Fifth & Sixth Grade Wildlife Curriculum

Fifth Grade Waldorf Tie-In: The Waldorf fifth grade theme asks “Who am I? “ as a child comes into his/herself. In science they study plant life with botany. The study of history brings the child into him or herself by beginning in ancient times and working up to the present day. Geography brings the child into the world by starting locally and expanding to the whole planet. This is a good time to bring in non-native species of wildlife into the curriculum and talk about animals in other areas of the world. Although Waldorf does not have the child explore their own physiology until sixth grade, exploring the physiology of wildlife is the perfect preparation for studying their own physiology in sixth grade and provides them with simpler models they can build upon later. Most children have a favorite animal they would love to learn more about at this age so their motivation to learn about the internal workings of this animal will be able to fuel their passion for wildlife physiology. Sixth Grade Waldorf Tie-In: At twelve, the child experiences another change At this age the thinking begins to change from the picture building of the child to the intellectual (logical or cause and effect thinking) of the adult. Wildlife food-webs fit perfectly into these formats. The student studies geology and begins physics with the exploration of optics and acoustics and the properties of heat, magnetism and electricity. When students study volcanoes, earthquakes and other natural phenomena they can easily integrate wildlife relationships into these lessons. Sixth graders learn about the structural basis of modern society with the study of Roman law. This fits in perfectly with the concept of biodiversity and how the student can impact what is happening around them in the world of wildlife management. The concepts of writing to one’s representative or other forms of social action can be explored. Their study of Roman Law can be directly applied to what they find is happening in the modern legal system as far as process and wildlife laws.