Grade 5. During this unit students work to answer the question, "How does a nurse log help other things live and grow?"

Students begin their exploration of nurse logs by considering how the plant life that grows on them gets the matter needed to grow. They plan, carry out, and evaluate investigations that provide them with evidence that plants get the matter they need to grow primarily from air and water and the energy they need to grow from the sun. As students build their understanding of matter and energy transfer, they investigate how there are also many animals that live in, on, and around nurse logs. They model to explain the transfer of energy and matter between plants, animals, the nurse log, and the sun. Students figure out that decomposers are a vital component of the nurse log system. Finally, students consider how new species can disrupt that balance and flow of matter and energy, using the example of American bullfrogs that have been recently introduced to nurse log ecosystems.

Unit materials are available as a 1-class unit kit (item #523651) and a 1-class refurbishment set (item #523654). Carolina Certified Version*.

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*All enhancements to materials and instruction for this Carolina Certified Version of the unit are approved by OpenSciEd® to preserve the integrity of the storyline and the instructional model.