Our Arizona Desert
by Susan Snell
1. Writing
1.1. Students will have opportunities to describe the desert and desert animals. They will use Thinking Maps (i.e. circle maps, tree maps, bubble maps) as a tool to brainstrom about the topics that they wish to write/illustrate about.
2. Social Studies
2.1. Students will discuss and evaluate how people live in the desert. They will analyze how people in the desert use resources like water and land.
3. Science
3.1. Students will take nature walks to the school butterfly garden, observe the desert plants and animals in the garden, and document what they have learned in their science journals. They will also compare/contract the plants and animals that they observed with those featured in the non-fiction texts on the desert in Arizona.
4. Fine Arts/Music
4.1. Students will sing learning songs about the desert and replicate desert landscapes and animals using paints, chalk, pencils, and other art materials.
5. Reading
5.1. Students will listen to and respond to stories about the desert and desert animals in Arizona. They will also have an opportunity to discuss the elements of non-fiction texts that they will be responding to.
6. Math
6.1. Students will identify plane and three dimensionals shapes that they see in the desert landscape and animals and be able to use shapes to replicate pictures.
