Ecosystem Unit Outline

Week One
Monday | 1.5 Hours Habitat Breakdown (Activity #1): The objective of this activity is for students to begin the unit with an understanding of how each element of a habitat is vital to the survival of individual organisms. The classroom will be divided into 4 different quadrants (food [green], shelter [red], water [blue], and space [brown]) each represented by a different color strip of paper. There will be a set amount of strips in each quadrant. Students will play the role of insects and in order to survive they will need to collect 1 brown strip, 1 red strip, 2 blue strips, 3 green strips, however, there will not be enough strips for every insect to get all the materials they need to survive. After playing a few rounds of this, the class will enter a discussion in which we discuss what will learned and how important habitat are in all that they include, along with any other relevant questions to arise. Materials Need 4 Different Colors of Paper The rest of the assigned time will be used to introduce the 7 different biomes that we will be studying during this unit including grasslands, forests, lakes/ponds, oceans, wetlands, estuaries, and deserts. This will consists of what areas they are most prominent in the world, different plants and animals that can be found there, and what the climate is like on average. Material Needed Prezi Tuesday | 1.75 Hours The day will start off with further exploration into the 7 different biomes that we will be studying during this unit including grasslands, forests, lakes/ponds, oceans, wetlands, estuaries, and deserts. This will consists of what areas they are most prominent in the world, different plants and animals that can be found there, and what the climate is like on average. Materials Needed Prezi Surf n Turf (Activity #2): The objective of this activity is for students to get multiple habitat experiences in the classroom. I will create surf habitat by hanging up a blue fishnet on the wall or window and entangle plastics fish, crabs, and any other things to make it authentic as well as include an information sheet with it. The same will be done for the turf idea in which tie multiple pieces of brown yarn together to create and glue leaves to it and hang monkeys, birds and frogs around it simulate the rainforest. This will also include an information sheet. The students will be researchers studying the habitats and have a questionnaire to fill out based on what they see and read. Materials Needed Fishnet, Brown Yarn, Green Construction Paper, Plastic Toy Animals Wednesday | 1.8 Hours The day will start off with further exploration into the 7 different biomes that we will be studying during this unit including grasslands, forests, lakes/ponds, oceans, wetlands, estuaries, and deserts. This will consists of what areas they are most prominent in the

world, different plants and animals that can be found there, and what the climate is like on average. Materials Needed Prezi Life Cycle (Activity #3): The objective of this activity is for students to be able to visualize the importance of each part of the life cycle and how small changes and have monumental consequences. The class will be divided up into two biomes, oceans and forests. Each biome will receive one set of index cards that have the complete life cycle of that biome on it with one organism per card. Students will stay in their seats and the cards will be handed out at random. I will give one of the organisms a piece of yarn and they will need to determine what order to put the yarn in to come back to them. Once all the connections have been made, one student that is not an organism will cut connections to show how the absence of one organism can affect all the others. Materials Needed Index Cards, Yarn Whose Home? (Activity #4) The objective of this game is for students to be able to recognize what organisms belong to what biome. The 7 biomes will each be written down on an index card, as well as a matching animal distinct to that biome. The students will go around asking each other questions to determine who they are and where they belong. Needed Materials Index Cards, Tape Thursday | 2 Hours This day will start off with a quick review of the exploration into the 7 different biomes that we will be studying during this unit including grasslands, forests, lakes/ponds, oceans, wetlands, estuaries, and deserts. This will consists of what areas they are most prominent in the world, different plants and animals that can be found there, and what the climate is like on average. Materials Needed Prezi The review will be followed up with an overview of the project the students will be expected to complete with in a weeks time. This will include a research paper, a booklet about the animals on an assigned biome, an assigned biome diorama, and it will all be summed up with a presentation of all the information. o Students will be assigned groups based on the number of students in the class. o The will be allowed time to break up into their groups and plan how they want to execute the project. o The students will then be given time to complete strictly textbook research on their assigned biome. The class will have an assigned time to utilize the library resources. They will be expected to report a minimum of 2-3 book resources in order to receive full credit. Materials Needed Books, Paper, Pencils Friday | 1.25 Hours Research Day (Technology): The students will be given the total class period to complete computer research on their assigned biome. They will be expected to use no a minimum of 2, but a maximum of 4 web resources in order to receive full credit.

Week Two
Monday | 1 Hour

 Research Paper (Assessment #1/Writing Component): Students will be given the opportunity to finalize all the information the collected from the book and web resources. They will be expected to compile a research paper in which they write a minimum of 5 paragraphs with at least 6-8 complete sentences. Grammar, punctuation, and spelling will be taken into account. Materials Needed Notebook Paper, Pencils Tuesday | 1 Hour Biome Quiz (Activity #5/Assessment #2): Students will begin class with a miniassessment that will contain 3 blank columns. The 3 columns will be labeled biome name, biome organism, and biome fact. Students will be given instructions to recall 6 or the 7 biomes, at least 2 organisms that can be found in that biome, and 1 fact about the ecosystem itself. Material Need Quiz, Pencils Build-A-Habitat (Activity #6/Game Component): Students will either works from personal laptops or in the computer lab with an online game that allows students to create their own biome within realistic parameters. After having a chance to play around with the logistics, they will have a worksheet to feel out recording a minimum of 3 biomes that they created logging the name of the biome, the animal they placed in the biome, they type of precipitation they placed in that biome, and the type of vegetation in the biome. If they do create unrealistic conditions within the biome, the game with also give them a specific reason as to why it is unacceptable. Materials Needed Class Set of Computers, Worksheets, Pencils o http://www.switcheroozoo.com/games/habitatgame.htm Wednesday | 1.25 Hours PROJECT WORKDAY Biome Booklet (Activity #7): Students will begin part one of their physical presentation by creating a booklet based on their assigned biome. They will pick 5 animals found within their biome and each animal will have its own page. They with need to have a picture of the animal (drawn or cut out from a magazine) as well as a 5-7 sentence paragraph about the animal. There will only be one booklet per group. It is expected that this will be completed all within the same class period. They will use the information from their research to write the paragraphs. Materials Needed Wildlife Magazines, Construction Paper, Scissors, Glue, Tape, Markers, Colored Pencils, Crayons Thursday | 2 Hours PROJECT WORKDAY Biome Diorama (Activity #8): Students will complete part two of their physical presentation by creating a diorama of their biome in any creative manner they see fit. The only requirement is that at least 2 aspects of the diorama HAVE to be 3dimensional. Students will be provided all access to materials within the classroom, any they want to bring from home, and any of the extra materials brought in by the teacher. Materials Needed Wildlife Magazines, Construction Paper, Scissors, Glue, Tape, Markers, Colored Pencils, Crayons, Yarn, Sand, Poster Board, Leaves, etc.

Friday | 1.5 Hours Final Project Presentation (Activity #9/Assessment #3/Literacy Component): Students will be given this time to thoroughly present their research paper, biome booklet, and biome diorama. Each group will be given 10-12 minutes to present and a warning will be given for getting close to the 12 minutes so that time is not wasted. Students will be graded on preparation, quality of information, and effort for creativity.