This activity is a project in which students research keystone species and report on specific species to the class.
The Invasive Plants Association of Wisconsin (IPAW) is a nonprofit membership-based organization whose mission is to promote better stewardship of the natural resources of Wisconsin by advancing the understanding of invasive plants, preventing their introduction, and encouraging the control of their spread.
IPAW defines an invasive plant as one that invades native plant communities and impacts those native communities by displacing or replacing native vegetation.
Both a weed and an invasive plant are plants out of place, but an invasive plant encroaches into forests, roadsides, and prairies where it is unchecked by the devotions of an obsessive backyard gardener. The ramifications of invasive plants are so much more ominous than that of weeds because they can and do destroy the natural diversity of native vegetation.
Ironically, many invasive plants get their foothold through well-meaning gardeners who introduce the species as a lovely accent to their patch of paradise. However, many of these plants come from foreign lands and do not have the natural controls that a native plant has. Soon the nonnative plant takes over – first the garden and then, by propagating via the wind, through deep-set runners and by the cooperation of willing birds carrying the seeds, more distant places.
There are many plants that are invasive in Wisconsin. To ease you into an awareness of invasive plants without overwhelming you, IPAW has developed this list of Wisconsin’s Worst foreign invaders.
There are thousands of species of insects in our world, and each are adapted to survive in their habitat. In this activity, students will learn what an insect is and what some of their adaptations are. Then they will put their knowledge into play by "creating" an insect that is adapted to live in their assigned environment
This activity is a field investigation where students will observe, discuss, and gather evidence on how environmental changes affect animals that live in that habitat.
Students will investigate the organization of all living things through and learn how to classify through process of classifying their own shoes. Students will complete the classification of a Jaguar and write their own pneumonic device to remember the order of biological classification. (kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species)
This activity is an interactive game that helps students learn that vertebrates are classified into five groups and that each group has common characteristics that distinguish the animal group from other respective groups.
Students observe the decomposition of a pumpkin under controlled circumstances. These observations are used to take notes and develop questions.
This activity is a field investigation in which students identify organisms and their energy sources. Students collect data and create a food web that explains how the organisms in their ecosystem are related.
This activity is a presentation of honeybee anatomy and behavior.
This activity is a field investigation where students collect insects to analyze, observe, and classify
Short Description: This activity is a classroom investigation of human joints. Students will identify joints and use their science notebooks to record their findings using drawings and words.
This field and classroom activity involves identification of similarities, differences, advantages, and disadvantages in survival, method of locomotion, food acquisition, and reproduction in three fresh-water microbes.
This is an investigative lab to provide students with an opportunity to practice observation skills and develop cooperative group proceedures.
This activity is a classroom lab where the students gather data on the affect water has on gummy bear candies and develops an experiment based on a new question regarding a not plain water solution. Students will perform calculations and graph their results.
This first grade field and classroom activity leads students to discover their natural world through observation and measurement.
This guided inquiry is a laboratory investigation on soil textures where students gather and analyze data, compare findings and develop new experimental questions.
In activity is a Biology field lab where students will investigate the relative health of an aquatic system based on bioindicators. Students will then summarize and reflect upon their findings.
In this biology investigation, students will make observations of the growth of bean seeds to determine what plants need to live and grow in a healthy way.
This activity is a field investigation where students conduct biological sampling on goldenrod galls and form conclusions.
This activity is based on observations of mealworms form a question and make decisions as to the design of an investagation. Students use data collected to make a conclusion to their questions.