Interactions and Interdependence
Lindsay Thurman and Jamie Klausing
Through observational and natural studies of ecosystems, students will select an organism to research. They will create a minimum of 3 artifacts to display at an Interactions in Ecosystems Exhibition Night to inform others of their organism, its needs, its role within its ecosystem, and how it interacts with other organisms and the environment.
Launch
Thinking Map
Inquiry Questions (for Students)
- What are some things that you notice? (on our nature walk? within our nets?) What are things you wonder about? (generate questions you have)
- How does the color of the flower affect the number of times a pollinator goes to it?
- If we did not see the organism, what evidence lets us know the organism was present?
- What does a seed need to grow?
- How do plants and animals get their energy?
- How do organisms interact with other organisms in the ecosystem?
- How do organisms interact with their physical environment?
- If a new species was introduced into the ecosystem, how would it affect different populations?
- How are ecosystems affected by abiotic factors (drought, flood, fertilizer applications, pesticide, use etc)
- What are characteristics of living things?
- How are biotic factors different from abiotic factors?
- Why should care if a population of organisms become endangered?
- How do the physical structures of an organism help it survive within its ecosystem?
- What happens if___what effect will it have on a population or populations within a food web?
Opportunities for Data Collection
- Observational
- observing organisms within their natural environment
- macro-invertebrate sampling- kick nets
- nature walks
- aquatic- lake, river, stream
- woodland
- grass area
- comparing biodiversity of macro-invertebrates at different sites on campus
- comparing biodiversity of plants in different sites on campus
- Experimental
- needs of plants- student designed experiment
- Modeling
- Computer simulation- population changes, model ecosystem
- Oh deer
- Great Lakes food web with string
- Written products:
- Informative writing: facts about the organism (poster, pamphlet, video, slides)
- what the organism is
- what ecosystem is it a part of / commonly found
- Identify whether it is a native or non native species to the ecosystem
- what its needs are
- what its role is in the ecosystem (producer, consumer, detritivore, decomposer )
- how the organism interacts with other organisms
- how the organism interacts with nonliving things in the ecosystem
- Descriptive writing: "explode a moment"/ "what am I?"- physical description of the organism
- Student selected artifact
- poem
- song
- art
- narrative ( A day in the life of....)
- charts/ graphs representing the impact on the environment
- Digital or audio artifacts
- Diorama or model
- Food web the organism is a part of