Fermilab LInC Online

Community and Ecosystems

Unit Description Before LInC

Summary

Scenario

Student Pages

Index of Projects


Before the LInC project, this project was taught around the materials that were traditional used in the curriculum. Students began the unit by reading several chapters about Ecosystems in their Science textbook. Several movies were shown to the students. Next, the teacher facilitated several large group discussions about the causes and effects of ecosystems, food chains, recycling and prey/predator relationships. The teacher encouraged the students to discuss the "big questions" such as "How are living things classified?", "How do things obtain and use energy?", How are parts of the ecosystems related and how do they interact?", "How do communities of living things change over a period of time?", and "How do we as humans interact with the environment?".

The students participated in several hands-on learning activities including:
Recycle Camp
. A three day outing involving many hands-on activities to help students to focus on the relationships of Pollution and Recycling.
Bugs and Food Chains. In this activity students will construct an insect diner and serve food
samples to the invited insects. Students will observe and record food chain events.
Owl Pellets: This activity will encourage exploration and discussion of group members.
Purpose:
1)To teach a part of the natural food chain, and 2) To teach skeleton parts by comparison.
Objectives: Students will be able to: 1) Identify a food chain sequence, 2) Classify pellet parts,
3) Compare, identify, and record the rodent skeletal parts to a rodent skeletal diagram,
4) Compare, identify, and record the rodent skeletal parts to a human skeletal diagram.
5) Construct a rodent (partial) skeleton from the skeletal parts found in the pellet.
6) Compare and record owl pellets from various states if available.

Forest in a Mason Jar.
In this activity students will conduct an experiment using soil, water,
seeds, a plant, and a jar; and then draw a poster to represent their observations and findings.
The major purpose of this activity is for students to recognize the process of succession. The objective include that students will be able to: 1) observe and describe succession; and
2) summarize what they have learned about how environments can change.
Cricket Zone, observing animal behavior (know about animal behavior to protect endangered species). In this activity students will observe, manage, and time crickets. The purpose of this activity is for students:
To discover through the use of inference and deduction the needs and wants of animals
To learn how to carefully observe and record behavior systematically as the animal moves through its habitat, to learn about sampling to get statistics for inference
To learn how to graph and what a graph can do.
To learn about caring for and being kind to all living creatures.
To learn about variables.

The teacher then asked the students to each select one animal from the 5 groups of animals, (Mammals, fish, birds, reptiles, & amphibians). The students chose partners and worked on their reports as a pair. Based on this animal, the student team wrote an oral presentation, showing their acquired knowledge of the life science objectives.As part of their report each pair of students created a diorama using a large box, which displayed their animals food chain and prey/predator environment. The students were encouraged to keep journals describing their research.

The students were given time to get started on their research at the public library and the school's media center.They were encouraged to use classroom reference materials and limited parental guidance. The teacher answered questions as they surfaced. Computers, CD-ROMs and/or the Internet was not used for this project.

To finish, student pairs gave an oral presentation to the class about what they found in their research. The student were encouraged to keep journals describing their research. A review of the materials was given by the teacher. A written exam was given following the review.

The report, presentation, exam, and classroom participation were used to assess student learning.


 

Created for the Fermilab LInC program sponsored by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory Education Office, Friends of Fermilab, United States Department of Energy, Illinois State Board of Education, and North Central Regional Technology in Education Consortium (NCRTEC) which is operated by North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL).

 

Author(s): Cheryl Earnley Dove, dovec@mail.resa.net
School: South Redford School District, Redford, Michigan, 48239
Created: May 20, 1998 - Updated: May 26, 1998
URL: /lincon/w98/projects/cdove/pre.html