Ecosystems with a Focus on Human Impact

Launch unit with a slideshow of Ecosystem Wows!

In this part of the unit you will be introducing the essential parts of a balanced ecosystem.  Students should have some prior knowledge of nature and how it functions but will need to explore core ideas and the following essential questions:

What is a balanced and functioning ecosystem?

What are the essential components of a balanced ecosystem?

What happens when one of these components decreases or takes over?

Activities to help answer these questions:

Nature Walk

  • Discuss abiotic vs. biotic features
  • Take students outside to find living items (a leaf, bug, etc.)
  • Discuss organisms found.
  • Allow students time to research the organisms found and other biotic features of their ecosystems.
  • Ask students what they believe these organisms need to survive.  Lead them to food, water, and a place to reproduce.
  • Compare/contrast with abiotic/biotic features of other ecosystems.

Population Card Game

  • Put students in pairs.
  • Students are given a bag with varying compositions of organisms.
  • Have students make observations about the composition of their ecosystem.
  • Discuss as a group the potential population problems these different ecosystems might have.

Population Chalk Talk

  • Before class, draw chalk circles of varying sizes to show different ecosystem sizes
  • Give students a role in the ecosystem (predator, prey, plant)
  • Take students outside.
  • Put students into different circles.  Make some circles filled, overfilled, and nearly empty.
  • Discuss different population issues that could arise.  (How easy will it be for animals in the overfilled ecosystem to survive?  What's wrong with this ecosystem over here that has only two animals?  What about this one with only prey?  What with the ecosystems try to do?)
  • Balance out the ecosystems.
  • Destroy an ecosystem (naturally/unnaturally).
  • Discuss with students how this affects the animals/plants within it.  (What will the animals do?  What will happen to the plants?)
  • Have predator prey students from the destroyed ecosystem move to the closest ecosystem.
  • Discuss problems.
  • Have students write about their learning and share their writing with a peer or the whole class.

Now that students have explored what makes an ecosystem work, show slideshow of how humans have impacted the environment.  Show clip from Wall - E.

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