Web of Life introduces students to how all forms of life are interconnected and the consequences when an imbalance occurs.
Students investigate the structure and function of various mammalian skulls, skin, scat, and tracks to determine adaptations and behaviors that each animal has made for survival.
Energy transfer from the sun to plants to animals is stressed using examples of herbivores, omnivores, and carnivores, as well as predator-prey relationships.
Students are encouraged to communicate ways that changes in environment and habitat can affect these relationships.
This activity is recommended for grades 3, 4, and 5.
Click here to download the WEB – Grade 1 Standards
Life Science
- Students develop an understanding that Earth has supported, and continues to support, a large variety of organisms. These organisms can be distinguished by their physical characteristics, life cycles, and their different resource needs for survival. Different types of organisms live where there are different earth resources such as food, air, and water.
Core Ideas
- L1: Organisms are organized on a cellular basis and have a finite life span.
- L2: Organisms require a supply of energy and materials for which they often depend on, or compete with, other organisms.
- L3: Genetic information is passed down from one generation of organisms to another.
- L4: The unity and diversity of organisms, living and extinct, is the result of evolution.
Standards
- L1U1.6 – Observe, describe, and predict life cycles of animals and plants.
- L2U1.7 – Develop and use models about how living things use resources to grow and survive; design and evaluate habitats for organisms using earth materials.
- L2U1.8 – Construct and explanation describing how organisms obtain resources from the environment including materials that are used again by other organisms.
- L3U1.9 – Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to support an evidence-based explanation that plants and animals produce offspring of the same kind, but offspring are generally not identical to each other or their parents.
- L4U3.11 – Ask questions and explain how factors can cause species to go extinct.
Earth and Space Science
- Students develop an understanding that earth materials are essential for organism’s survival.
Core Ideas
- E1: The composition of the Earth and its atmosphere and the natural and human processes occurring within them shape the Earth’s surface and its climate.
Standards
- E1U1.5 – Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the properties of Earth materials and investigate how humans use natural resources in everyday life.
Social Studies
- The content areas of civics, economics, geography, history, and disciplinary skills and processes.
Standards
- SP3.5 – Ask and answer questions about explanations given.
- C1.2 – Follow agreed upon rules for discussions when responding to others and making decisions including consensus building procedures.
- C1.3 – Compare one’s own thoughts and opinions with others’ perspectives.
- G2.1 – Compare how human activities affect culture and the environment now and in the past.
Click here to download the WEB – Grade 2 Standards
Life Science
- Students develop and understanding that life on Earth depends on energy from the Sun or energy from other organisms to survive.
Core Ideas
- L1: Organisms are organized on a cellular basis and have a finite life span.
- L2: Organisms require a supply of energy and materials for which they often depend on, or compete with, other organisms
- L3: Genetic information is passed down from one generation of organisms to another.
- L4: The unity and diversity of organisms, living and extinct, is the result of evolution.
Standards
- L2U1.9 – Obtain, analyze, and communicate evidence that organisms need a source of energy, air, water, and certain temperature conditions to survive.
- L2U1.10 – Develop a model representing how life on Earth depends on energy from the Sun and energy from other organisms.
Earth and Space Science
- Students develop an understanding of the distribution and role of water and wind in weather, shaping the land, and where organisms live. Wind and water can also change environments, and students learn humans and other organisms can change environments too.
Core Ideas
- E1: The composition of the Earth and its atmosphere and the natural and human processes occurring within them shape the Earth’s surface and its climate.
Standards
- E1U1.4 – Observe and investigate how wind and water change the shape of the land resulting in a variety of landforms.
- E1U3.7 – Construct an argument from evidence regarding positive and negative changes in water and land systems that impact humans and the environment.
Social Studies
- The content areas of civics, economics, geography, history, and disciplinary skills and processes.
Standards
- SP3.5 – Ask and answer questions about explanations and arguments.
- SP4.1 – Generate possible reasons for an event or development.
- SP4.2 – Select which reasons might be more likely than others to explain an event or development.
- G2.2 – Describe how human activities affect the communities and the environment of places or regions.
Click here to download the WEB – Grade 3 Standards
Life Science
- Students develop an understanding of the flow of energy in a system beginning with the Sun to and among organisms. They also understand that plants and animals (including humans) have specialized internal and external structures and can respond to stimuli to increase survival.
Core Ideas
- L1: Organisms are organized on a cellular basis and have a finite life span.
- L2: Organisms require a supply of energy and materials for which they often depend on, or compete with, other organisms.
- L3: Genetic information is passed down from one generation of organisms to another.
- L4: The unity and diversity of organisms, living and extinct, is the result of evolution.
Standards
- L1U1.5 – Develop and use models to explain that plants and animals (including humans) have internal and external structures that serve various functions that aid in growth, survival, behavior, and reproduction.
- L2U1.6 – Plan and carry out investigations to demonstrate ways plants and animals react to stimuli.
- L2U1.7 – Develop and use system models to describe the flow of energy from the Sun to and among living organisms.
- L2U1.8 – Construct and argument from evidence that organisms are interdependent.
Earth and Space Science
- Students develop an understanding of how the Sun provides light and energy for Earth systems.
Core Ideas
- E1: The composition of the Earth and its atmosphere and the natural and human processes occurring within them shape the Earth’s surface and its climate.
Standards
- E1U1.4 – Construct and explanation describing how the Sun is the primary source of energy impacting Earth systems.
Social Studies
- The content areas of civics, economics, geography, history, and disciplinary skills and processes.
Standards
- 3.SP4.1 – Explain probable causes and effects of events.
Click here to download the WEB – Grade 4 Standards
Life Science
- Students develop an understanding of the diversity of past and present organisms, factors impacting organism diversity, and evidence of change of organisms over time.
Core Ideas
- L1: Organisms are organized on a cellular basis and have a finite life span.
- L2: Organisms require a supply of energy and materials for which they often depend on, or compete with, other organisms.
- L3: Genetic information is passed down from one generation of organisms to another.
- L4: The unity and diversity of organisms, living and extinct, is the result of evolution.
Standards
- L4U.11 – Analyze and interpret environmental data to demonstrate that species either adapt and survive or go extinct over time.
Earth and Space Science
- Students develop an understanding of how the Sun provides light and energy for Earth systems.
Core Ideas
- E1: The composition of the Earth and its atmosphere and the natural and human processes occurring within them shape the Earth’s surface and its climate.
Standards
- E1U3.9 – Construct and support an evidence-based argument about the availability of water and its impact on life.
Physical Science
- Students develop an understanding of how Earth’s resources can be transformed into different forms of energy.
Core Ideas
- P1: All matter in the Universe is made of very small particles.
- P2: Objects can affect other objects at a distance.
- P3: Changing the movement of an object requires a net force to be acting on it.
- P4: The total amount of energy in a closed system is always the same but can be transferred from one energy store to another during an event.
Standards
- P4U1.1 – Develop and use a model to demonstrate how a system transfers energy from one object to another even when the objects are not touching.
Social Studies
- The content areas of civics, economics, geography, history, and disciplinary skills and processes.
Standards
- SP4.1 – Explain probable causes and effects of events and developments.
Click here to download the WEB – Grade 5 Standards
Life Science
- Students develop an understanding of patterns and how genetic information is passed from generation to generation. They also develop the understanding of how genetic information and environmental features impact the survival of an organism.
Core Ideas
- L1: Organisms are organized on a cellular basis and have a finite life span.
- L2: Organisms require a supply of energy and materials for which they often depend on, or compete with, other organisms.
- L3: Genetic information is passed down from one generation of organisms to another.
- L4: The unity and diversity of organisms, living and extinct, is the result of evolution.
Standards
- L3U1.10 – Construct an explanation based on evidence that the changes in an environment can affect the traits in a population of organisms.
- L4U3.11 – Obtain, evaluate, and communicate evidence about how natural and human-caused changes to habitats or climate can impact populations.
- L4U3.1 – Construct an argument based on evidence that inherited characteristics can be affected by behavior and/or environmental conditions.
Physical Science
- Students develop an understanding that changes can occur to matter/objects on Earth or in space, but both energy and matter follow the pattern of being conserved during those changes.
Core Ideas
- P4: The total amount of energy in a closed system is always the same but can be transferred from one energy store to another during an event.
Standards
- P4U1.6 – Analyze and interpret data to determine how and where energy is transferred when objects move.
Social Studies
- The content areas of civics, economics, geography, history, and disciplinary skills and processes.
Standards
- G2.1 – Describe how natural and human-caused changes to habitats or climate can impact our world.
Please tell us about your Field Trip experience
Thank you for participating in the Sabino Canyon Field Trip Program. We are constantly striving to make our program valuable for children and teachers. Could you help us evaluate our performance by completing this quick survey?
Field Trips in the Canyon
Field trips are offered from mid-October through mid-April.
At this time, a maximum number of 40 students can be accommodated per day. Multiple classes may come together as long as the maximum is not exceeded.
Trips must begin between 9:00 and 10:30am. Allow 2 hours and 15 mins for the program, and add an additional 30 mins if your class(es) will be staying for lunch.
***Notice for SCVN Field Trips in the 2025-2026 school year***
To maintain safety for all users of Sabino Canyon, the US Forest Service is limiting all SCVN field trips to one bus and one lead car driven by an SCVN naturalist. No vehicles driven by parents or school personnel will be allowed into the Canyon. Teachers and chaperones who arrive at the Canyon in cars must park in the overflow parking lot, and have one of the following options for transportation to the teaching site: (1) ride in the school bus; (2) ride on a shuttle which will meet you at the overflow lot; or (3) hike in. Additional information will be available from the Day Coordinator for your trip or you can contact the Scheduler to discuss options.
We will begin accepting field trip requests for the ’25-’26 school year at 12:01 a.m. (midnight) on August 1st.
Please check back here at that time.