Unit Overview

This curriculum guide will help facilitate instruction and implementation of a student project on ethnobotany. The guide will focus on the implementation of the project in Biology 20, Unit B of the Alberta Science Curriculum. Within the guide is step by step instruction for six lesson plans and a final project. It is estimated that the length of time for each lesson is around 80 minutes but may vary depending on student readiness and prior knowledge. As well, the pacing of online courses may vary, for example 2- 3 lessons may be sufficient per week.

An overview of the lessons and sequence are listed below. For the full lesson details and specific sequencing, please navigate to the lessons under the module tab.

Lesson 1

    • Big idea: The biosphere is made up of ecosystems.

    • Students are introduced to place and project.

Before the lesson begins:

Ensure that your LMS or class delivery platform is set up with appropriate documents and discussion forums that support the introduction of this project. You may want to provide the project overview (see appendix) as is or adapt the material to your specific LMS.

Documents for students:

  • Project Overview

  • Lesson 1 - Activity 1

  • Permission form



Discussion boards for students:

Google Earth or Google maps


Safety Protocols

Set up a discussion board or a shared document with rationale for safety and where students can contribute ideas of what sorts of considerations they should make when planning for safety. Consider using the ABC template as a shared document (see appendix), where students, as a class can provide safety concerns for each letter of the alphabet, e.g. Allergies, Bears, Creatures...Weather....

Rationale: Students will be going outside and need to take into consideration a variety of safety measures. These safety measures need to be approved by both the teacher and a guardian before students can engage in outdoor exploration.

Student to-do checklist

  • Choose a local area

  • Develop a safety plan and get it approved

  • Identify traditional land

  • Complete student activity sheet

  • Guardian to sign permission slip


During the lesson

Keep students on track by monitoring discussion boards and providing feedback and technical support where needed

After the lesson

Review student safety plans and approve them before the next lesson. Make sure that students have also had their safety plans approved by guardians and signed the permission slip.

Lesson 2

    • Big idea: Humans are interconnected to the environment.

    • Students will uncover the term ethnobotany and explore local ecosystems.

Before the lesson begins:

Ensure that your LMS or class delivery platform is set up with appropriate documents and discussion forums that support this lesson.

Documents for students:

  • Reflection Activity


Discussion boards for students:

Create a discussion board to facilitate a discussion on ethnobotany. Use the LINK strategy outlined in Lesson 2.

Prepare a google map that can be shared by the class

Student to-do checklist

  • Contribute to class discussion forum

  • Explore your chosen area

    • Take: one short video, one recording, and at least one picture

    • Complete reflection activity

  • Contribute to collaborative class map

  • Get inspired by exploring ArcGIS StoryMaps


During the lesson

Keep students on track by monitoring discussion boards and providing feedback and technical support where needed

After the lesson

Review that all students have successfully contributed to the map.

Lesson 3

    • Big Ideas: 1) Ecosystems are made up of distinct abiotic and biotic characteristics; 2) Resources need to be valid and reliable.

    • Students develop criteria for online searches and making judgements about authoritative sources.

    • Students perform an online search about their local ecosystem.

Before the lesson begins:

Ensure that your LMS or class delivery platform is set up with appropriate documents and discussion forums that support the introduction of this project. You may want to provide the project overview (see appendix) as is or adapt the material to your specific LMS.

Documents for students:

  • Evaluating sources handout (can also be uploaded to LMS as text content)

  • CRAAP Framework

    • Handout copy (PDF)

    • Blank copy (PDF)

  • Google Slides: Evaluating Resources Activities


Discussion boards for students:

  • Set up the discussion forum for the CRAAP analysis & discussion

  • Set up the discussion forum for the NatureLynx analysis & discussion


LMS Content

  • Evaluating resources, text-based intro

  • Videos: Embed the Research 101 Videos: Credibility is Contextual and Searching is Strategic

  • Evaluating Resources Activity, Google Slides


NatureLynx

  • Create a discussion space where students can discuss the NatureLynx questions.


Student to-do checklist

  • Read the post on evaluating resources

  • Watch the Research 101 videos (credibility and searching)

  • Check out the CRAAP interactive image and read the framework handout

  • Complete the CRAAP activity

  • Participate in the Evaluating Resources activity (Google Slides)

  • Evaluate NatureLynx and post your assessment in the discussion forum


During the lesson

Keep students on track by monitoring discussion boards and providing feedback and technical support where needed.

After the lesson

Review posts and confirm understanding. Identify any topics to revisit.

Lesson 4

    • Big Idea: Information needs to be classified for many types of systems.

    • Students will investigate technology (e.g. Naturelynx) that uses different types of classification systems (e.g. Taxonomy and Folksonomy) and will be introduced to binomial nomenclature.

Before the lesson begins:

Ensure that your LMS or class delivery platform is set up with appropriate documents and discussion forums that support the introduction of this project. You may want to provide the project overview (see appendix, TO BE ADDED LATER) as is or adapt the material to your specific LMS.

Documents for students:

  • Activity 1: Taxonomy vs. Folksonomy Activity

  • Activity 2: Classifying Information Activity


Discussion boards for students:

  • Discussion: prepare discussion board for the reflection question (include phrasing from lesson 4)

  • Padlet: Taxonomy & Folksonomy


LMS Content

  • Videos: Taxonomy: Life’s Filing System; Binomial Nomenclature

  • Readings: Let’s Talk Science: Plant Taxonomy

  • Comparing taxonomic & scientific naming resources

  • Activity 2 exemplar


Student to-do checklist

  • Complete lesson 4 course content (readings & videos)

  • Complete Activity 1: Taxonomies vs. Folksonomies

  • Discussion Post, Reflection: Why do we require taxonomies, controlled terms, in some instances and not others? Why do we need taxonomies to help understand biodiversity? Does authority (see lesson 3) play a role in taxonomies and naming?

  • Choose a plant from those collected during Lesson 2 and complete Activity 2: Investigating Taxonomies & Classifying a Plant


During the lesson

Keep students on track by monitoring the padlet, discussion board, and providing feedback and technical support where needed. Set deadlines for the padlet, discussion board, and assignment submissions. Check with students who have not yet posted or submitted materials by the deadline.

After the lesson

Check assignments 1 & 2 for understanding and provide feedback.

Lesson 5

    • Big Idea: Humans activity has intended and unintended consequences for the environment.

    • Students will uncover the relationship that humans have to the land and be introduced to citizen science and environmental stewardship.

Before the lesson begins:

Ensure that your LMS or class delivery platform is set up with appropriate documents and discussion forums that support the introduction of this project. You may want to provide the project overview as is or adapt the material to your specific LMS.

Documents for students

  • Project Overview


Discussion boards for students

  • Discussion: prepare discussion board for students to brainstorm Citizen Science projects


Student to-do checklist

  • Explore NatureLynx missions to find ideas for potential missions in your area.

  • Create a mission within NatureLynx


During the lesson

Keep students on track by monitoring discussion board and providing feedback and technical support where needed.

After the lesson

Review over missions that were created. Provide feedback to students. Have students complete self evaluations at the end of the term.

Lesson 6

    • Big Idea: Science and technology are interconnected and situated in social contexts.

    • Students will discover how technologies like ArcGIS can communicate important scientific information to a wide range of audiences. Digital citizenship resources will be included in this lesson.

Before the lesson begins:

Ensure that your LMS or class delivery platform is set up with appropriate documents and discussion forums that support the introduction of this project. You may want to provide the project overview (see appendix) as is or adapt the material to your specific LMS.

Documents for students

  • Project Overview

  • StoryMap Practice List


Discussion boards for students


Student to-do checklist

  • Review the Getting started with ArcGIS StoryMaps Guide

  • Explore Storymaps for ideas (continued from Lesson 2)

  • Practice creating a Storymap using the data from your exploration in lesson 2; see the Lesson 6: Storymap practice list

  • Share your challenges, questions, favorite features in the discussion

  • Read the course content/ linked resources on digital citizenship


During the lesson

Keep students on track by monitoring discussion boards and providing feedback and technical support where needed. Highlight features and create shared screencasts of troubleshooting issues when appropriate.

After the lesson

Review the gallery and discussion. Follow up with students who may need extra assistance. Identify topics or tasks for further exploration or practice.

Final Project - ArcGIS Story Map

The culmination of the six lesson plans will provide students with the skills, knowledge, and resources to complete their final project which is an ArcGIS Story Map of a plant of significance in ethnobotany and is local to the student’s area.

Concerns & Issues

  1. Collaboration with others in a digitally mediated environment poses risks; risk of abuse, bullying, and exploitation (Livingstone et al., 2014). Educators must assess risk versus reward when engaging with digitally mediated environments. Careful consideration, planning, and monitoring around personal safety, digital citizenship, and netiquette may be required. Educators may also need to explicitly address, model, and monitor online practice with students.


  1. Digital inequity is an ongoing concern for educators. Available technology for student use in and outside of the school may vary leading to a participation gap, limiting a student’s ability to participate fully in the project (Kafia & Peppler, 2011). Likewise, Internet speeds and access differ across the country (for example, slower speeds and limits to monthly data in the Northern and rural regions of Canada) may limit students’ participation. Efforts need to be made to accommodate students where they are at.


  1. Technology is situated and reflective of the culture that designed it, and further that technology may in fact reinforce specific cultural norms of Western worldviews and exclude cultural norms of Indigenous worldviews. This unit requires thoughtful consideration of the proper protocols for engaging with the land and with community members and their collective knowledge and wisdom (Aikenhead, 2001).


  1. Sending students into their local environments has inherent safety risks. Like digitally mediated environments, teachers will have to balance the risks with the rewards with respect to engaging on the land. Teachers will have to consider local safety concerns as well as their local school board’s protocols.