S.C. Science Standards: Life Science II.B.2.b Describe an organism by its niche in an ecosystem.
Overview: Students will be given an illustration of an organism. They will predict in which area of the intertidal zones they think it lives. On a class diagram of these zones the students will place their organism. They will then conduct research in order to locate the actual zone in which the organism is found. They will then share their findings with the class and relocate their organism, if necessary, to the correct place. They will illustrate the tidal zones and the organisms found there and label them correctly. This lesson should be done at the beginning of a unit on rocky intertidal zones.
Time Frame: Two 1-hour class periods (More may be needed if limited books and/or computers are available)
Resources:
Assessment: Following Day 2's activity, the teacher will assess the students with the following rubric:
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5 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
| Prediction |
Prediction made |
XXX |
XXX |
No prediction made |
| Research |
Student found true location of organism |
Student did research, but location not accurate |
XXX |
No research conducted |
| Tide Zone Illustration |
All tide zones are accurately illustrated & labeled |
Most tidal zones are accurately illustrated & labeled |
Only 1 tidal zone is illustrated accurately & labeled |
No tidal zones are accurately illustrated & labeled |
| Placement of Organisms |
19-20 organisms are accurately placed |
16-18 organisms are accurately placed |
13-15 organisms are accurately placed |
Less than 13 are accurately placed |
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18-20 = A
15-17 = B 12-14 = C
9-11 = D Below 9 = F |
Instructional Activity:
ADVANCED
PREPARATION: The teacher should prepare the organism illustrations by copying the appropriate pictures from a book or web site and cutting them out. Use the attached tidal zone illustration to prepare a large chart to place on the board for the students to see.
DAY 1: Introduce the activity by asking the students, "Have any of you ever been to the beach?" Let a few students respond. Then ask, "Have any of you ever seen a tide pool?" Let any volunteers respond and describe what they saw. Continue by randomly passing out one of the illustrations to each child. (If your class is larger than the number of illustrations, you may copy more pictures OR create more pictures of other organisms found in the tidal zone.) Tell the students to color the organism. If they can't tell what it is or do not have any prior experience with the organism, tell them to color it the way they think it would look.
Next, direct their attention to the prepared chart of the tidal zones. Tell them that each organism can be found in a specific area of the rocky intertidal zones. Let them discuss with their tablemates as to where they think their organism may be found. Tell them to come up to the chart and place their organism in the area they think it will be most likely found. Once all illustrations are posted, discuss what each organism is and where the students placed it. DO NOT correct any misconceptions yet. Do, however, make sure they know what their organism is before they begin their research.
Tell the students they will use the Internet, books, and encyclopedia to find out more about their organism. Two good sites are
http://library.thinkquest.org/J001418/index.html and
www.mbayaq.org/efc/efc_hp_rcky_exhibit.asp .They are to find out where it belongs in the tidal zones and what it preys on and what preys on it. They will work for the rest of the class period and finish for homework. They can use the web sites provided or go to a search engine such as Yahooligans, Searchopolis or Ask Jeeves. If a student does not have access at home to the Internet, allow him to use the school's computer. Let him take books home to complete the task. Make sure the students understand they will have the opportunity to change where their organism is tomorrow. Tell them they will also tell the rest of the class what they found out about their organism.
DAY 2: Ask students, "Who found they had placed their organism in the wrong tidal zone?" Allow these students, one at a time, to replace their organism on the chart in the correct tidal zone. Let each one tell the others what they found out. Allow time for discussion of why the students think their organism was found in that particular area. (FOR THE TEACHER: It is currently believed that the zones are defined by predation at the bottom level. For instance, predation by sea stars at the bottom causes mussels to only grow so far down the zone. It is also believed that abiotic factors control the upper levels. Temperature controls which organisms live in the upper zones. There are some exceptions to these beliefs and research continues. The students should understand that science is not static and these beliefs could, and probably will, change in the near future. For our purposes, we have used these intertidal zones:
(1) upper intertidal - the splash zone. These moist rocks provide an environment for the growth of algae. Periwinkles and limpets graze on the algae in this zone. Lichens, mites, blue-green algae, snails, dog whelks, and barnacles are also found here.
(2) mid-intertidal - This area is occupied largely by mussels, barnacles, rockweed, red algae, hermit crabs.
(3) lower intertidal - This area is below the seaweeds. At low tide spaces between the rocks form tide pools. Organisms commonly found here include mussels, fish (sculpin), sand dollar, sea stars, sea urchins, sea anemones, chitons.
(4) subtidal - This area is underwater and has an abundance of life. Some organisms found here include bladder kelp, lobsters, crabs, octopus, sponges, hydroids, sea cucumbers, sea slugs, and fish.)
Once all the organisms are placed in the correct zones, and discussion for the possible reasons has taken place, allow students time to illustrate the rocky intertidal zone with the organisms in the appropriate places. They may complete this illustration in their Science Logs or on a white piece of drawing paper. Collect them and score them with the scoring guide. If they are done on drawing paper, you can post them in the school hallway or on the school web page.
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