with
force, and your child will enjoy his science experience.
BI = BIG IDEA SS = SMALL STUFF
WHAT IS LIFE:
BI = You can tell living things from nonliving things by what they can do.
SS = Living things all 1. Take in energy 2. Get rid of waste 3. Move 4. Grow 5. Reproduce
6. Have circulation 7. Have respiration 8. Respond to their environment 9. Are made of cells
LIVING THINGS ARE MADE OF CELLS:
BI = Living things are made of cells.
Cells come in many different sizes and shapes but are usually too small to see.
SS = Plant cells are usually rectangular and animals cells are typically rounded.
Plant cells have chloroplasts that make the plant green and make food for the plant.
The nucleus is the control center of the cell.
SKELETAL AND MUSCULAR SYSTEMS:
BI = Bones support you and make up the skeletal system. Muscles move you and make up the
muscular system.
Muscles can only pull, not push. Therefore, they work in pairs to pull back and forth.
SS = Some of the major bones are the skull, ribs, humerus, femur, vertebrae, pelvis, and patella.
CIRCULATORY SYSTEM:
BI = Your circulatory system is made of your heart, arteries, and veins. Your heart is a muscle
that forces blood to every part of your body.
Blood carries food, water, and oxygen to the cells.
The harder you exercise, the harder your heart works.
Blood is a mixture of 4 different things.
SS = Arteries carry blood away from your heart. Veins carry blood back to your heart. White blood
cells fight bacteria. Red blood cells carry oxygen. Plasma carries food.
Platelets seal up cuts to stop the bleeding.
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM:
BI = You breathe oxygen into your lungs.
This oxygen goes into your blood and then to every part of your body.
The harder you exercise the more oxygen you need, so the faster you breathe.
SS = Air goes into your trachea and then to your lungs.
Carbon dioxide is traded for the oxygen in your lungs. You breathe out carbon dioxide.

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DIGESTIVE SYSTEM:
BI = Your teeth, esophagus, stomach, and intestines make up your digestive system.
Your digestive system is much longer than you are tall. It is twisted and coiled to fit into
your body.
Your digestive system takes the food you eat, saves the nutrients and water that your
body needs, and sends the rest back out of your body.
SS = The digestive system uses special chemicals to help dissolve food.
Your body needs a variety of nutrients, so eating a balanced diet is important.
NERVOUS SYSTEM:
BI = Your brain, spinal cord, and nerves make up your nervous system.
Your nervous system’s job is to take in information and to tell your body what to do
about the information.
Your five senses gather information. With your five senses you see, hear, smell, taste,
and feel the world around you.
SS = People rely on some senses more than others.
All animals have different senses that they favor.
GROWTH AND GENETICS:
BI = Your body grows in stages.
Special messages in your cells determine how you will look and grow.
You inherit characteristics from your parents.
Except for identical twins, no two people are exactly alike.
SS = Genes carry the messages you inherit from your parents.
You get a mix of genes from your mom and dad, so you may show characteristics from
each.
Everybody has a different set of fingerprints. No two people’s are alike.
SIX KINGDOMS:
BI = Living things are grouped based on their characteristics.
Grouping living things helps us name, understand, and communicate about them.
SS = There are six kingdoms, or groups of living things. Two are the plant and animal kingdoms.
Every living thing (discovered) has a scientific name which tells us its species.
CNIDARIA:
BI = Some simple animals have no organs and look like plants.
SS = Cnidarians are simple animals, much like a hollow sack with stinging tentacles.
Corals, sea jellies, and sea anemones are cnidarians.
Sea jellies go through metamorphosis and change from polyp form to medusa form.
WORMS:
BI = Worms are long like a string and have no legs.
Earthworms are very helpful to people.
SS = Worms can be flat, round, or segmented.
Worms have organs inside.
Earthworms can tell many things about their environments.
MOLLUSKS:
BI = Soft-bodied animals like snails and octopi are grouped together.
Some of these soft-bodied animals have shells.

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SS = Soft-bodied animals are called mollusks. Most have a shell either inside or outside.
Mollusks include snails, slugs, octopi, squids, clams, and oysters.
Mollusks have complex organs like people do.
ECHINODERM:
BI = Sand dollars, sea stars, and sea urchins have spiny skin and are grouped together.
Spiny-skinned animals have bodies that can be divided into 5 parts.
SS = Spiny-skinned animals are called echinoderms.
ARTHROPOD:
BI = Insects, spiders, and lobsters all have jointed legs and divided bodies.
Insects have 6 legs and 3 body parts, and most insects have wings. Spiders have 8 legs,
2
 body parts, and no wings. Lobsters and isopods have more than 8 legs.
Insects and some other animals go through metamorphosis.
SS = Arthropods all have jointed legs, segmented bodies, and an exoskeleton.
The major groups of arthropods are insects, arachnids, and crustaceans.
Stages of complete metamorphosis are: egg, larvae, pupae, adult.
Spiders, ticks, and scorpions are all arachnids.
Crustaceans have gills and most live in water.
CHORDATA:
BI = Invertebrates have no backbones. Vertebrates have backbones.
Animals with backbones are fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.
SS = Backbones are called vertebrae. Vertebrae protect your spinal cord.
FISH:
BI = Fish have fins and scales, lay eggs, and breathe through gills.
Fish are cold-blooded.
SS = Cold-blooded animals have the same temperature as the surrounding air or water.
Fish float at different depths by adjusting the amount of air in their swim bladders.
AMPHIBIANS:
BI = Frogs, toads, and salamanders are amphibians.
Frogs and toads go through incomplete metamorphosis.
Amphibians are cold-blooded and lay eggs. When they are young they have fins and gills,
but when they are grown they have legs and lungs. Amphibians must stay near water.
SS = Amphibians must stay near water because they will dry out. Their skin is porous because
they breathe through it.
Amphibian eggs must be laid in water because they have no shell.
REPTILES:
BI = Lizards, snakes, turtles, and alligators are reptiles.
Reptiles have scales and lungs, are cold-blooded, and most lay eggs.
SS = Reptile eggs have a leathery shell, so they can be laid away from water.
Reptiles can live far from water because their skin isn’t porous.

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BIRDS:
BI = Only birds and mammals are warm-blooded.
Birds have beaks, feathers, and wings and lay eggs with hard shells.
Birds’ feet, beaks, and body shapes tell a lot about how the bird lives and where.
SS = Feathers are for flying and also help the bird stay the proper temperature.
Birds keep their feathers waterproof by spreading special oils on them with special oils
from a gland near the base of their tails.
MAMMALS:
BI = Mammals nurse their young, don’t lay eggs (there are three exceptions), have hair or fur,
and are warm-blooded.
People are mammals.
Mammals have ways to stay warm in winter and cool in summer.
Good common names of animals help us to identify them.
SS = “Mamma” is Latin for “breast.”
Mammals have breasts for nursing their young.
Polar bears, whales, and other marine mammals have thick blubber to keep themselves
warm.
FLOWERS:
BI = Flowers attract animals to pollinate them.
Seeds are made when flowers are pollinated.
SS = The female part of the flower is the pistil. The male part is the stamen. The petals
attract pollinators and the sepals protect the flower before it opens.
Flower parts (petals, stamens etc.) vary greatly in number and size.
SEEDS:
BI = Seeds grow into plants.
Some seeds split into two parts, some stay as one.
The seed is a tiny baby plant; the seed’s stored food will start it growing.
Seeds have interesting ways to spread around so they find space and water to grow.
SS = Monocots have one seed part, dicots have two. Each seed part is a cotyledon.
Each seed has a seed coat, an embryo, and one or two cotyledons.
Seeds must soak up water before they can sprout.
Seeds spread by wind, water, or sticking and being eaten as part of a fruit or berry; and
then by getting dropped in a new place.
LEAVES:
BI = Leaves contain chloroplasts which make the plant green. Chloroplasts take sunlight and
make energy.
Plants that don’t get light cannot grow very well.
Leaves look solid green but are really just dots of green chloroplasts.
SS = Without plants there would be no life. Animals need plants in order to survive.
Without sun, chloroplasts turn yellow.
STEMS AND ROOTS:
BI = Roots suck water up from the ground and hold the plant up.
Stems have tubes that carry food and water through the plant.
SS = Water can only enter a plant through the roots.

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 MATERIAL LIST
Material is listed by unit in the order in which it is first needed. + means it will be needed for later units also.
The amounts listed are totals for the entire course. Most items are common household items. * means it
requires some explanation. Ordering hints or explanations are given on page 10.

REUSABLE EQUIPMENT / MATERIAL 21 Metal pie pan 1

UNIT AMOUNT 22 Cookie sheet 1
1+ Plant with many healthy leaves 1 22 Waterproof marker 1
1 Rock to observe (optional) 1 23+ Zoo or wildlife center for study
1 Wild area to study (field, forest, etc.) 23 * Binoculars (optional) 1
1 String 4 meters 24 Samples of animals studied: shells, rubber or
1+ Meter/yardstick combination 1 plastic critters, live insects or worms in vials,
1+ Clipboard 1 pictures, dried coral or sea star, etc.
1+ Large clear jar with lid (32 oz. or more) 1-4 25 Tweezers (optional) 1
1+ Hand lens (Magnifying glass) 1 26 Computer with Internet access (optional)
1 * Field guides to local insects, animal tracks, 26 Sunday cartoon section of the newspaper 1
plants (optional) 28 Identical, upright plants in small pots 2
2+ Small plates 3 28 Clear drinking glasses 3
2+ Small round bowl (to hold 2 cups) 2 28 Clock 1
2 Small square pan (to hold 2 cups) 1
3+ * Glue gel (like Elmer’s School Glue Gel) 1 PERISHABLES
3+ Hole punch 1 2 Chicken egg 1
3+ Scissors 1 2 Light-colored gelatin (lemon) 6 oz. box
3+ Colored pencils, crayons, markers 2 Green grapes 20
3+ Stapler 2 Strawberries or orange slices 2
4 White or gold pen (to mark on black) 1 3+ 12” x 12” colored cardstock 8
4+ Ruler with centimeters and inches 1 3 12” x 18” construction or other heavy paper 1
5 Tennis ball 1 3+ Yarn-any color about 12 yards
5+ Watch with second hand 1 4 8 1/2” x 11” black construction paper 1
5+ Spoons (at least one metal) 2 4 8 1/2” x 11” tagboard or thick paper 1
6 Long tube (wrapping paper, vacuum cleaner...) 1 4+ Metal fastener (brad) 2
6 Small colored counters-blue and red 10 each 4 Thin string or thick thread 28” long
7+ 3” x 5” index cards (white) 7 or more 4+ Tape
8+ Small jars with lids (see-through) 3 5 Light corn syrup 1/2 cup
8 Dry erase marker 1 5 Red Hot candies 1/2 cup
11+ Various art supplies-stamps, stickers etc. 5+ Dry large lima beans 6
13+ Flashlight 1 5 Dry lentils or split yellow peas 1 Tbl
13 Red cellophane (optional) approx. 4” x 4” 6+ 8 1/2” x 11” white paper 6
13 Pitchfork (to dig up worms) 1 8 Paper towels 15
13+ Mister with water 1 8 Items to test senses-may include: coins,
13+ Tray with sides (9” x 9” pan, food cotton swab, paper clips, vinegar, garlic,
storage container etc.) 1 chocolate chips, banana, orange, bells
13 Sandpaper-rough approx. 9” x 9” 8+ Paper sacks (4 lunch size) (1 large) 4
14+ * Gram scale or triple beam balance 1 12 Styrofoam cups (stacking) 4
15+ Kitchen knife 1 13+ Clear plastic jar
16+ * Butterfly house (bought or made) 1 13+ Soil about 2 cups
18 Small piece of rotting log for critter keeper 13 Shredded carrot, lettuce, spinach about 1 cup
18 Chalkboard or whiteboard (or butcher paper) 1 13+ Aluminum foil about 14”
18 Heating pad or hot water bottle 1 13 Vinegar 1/4 tsp.
18+ Zipper-type plastic bag 1-1 gallon, 2 small 14 Snail food (lettuce, cabbage, ivy, cucumber)
20 Fish net-small for netting goldfish 1 15 Banana (unpeeled) 1
20+ * Thermometer-science type 2 18 Ice
20 Thermometer-sterile, human type 1 19 Card stock or construction paper 18” x 12” 1
20+ * Glass eyedropper 1 19 Magazines with animal pictures (vertebrate
21 Metal Slinky toy 1 and invertebrate)-cuttable 1-4

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UNIT PERISHABLES (CONT.) AMOUNT 28 Food coloring-red and blue
21 Salt 1 Tbl. 28 Salad dressing
21 Manila file folders 2 28 Salad ingrediants of your choice
23 Vegetable oil 2 Tbl.
1/2 cup
24 Shortening or lard CRITTERS
3’ x 6’
24 Butcher paper UNIT AMOUNT
25 Flower (gladiolus is best) 1 13+ * Earthworms (dug up or bought) 6
26 Corn seeds 11 14+ *Garden snails 5
26 Dried kidney beans 11 16+ * Butterfly larvae (gathered or bought) 5
26 Socks-big, old 2 17+ * Spider to observe (real or photos) 1
26 Cranberry and other fruit (to show seeds) 26 18+ * Isopods (roly-polies, pill bugs) 10
Seed selection-maple, dandelion, elm 20 Fish-goldfish works well 1
28 Stalk of celery with leaves on top 1 Please note: All experiments are designed to teach about
28 White carnation 1 animals without harming them.

SPECIFIC EQUIPMENT: HINTS AND ORDERING

1. Field guides to insects, plants, birds etc.: A list of good field guides is provided at the bottom of the list
of reading suggestions on page 18.
2. Glue gel: We call this “blue glue” because it is blue. It is the “Elmer’s Washable School Glue Gel.” It sticks
better than a glue stick and isn’t as messy as white glue. It is available at almost any office or school
supply store.
3. Gram scale or triple beam balance: Either of these will weigh items in grams. Gram scales are easier to
use. Triple beam balances are frequently used in many laboratories so it may be worth purchasing one
and learning how to use it. Gram scales are available at many drug stores. Either can be purchased from
a science supply store.
4. Butterfly house: can be made from a box with netting over one side. Look for specific instructions on the
Internet. Plan about three weeks ahead if you want to buy one. You can purchase one from Insect Lore,
and it will come with a certificate to get five butterfly larvae. You just send in the certificate (and a few
dollars for shipping) about a week before you are ready to start your butterfly unit.
5. Thermometer: The mercury in a good science thermometer goes down on its own like a room thermom-
eter. Remember, the mercury in a human thermometer must be shaken down. You will need a thermometer
that isn’t a permanent part of a decoration and that has the temperatures marked right on it. Some
food thermometers are built right but don’t go very low, as they are used for hot cooking. You need one
to go down to 3O° F, or 0°C. If all else fails, order one from Home Science Tools or another science supply
store.
6. Glass eyedropper: This should be easy to find, but it isn’t always. Drug stores usually offer big, bulky
plastic ones but these won’t do what you need. Find a nice, small, old-style, glass thermometer. I found
one at an old-style pharmacy. Otherwise, order one from a science catalogue.
7. Binoculars: 7 X 35 is a nice choice to get for bird-watching. I would avoid the $10 ones, as you won’t see
much, but you don’t have to spend $100 on a set for children either. Whatever you get, look through them
first. The optics can vary from one pair to another. Look in the sports or electronics department.
8. Garden snails: The care sheet provided (pg. 14) gives hints on finding and housing snails.
9. Earthworms, butterfly larvae, spiders (optional), and isopods (pill bugs): Finding and housing them is
explained in the labs where they are first needed.

SOURCES FOR SCIENCE MATERIALS

Home Science Tools (vast array of science materials from frogs to magnets)
Offers a materials kit for RSO Life: www.hometrainingtools.com/r-e-a-l-science-odyssey/c/2055/
Insect Lore (fun equipment for learning about and raising critters–crabs to ants)
P.O. Box 1535, Shafter, CA 93263 Phone: 1-800-LIVE BUG www.insectlore.com

10 Pandia Press
 Suggested Weekly Schedule for RSO Life Level 1
The following schedule is suggested for those wishing to complete this course in a 36-week school
year, teaching science one day a week (add a second day to a week to finish up anything not completed).
General supplies needed for each week are listed. Refer to the lesson or supply list for specifics on
supplies including quantities. (FMN) indicates For My Notebook lesson pages. * indicates lab or activity.
Week

Lesson / Lab Supplies Needed for the Week Dates / Notes

What Is Life? (FMN)

1 Plant, Rock
*Signs of Life

Field or meadow, String, Clipboard, Jar, Magnifying

2 *Plot Study glass, Meter stick, Stakes, Hammer or mallet,
Field guides
The Cell (FMN)
Colored pencils, Magnifying glass, Chicken egg,
*An Egg Is a Cell
3 Dish, Yellow gelatin, Round bowl, Square pan, Green
*Plant and Animal Cells
grapes, Orange slices or strawberries
Differ
12” x 12” Cardstock, 12” x 18” Construction paper, 3-
The Human Body (FMN)
4 Hole punch, Glue, Stapler, Scissors, Yarn, Colored
*Human Body Folder
pencils
Skeletal and Muscular Scissors, Glue, Black construction paper, White
Systems (FMN)
5
*My Skeleton Holds Me Up or gold paint pen, Tagboard, Hole punch, Metal
*Muscles Aren’t Pushy fastener, String, Tape, Ruler

Circulatory System (FMN) Watch w/ second hand, Crayons, Jar, Spoon, Light
6 *Your Heart Rate Karo syrup, Red Hot candies, Dry lima beans, Dry
*Blood Model lentils or split peas

Respiratory System (FMN) Watch w/ second hand, Crayons, Colored pencils,

Paper or paper plates, Long tube (like vacuum
7 *Breathing Rate cleaner or wrapping paper tube), Red and blue math
*I Need Oxygen counters or chips, Helper/teacher

Digestive System (FMN)

Colored pencils, Yarn, Yard stick, Index cards,
8 *Digestive Diagram
Stapler
*Food Travels Far
Ruler, Colored pencils, Various items to identify
Nervous System (FMN)
with senses (refer to I’m Sensible lab sheet), Paper
9 *Reaction time
sacks, Paper plates, Spoons, Jars, Paper towels,
*I’m Sensible
Dry-erase marker

Growth and Genetics (FMN) Parents, siblings, or two other close relatives
10
*I’m the Only Me! available.

Transparent tape, Extra people for fingerprinting,

11 *My Own Fingerprints
Magnifying glass

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Week
Lesson / Lab Supplies Needed for the Week Dates / Notes
Six Kingdoms of Living Things
12 (FMN) Scissors, Colored pencils
*Classifying Critters
12” x 12” Cardstock, Hole punch, Glue, Stapler,
Animal Kingdom (FMN)
13 Scissors, Colored pencils, Stickers or other
*Prepare Animal Kingdom Book
decorations
Cnidaria (FMN) Colored pencils, Styrofoam cups, Yarn, Dry
14
*Sea Jellies Change beans or seeds, Tape or glue, Scissors, Art
*Animal Kingdom Book –
Cnidaria supplies, Nature encyclopedia
Soil, Jar, Leaves (and other worm food),
Worms (FMN) Flashlight, Red cellophane, Pitchfork,
15 *The Great Worm Hunt Earthworm, Baking pan, Food container, Paper
*Earthworms Aren’t Senseless towels, Aluminum foil, Hot and cold water,
Vinegar, Sandpaper, Folder
Earthworms, Clear jar, Paper grocery sack,
*Earthworm Composting Measuring tape, Soil, Shredded vegetables,
16 *Animal Kingdom Book – Newspaper (optional), Timer, Water mister,
Worms Glue, Scissors, Art supplies, Nature
encyclopedia
Order butterfly house
Mollusks (FMN)
17 Snails, Jar, Hand lens for Week 20 (see p.
*Mollusk? Who Me? 175).

*Snail Anatomy Snail, Centimeter ruler, Gram scale, Hand lens,

18 *Animal Kingdom Book – Vegetable to feed snail, Glue, Scissors, Art
Mollusks supplies, Nature encyclopedia
Echinoderms (FMN)
Order butterfly larvae
*Give Me Five Banana, Knife, Glue, Scissors, Art supplies,
19 for next week (see p.
*Animal Kingdom Book – Nature encyclopedia 175).
Echinoderms
Arthropod – Insects (FMN) It takes 18 days to
*Butterfly Metamorphosis Butterfly larvae, Butterfly house, Centimeter complete the butterfly
20
*Caterpillar to Butterfly ruler, Hand lens, Colored pencils labs. Start this week
(See lab for weather planning.) and finish Week 22.

Arthropod – Arachnids (FMN)

21 *The Spider Song Scissors, Glue, Pictures of spiders and insects
*Insect or Spider
Arthropod – Crustaceans Jar, Moist soil or sand, Piece of rotting log,
(FMN)
22 Water mister, Hand lens, Colored pencils,
*Isopod Hunt
*Roly-Poly Poetry Chalkboard or butcher paper
Gallon-size baggie, Isopods, Water source,
*A Home for Isopod Tray, Paper towels, Heating pad, Flashlight, Ice
23 *Animal Kingdom Book –
Arthropods Glue, Scissors, Art supplies, Nature
encyclopedia
Vertebrates – Introduction
24 (FMN) Scissors, Magazines with animal pictures, Glue
*Invertebrate or Vertebrate

12 Pandia Press
Week
Lesson / Lab Supplies Needed for the Week Dates / Notes
Live fish, Jar, Gram scale, Small fish net, Room
Vertebrates – Fish (FMN)
thermometer, Human thermometer, Watch,
25 *Measure a Fish
Centimeter ruler, Plastic drink bottle with cap,
*Fish Floaters
Eye dropper, Water, Colored pencils
Vertebrates – Amphibians Manila file folders, Scissors, Metal fastener (brad),
(FMN)
Glue, Colored pencils, Metal Slinky toy, Metal pie
26 *Complete and Incomplete
Metamorphosis pan, Metal spoon, Salt, Eye dropper, Water, Smooth
*No “Ear” in Hearing floor surface, Table
Vertebrates – Reptiles
(FMN) Cookie sheet, Waterproof marker, Paper towels,
27
*How Dry I Am Water, Zipper-type plastic baggie, Colored pencils
*Lizard Poem
Vertebrates – Birds (FMN)
Access to a zoo, Binoculars, Small paper sacks,
28 *Birds of a Feather
Sink or bowl, Vegetable oil, Water, Mister
*How Ducks Stay Dry

*Are You My Brother?

29 Scissors, Colored pencils
*My Wild Bird Life List

Vertebrates – Mammals Clipboard, Zoo, Ice water, Small plastic bags,

(FMN)
30 Science thermometers, Lard or shortening, Colored
*What’s In a Name?
*Coat of Blubber pencils (red and blue)

*Animal Kingdom Book –

Vertebrates Glue, Scissors, Art supplies, Nature encyclopedia,
31
*Animal Kingdom Summary – Butcher paper, Samples from the animal phylum
What Am I?
Plant Kingdom – Flowers Crayons or colored pencils (blue, orange, green,
(FMN)
32 pink, and brown), Black marker, Flower, Clear tape,
*Color The Flower
*What Makes Up a Flower? Centimeter ruler, Tweezers, Hand lens

Plant Kingdom – Seeds Cup, Corn seeds, Dry kidney beans, Water, Dish,
(FMN) Centimeter ruler, Crayons (blue and orange), Big
33
*Inside The Seed socks, Hand lens, Cranberry or coconut, Fresh fruit,
*Traveling Seeds Seeds that travel by wind, Tweezers, Kitchen knife
Plant Kingdom – Leaves Cartoon section of the newspaper, Hand lens (or
(FMN)
34 microscope), Markers (green, blue, yellow, red, and
*What Makes a Leaf Green
*Color Me Green black), Index cards, White paper, Plant, Crayons, Foil

Plant Kingdom – Stems and Identical potted plants, Foil, Spray mister with
35 Roots (FMN)
*Water Please water, Centimeter ruler

Celery, White carnation, Clear glasses, Water, Clock,

*Stems Move Water Kitchen knife, Plate, Food coloring (red and blue),
36 *Plant Summary – Plant
Parts Salad Colored pencils (blue, green, and red), Salad bowl,
Salad dressing, Trip to the grocery store

Pandia Press 13
 Critter Care Sheet
COLLECTING AND HOUSING GARDEN SNAILS

FINDING: Garden snails are easiest to find in lush gardens,

woodlands, or parks right after a rain (or watering). They
also are easiest to find at night. If you don’t have a garden,
or know anybody with a snail problem (lucky you!) try a park
or nursery where they grow plants.

HOUSING: Snails can be kept in a solid-walled critter keeper,

large jar, or small aquarium. Snails climb well so make sure
the lid is on and that it has plenty of breathing holes. Put a
little soil in the bottom, and add a nice piece of rotting log.
Keep the soil moist—but not wet—by misting daily. Add a
small dish of water to keep the air humid.

FEEDING: If you can, add the leaves on which you found

the snail. Also feed it lettuce and cucumber. Avoid any
leaves that have been sprayed with chemicals.

14 Pandia Press
 ADDITIONAL READING SUGGESTIONS
# highly recommended * more fun than science
Some great, supplemental books you could use for several sections of this book are given below with
abbreviations. They are listed under each topic with the appropriate page numbers for that topic.

Unit 2: THE CELL: p. 33

#Greg’s Microscope – Millicent E. Selsam
Unit 3: THE HUMAN BODY: p. 43
#What’s Inside You – Susan Meredith (Usborne Starting Point Science)
#Science and Your Body – Rebecca Heddle (Usborne Science Activities)
SOMEBODY: Five Human Anatomy Games – Fun games to help teach anatomy
The Magic School Bus Inside the Human Body – Joanna Cole
Me and My Amazing Body – Joan Sweeney
Your Insides – Joanna Cole
Easy Make and Learn: The Human Body - Donald Silver and Patricia Wynne (Human body
learning projects)
Unit 4: THE SKELETAL AND MUSCULAR SYSTEMS: p. 47
The Skeleton Inside You – Philip Balestrino
Unit 5: CIRCULATORY SYSTEM: p. 59
Your Blood and Its Cargo – Sigmund Kalina
A Drop of Blood – Paul Showers
Unit 7: DIGESTIVE SYSTEM / NUTRITION: p. 79
Good Enough To Eat – Lizzy Rockwell
Eat Healthy Feel Great – William Sears, M.D, et. al.
Unit 8: NERVOUS SYSTEM: p. 89
The Magic School Bus Explores the Senses – Joanna Cole
My Five Senses – Aliki
Unit 9: GROWTH AND GENETICS: p. 99
When an Animal Grows – Millicent Selsam (about nonhuman animal growth)
Me and My Family Tree – Paul Showers
Unit 10: CLASSIFYING LIFE: p. 109
Usborne Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Natural World
QUICKPIX Not Just An Animal Game – Aristoplay
#Benny’s Animals and How He Put Them in Order – Millicent E. Selsam
Animals of the Sea – Millicent Selsam
Unit 12: CNIDARIA: p. 121
Usborne Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Natural World
Jellyfish – Leighton Taylor
Unit 13: WORMS: p. 131
Usborne Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Natural World
Worm Day – Harriet Ziefert
Earthworms – Dorothy Childs Hogner

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Unit 14: MOLLUSCA: p. 149
Usborne Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Natural World
#Are You a Snail – Judy Allen

Unit 15: ECHINODERMATA: p. 163

Usborne Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Natural World
ARTHROPODA:
Unit 16: Insects: p. 173
Usborne Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Natural World
Usborne Complete First Book of Nature
The Magic School Bus Gets Ants in Its Pants – Joanna Cole
The Magic School Bus Inside a Beehive – Joanna Cole
Zoobooks: Butterflies – The Knowledge Company (distributor)
Butterflies – Karen Shapiro (Scholastic “Hello Reader!” book)
#The Butterfly House – Eve Bunting
#Waiting for Wings – Lois Ehlert
Are You a Butterfly? – Judy Allen
Are You a Ladybug? – Judy Allen
Are You an Ant? – Judy Allen
*Crickwing – Janell Cannon
Ma Jiang and the Orange Ants – Barbara Ann Porter
#Terry and the Caterpillars – Millicent Selsam
Unit 17: Arachnids: p. 183
Usborne Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Natural World
Are You a Spider? – Judy Allen
*Charlotte’s Web – E. B. White
Unit 18: Crustaceans: p. 193
Usborne Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Natural World
A House for Hermit Crab – Eric Carle
Pagoo – Holling C. Holling
*Kermit The Hermit – Bill Peet
CHORDATA
Unit 20: Fish: p. 215
Usborne Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Natural World
Usborne Complete First Book of Nature
#Plenty of Fish – Millicent Selsam
*Swimmy – Leo Lionni
Unit 21: Amphibians: p. 225
Usborne Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Natural World
#Song of La Selva – Joan Banks
*Frog and Toad Are Friends – Arnold Lobel
*Frog and Toad Together – Arnold Lobel
*Frog and Toad – Arnold Lobel
Unit 22: Reptiles: p. 235
Usborne Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Natural World
Imagine You Are a Crocodile – Karen Wallace
The Moon of the Alligators – Jean Craighead George
*Verdi – Janell Cannon

16 Pandia Press
Unit 23: Birds: p. 243
Usborne Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Natural World
Usborne Complete First Book of Nature
#Tony’s Birds – Millicent Selsam
See How They Grow – Owl – Kim Taylor
*Make Way for Ducklings – Robert McCloskey
Unit 24: Mammals: p. 259
Usborne Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Natural World
Usborne Complete First Book of Nature
#Nature Detective – Millicent Selsam
*Stellaluna – Janell Cannon
THE PLANT KINGDOM
Usborne Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Natural World
Usborne Complete First Book of Nature
*Franklin Plants a Tree – Paulette Bourgeois
Unit 25: FLOWERS: p. 281
Usborne Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Natural World
Usborne Complete First Book of Nature
The Reason For a Flower – Ruth Heller
Unit 26: SEEDS: p. 293
Usborne Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Natural World
#Seeds and More Seeds – Millicent Selsam
The Tiny Seed – Eric Carle
*The Carrot Seed – Ruth Kraus
Unit 27: LEAVES: p. 303
Usborne Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Natural World
Unit 28: STEMS AND ROOTS: p. 311
Usborne Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Natural World

OTHER LIFE SCIENCE TOPICS:

EVOLUTION / NATURAL SELECTION
Usborne Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Natural World
The Story of Life on Earth – Margaret Munro
Evolution – Joanna Cole
Evolution – The Beast in You (an activity book) – Marc McCutcheon
PREHISTORIC LIFE
Usborne Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Natural World
The Story of Life on Earth – Margaret Munro
Wild and Wooly Mammoths – Aliki
Dinosaur Bones – Aliki
Digging Up Dinosaurs – Aliki
My Visit To The Dinosaurs – Aliki
Patrick’s Dinosaurs – Carol Carrick
What Happened To Patrick’s Dinosaurs? – Carol Carrick
REPRODUCTION
The Human Body: A First Discovery Book Scholastic
Everybody Has a Bellybutton – Laurence Pringle
How You Were Born – Joanna Cole
Before You Were Born – Ann Douglas

Pandia Press 17
FIELD GUIDE SUGGESTIONS:
INSECTS
Insects (Peterson Field Guide Series) – Donald J. Borror / Richard E. White
BIRDS
Field Guide to the Birds of North America (National Geographic Society) – Shirley L. Scott
Stokes Field Guide to Birds (by region) – Donald and Lillian Stokes
Field Guide to Western (or Eastern) Birds (Peterson Series) – Roger Tory Peterson
Birds of North America (Golden Guide) – Chandler S. Robbins et al
REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS
A Field Guide to Western (or Eastern) Reptiles and Amphibians (Peterson Field Guide Series)
– Robert C. Stebbins
MAMMALS
A Field Guide to the Mammals of America North and Mexico (Peterson Field Guide Series)
– William H. Burt / Richard P. Grossenheider
CARE OF UNUSUAL “PETS”
#Pets in a Jar – Seymour Simon
Animal Care From Protozoa to Small Mammals – F. Barbara Orlans
Creepy Crawlies and the Scientific Method – Sally Kneidel

18 Pandia Press
 WEBSITE SUGGESTIONS
WHAT IS LIFE?
http://ed-share.educ.msu.edu/PMsum02/almostsmart/AlmostSmart/Research/livmov.htm

THE CELL
http://www.kidsdiscover.com/spotlight/kids-cells/ (Complex but great photo)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFuEo2ccTPA (Beautifully animated video)

THE HUMAN BODY

All body systems: www.innerbody.com/htm/body.html

SKELETAL AND MUSCULAR SYSTEMS

http://www.neok12.com/Skeletal-System.htm

CIRCULATORY SYSTEM
http://sln.fi.edu/biosci/biosci.html

RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
http://kidshealth.org/kid/htbw/lungs.html

DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
http://discoverykids.com/articles/your-digestive-system/
Nutrition: http://www.nutritionexplorations.org/kids/main.asp

NERVOUS SYSTEM
Senses – info, labs etc.: http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/chsense.html
Nervous system info: http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/neurok.html

GENETICS AND GROWTH

Videos on genetics and DNA: http://www.neok12.com/Genetics.htm

CNIDARIA
http://www.exploringnature.org/db/detail.php?dbID=89&detID=2811
http://www.animalstown.com/animals/c/cnidarian/cnidarian.php
http://njscuba.net/biology/sw_jellies.html
http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals-and-experiences/exhibits/the-jellies-experience
Reef info, map etc.: www.enchantedlearning.com/biomes/coralreef/coralreef.shtml

WORMS
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/earthworm
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/earthworm/
http://urbanext.illinois.edu/worms/
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/caer/ce/eek/earth/recycle/compost2.htm#bin (make a compost bin)

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MOLLUSCA
http://easyscienceforkids.com/all-about-mollusks
http://www.darwinsgalapagos.com/animals/molluscs.htm
http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals-and-experiences/exhibits/tentacles

ARTHROPODA
Classification: http://www.exploringnature.org/db/detail.php?dbID=109&detID=2539
Butterfly metamorphosis: http://www.butterflyschool.org/new/meta.html
Spider info, poems, lessons: http://www.kidzone.ws/lw/spiders/activities.htm
Crustaceans: http://easyscienceforkids.com/all-about-crustaceans
Art projects: http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2012/04/30-bug-crafts-for-kids.html
Insect housing: http://insected.arizona.edu/rear.htm

ECHINODERMATA
www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/invertebrates/echinoderm/

CHORDATA
Vertebrate: http://www.biology4kids.com/files/vert_main.html
FISH
Fish classification/activities: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/education/activities/2215_reef.html
http://www.kidzone.ws/animals/fish1.htm
AMPHIBIANS
http://www.ducksters.com/animals/amphibians.php
Saving endangered amphibians: www.amphibianark.org/education/links-to-curriculum-materials/
REPTILES
http://www.kidzone.ws/animals/reptiles1.htm
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/kids/animals-pets-kids/reptiles-kids
Green Sea Turtle: http://www.animalfactguide.com/animal-facts/green-turtle
BIRDS
Videos about birds: http://www.neok12.com/Birds.htm
Info, coloring, activities, etc: www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/birds/
Bird anatomy: http://mrnussbaum.com/birds-2/bird_anatomy/
Webcams: http://www.nps.gov/chis/photosmultimedia/webcams.htm
MAMMALS
http://animalstime.com/facts-mammals-characteristics-mammals-classification-mammals/
Videos: http://www.neok12.com/Mammals.htm
http://www.ducksters.com/animals/mammals.php
Whale info, activities, etc.: www.zoomschool.com/subjects/whales/
PLANT KINGDOM
http://easyscienceforkids.com/plants/
Plant parts mystery: www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/gpe/index.html
SEEDS
Seed activities: www.thirteen.org/edonline/nttidb/lessons/cb/plantcb.html
www.theseedsite.co.uk/seedparts.html
EVOLUTION
http://darwin200.christs.cam.ac.uk/pages/index.php?page_id=j
20 Pandia Press
 KEEP A SCIENCE JOURNAL
Nature is beautiful and amazing, but it is not a video game. The action in nature is far
more subtle (usually) but well worth looking at and waiting for. Life, death, greed, compassion,
and romance are all just waiting to be discovered by the observant and the patient. Writing it all
down is a skill worth developing. Sketching and saving samples of the common things you find
along the way all add up to you producing a journal you can be especially proud of and will want
to cherish your whole life. For a satisfying nature experience, grab that journal and that pencil,
maybe a hand lens (magnifying glass), and a pair of binoculars and hit the trail, or the backyard
or park. You don’t need to have a plan when you go out; but to get you started, we have provided,
in no particular order, a few hints as to what might go into a nature journal. These are just ideas
to get your creative juices flowing. Writing in your journal should be like writing to yourself. Don’t
worry about spelling, sentence structure, or grammar. Now go out, observe, draw, listen, describe,
compare—journal! Remember, the more you put into it, the more you will get out of it.
For each journal entry remember to put:
• The date • The weather (temperature, clouds, rain, wind, etc.) • Who you went with

AUTUMN:
– Make a leaf rubbing. Place a leaf under one journal page. Choose a color that matches the
leaf. Rub the crayon over the paper where it covers the leaf. In your journal, describe the
plant it came from and what it looks like at this time of year. Repeat this in the spring.
– Sit by a tree. What things might that tree be used for if it were cut down? What might it
be used for if it were to grow? In its lifetime, how many more animals might be able to enjoy
it as it grows? What species is the tree? If you know, write it down. Sketch a picture of the
tree.
– Use your sense of hearing. Close your eyes. What do you hear? What do you think it
means? Write a factual or fictional story about what you hear.
– Find an insect of any kind. Draw it. Describe what it is doing. Don’t disturb it in
any way. Watch what it does when it is not disturbed.
– Check out a clear night sky. Can you find any constellations? Satellites? Bats?
– Pick up two different rocks. Describe them. Compare weight, shape, texture, color. . .
– This is a safe time to find a nest, as they will be empty at this time of year. How is it
made? What material was used? How was it put together? What feathers are nearby?
– Describe the weather changes you see. Draw the clouds, take the temperature, feel the wind.
– Which trees are losing their leaves first? Which in clumps? Does size matter?
Species (kind of tree)? Location?
– In the autumn, pick a tree to draw. Tie a colorful ribbon or string around a large branch
to help you remember which tree you drew. Draw the same tree in the winter, spring and
summer.

WINTER:
– Describe a deciduous tree (one that loses its leaves in the winter) and an evergreen tree
(one that stays green all year). How are they shaped? How different do they look at this
time of year? Is one easier to see in the winter?
– Look for predators (meat eaters). Winter is a hard time of year for them. Look for hawks,
owls, weasels, and coyotes. How do they look? What do you see that they could find to
eat? There is a different kind of silence when it is snowy or foggy. Sit, listen, and describe
a snowy or foggy day. What do you hear? How does it sound different than it does on a
clear summer day?
– Finish the sentence “I’m so cold I could. . .” How do animals and plants survive the cold?
– Describe and sketch the nearest mountains. What covers them? Who uses them?

Pandia Press 21
 – When it rains, watch how the water washes dirt down a hill. Can you see it start to form
tiny rivers? What does the water do when it meets up with sticks, rocks, and leaves?
– Use your nose after a rain. How does the world smell? How is that different from usual?
– Put a stick in the ground. Measure its shadow morning, noon, and evening. Draw
your stick clock in your journal. Show where the shadow is at different times of
the day.
– How do birds look in winter? Describe what they do, where they perch, what they
say.

SPRING:
– Find a pond or lake. Sketch it and the surrounding area in your journal. Color in where
you would expect to find: fish—in blue; amphibians—in green; and reptiles—in brown.
– Find a pond or puddle. Look closely for animal tracks. Sketch them in your journal. Can you
determine where each animal went and what it was doing? Tell a story of the events that
lead to the footprints.
– Find a flower, the bigger the better. Watch and see if any animal visitors come to
pollinate it. Write and sketch about what you see.
– Carefully draw a flower. How is it built to draw in pollinators? Guess by its size and
shape what animals might pollinate it.
– Listen to the birds. Birds sing to claim a territory and advertise for a mate. Describe
their songs. Are they sweet? Flat? Enthusiastic? Impressive?
– Try to write a bird’s song in words. A quail’s call is written as “Chi-ca-go.” A
chickadee’s name comes from its call—”Chicka-dee-dee.”
– Don’t forget to journal at night. Describe the life attracted by a porch light at night.
– Use your nose. What can you smell? Sit and smell, then look for things that make smells—
flowers, trees. . .
– Find a butterfly. Describe its color, patterns, flight. Where are its wings when it is
resting? Now find a moth (easiest at night) and compare.

SUMMER:
– Go outside. Watch seeds move, fly, pop open. Write and sketch about what you see.
– Find a column of ants. Don’t bother them in any way. Where are they going? What are they
carrying? Can you find individual ants with different jobs? How quickly are they moving?
Follow and time one ant to find the speed of the column.
– Sit quietly and observe the birds. What birds do you have in your area? Draw, describe,
and name them when you can.
– Walk through a field of stickers. Pull them out of your socks, sketch and describe
them. How many ways can you find that seeds have of sticking? Find the seed in
each sticker.
– Finish the thought “I’m so hot I could. . .” How do animals and plants adjust to
the heat?
– Describe the plants and animals near a river or stream. How is life different here than
just a little ways away from the water?
– Find an animal path in nature. What animals do you think use it? How worn is it? How tall
are the animals that use it? Look for prints, hair, droppings, feathers.
– Find a feather. Draw it and describe its shape, structure, texture, color. Flap the air
with it. Is it noisy or silent? Guess what bird might have left it there.
– Visit a flower in the morning, at noon, in the evening, and again at night. How does
it change throughout the day? Notice its texture, droop, color, how open it is.

22 Pandia Press
NAME ______________________________ DATE __________________
For my notebook

What Is Life?
You are alive, aren’t you? How about dogs and
cats? They are alive, too. You probably just know
this without knowing exactly why. How about
worms, trees, or coral? You are going to be
learning about a lot of different living things,
but first let’s learn to tell if something is alive.
Scientists have found that all living things are
made of tiny building blocks called cells (selz).
Just like you might build a castle out of Legos of different
sizes and shapes, living things are made of stacks of different
cells. Unfortunately, most cells are too tiny to see so we will
learn other ways to tell if something is a living
thing. Think of your own body when you read
this list of living characteristics.
All living things 1. take in energy (we do
this by eating) and 2. get rid of the waste. They all 3. move,
although some, like plants, move very slowly. All living things
4. grow and can 5. reproduce or make babies. All living things
have some type of 6. circulation – like our blood moving in our
bodies, and some type of 7. respiration – like our breathing.
The last thing is, all living things 8. respond to what’s around
them. Many objects that aren’t alive do some of these things,
but only living things do all of them. For instance, a car isn’t
alive but it moves and gets rid of waste (exhaust). Think about
your own body now. Can it do all of the things on this list? Yes,
it can because you are alive!

Unit 1 – What Is Life?

Pandia Press 23
 Living Lab #1: SIGNS OF LIFE – instructions
Materials:
Lab sheet, pencil
Plant and rock to observe (optional)

Aloud: All living things are made of building blocks called cells. Unfortunately, cells are usually
too small to see without a microscope, so we have to use other features like growth, respiration
(a fancy word for breathing) and movement. In the activity today, you will think about 4 things
you have seen before and decide if they are alive by using a checklist of characteristics. Living
things will do all of the things on the list. Things that aren’t alive can often do some of the
things on the list. Some things, like circulation, are hard to see. Do your best, and through the
year as we study living things you will learn how to look for circulation, respiration, and other
signs of life.
Procedure:
1. Before going through the checklist of living characteristics, guess which of the four items you
think are alive.
2. Do your best to fill in the chart.
HINTS FOR PARENTS:
FOR BIKE AND ROCK:
Let kids use their imaginations, but guide them to understand that bikes and rocks only move with
help from gravity, being pushed etc., and they don’t reproduce (make another whole bike or rock).
They don’t show circulation, respiration, or a response to the environment, but kids may come up
with creative ways to say they do, which is fine.
PLANTS:
Take in energy = although they don’t eat, plants get energy from the sun.
Give off waste = plants give off oxygen (a waste product) just like we give off carbon dioxide.
Movement = plants move slowly to face the sun: some flowers and leaves open and close at night.
Circulation = plants have tubes that carry water up and food down and throughout the plant. We will
be looking at these later in the year, but for now you can check out the tubes when you “string” your
celery.
Respiration = plants breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen (the reverse of what people
do).
Respond to Environment = plants lose their leaves in the winter, give off electrical impulses when
cut, sprout when the rain and temperature are just right, etc.
3. Finish lab sheet.
Possible Answers:
1. The easiest characteristics are usually growth (it’s easy to see that your bike and a rock
aren’t growing) and reproduction. Even though a piece of rock splits off of a bigger rock, that
piece will never grow up to make full-sized rocks of its own.
2. If you look at a living thing under a microscope, you will see it is made of cells.
Conclusion / Discussion:
– Obviously, people and plants are alive, but not bikes and rocks. Your chart might show a dif-
ferent answer, which is fine, as some characteristics are hard to see. The object isn’t to get it
right, as much as to start to look for living characteristics in other things such as sponges,
corals, worms, etc. This takes practice.
For More Lab Fun:
1. If this was easy and fun for the kids, challenge them to explain why a computer, a car, a river, or
a fire are not alive. All of these show living characteristics.

Unit 1 – What Is Life?

Pandia Press 25
NAME ______________________________ DATE __________________
Living Lab #1: SIGNS OF LIFE
Are the items on the line below alive? On the line next to each one write Y
for yes or N for no.
MY GUESS BEFORE DOING THE LAB
People _____ Bike _____ Rock _____ Plant _____

On the chart below, put an X in the box if the object has the
characteristics listed. If not, leave it blank. Put a ? if you’re unsure.
CHARACTERISTIC PEOPLE BIKE ROCK PLANT
Takes in energy (e.g. food, minerals)
Gets rid of waste (e.g. sweating, urinating)
Moves (by itself)
Grows
Reproduces (can make babies)
Circulation (blood, water, etc. moves inside)
Respiration (takes in and gives off gases),
Breathing
Responds to environment (e.g. moves toward
the light, runs from danger)

For something to be alive it must be able to do all the things listed on the
chart. After doing the lab, do you think the things on the list are alive?
On the line next to each one write Y for yes and N for no.
AFTER LAB
People _____ Bike _____ Rock _____ Plant _____

1. Some characteristics are hard to see like circulation and respiration.

Which characteristics from the list are the easiest to observe?
_____________________________________________________________

2. If you could look at any living thing under a microscope, what would you
see it was made up of? ________________________

Unit 1 – What Is Life?

Pandia Press 27
 Living Lab #2: PLOT STUDY – instructions
Materials:
Lab sheet, pencil
Field, overgrown lot, or other wild area at least 1 meter square to do your study
String: over 4 meters long
4 stakes or sticks (to mark the four corners of the plot)
Hammer or rubber mallet (if needed, to pound stakes into the ground)
Meter stick
Clipboard and pencil
Small clear jar or critter keeper
Hand lens / magnifying glass (optional but highly recommended)
Field guides of local insects, animals tracks, plants (optional)

Aloud: Today we will do a plot study. This means we will mark off an area, called a plot, outside
and look closely at the living and nonliving things that make up that plot. Scientists do this to
compare the features of one area with another. By doing so, they can learn the kinds of areas
certain plants and animals can grow. It also helps to tell scientists when an area is becoming
unhealthy. We will be looking for living and nonliving things in our study plot. You may have to look
closely, but I’m sure that you will be surprised at how much life you will find! There are many living
things so tiny we walk right over, and ON them without even knowing they are there.
Procedure:
1. Choose a good, preferably wild, area to study. A field, overgrown garden, or empty lot works well.
Try to avoid a manicured lawn. There won’t be much plant diversity there.
2. Measure an area that is four meters square, pounding a stake into the ground at each corner.
Wrap or tie the string around each stake creating your plot study area. All study takes place
in the square. No fair writing down what you see out of the square, even if it is neat-o, but your
plot can go as high into the air or as deep into the soil as you wish.
3. Make a list of living and nonliving things you see in the plot. Every species should be listed on
a separate line. Don’t just put “weed.” Put “dandelion” or “small plant with yellow flowers and
spiky leaves.” Describe what you can’t name. Use as much detail as possible. Under living, put the
insects, worms, plants, leaves, etc. For nonliving, list the different rocks you see, soil types, any
man-made objects, water. Twigs and leaves were once living so they go there. Nonliving is not the
same as dead.
4. After looking closely with a hand lens (you might be amazed at how pretty “dirt” can be),
inspect under rocks, leaves, and branches. These are great places to find beetles, worms, and
other interesting creatures. Every item turned over should be placed back exactly how it was so
its inhabitants will not be displaced. Look up into the sky. Is there a tree above your plot? Birds
flying over? The more you can get your children to just spend time looking, the more they will
get out of this activity.
5. Choose a living and nonliving thing to draw. Put the living thing in the container while you draw it.
6. Finish your lab paper. For question 3, if you have a plot with a tree, estimate its height,
otherwise measure.
Conclusion / Discussion:
– Discuss your list of living and nonliving things. What did you have more of? How would that be
different on a beach or in the rainforest?
– Discuss the signs of life passing through. Did you find footprints, droppings etc.? Did you find
any signs of human damage?
For More Lab Fun:
Start a nature journal. Write a description of the living and nonliving things you come across.
Tape in samples of leaves or common plants you come across. Include drawings to help you
remember what you have seen.

Unit 1 – What Is Life?

Pandia Press 29
NAME ______________________________ DATE __________________
Living Lab #2: PLOT STUDY

Unit 1 – What Is Life?

Pandia Press 31
NAME ______________________________ DATE __________________
For my notebook

LIVING THINGS ARE MADE OF CELLS

All living things are made of cells, just like
all snowmen are made of snowflakes. Like
snowflakes, most cells are too tiny to see,
but if you put enough of them together you
can make something big enough to see. Some
living things are made of only one cell, but you
are made of way too many to count. In your
body there are many different kinds of cells
to do lots of different jobs. Your blood has
round, candy-shaped cells that carry oxygen,
and blobby cells that can change shape to
attack diseases in your body. Most animal
cells are sort of round, and most plant cells
are rectangles that are held together like blocks in a wall to
hold the plant up. Another difference between animal and
plant cells is that plant cells have football-shaped things
called chloroplasts (klor-o-plasts). Have you ever heard that
plants can make food from sunlight? The green chloroplasts
in the plant cells do that job. There are so many of them that
they make almost the whole plant look green. Most cells also
have a nucleus (new-klee-us). This is a very important part of
the cell. It is the control center. Just like your brain controls
what your body does, the nucleus controls what the cell does,
how it moves, and how it looks.

Unit 2 – The Cell

Pandia Press 33
 Cell Lab #1: AN EGG IS A CELL – instructions
Materials:
Lab sheet, pencil
Colored pencils: orange, yellow, blue, green, and brown
Chicken egg
Hand lens
Small dish
Aloud: What is every living thing made of? Cells, right? Most cells are far too tiny to see. It
takes a lot of different types of cells to make all the different parts of all the different living
things on earth. Some of those cells are visible without a microscope. We are going to look
at one cell that is big enough to see without expensive equipment. An egg is a cell with a very
special purpose – beginning a new life. Let’s look and learn about cells and this special, life-giving
cell.
Procedure:
1. Inspect the shell with a hand lens. It has very tiny holes to allow air and water to enter and
leave the cell.
2. Gently break open the egg. Try to not break the yolk. Pour the contents and place the shell
onto a small dish. Compare the egg to the egg diagram, finding the parts listed. Inspect the
yolk very closely to find the very tiny, white blastodisc. It is a very important part of the cell
and contains all of the cell parts except the food storage for the growing chick.
3. Use what you know and the clues from the chart to label the parts of the egg. Color the parts
as indicated.
4. Draw the actual cell parts (hint: there are only 2) in the box provided.

Possible Answers:
#1 The yolk and the blastodisc are the actual cell parts.

Conclusion / Discussion:
1. Why would this type of cell be so well protected? What might happen if it weren’t surrounded
by a shell and white gooey liquid?
2. Eventually a chick could hatch out of a fertilized egg. The yolk will have disappeared by then.
Where do you think it might have gone? (To feed the growing chick.)
3. How could you tell just by looking that this is an animal cell and not a plant cell? (Plant cells
are usually rectangular and have green chloroplasts.)
For More Lab Fun:
1. Find out which animals lay eggs with a hard shell and which lay eggs without a shell.
2. Host a cell party. Have a cell (egg) and spoon race and a cell toss. Serve deviled cells and cell
salad sandwiches.

Unit 2 – The Cell

Pandia Press 35
NAME ______________________________ DATE __________________
Cell Lab #1: AN EGG IS A CELL

Unit 2 – The Cell

Pandia Press 37
Cell Lab #2: PLANT AND ANIMAL CELLS DIFFER
– instructions
Materials:
Lab sheet, pencil
6 oz. box light-colored gelatin (pineapple or lemon)
Small, square pan (to hold 2 cups of gelatin)
Round bowl (to hold another 2 cups of gelatin)
20 or so green grapes (for chloroplasts), cut into half lengthwise
2 orange slices or 2 whole strawberries (for the nucleus of each cell)

Aloud: Even when you can find a cell big enough to see, you really can’t see its parts very well
without a microscope. Today we are going to make a model of a plant cell and a model of an
animal cell to show how they are different and how they might look if you were shrunk down
many sizes. Maybe for dinner you can sink your teeth into science.
Procedure:
1. Do the “BEFORE THE LAB” section of the lab sheet.
2. Prepare gelatin as instructed on the box. Pour 2 cups into the square pan and 2 cups into the
round pan.
3. After gelatin is mostly set, have students determine which pan represents the plant cell
(the square one). Add the grapes (chloroplasts) to the plant cell. Stir them around into
the gelatin.
4. Add one orange slice or strawberry to each bowl, pushing it into the middle of each one.
5. Complete lab. If desired, label the gelatin cell parts with flags on toothpicks. Make sure to
include a label for the chloroplast, nucleus, and cell membrane.
Possible Answers:
1. The rectangular one is the plant cell. The round one is the animal cell.
2. Chloroplasts go into the plant cell.
5. A plant cell is rectangular and has chloroplasts.
For More Lab Fun:
1. Find other things to make cell models out of. How about Legos or K’Nex?
2. Act out the different parts of the cell. The cell membrane keeps out intruders (bacteria, tox-
ins etc.) and keeps the cell together, the nucleus is the control center (boss) of the cell, and
the chloroplasts make food.
3. To help children understand the function of the cell parts, let them call the family boss (dad
or mom) “nucleus” for a day. Maybe you have a dog that keeps out intruders. Let him be called
the “cell membrane” for the day. Whoever is usually the cook can be called “chloroplast” for
the day. Encourage your children to feed the “cell membrane” and help the “chloroplast” get
dinner ready. Don’t forget, when the “nucleus” tell you to clean your room, you better do it!

Unit 2 – The Cell

Pandia Press 39
NAME ______________________________ DATE __________________
Cell Lab #2: PLANT AND ANIMAL CELLS DIFFER
BEFORE THE LAB:
1. Label the shapes below either “Animal Cell” or “Plant Cell.”
2. In which cell will you put the chloroplasts (grapes)? __________________
AFTER MAKING THE CELLS: 3. Draw the cells that you made.
4. Label the cell membrane, nucleus, and chloroplasts.
The first pointer is drawn to show you how.

CELL

CELL

5. I can tell a plant cell from an animal cell because a plant cell: ______________
_____________________________________________________________________
and ____________________________________________________________________ .

Unit 2 – The Cell

Pandia Press 41
 Unit 3 – The Human Body
Pandia Press 43
 HUMAN BODY FOLDER – instructions
Materials:
The Human Body cover sheet (page 43), pencil
12” x 12” Colored cardstock (I like scrapbooking paper as it lasts longer and doesn’t fade)
12” x 18” Construction paper or good, thick drawing paper
3-Hole punch
Glue gel (Elmer’s School Glue Gel – we call it blue glue because it is)
Stapler
Scissors
Yarn
Colored pencils

Aloud: We are going to start studying the human body – your body. Every part in your body
helps you to stay alive. We will be learning what many of these parts do and how they work
together. Can you imagine riding a bike if the wheels were missing? What if it had no pedals?
Just like the different parts of a bike, your body parts must work together. If just one part is
missing, or not doing its job, your body can stop working for you. Groups of body parts that
help do a job together are called body systems. One body system keeps you fed, another keeps
your blood moving. Before we learn about these systems, we are going to put together a folder
to store all of your human body information. It will be a folder of how your own body works.
Procedure:
Lab Day:
1. Decorate and color “The Human Body” divider page. Add your name to it. Glue it to the 12” x
12” page to make the front cover for your folder.
2. Fold up the bottom 6” of the 12” x 18” piece of paper so that you form a 12” x 12” page with a
pocket at the bottom. Staple the right side closed. The pocket will be inside the folder.
3. With the 12” x 12” cover in front and the pocket inside, three hole punch the left side of both
pages. Tie yarn in the holes to hold the folder together.
4. As you do the human body units, add any pages to your folder that you wish. Lab pages can
be tied in with the yarn, paper models (like a muscle model and skeleton “puzzle” you will be
making) can be put into the pocket.
5. Have fun learning all about how your body works!

Unit 3 – The Human Body

Pandia Press 45
NAME ______________________________ DATE __________________
For my notebook

SKELETAL AND MUSCULAR SYSTEMS

Why aren’t you just a gooey blob like a sea jelly? Because
you have bones. These bones protect delicate organs like your
heart, brain, and lungs, and they support you so that you can
stand up and move. Did you know that most animals don’t have
any bones at all? Insects, worms, slugs, sea jellies, and many
others have no bones. Run your hands around your ribs. You
can follow them from your vertebrae or backbones all the way
around to the front by your chest. All of your ribs together
form your rib cage. Why do you think they call it a “cage”?
Feel the bony plate where your ribs meet in front. This is your
sternum (str-nuhm) and it protects some very important
organs inside of you. Bones are connected to each other in
remarkable ways that allow us to move around, but without
muscles to pull our bones back and forth we would be as still
as a puppet with no strings. Bend your arm at the elbow. When
you do this, the muscle on the front of your upper arm pulls
to become shorter. When you straighten your arm again, the
muscle in back pulls and shortens. These muscles that move
you around aren’t the only muscles in your body. Your heart is
one special kind of muscle but there are many others.
Muscles help with everything from breathing to
digesting food to moving your eyes.
So, with bones to hold you up and muscles to get
you moving, you can go places no sea jelly could ever
imagine.

Unit 4 – Skeletal and Muscular Systems

Pandia Press 47
 Skeletal System Lab: MY SKELETON HOLDS ME UP
– instructions
Materials:
Lab sheet
Scissors
Glue gel (Elmer’s School Glue Gel)
1 – 8 1/2” x 11” Black (or other color of choice) construction paper
White or gold pen that will mark on black paper
Aloud: Your skeleton is a framework of bones that gives you shape and holds you up. It also
protects delicate organs from bumps and bruises. Bones have funny names but they aren’t
really hard ones to learn. You probably already know that your brain is protected by your skull.
You may even know that hips are wide bones called the pelvis. When you hit your arm just right
it sends an icky tingle down your arm doesn’t it? So it isn’t very humorous to hit your humerus,
is it? Your femurs are the longest bones in your body. Can you find which ones those are?
Have fun cutting out and gluing your skeleton puzzle together and as you go, think about in
which part of your body each bone lies.
Procedure:
Lab Day:
1. Cut around each section of bones. The black around each one gives little hands a little room
for error.
2. Lay the bones on the black paper where you think they should go. Check arms and legs, feet
and hands on the sample is in the corner of the lab sheet.
3. Once everything is where it belongs, remove and glue the pieces down one at a time.
4. If you wish, use a white or gold pen to label the major bones.
Possible Answers:
See sample on lab sheet for correct bone placement
Conclusion / Discussion:
1. Without bones animals can’t get very tall, or must live in water so the water can hold them up.
Sea jellies are tall but they float in water. On land the tallest invertebrate (boneless animal) is
probably an insect. Doesn’t compare to human height, does it?
2. How do we know there will never really be monstrously large spiders and scorpions like we see in
science-fiction movies?
For More Lab Fun:
1. Play Simon Says using the names of bones. You can pat your skull or touch your patellas,
tickle your ribs, or thump your sternum.
2. Next time you pull apart a chicken or turkey for dinner, take a good look at the
bones. Compare them to human bones.
3. Older children may want to identify and label the following bones as well:
lower arm bones are the radius and ulna
lower leg bones are the tibia and fibula
fingers and toes are all phalanges
your jaw is your mandible
your shoulder blades are called scapulae
your collar bone is your clavicle

Unit 4 – Skeletal and Muscular Systems

Pandia Press 49
Skeletal System Lab: MY SKELETON HOLDS ME UP

Phalanges (fay-lanj-eez)
(toes)

Phalanges (fay-lanj-eez)
(fingers)

Unit 4 – Skeletal and Muscular Systems

Pandia Press 51
Muscle Lab: MUSCLES AREN’T PUSHY – instructions
Materials:
Lab sheets (3 pages), pencil
Tagboard or very heavy copy paper – 8 1/2” x 11”
Pair of scissors
Hole punch
Metal fastener
String or thread 70 cm. long (about 28”) cut in half
Tape
Ruler

Aloud: Bones hold us up but without muscles to move those bones we’d be a lot like a tree –
stuck in one spot. Muscles pull to move bones but they can’t push. Because of this, muscles
have to work in twos. To bend your arm, one muscle pulls. To straighten your arm back out, a
muscle on the other side has to pull. We’re going to make a model of an arm and show how two
muscles work together to move it.
Procedure:
Lab Day: Make Your Arm Model
1. Trace or photocopy pattern of upper and lower arm onto thick paper. Cut out.
2. Punch holes at circles and at center of X’s. You will have 3 holes in piece Q and 1 hole in piece Z.
3. Place pieces Q and Z as indicated in top diagram on page 55. Push metal fastener into holes
at the X’s to secure pieces.
4. Thread one piece of string from back, through each hole at the top of Q and tape them down
onto piece Z where indicated in bottom diagram.
Using Your Model
5. With arm in position shown in diagrams, pull slack from strings and then measure and
record length from end of hole to start of tape. Record on line labeled “Beginning.”
6. Carefully pull string #1 until arm can’t move any further. Again, measure both strings and record
on chart. Compare lengths with those from the beginning to fill in all answers in the row for
“String #1 pulled.”
7. Pull string #2. Repeat measurements and record.
8. Finish filling in chart for “String #2 pulled.”
9. Answer lab questions.

Possible Answers:
1. Lower arm and hand or forearm.
2. Upper arm
3. Muscles
4. 2
5. Front

Conclusion / Discussion:
– Help children notice that as a muscle pulls it is actually becoming shorter. When the oppos-
ing muscle (the one that does the opposite motion) pulls, the original muscle relaxes and gets
longer.

Unit 4 – Skeletal and Muscular Systems

Pandia Press 53
NAME ______________________________ DATE __________________
Muscle Lab: MUSCLES AREN’T PUSHY – p. 1
Trace the parts below onto tagboard. Cut out and follow the directions to
assemble your arm model.

Unit 4 – Skeletal and Muscular Systems

Pandia Press 55
 NAME ________________________________ DATE__________________________________

Muscle Lab: MUSCLES AREN’T PUSHY – p. 2

Pandia Press
Unit 4 – Skeletal and Muscular Systems
,

57
 Muscles Lab: MUSCLES AREN’T PUSHY – p. 3

Side of tape shown in dark should be about even with metal fastener.
Be careful tape doesn’t hang over and stick to part Q.

58
Unit 4 – Skeletal
and Muscular Systems Pandia Press
NAME ______________________________ DATE __________________
For my notebook

CIRCULATORY SYSTEM – YOUR HEART AND BLOOD

You know that muscles are important body parts, but
which muscle is the MOST important? Your heart would
probably have to take that prize. Your heart is a muscle
that pushes blood all through your body. This blood carries
oxygen, food, and water, and it carries special cells that
fight diseases. Blood travels through tubes called blood
vessels. The vessels going away from your heart are called
arteries (ahr-tuh-reez). The vessels going back to your heart
are called veins (vaynz). How long are all these vessels? Well,
if you could lay them all end to end they would go all the way
around the world. Now, hold up your hand and make a fist.
Your fist is about the size of your heart. Not very big, for all
the work it does, is it? Your heart may not be very big but it
sure is powerful. Try to squeeze a tennis ball hard
enough for it to squish in. That’s how hard your
heart squeezes and it does that between 80 and
100 times each minute. Now that is a powerful
muscle! So, your circulatory system moves blood
all through your body. The heart is the muscle that
pushes the blood away through arteries and then back again
through veins. Along the way, blood carries oxygen, food, and
water as well as cells that fight diseases. By drinking water,
eating right, and exercising regularly you can help keep this
amazing system healthy for many years. Now that doesn’t
seem like too much to ask for something that works that
hard for you, does it?

Pandia Press
Unit 5 – Circulatory System 59
Circulatory System Lab #1: YOUR HEART RATE – instructions
Materials:
Lab sheets (2 pages), pencil
Watch with second hand
Crayons – 6 colors

Aloud: Your heart works hard to supply your whole body with the food, water, and oxygen it
needs. Your body needs these things just like a car needs gasoline. Without fuel, your body will
stop working. In fact, the harder your body works, the faster it uses up its fuel. When you are
exercising hard, your heart pumps faster to hurry food, oxygen, and water to all the parts of
your body. When you slow down, so can your heart because your body doesn’t need as much
of these things. In this lab you will compare how fast your heart is working when you are rest-
ing with how fast it works when you are exercising. Let’s see just how well your heart can tell
how much work your body is doing.
Procedure:
1. Fill in questions 1 – 4 on lab page 1.
2. PARENTS: It might be easiest if you to take your child’s pulse for him. Younger children often
lose count easily.
3. Practice finding your (or your child’s) pulse. One easy place to find a pulse is on the wrist.
Using your index and middle fingers but NOT your thumb (which has its own pulse), find the
stiff ridge that runs down the inside of the wrist on the thumb side. Place two fingers on
the thumb side of this ridge. Push down slightly and you should find a pulse.
4. Sit very still and quiet for a minute. Take pulse for 20 seconds. Continue with activities and
checking pulse. Fill in beats per 20 seconds. For exercise #10 choose your own favorite. De-
pending on math level, either add pulse three times (for example, if you count 60 heartbeats
in 20 seconds, you would add 60 + 60 + 60) or multiply pulse by 3 (60 x 3) to find pulse for one
minute. Finish page one.
5. Fill in and color graph to show comparison between resting and working heart rates.
Complete lab.

Possible Answers:
4. My heart pumps faster when I am working hard because my body needs more fuel when it
is working.

Conclusion / Discussion:
1. How did the difficulty of the exercise compare to the heart rate? Why is this?

For More Lab Fun:

1. Take pulse every minute after exercising. See how long it takes pulse to return to normal.
Graph the results.
2. Take a field trip to a blood bank. See how they screen donors and take blood. Learn about
blood types.
3. Learn the basics of CPR.

Unit 5 – Circulatory System

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 NAME ________________________________ DATE__________________________________
Circulatory System Lab #1: YOUR HEART RATE – p. 1

Pandia Press
63 Unit 5 – Circulatory System
 Circulatory System Lab #1: YOUR HEART RATE – p. 2

Pandia Press
Unit 5
– Circulatory System
50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 160 170 180 190 200 210 220 230 240 250 260

64
 Circulatory System Lab #2: BLOOD MODEL – instructions
Materials:
Lab sheets (2 pages), pencil
Crayons – tan, blue, yellow, red
1 ½ cup (or larger) clear jar with wide mouth
Stirring spoon
½ cup Light Karo syrup (PLASMA) (plaz-muh)
½ cup Red Hots candies (RED BLOOD CELLS)
5 dry large lima beans (WHITE BLOOD CELLS)
1 tablespoon dry lentils or split yellow peas (PLATELETS) (playt-lets)
Aloud: Blood looks like a smooth, red liquid, but it’s not. Blood is actually a straw-colored liquid
with tiny cells mixed in it. Your lab today will show you the main blood parts so you can learn
what they are for and what they look like. Blood parts are so tiny you can’t see them without a
microscope so, after coloring the blood picture, we will be making a model of blood to show how
the parts look close up.
Procedure:
1. Color in the blood picture as indicated. Make sure to read all of the information on this sheet.
2. Measure out the amounts of Karo syrup, Red Hots, lima beans, and lentils indicated above.
Pour them into the jar, one at a time, calling them the blood parts they represent. For
instance, don’t say “Pour in the Karo syrup.” Instead say, ” Pour in the Plasma.”
3. Mix gently with spoon and compare to real blood.

Possible Answers: (to page 68)

Red Hots = red blood cells
Karo syrup = plasma
Dry lima beans = white blood cells
Dry lentils = platelets
Plasma keeps things moving and transports food
Red blood cells carry oxygen
White blood cells fight diseases by eating harmful bacteria
Platelets plug up wounds to help clot the blood

Conclusion / Discussion:
– Discuss the following: Is blood all red? (No). What part of blood gives it its red color?
(red blood cells). How many major parts make up blood? (4).

For More Lab Fun:

1. Look at the underside of your tongue in the mirror. Can you see where the blood has no oxygen
(blue veins) and where the blood has oxygen (red arteries)?
2. Make a round cake. Frost it with yellow frosting (plasma). Decorate with white jelly beans
(white blood cells), red M&Ms (red blood cells), and silver cake decorating balls (platelets).
Put on a vampire cape and share your blood with your friends.

For Your Information:

1. Blood is red because red blood cells have iron in them. Iron mixed with oxygen becomes red. On
the way back to the heart, after giving up its oxygen, blood is a bluish color. Insects and other
animals have different-colored blood because their blood cells aren’t iron-based.
2. Arteries carry blood away from the heart so they usually contain red, oxygenated blood. Veins
carry blood back to the heart so they usually carry blood with no oxygen.

Unit 5 – Circulatory System

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NAME ______________________________ DATE __________________
Circulatory System Lab #2: BLOOD MODEL – p. 1
This is what a drop of blood looks like under a microscope. Read the clues
below and color the parts of the blood as indicated. Next, read the jobs each
blood part performs. Write the name of that blood part.
White Blood Cells: I am the biggest cell in your blood. I have a nucleus that
is often split into 2 or 3 parts. Color me tan.
Plasma: I am mostly water. I make up about half of your blood. Color me
yellow.
Platelets: I am the tiniest part in your blood. Color me blue.
Red Blood Cells: I am shaped like a round candy, dented in on both sides.
There are more of me than any other blood cells. You can color me red.

.
.

Unit 5 – Circulatory System

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 Circulatory System Lab #2: BLOOD MODEL – p. 2

68
Unit 5
– Circulatory System Pandia Press
NAME ______________________________ DATE __________________
For my notebook

YOUR RESPIRATORY SYSTEM BREATHES FOR YOU

What surrounds you all the time but you cannot see it,
feel it, hear it, taste it, or smell it? Air! There is nothing more
important to your body than air. Air is a mixture of many
things but the oxygen in air is what your body needs most.
Oxygen is a gas that your body combines with the food you
have eaten to make energy. When you run, your body needs
more energy, doesn’t it? Because of this, when you exercise,
you breathe faster to get more oxygen to make more energy.
When you slow down, your breathing can slow down, too. When
you inhale or breathe in, air goes in your nose or mouth, down
a tube called a trachea (tray-kee-uh), and into your 2 lungs.
Your lungs are big bags made of a bunch of tiny bags that
fill with air. Blood is pumped in tubes all around these tiny
air sacs. Oxygen from the air goes into the blood, and carbon
dioxide, a waste your body makes, comes from your blood
and goes into the air sacs. When you breathe out, the carbon
dioxide leaves your body. In with the good and out with the
bad. It’s a great system and it shows how all of
our body systems work together to keep us alive.
Your respiratory system breathes in air, and
passes the oxygen to your circulatory system—
which combines it with food from your digestive
system to make energy for your muscular system.
Whew! And I thought breathing was so simple!

Unit 6 – Respiratory System

Pandia Press 69
Respiratory System Lab #1: BREATHING RATE – instructions
Materials:
Lab sheets (2 pages), pencil
Completed Circulatory System lab – “YOUR HEART RATE” pages 63-64 (for reference)
Watch with second hand
Crayons – 6 colors
Aloud: When you breathe your body takes in oxygen. This oxygen is carried to all the cells in your
body. Oxygen is needed by your cells to turn food into fuel. Without this fuel your body wouldn’t
be able to grow and do work. If oxygen is needed for your cells to do work, how do you think your
breathing will change when your body is working harder than normal? We are going to do a lab
to find out how hard work and exercise affect the way you breathe.
Procedure:
Lab Day:
1. Fill in questions 1 – 4 on lab page 1.
2. PARENTS: It is probably easiest if you count your child’s breaths. Younger children often lose
count easily.
3. Sit very still and quiet for a minute. Count the breaths you take for 30 seconds. Continue with
activities and checking breathing rates. Fill in breaths per 30 seconds. For exercise #10 choose
your own favorite exercise. Depending on math level, either add breaths two times (for example,
if you take 20 breaths in 30 seconds you would add 20 + 20 ) or multiply breaths by 2 (20 x 2) to
find breathing rate for one minute. Finish page one.
4. Fill in and color graph to show comparison between resting and working breathing rates. Com-
plete lab. Refer to YOUR HEART RATE lab page 64 to answer question #3 (hardest exercise for
my heart).

Possible Answers:
#4. My heart and lungs work together to take oxygen from outside the body and move it to all
the cells in my body.

Conclusion / Discussion;
1. Discuss results. How did the difficulty of the exercise compare to the breathing and heart
rates? Why is this?
2. Discuss how the circulatory, respiratory, and digestive systems are interconnected. They all do
their part to provide the body with the chemicals it needs to survive.

For More Lab Fun:

1. Learn the basics of the Heimlich maneuver.
2. Develop an exercise routine that conditions your muscles as well as your heart and lungs.

Unit 6 – Respiratory System

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 NAME ________________________________ DATE__________________________________
Respiratory System Lab #1: BREATHING RATE – p. 1

Pandia Press
73 Unit 6 – Respiratory System
Respiratory System Lab #1: BREATHING RATE – p. 2

Pandia Press
Enter the breathing rates you calculated onto the graph below.
Color in the graph using a different crayon for each activity.

– Respiratory System
Unit 6
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 105 110

74
Respiratory System Lab #2: I NEED OXYGEN
– instructions p. 1
Materials:
Lab sheet, pencil
4 Pieces of 8 1/2” x 11” paper or paper plates
Long tube (like vacuum cleaner tube or wrapping paper tube) – label the tube “trachea”
Red and blue math counters or chips (about 10 each color)
Colored pencils – various colors
A helper/teacher (acting as the giant)

Aloud: Today you get to be a red blood cell (RBC) carrying oxygen through the body of a giant.
You are going to start your journey in the giant’s heart. From there you will go to the lungs, pick
up some oxygen, and go back to the heart. The giant’s heart will pump hard enough to get you
all the way to the giant’s foot. Because the giant is walking, his foot will be using up oxygen and
making carbon dioxide – a waste product. You will need to trade your oxygen for the carbon di-
oxide, and take it to the heart so it can send you back to the lungs. Once in the lungs the giant
will breathe out, sending the carbon dioxide out of his body. You will pick up more oxygen and go
back around again. It’s a long way to go for a little blood cell, like yourself, but you know it is a
job that must be done for the giant to live.
Procedure:
1. Using your highly developed artistic abilities, draw a big nose on one paper, a heart on another,
a lung on another, and a foot on another. Label each one. Color them, if you would like.
2. TEACHER: Lay out the papers as shown on the Respiratory Setup on back of this page (page
74). Lay the tube between the nose and the lungs. Spread the others out so that the entire
giant is about 10 feet tall. The tube is the trachea. Place 5 blue chips on the foot plate.
3. GIANT: (inhales, bringing oxygen into his lungs) – slide 1 red chip down the trachea onto the
paper lungs.
4. RBC: 1) Start in the heart 2) Go to the lungs to pick up one oxygen 3) Back to the heart 4) Out
the heart and down to the foot. At the foot, trade your oxygen for one carbon dioxide there 5)
Head back to the heart with the carbon dioxide 6) And finally back to the lungs to get rid of your
carbon dioxide.
5. GIANT: (exhale) slide the blue chip up toward the nose so it can leave the body. Inhale again,
sliding another red chip onto the lung.
6. Repeat as often as you would like, to get children to understand the pathways of the blood,
oxygen, and carbon dioxide.
7. Have children complete the lab sheet, using the appropriate colored pencil (red or blue) to color
in the path of the oxygen and carbon dioxide.

Possible Answers:
SEE PAGE 76 FOR SETUP AND ANSWERS

For More Lab Fun:

1. Continue with the giant breathing but start with all 10 blue chips on the plate and “breathe”
faster, sliding the red chips onto the plate more quickly. Ask your child what he thinks is hap-
pening (the giant is exercising and using up more oxygen). The blood has to get moving to keep
up with the oxygen demands. Go faster and slower, asking what might be going on (The giant
could be riding a bike, watching a scary movie, sleeping, etc.)

Unit 6 – Respiratory System

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Respiratory System Lab #2: I NEED OXYGEN – instructions p. 2
SETUP:
Set up your giant as shown below. Make sure the parts are fairly far apart (about 10’ total).
Arrows are the answers for questions #1 and #2 of the lab. Don’t show them to the students!

POSSIBLE ANSWERS:

heart
lung

#1 (solid lines = red = oxygen) Note: Oxygen makes the hemoglobin in blood turn red so
oxygenated blood becomes red.
#2 (dashed lines = blue = carbon dioxide) Note: Deoxygenated blood (blood without oxygen) has a
bluish color.
#3 When you exercise, your body is using more oxygen and producing more carbon dioxide, so RBCs
have to deliver them faster.
#4 Your RBCs are moving faster because your heart is pumping faster. You can feel your heart,
breathing, and pulse speed up.

CONCLUSION / DISCUSSION:
1. Tell children that oxygen makes the blood red, and when there isn’t oxygen in it, the blood looks
blue. Have them look at the underside of their tongues to see blue veins. To show red, oxygen-
ated blood, in semidarkness shine a flashlight through a finger or into your mouth, with your
mouth closed around the light. You’ll be surprised at how red your cheeks become when light
shines through them. It’s fun!

76
Unit 6
– Respiratory System Pandia Press
NAME ______________________________ DATE __________________
Respiratory System Lab #2: I NEED OXYGEN
1. With a red pencil, use arrows to show the path oxygen takes from where it
enters the body until it reaches the foot.
2. With a blue pencil, use arrows to show the return journey made by carbon
dioxide.

3. Why do your RBCs have to move faster when you are exercising?
___________________________________________________________________

4. How can you tell your RBCs are moving faster? Can you feel them?

___________________________________________________________________

Unit 6 – Respiratory System

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NAME ______________________________ DATE __________________
For my notebook

THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM FUELS YOUR CELLS

What is your favorite fruit? How about your favorite
vegetable? Did you know that the food you eat is used to
make new cells so your body can grow and repair itself? It
also provides energy to your body cells to do work. Do you
remember how your heart and breathing get faster as you
work harder? That’s because the cells all over your body
need more oxygen and food as you work harder. Your blood
delivers that oxygen and food. When you eat, you know that
food goes to your stomach, but do you know that it also
goes to your brain, skin, and every other part of your body?
Yes! Food, water, and oxygen go to all parts of your body to
make new cells and to keep the cells you already have healthy.
Have you heard the saying “You are what you eat”? It’s really
true. When you eat a handful of peanuts, new cells all over
your body will be made of tiny parts from those peanuts.
It takes chewing, sloshing, mixing, and a lot of time to turn
those peanuts into the parts needed to make cells. In fact,
food can stay inside your body for 2 days. Your digestive
system is more than just a stomach. It starts at your teeth,
goes to your esophagus (ih-sohf-uh-guhs), stomach, small
and large intestines (in-tehs-tihns), and
ends at your anus, (ay-nuhs) where the
waste leaves your body.
So, let’s find out what it takes to
make a bunch of broccoli into a batch of
body cells.

Unit 7 – Digestive System

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Digestive System Lab #1: DIGESTIVE DIAGRAM – instructions
Materials:
Lab sheet, pencil
Digestive System Notebook page (for reference)
Colored pencils (blue, green, yellow, red, brown)

Aloud: It takes a lot of work to make food into energy for your body. We learned what some
of the parts of the digestive system are called. Now let’s color in a diagram of the digestive
system to learn what those parts look like.
Procedure:
1. Follow the instructions on the lab sheet. Label each part as numbered and then color in
as indicated.
2. Follow the instructions at the bottom of the page.

For Your Information:

See diagram below for answers

Unit 7 – Digestive System

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NAME ______________________________ DATE __________________
Digestive System Lab #1: DIGESTIVE DIAGRAM
Use the key to label the parts of the digestive system and then color them in
with the colors indicated.

1. mouth – leave uncolored

2. esophagus – blue
3. stomach – green
4. small intestines – yellow
5. large intestines – red
6. anus – brown

Draw silly teeth in the circle to show where food is first broken down.
Draw a circle on a coiled part of the digestive system.
Draw a triangle showing where undigested food and waste leave the body.

Unit 7 – Digestive System

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Digestive System Lab #2: FOOD TRAVELS FAR! – instructions
Materials:
Lab sheet, pencil
Yarn – about 22’ long
Yard stick
5 – 3” x 5” Index cards
Stapler

Aloud: “Mmmm. Great muffin. Thank you.” The food you eat takes a longer journey through
your body than you might expect. After you finish chewing up that muffin, your tongue pushes
it back to be swallowed and it goes into a long tube called the esophagus. The esophagus
squeezes the now smashed-up muffin down into your stomach where it is mixed and mashed
some more. After about 3 hours the muffin will leave your stomach and enter your small
intestines. From there it will go on to the large intestines before leaving your body. Let’s find
out just how long your digestive tract is.
Procedure:
1. Complete the “Hypothesis” section of the lab.
2. From one end of the yarn, mark off 3 inches. This is the length of the average child’s mouth. Tie
a knot in the yarn at that mark and label the index card “Mouth – 3 inches.” Staple card to that
section of the yarn.
3. From the first knot, measure and mark off 10 inches for the esophagus. Tie a knot and label the
next index card “Esophagus – 10 inches.”
4. Food dumps from the esophagus into the stomach. Measure 6 inches for the length of a child’s
stomach. Knot the yarn and label this section “Stomach – 6 inches.”
5. The small intestine is the shocker. Measure off 15 feet for the small intestines. Food can spend
about 3 hours in the small intestines, where digestion is completed and from which the nutrients
from the food can be absorbed. Knot and label this section “Small intestine – 15 feet.”
6. Finally, measure off an additional 4 feet for the large intestines, where water will be absorbed
into the body. Cut the yarn at this point and label this section “Large intestine – 4 feet.”
7. Stretch out your entire digestive system. Were you surprised at how long it is?
8. Enter actual lengths on #4. For #5, add lengths together, rounding to the nearest foot (total =
21’).
9. Subtract your guess from the actual length to find how far off you were. Discuss the difference.
Were you surprised? Were you close?
10. For #7 divide length of yarn by height of child OR have child lay next to yarn, mark where his
head reaches. Then have child move the yarn up to that spot, and repeat until he has figured out
how many body lengths long his yarn (digestive tract) is.
11. For #8: At three meals a day, in three days your child will have eaten 3 x 3 = 9 meals before his
last one is all the way through his digestive tract.
Possible Answers:
Answers provided in the directions.
Conclusion / Discussion:
1. Discuss how many steps and how far food travels before it is completely digested.
2. Discuss the fact that at any one time a person has 9 past meals somewhere within their
digestive tract. It’s amazing we EVER feel hungry!
For More Lab Fun:
1. Eat an apple (or anything else). Throughout the day, announce the times it reaches each new
point as follows: Esophagus in 15 seconds, stomach in 10 more seconds, small intestine in 3
hours, large intestine in 3 more hours and anus (exit) in about 2 days. You will need a calendar
for the last one. In 2 days I want you to call out, “Hey everybody! The apple’s done!”

Unit 7 – Digestive System

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NAME ______________________________ DATE __________________
Digestive System Lab #2: FOOD TRAVELS FAR

HYPOTHESIS (MY BEST GUESS):

1. My height to the nearest foot (measure) ______________
2. The length of my digestive tract (estimate) _______________ feet
3. The time it will take a muffin to be digested ___________________

TEST:

4. Length of the: mouth + ____________________

esophagus + ____________________

stomach + ____________________

small intestine + ____________________

large intestines + ____________________

5. Length of the entire digestive tract = ____________________

rounded to the nearest foot

RESULTS:
6. Actual length – My guess = Amount I was off

____________ – _____________ = ____________________

CONCLUSION:
7. I would have to lay _______ of me down, end to end, to make the length
of my digestive tract.

8. My muffin will be finished digesting in about 3 days. I will have eaten
________ more meals by that time.

Unit 7 – Digestive System

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NAME ______________________________ DATE __________________
For my notebook

MY NERVOUS SYSTEM IS IN CONTROL

Can you pat your head and rub your tummy at the
same time? Well, that may be a bit tricky, but I bet you can
walk across the floor and eat an apple at the same time.
Your brain is doing an incredible number of things to make
all this happen, from controlling 2 legs that are moving at
opposite times, to moving your arms, to telling you when
to bite, chew, and swallow. I bet you can even tell me how
the apple tastes and looks. Your body is taking in a lot of
information, sending this information through nerves to
your spinal cord, up to your brain to be figured out, and
then a response is sent back to the proper muscles. I can’t
imagine a computer handling this much information this
quickly. Before all of this can happen though, information
has to come into your body. You have five senses that
bring in information. You have eyes, ears, a nose, a
mouth, and skin so you can see, hear, smell, taste, and
feel what’s around you. Even when you are sleeping your
brain is handling information. When you feel a feather, the
information runs from your fingertips,
through nerves, which are special, long
cells that go to your spinal cord. Your
spinal cord runs through the hollow
center of your vertebrae and leads
right up to your brain. Your nervous
system is like a tiny super highway for
messages.

Unit 8 – Nervous System

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 Nervous System Lab #1: REACTION TIME – instructions
Materials:
Lab sheet, pencil
Standard (inch) ruler
Colored pencil (for graphing)

Aloud: Your nervous system works incredibly fast to keep your hand from burning when you
accidentally touch something that is too hot. Sometimes we are moving our hand away from
danger even before we know it hurts. Your nervous system is also in charge of letting you taste
good food as you are eating. All of this happens very quickly. Today we are going to do a lab to
show how quickly a message can get from your eyes, along a system of nerves to your brain,
and then along another set of nerves all the way out to your hand. We are also going to see if,
with practice, you can increase the speed.
Procedure:
1. Circle “Yes” or “No” for the Hypothesis part of the lab.
2. Have a helper hold the ruler about 1” above the catcher’s hand with the zero end pointing down.
Catcher should have their hand ready to pinch the ruler as it falls between his thumb and fin-
gers (see diagram on lab sheet).
3. Helper drops the ruler with no warning. Catcher tries to catch the ruler as quickly as possible.
4. Note the point at which the catch was made (how many inches along the ruler). A smaller
number means a quicker catch. Write the number on the chart.
5. Repeat above steps 4 more times.
6. To make a line graph, transfer data to the graph in the following manner: For catch #1 fol-
low the horizontal line next to the label “CATCH #1,” until you get to the inch mark where the
ruler was caught. Place a dot there. Do this for each catch. Connect the dots to show how
the reaction time changed. If the line goes right, reaction time got slower: if the line goes left,
reaction time got faster (better).
7. Complete #4 with “got better,” “stayed the same,” or “got worse.”

Conclusion / Discussion:
1. How did your reaction time change with practice? Can you train your nervous system to work
faster?
2. Why do you think some people have quicker reactions to danger than others?

For More Lab Fun:

1. Test people of various ages. Does reaction time change with age? Compare and chart your
results.
2. Test reaction time before and after exercise. Does exercise have an effect on reaction time?
3. Have the helper say, “Now,” as they let go of the ruler. Does reaction time improve when you can
“hear” the ruler drop?

Unit 8 – Nervous System

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NAME ______________________________ DATE __________________
Nervous System Lab #1: REACTION TIME

Unit 8 – Nervous System

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 Nervous System Lab #2: I’M SENSIBLE – instructions p. 1
Materials:
*This lab takes awhile to set up, but I have yet to meet a child (or adult!) who doesn’t enjoy this lab.
Lab sheets (2 pages), pencil
Items to identify by taste, touch, etc. This is a list of ideas. Use what you have and what
your kids know.
Touch – cotton swab, paper clips Sight – orange, white vinegar
Smell – vinegar, garlic Hear – jingle bells, coins
Taste – chocolate chip, banana slice
4 Small paper sacks to hide the touch and hearing items
3 Small paper plates
2 Spoons
3 Small jars with lids – at least one MUST be see-through
4 Paper towels to cover (hide) some of the items
Dry-erase marker

Aloud: Step on a tack and you will jump away quickly. Smell cinnamon rolls and you will probably
smile. A message has to get to your brain to tell you what is there and what to do about it.
We talked about the long path the message has to take, but how does the message get into
your body? You have 5 senses that bring information to your nerves. You have nerve endings all
along your skin to tell you what you have touched, eyes to tell you what you have seen, a nose
to tell you what you are smelling, ears to tell you what you are hearing, and a tongue to tell you
what you taste. All of these features bring information into your body, take that information to
your brain, and then tell your body what to do about it. And remember, it doesn’t take very long.
Today you are going to test your 5 senses to see how well they work to inform your brain of
what is around you. Do your best but most important, follow directions and have fun!
Procedure:
Lab Setup: FOR TEACHER/PARENT TO READ
1. You will be setting up lab “stations” with different items to test. Try to keep them in line along a
countertop or around a table.
2. On two paper sacks write “Touch.” Place one touch item in each of the two bags, and roll down
the tops of the bags. These are stations 1 and 2.
3. Place the orange on a plate and about 1/4 c. of vinegar in a well-sealed, see-through jar. Screw
the lid down so no smell escapes. With the dry-erase marker, write “Sight” on the plate and on
the jar. These are stations 3 and 4.
4. Put 1/4 cup more vinegar into the second jar, and some smashed garlic into the third. Cover
these jars with a paper towel and write “Smell only – No Peeking” on the towels. When it’s time
to test these, you need to have the students close their eyes while you open the jars so they
can smell what’s inside. These are for stations 5 and 6.
5. On the other two sacks, write “Hearing.” Place the hearing items inside each sack and roll
the tops down for stations 7 and 8. Allow the children to shake these when it’s time to test
them.
6. On each of the last two plates place a spoon with the taste item in the spoon. You will need to
spoon them into the children’s mouths (with their eyes closed) for the test. Cover these with a
paper towel also.
7. Go through the test with each child, assisting as needed to prevent “peeking.”
8. Complete lab sheet.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 96

Unit 8 – Nervous System

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 Nervous System Lab #2: I’M SENSIBLE – instructions p. 2
Possible Answers:
Which sense is the most keen for each animal?
Owl – hearing because they hunt at night, often in complete darkness
Vulture – smell because they eat rotting meat and must smell it from miles away
Bat – hearing because they also hunt at night and use their hearing to locate flying insects
Bald eagle – sight because they hunt during the day and use their sight to find prey
Bloodhound – smell because they are specifically bred to find a scent and follow it. Their skin
folds even cover their eyes when they put their heads down so they don’t become
distracted by what they see.

Conclusion / Discussion:
1. How would it be to lose one of your senses? Try walking blindfolded (with a helper, for safety).
Imagine eating without being able to taste your food. How would that be good or bad?

For More Lab Fun:

1. Kids always love to check out optical illusions to see how our senses often fool us.
2. Read a book about Helen Keller, who lost both sight and hearing at a very young age. How
different was her world from your own?
3. Watch one of your own pets. Try to discover by watching them which sense is the most
important for them. Does your dog hear sounds that you cannot? What about your guinea
pig? What seems to frighten him the most, a quick movement or a loud noise?

96 Unit
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NAME ______________________________ DATE __________________
Nervous System Lab #2: I’M SENSIBLE – p. 1

For each station, use only the sense listed.

Write what you think you have found and
then write what other senses might have
helped you to identify it.

Unit 8 – Nervous System

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 Nervous System Lab #2: I’M SENSIBLE – p. 2

1. For each sense, this is how many I got right:

touch ______ sight ______ smell ______ hearing ______ taste ______

2. It looks like my sense of _________________ is the most accurate.

3. This is how many times I wish I could have used each sense (column “D”)

touch ______ sight ______ smell ______ hearing______ taste ______

4. I wanted to use my sense of _________________ most often. This is the

sense I trust the most.

5. (Circle one) The sense I trust the most is: different than / the same as
the sense that was the most accurate during this lab.

6. Every animal has a sense that is more keen than the others. This is their
“dominant” sense. For each of the animals listed below, see if you can
figure out which sense is the dominant sense.

Owl __________________________ because ________________________________

Vulture ______________________ because ________________________________

Bat__________________________ because ________________________________

Bald eagle____________________ because ________________________________

Bloodhound __________________ because ________________________________

98 Unit
8 – Nervous System Pandia Press
NAME ______________________________ DATE __________________
For my notebook

GENES GUIDE YOUR GROWTH

Have you ever been told you were having
a growth spurt? It’s true that your body
doesn’t grow and change at a smooth rate.
Growth and body changes happen in spurts. From the time
you are born until the time you are very old, your body will
go through many amazing changes. Even before you are
born the cells in your body carry the plans that determine
when and how your body changes will occur. If you practice
healthy eating and good exercise habits, these plans can
proceed at the proper rate and time. From the helpless
baby you were at birth you have learned to walk, talk, and
dress yourself. At about 10 years old a body begins its
journey to becoming its adult form. By around 18 – 20
years old most body systems are fully developed and
upward growth stops. By continuing to make good, healthy
choices you can keep your body fit and active throughout
your adult life and well into old age. These plans in your
cells are determined by your genes (jeenz). Genes are the
special messages you get or inherit from your parents.
Your genes help determine everything from how tall you are
to how curly your hair is. Unless you have an identical twin,
not one other person in the whole world has inherited the
exact same body plan you have. From your one-of-a-kind
fingerprints to your body’s plans for your future growth,
you are the only YOU there will ever be. Now that’s a gift
worth taking extra care of!

Unit 9 – Growth and Genetics

Pandia Press 99
 Genetics Lab #1: I’M THE ONLY ME! – instructions
Materials:
Lab sheets (2 pages), pencil
Aloud: Your life started when one cell from your mom combined with one cell from your dad.
These cells have tiny parts inside called genes. Your genes determine your hair color, sex,
height, and many other features. Except for identical twins, no two people share the exact
same features; but you will share many features with your parents, because you inherit half of
your genes from each one. Let’s look at some traits to see what you have inherited.
Procedure:
1. Examine the features listed for you and your parents (or siblings!) and fill in the chart.
Explanation of some characteristics:
Cleft chin – chin with a deep “crease” down the middle
Free earlobes have a section at the bottom where they don’t attach to the side of the
head. Attached earlobes are attached to the head clear to the bottom of the earlobe.
Tongue rollers can curl their tongue into a “U” shape. This is not something a person can
learn to do if they are born without the gene to do it!
Widow’s peak is where the hairline forms a V down the forehead (think Eddie Munster).
Hairy knuckles refers to hair on the middle section of each finger, between the joints, not
actually the knuckles.
2. For page 103, which of the traits do you share with your mother ONLY? Which do you share with
your father ONLY? How many of the traits showed in neither parent and ended up showing in
you?
3. Fill in the graph at the bottom. Color in how many traits you got from: Line 1: Mom ONLY
Line 2: Dad ONLY, or Line 3: from Mom and Dad – meaning they both show it (a dominant trait
or they both do not show it (a recessive trait).

For More Lab Fun:

1. Make a chart to compare other relatives’ features with your own. Which side of the family
seems to have the strongest genes?
2. Start a family tree. Check old family photos to see if your ancestors had the same traits you
have. How far back does that widow’s peak go?
3. Visit a Labrador Retriever breeder. Can two black labs have yellow puppies? Can two yellows
have black puppies? Which color seems to be weaker (recessive)?
4. Do you have a pen pal or friend from another country? Ask them to fill in the graph and chart
the differences from one family-culture-geographic location to your own.

For Your Information:

1. Weak traits are called “recessive.” Strong traits are called “dominant.”
2. The traits given show a simple form of dominance. Some traits (not mentioned in this lab)
are much more complex, some are linked to the sex chromosome, and some traits blend.

Unit 9 – Growth and Genetics

Pandia Press 101
NAME ______________________________ DATE __________________
Genetics Lab #1: I’M THE ONLY ME! – p. 1
All of the features below are determined by the genes you inherit from your
mom and dad. Color in the blanks for each feature you have and compare.

Unit 9 – Growth and Genetics

Pandia Press 103
 Genetics Lab #1: I’M THE ONLY ME! – p. 2
:

104
Unit 9
– Growth and Genetics Pandia Press
 Genetics Lab #2: MY OWN FINGERPRINTS – instructions
Materials:
Lab sheet, pencil
1” wide transparent tape
3 extra people (to provide additional thumbprints)
Hand lens (optional)

Aloud: Do you know what you have that nobody else in the world has? You have your own set of
fingerprints that are unlike anybody else’s in the whole world! With all the people in the world, it’s
hard to imagine that no two people would have the same fingerprints. Today you are going to
analyze your fingerprints and see if you can match up a “mystery print” to the person it came
from.
Procedure:
1. On a piece of scratch paper, color in a heavy area of pencil. Make it dark enough so that the
pencil rubs off onto your finger. You may have to “reload” this area as you go along with the lab.
2. Starting with your left hand, rub your pinky in the pencil lead until it is coated. Have a helper
tear off about a 1” piece of tape. Put the tape on the finger so that the print transfers to the
tape. Remove from finger and tape it down in the first oval on your lab sheet.
3. Do the same for each finger on the left hand and then do the same for the right hand in the
ovals on the line below.
4. Analyze each print. You may want to use a hand lens to help you. On the lines under each print,
write whether that print is an arch, loop, or whorl. (There are others, but these are the major
ones. If your child has something different, choose the closest and call it good)
5. For #1, write how many of each print type you have.
6. Have 3 other people each do a right thumbprint for you and place in the boxes below. Write the
name of each print donor on the line below their print.
7. TEACHERS: Get an extra, mystery print from one of the donors – preferably the most unusual
so it will be easier for the students to distinguish.
8. Compare the known prints with the mystery print. Write who you think the print belongs to on
the line provided.

Conclusion / Discussion:
1. How can having individual prints help us?
2. How do we use fingerprints in our society? Could we do these things if people shared the same
fingerprints?

For More Lab Fun:

1. Do fingerprint art with one of Ed Emberley’s Print Drawing books.
2. Do fingerprints from both of your parents. Next, do fingerprints of some friends or neighbors.
Count how many arches, loops, and whorls your parents have and then how many your friends
have. Do your parents’ prints have more similarities to yours or not? Why might your prints be
more like your parents’?

Unit 9 – Growth and Genetics

Pandia Press 105
NAME ______________________________ DATE __________________
Genetics Lab #2: MY OWN FINGERPRINTS
These are the three basic types of fingerprints:

Unit 9 – Growth and Genetics

Pandia Press 107
 cover from Life_1_ebook1side-2.pdf 12/11/2008 7:56:23 AM

Thank you for previewing RSO Life (level one). We hope you are enjoying the course so far!

To purchase a print or eBook copy of RSO Life (level one), please visit:

www.pandiapress.com/?page_id=14

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 R.E.A.L. Science is a parent-friendly, rigorous,
and complete science course. Each book of R.E.A.L.
Science provides a curriculum for one school year that is
written for use indoors and out. It covers the microscopic as
well as the macroscopic and is sequential, so that one chapter
and one grade build upon another. Each topic of R.E.A.L. Science is presented
in an entertaining, story-like format and is followed by hands-on activities
along with background science information, parent instructions, labs, reading
lists, journaling ideas, and Web sites. With R.E.A.L. Science, your child will be
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Each book in the R.E.A.L Science series systematically presents important

scientific skills at age-appropriate levels, including:
• Scientific method (speculation, hypothesis, experimentation, conclusion)
• Observation skills
• Analytical skills (comparisons, forming questions, interpretation)
• Mathematics

R.E.A.L. Science - Life (level one) covers:

• the Human Body
• the Plant Kingdom
• the Animal Kingdom

“We have R.E.A.L. Science - Life and we *love* it. It is easy

enough for my daughter to comprehend, while providing
plenty of great information on each topic. The labs are a
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This is not a fluff program—this is real science! Overall, we
give this program a double thumbs up!”
— Angela, Dallas, TX