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Core
Curriculum Objective: Determine what adaptations
and environmental conditions are necessary for an
organism to survive and reproduce in specific
ecosystems. (8LV-3)
Overview:
First the teacher will go over terms related to
ecosystems. Review why adaptations are important for a
living organism to survive in a particular ecosystem.
Students will look at the snowshoe rabbit and
identify what makes up its ecosystem and the traits
needed to survive there. They will use what they know to create their own fictional
creature and identify what makes up its ecosystem, the
traits that help it survive and reproduce, its
adaptations, and how it fits into the ecosystem.
Focus/Essential
Question(s):
The purpose of this activity is for the students to
identify the physical/psychological traits needed for
organisms to survive in an ecosystem. They will use
their imagination to create a fictional creature and
show how the species survives and is an essential part
of an ecosystem. What are its adaptations?
What does it eat?
Time
Frame: Two 60-minute classes
One
class to review ecosystems, food chains, means of
passing on traits, and start teaching adaptations.
One
class to finish teaching adaptations, and for students
to start creating their creature
Resource
Material(s):
Internet
access
Food
chain worksheet
Assessment:
Students will be assessed on the completion of
their homework: satisfactory (completed/fairly
accurate), or unsatisfactory (incomplete/not
accurate). They will also be assessed by a grade sheet
where the teacher will look to see if their creature
can survive in their ecosystem, the food chain is
practical for that ecosystem, it is creative, neat and
on time.
Instructional
Activities:
Day
One
1.
Do It Now Activity:
Have students define these terms
Producer
Herbivore
Carnivore
Consumer
Decomposer
Scavenger
2.
Go over terms
3.
To introduce the students to the topic the teacher
will give notes by asking the students questions about
the topics the will need to know (underlined).
"What is an ecosystem?" (The interaction of
a community of organisms within its environment).
"Give an examples of an ecosystem", (salt
marsh, pond, woods, sandy desert, etc.).
"What kind of interactions occur in these
ecosystems?" (Predator, prey, mating, fighting
for territory, search for shelter, etc.) "What is
a food chain?" (Draw an example on the board).
4.
The teacher will now ask the students, "what is
an adaptation?" (The ability of a species to
survive in a particular environment because of a
specialized physical characteristic or a specialized
behavior). Can
you give examples of specialized physical
characteristics that may help an organism in a certain
environment?" (Webbed feet -swimming in water,
hard outer shell- shelter, camouflage coat -blends
with surroundings, etc). Can you give examples of specialized behavior that may help
an organism survive in a certain environment?
(Hibernating in the winter, flying south, living in
herds/packs, etc).
5.
Explain to the students that these are the kind of
things that determine survival in an ecosystem.
Now they will look at how a particular organism
survives in its ecosystem, the snowshoe rabbit. Either
have students work off the Internet, or make copies of
the web page (dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/ce/eek/nature/hare.htm).
The students will need to
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Identify
five adaptations of the snow shoe rabbit and how
they benefit from each adaptation.
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Identify
a producer, herbivore, carnivore, and decomposer
in the ecosystem.
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Draw
a food chain for the ecosystem; include a
producer, herbivore, carnivore, and decomposer.
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For
homework the students will complete the worksheet
on food chains and webs.
Day
Two:
-
Go
over worksheet
-
Review/finish
yesterday's notes
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Introduce
MY LIVING CREATION project. Go over student
expectations.
-
Student
work time.
Give
the students three or four days to work on this at
home. The
day before it is due, assign the self-evaluation guide
for homework. Post
the projects around the room or school.
SELF
EVALUATION GUIDE
| Did
you ... |
Yes |
No |
Not
Needed |
| Show
and properly label all that is required?
CHECK EACH ITEM? |
|
|
|
| Do
you have a title, and key for you product? |
|
|
|
| Is
your name and class info clearly visible? |
|
|
|
| Is
the product neat and clear?
Could anything be done to make it more
visually appealing? |
|
|
|
| Spelling
and grammar |
|
|
|
| Does
written work relate to your visual
representations? |
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*
If you need more space write on the back
Write
the goal of your assignment:
What
steps did you take to complete it?
What
problems did you run in to?
How
did you solve them?
Looking
back on the process you used to complete the
assignment, what should you have done differently?
Name____________________________
Class____________________________
MY
LIVING CREATION
You
are to create a living organism (plant, animal,
insect, decomposer, etc.).
You are the expert on this organism, you must
tell about its ecosystem and how your creature was an
important part of it. Use this grade sheet to see how this project will be graded.
Make sure you give plenty of details about each
area. Be
creative and have fun with it!
_____
(10) Title-name of organism and classify it as
a producer, herbivore, carnivore, decomposer or
scavenger.
_____
(20) Visual representation- draw or make a
model
_____
(15) Ecosystem- describe the characteristics of
the ecosystem. What is the temperature? Is it on land
or in water? What are some of the non-living aspects
of the ecosystem? What plants and animals live here?
This part should be AT LEAST a paragraph.
_____
(20) Adaptations- identify at least two.
Explain why they are important and how they turned
into an adaptation.
_____
(15) Food Web- Draw and label one for your
ecosystem, include your organism.
It must include 2-3 producers, 5-7 consumers,
and a decomposer.
_____
(10) Organization- grade sheet, name class,
date, everything is in order following the grade
sheet.
_____
(10) Timeliness-each day it's late you loose 2
points
_____
(100) Total Points
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