MOSS Teaching Lesson Plan Template Brett Alan Miller

Title: Understanding Ecosystems

Objectives / Understandings: Students will have a basic understand the Sagebrush Meadow, Aspen Grove, Lilly Marsh and Forest ecosystems and their relationships. Students will be able to identify: Ponderosa Pine, Lodgepole Pine, Aspen, Grand Fir, Douglas Fir, Spruce, Sagebrush, Western Yarrow, Idaho Fescue, Grey Rabbitbrush, and Shrubby Buckwheat. Students will evaluate the value of a tree. Students will have a basic understanding of the energy pyramid. Students will be comfortable with the scientific process. Students will be comfortable with the following Vocab: o Ecosystem ABCs of life Abiotic Biotic Cycles

o Energy Pyramid Producers Consumers Decomposers

o Succession Primary Secondary Ecotone

Essential Questions/ Guiding Questions: What is an ecosystem? o What do we find in ecosystems? What are abiotic versus biotic factors? What ecosystems are here in Ponderosa State Park? What is ecological succession? o Where can we see that in Ponderosa State Park? What is the scientific process and who are scientists?

Materials Needed: Lab Quest, Probes, PH strips, Vials, I pad, Value of a tree Papers, Tree Corers, Meter Tape, Plant Presses, Macro hunting materials (gators, buckets, icetrays, hand lenses)

Route: MOSS>Sagebrush Meadow> Managed/Unmanaged>Aspen stand below Lilly Marsh >Lilly Marsh>Managed/Unmanaged Forest)

Outline with approximate times: A brief overview of your day in bullet point format, e.g. 9:00 Meet and introduce day and play a game which introduces ecosystems (like elbow tag but adapted to hit key points) 9:20 Discuss Key Vocab (write in journals) 9:40 Sagebrush Meadow (5 senses exploration, home-on-therange, sagebrush dress-up, testing) 10:30 Hike to forest (compare managed and unmanaged areas, forage game) 11:15 Go up the hill

11:20 Value of a tree lesson 12:00 Lunch (folded poem while eating) then play camouflage 12:45 1:00 1:45 Hike to Aspen stand Aspen Stand (explore, sound maps, then share) Lilly Marsh (Hunt for macros)

2:15 Begin hiking back to campus 3:00 3:15 3:45 Day Use beach to play a What Am I game Return to MOSS for fireboards Debrief

Session plan: First we introduce ourselves; admit goal to learn names and we play a name game; then we play elbow tag (squirrel-fox game) transition into vocab. Students will write down vocab words with space to add definitions throughout the day. I will assign roles including one student who will have the PSP tree finder who will help identify trees we find. When we set off for the Sagebrush Meadow I will ask the students to take note of the changing landscape. In the meadow we will share our observations about those changes. Then discuss them. Transition into Home on the Range activity. Review plants. Discuss ecosystem. Go over sagebrush in depth; students will take notes in their notebooks and then we will transition into a Dress Up like Sage game. We will take measurements here before moving on. In the managed/unmanaged area we will discuss the differences we notice between the ecosystems and discuss Succession and fire ecology. Then we will play a game where students will forage for pine cones and discuss this aspect of an ecosystem. Up the Hill we will do the value of a tree activity. This will transition into lunch while we are sitting and we will do a sense of place activity where each student makes one observation. These observations will be entered on the AL website. After lunch we will play camouflage. As we Hike to the Aspen Grove I will ask the students to again consider changes in ecosystems. As we hike I will ask them to identify plants and trees.

In the Aspen Grove we will explore and make sound maps. Discuss the ecosystem and hypothesis about what measurements will look like here if we took them. In the Lilly Marsh we will hunt for macros and try to identify them and discuss abiotic and biotic factors we can identify. Discuss Energy Pyramid. We do the Energy Pyramid activity where students arrange themselves accordingly. Hike back to campus identifying and discussing ecosystems around us. Stop at beach to do what am I card game. Back at MOSS we do the fireboards and discuss fire ecology. This transitions into vocab review where students tell me the definitions and I record them on the AL website Wrap-up / Summary I plan to use the vocab and key questions by having students define them and answer them for me at the end of the day.

Assessment On hike back students will identify different trees and plants. Also Students will define vocab and answer key questions. Sagebrush game depends on student retention of key concepts. In discussions I will ask each student to contribute for assessment. The presentation on Friday will showcase student knowledge and concept retention.