Green School Lesson Plan
Kindergarten
Horseshoe Crabs
(Throughout the school year. Release in the Spring.)
Objective: The overall objective is to connect children with nature and to bring nature into the classroom. Students will gain an understanding of an often misunderstood sea creature—the horseshoe crab—and its importance in nature. Students will observe the growth of the horseshoe crabs throughout the year.
Essential Questions: Where does a horseshoe crab live (what is its environment)? How does it see, move, eat, and protect itself? How does it help humans? How is it important to the balance of nature and shorebirds?
Materials: Live horseshoe crabs and their shells (eggs collected and crabs released in conjunction with a Maryland Department of Natural Resources biologist). Glass tank (equipment provided through DNR). The CD, Green Eggs and Sand (curriculum provided by the Horseshoe Crab/Shorebird Education Project); a horseshoe crab video; and a book, Crab Moon by Ruth Horowitz (published by Candlewick Press).
Subjects Covered/Skills: Science—the importance of horseshoe crabs in nature; life cycles; ecosystem niches; healthy habitats; species interdependence. Reading—including listening for facts, retention, and vocabulary development. Students practice skills in handling, nurturing, sharing, observation, speaking, and asking questions.
Activity: Kindergarten students raise, care for, and observe horseshoe crabs in the classroom. Experiential learning occurs as students gently touch their shells at different growth stages. Students relate what they observe about the horseshoe crabs growing in our classroom to what they read and watch through books and films. We discuss how horseshoe crabs have survived since the days of the dinosaurs. Students learn about the life cycle of the horseshoe crab. We talk about how the Chesapeake Bay provides habitat for horseshoe crabs and its place in the ecosystem. By raising horseshoe crabs, Kindergarten students learn to care for animals in nature. At intervals, students note the growth of the crabs and feed and care for them.
Assessment/Celebration: Teachers assess learning through discussion and answering questions after learning and exploring information about horseshoe crabs. There is a celebration in Kindergarten when we release the crabs in the Chesapeake Bay at Sandy Point State Park, with the guidance of the DNR representative.
Resources/Partnerships: Department of Natural Resources’s “Raising Horseshoe Crabs in the Classroom” program in consultation with an educational specialist from the Maryland DNR. Stories about horseshoe crabs, CD Green Eggs and Sand, Horseshoe Crab video, computer sites – www.dnr.state.md.us/education/horseshoecrab/raising.html, www.lsc.usgs.gov/AEB/2065/index.asp, www.K12.de.us/warner/introhsc.html, www.horseshoecrab.org
Kindergarten
Horseshoe Crabs
(Throughout the school year. Release in the Spring.)
Objective: The overall objective is to connect children with nature and to bring nature into the classroom. Students will gain an understanding of an often misunderstood sea creature—the horseshoe crab—and its importance in nature. Students will observe the growth of the horseshoe crabs throughout the year.
Essential Questions: Where does a horseshoe crab live (what is its environment)? How does it see, move, eat, and protect itself? How does it help humans? How is it important to the balance of nature and shorebirds?
Materials: Live horseshoe crabs and their shells (eggs collected and crabs released in conjunction with a Maryland Department of Natural Resources biologist). Glass tank (equipment provided through DNR). The CD, Green Eggs and Sand (curriculum provided by the Horseshoe Crab/Shorebird Education Project); a horseshoe crab video; and a book, Crab Moon by Ruth Horowitz (published by Candlewick Press).
Subjects Covered/Skills: Science—the importance of horseshoe crabs in nature; life cycles; ecosystem niches; healthy habitats; species interdependence. Reading—including listening for facts, retention, and vocabulary development. Students practice skills in handling, nurturing, sharing, observation, speaking, and asking questions.
Activity: Kindergarten students raise, care for, and observe horseshoe crabs in the classroom. Experiential learning occurs as students gently touch their shells at different growth stages. Students relate what they observe about the horseshoe crabs growing in our classroom to what they read and watch through books and films. We discuss how horseshoe crabs have survived since the days of the dinosaurs. Students learn about the life cycle of the horseshoe crab. We talk about how the Chesapeake Bay provides habitat for horseshoe crabs and its place in the ecosystem. By raising horseshoe crabs, Kindergarten students learn to care for animals in nature. At intervals, students note the growth of the crabs and feed and care for them.
Assessment/Celebration: Teachers assess learning through discussion and answering questions after learning and exploring information about horseshoe crabs. There is a celebration in Kindergarten when we release the crabs in the Chesapeake Bay at Sandy Point State Park, with the guidance of the DNR representative.
Resources/Partnerships: Department of Natural Resources’s “Raising Horseshoe Crabs in the Classroom” program in consultation with an educational specialist from the Maryland DNR. Stories about horseshoe crabs, CD Green Eggs and Sand, Horseshoe Crab video, computer sites – www.dnr.state.md.us/education/horseshoecrab/raising.html, www.lsc.usgs.gov/AEB/2065/index.asp, www.K12.de.us/warner/introhsc.html, www.horseshoecrab.org