In this lesson, students explore the processes involved in getting food from the farm to the table. Note: This lesson was created in accordance with the VIF Global Competence Indicators for Grade 4. For more information about VIF and these indicators, please visit https://www.vifprogram.com/. This lesson was developed by Brenda Todd as part of their completion of the North Carolina Global Educator Digital Badge program. This lesson plan has been vetted at the local and state level for standards alignment, Global Education focus, and content accuracy.

This article illustrates the question how and why blowfish can pump themselves up to more than double their volume. It provides details about the scales which have turned into spikes that so that the fish can turn it into ball in situations of danger. The article also mentions that the fish is very poisonous but yet considered a delicacy in Japan with the poisounous parts cut out. The article is written for native speakers age 8 and up.

This scientific article illuminates the adaptation of chameleons to their environment. The text starts with basic facts about the geographic distribution and number of varieties of this species. It then explains how the color pigments in the skin become visible and invisible by cell contraction and how its tongue is adapted to catching prey. The last sections refer to camouflage and the size of the smallest chameleons. The text is child-friendly and written for native speakers 8 years and up.

This scientific article provides information and picture material to discuss the four functions of feathers: to fly, to protect from water, to protect from cold, to attract females. The text is written in child-friendly language for readers 8 years and up.

This scientific article explains the ethymology, the origin, and the retrieval of fossiles in quarries. An audio link provides an impression of children looking for fossiles in a quarry. The article is written for native speakers age 8 and up. The audio is spoken at a natural pace.

This article startswith illuminating the spectrum of visible and invisible light. It then defines the electromagnetic nature of light in form of minute energy packages. In the last section the text focuses on the danger of sunlight, which is mostly in the invisible part of the spectrum - the ultraviolet light. The article is written for native speakers age 8 and up.

This article opens with the question how to not lose orientation on an ocean with no landmarks nearby. The next section explains how longitudes and latitudes help for orientation in combination with information about time and the position of the sun. The last paragraph illustrates why longitudes were established only 250 years ago due to lack of exact clocks. The article is written for native speakers age 9 and up.

This article compares naturally occuring magnets with industrially produced magnets. It then explains how magnets attract metals and how a compass works. The text is written for native speakers age 8 and up.

This scientific article illuminates different features of owls: silent flight as an adaptation to night hunt, food, European varieties, social life, adaptation to night sight and hearing as well as the turning head. An audio report provides additional information. The text is appropriate for children age 10 and up.

This is a scientific article providing the most important facts about ants. Areas of focus are: specialization and organization within the state, localization and communication, physical features, defense. The article is well structured with headers and sub headers. Each section is illustrated with a photography. The text is written in child-friendly language and aims at native speakers of 10 years and up.

This scientific article discusses three different hypothesis regarding the extinction of dinosaurs: 1. a meteor impact, 2. a vulcanic eruption, 3. a slow evolutional change makes space for new species. A weblink opens a page with interview questions directed to a German dinosaur researcher. The text child-friendly and appropriate for children of age 8 and up.

This scientific article provides an overview over static electricty. It starts with the discovery of static electricity and the ethymology of the word "electron." Then two different experiments are explained based on static electricity. In the last part the article explains the phenomenon on a molecular level. The text is written for native speakers age 9 and up.

This scientific article describes the different adaptations of flies to their environmental challenges. It explains the funtion of legs as taste and movement sensors, the spead of processing in a fly brain, and territorial behavior. Additional links provide supportive information for each of the sections. The text is written for native speakers age 8 and up.

This article describes the features, adaptation, nutrition, hybernation habits of one of the most typical German animals: the hedgehog. It also explains how to take care for hedgehogs that would not survive the winter and how to provide natural winter shelter for wild hedgehogs.The text is written for natural speakers age 8 and up.

This scientific article focuses on the adaptive capabilities of animals using the example of the Ichtyosaur. It first explains how the Ichtyosaur found a new territory with better survival chances in the sea and, thus adapted its bodily features to life in the sea. It then explains how the Ichtysaurus eventually lost the competition over food to a new species, which was better adapted and of comparable size. In consequence the Ichtysaurus died out long before the mass dying of dinosaurs.

This scientific article provides anatomical features and the adaptive advantages of those features of owls and giraffes. The text is written for native speakers 9 years and up.

This scientific article iluminates with three different examples, how animals produce venom and for which reason: poison dart frogs absorbs it by feeding on venomous plants; spitting cobras produce their own venom within the system; puffer fishes probably eat bacteria that produce the venom. The text is written for native speakers 9 years and up.

The article attends to three topics: 1. the smallest dinosaur in the world found in Bavaria, 2. the largest dinosaur found in Bavaria, and 3. types of rhinoceros that lived in Bavaria. Each part has a link to more detailed information on an additional page. The text is written in child-friendly language and appropriate for children age 8 and up.

Based on the Guided Comprehension Model developed by Maureen McLaughlin and Mary Beth Allen, this lesson introduces students to the comprehension strategy of monitoring.

In this lesson, students understand how Burroughs overcame challenges in his career to reach personal goals.