DALLAS – The Dallas Arboretum’s Education Department offers “Closing the Gap 5th Grade STAAR Review Series,” presented by Reliant, from April 2 to May 7, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. to help students prepare for these important state tests. Cost for the six-week series is $120, and individual sessions are $25. Each event includes full student access to the main garden and the Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden. Teachers and parents are encouraged to sign up today at https://www.dallasarboretum.org/education/other-programs/
Selena Wilson, Dallas Arboretum’s director of education, said, “The Dallas Arboretum wants to provide support to close current learning gaps caused by COVID-19. With our proven hands-on approach to learning, our Closing the Gap 5th Grade STAAR Review Series will place focus on some of the more highly tested TEKS and boost the confidence of your student scientist – all with authentic garden connections.”
Sorting Out Mixtures
April 2, 2022, 9:30-11:30 a.m.
Students will first differentiate between heterogeneous mixtures and solutions. They will then work in groups to create mixtures from a collection of beads and make observations of the physical properties of the mixture as compared to the physical properties of the ingredients. Students will then explore soil as a mixture and investigate the ingredients that make up soil.
TEKS Process Standards 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4
TEKS Readiness Standards 5.5(A)
TEKS Supporting Standards 5.5(C)(D)
Garden Art – Reflections & Refractions
April 9, 2022, 9:30-11:30 a.m.
Students will complete three investigations to explore how light travels. They will then be challenged to use what they learned about light to design a prototype of an art piece for the Dallas Arboretum.
TEKS Process Standards 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4
TEKS Readiness Standards 5.6(A)(C)
TEKS Supporting Standards 5.6(D)
Landform Formation
April 16, 2022, 9:30-11:30 a.m.
Students will first make observations of landforms and then work in groups to use stream tables to model and describe how wind, water, and ice lead to the formation of sand dunes, valleys canyons and delta.
TEKS Process Standards 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4
TEKS Readiness Standards 5.7(B)
TEKS Supporting Standards 3.7(B)
Exploring Day & Night
April 23, 2022, 9:30-11:30 a.m.
Students will first observe a video of the sun setting and discuss the question: Does the sun move across the sky? Students will then create a model to show that earth rotates on its axis once approximately every 24 hours to cause the day/night cycle and then create another model to show how people on earth experience day and night.
TEKS Process Standards 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4
TEKS Readiness Standards 5.8(C)
TEKS Supporting Standards 4.8(C), 5.8(D)
Eco Flow
April 30, 2022, 9:30-11:30 a.m.
Students will listen to a story about a forest ecosystem, work with group members to differentiate the living and nonliving things in the story and then describe how the components of a forest ecosystem interact. Students will then observe live organisms in a terrarium (tarantula, walking sticks, pill bugs or bess beetles) and identify the living and nonliving components of the terrarium and how these components interact.
TEKS Process Standards 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4
TEKS Readiness Standards 5.9(A)(B)
TEKS Supporting Standards 3.9(A), 3.10 (C), 5.10(C)
Amazing Adaptations: Plants
May 7, 2022, 9:30-11:30 a.m.
Students will first observe, discuss and compare the structures and functions of a variety of plants that have different roots, stems and leaves. Students will then read about a Texas environment, identify which plant would grow best in that environment and explain why.
TEKS Process Standards 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4
TEKS Readiness Standards 5.10(A)(B)
TEKS Supporting Standards 3.9(A), 3.10(C)
About the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden:
The Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden is located on the southeastern shore of White Rock Lake at 8525 Garland Road, Dallas, Texas 75218. The garden is also home of the nationally acclaimed Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden. It is open daily from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Daytime festival admission is $20 for adults, $16 for seniors 65 and older, $12 for children 2-12, and free for Arboretum members and children under two. Parking is $11 purchased online. The Dallas Morning News is the principal partner of the Dallas Arboretum. The Arboretum is supported, in part, by funds from the Dallas Park and Recreation Department. WFAA, Channel 8 is an official media sponsor for the Dallas Arboretum. For more information, visit www.dallasarboretum.org.
