Going Out on a Limb-Plant Communities of Wisconsin Central Sand Plains

Created Feb. 6, 2024 by Victoria Rydberg-Nania, Sandy Benton, Pamela Bilderback, Kristin Grooms, Michele Crispell


Grade Level: 4


Lesson author(s):

Pam Bilderback

Michele Crispell

Kristin Grooms

Sandy Benton

Instructional Materials Needed:

Wisconsin Forestree 

LEAF Curriculum

Discovery Education

Units of Study in Reading. Calkins, L.

Units of Study in Writing. Calkins, L

Local Experts:

Mike Hartz- Wisconsin Master Naturalist (564-2430: crkside1652@gmail.com)

Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources donation of trees

Circle Tree Farm (Peggy Werner)

Wisconsin Standards for English Language Arts Addressed (ELA Full Document or Literacy in All Subject Areas Full Document):

4-ELA.W.2  Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

4-ELA.SL.4.1Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

4-ELA.RI.9 Integrate information from two texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably. 
4-LS1-1.4.1 A system can be described in terms of its components and their interactions.

Wisconsin Standards for Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Standards Addressed (Full Document or searchable spreadsheet):

ELS.C1 Students develop and connect with their sense of place and well-being through observation and questioning.

ELS.EX2 Students evaluate relationships and system structures to demonstrate the interdependence of natural and cultural systems.

Inquiry Experience 2

Based on https://www.uwsp.edu/cnr-ap/leaf/SiteAssets/Pages/Wisconsin-Forestree/Lesson3S.pdf

Setting and Estimated Time:  Part 1 in the classroom (60 minutes), Part 2 Field trip to Mirror Lake (all day), Part 3 in the classroom for assessment (45 minutes)

Learning Target:

I can describe how glacial history has effected the formation of lakes and influenced the growth of plant communities around and in the lakes in Wisconsin.

Formative Assessment:

Natural Divisions Information Chart with explanation question.

Location: Classroom and Mirror Lake State Park

Procedure:

Materials: page 4 from Forest Tree Lesson 3 linked above.


This multi-day learning experience involves close reads of 5 Texts: Landform Map of Wisconsin, The Life and Death of Glacier video, Wisconsin Glaciation Map, glacier demonstration, and landscape of Mirror Lake State Park (field trip experience).

1. Before going to Mirror Lake prepare learning center for students to work in small groups to conduct inquiry using the following texts. Students should take notes to grow their understandings of the relationship between Wisconsin's glacial past and its influence on the plant communities of the Central Sand Plains region.

Wisconsin Glaciation - 

  1. Landform map of Wisconsin - Discuss patterns, discriminate between flat and rough areas. Brainstorm ideas about why the landscape looks the way it does. Discuss how glaciers shape the land.View on Discovery Education, 

  2. The Life and Death of Glaciers video (Note: This video is only available to Discovery Education subscribers).  Answer: Is the title, "The Life and Death of Glaciers" an appropriate title for this video?  Why or why not?  Give evidence to support your answer.

  3. Wisconsin Glaciation Map - Identify the Driftless Area, the Sandy Outwash area. Discuss how other areas from Wisconsin differ. Discuss Lake Wisconsin and what created the Sandy Outwash area.

  4. Glacier Demonstration

  5. Use the Natural Divisions Information Chart to identify and label each area.  Students should locate what area Mirror Lake is located in and predict what they will be able to observe and identify when they go to Mirror Lake.

  6. Field trip to Mirror Lake.  Students will hike on 2 trails and go on a guided canoe trip.  Upon returning to school students will use the Natural Divisions Information Chart to see if their predictions were correct and write an explanation of why they did not see some things they thought they would and anything that surprised them.


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