ND Curriculum Initiative

Subject & Standards

Needs Assessment/Rational

The purpose of this unit is as a follow-up of the “Importance of Ecology in a Changing World” unit that the Advanced Biology class at Langdon Area High School has completed. In this unit the students have studied about ecology, ecosystems, symbiosis, interdependency of organisms, competition, and biospheres of the Earth. Advanced Biology is a new class taught at our school this year and therefore the first time that ecology has been studied to this degree. I wanted to bring ecology close to home so that the students can develop an understanding that ecological situations do not just happen in some far off country or in different, remote parts of the US. The students were not aware that there were at least five different ecosystems in our area of northeastern North Dakota. The field trip will show the students the different ecosystems, learning the importance of each, and how these systems interact. The students will learn how to use a video camera and a digital camera. My school is concerned about the ability of our high school students in the area of writing. Statistics show that many of our students leave this high school poorly prepared in writing skills. I am planning on having the students write a two-page report as part of a portfolio that they will create after the field trip. The students have learned that 99% of the grasslands in the US have been destroyed for agriculture purposes. One of the ecosystems that we will visit is a grasslands,in our part of the country, of which little is remaining. The students also have learned about the destruction of 75% of the Everglades swampland ecosystem. In our tour,the students will see a large swamp ecosystem, Rush Lake, in North Dakota. They will analyze how this swamp has changed over the years. Other topics that will be discussed are the history of the glacial activities that created our land areas, fossil observations, interaction of organisms within the different ecosystems, and the beauty of this area of our state. When I asked the students if they knew how our state was formed, one out of nineteen students knew that a glacier was involved but no further details could be given. The other eighteen students had no idea.

Understandings & Goals

Enduring Understanding: I want the students to develop an understanding that humans do make an extremely large impact on the environment, both detrimental and beneficial. I also feel it is important for the students to develop a knowledge base for the history of the area in which they grew up. I want the students to appreciate the beauty of the area. I want the students to be able to share the enthusiasm they have developed for ecology of our area, our country, and our world to others intelligently. One method of sharing this information is through the technology skills that they will develop in this unit. Goal(s): Students will be able to identify ecosystems in northeastern ND . Students will make observations and record data in their journals to be used in their portfolio. Students will be able to identify various forms of symbiosis. Students will create a portfolio using information gathered from the field trip. Students will work cooperatively with a partner.

Questions Answered

Essential questions: Do people have an impact on their environment? Can you give examples to prove the stand you take on this question? How has the lay of the land in our area changed over time? How has it changed in the last 15,000 years? How has it changed in the last 5000 years? Has there been changes in the last 2000 years? What, if any, changes have occurred in the last 100 years? How has the key theme of ecology changed over time? How do the different ecosystems interact? Did you see any interaction of organisms on the field trip? In what ways did they interact and why? What roles did diversity, mutualism, and competition play out in the forming of and the maintenance of the ecosystems that you observed? How can humans improve the environment and ecosystems of our country,our state and our area? Objectives: The students will identify the ecosystems that they are observing and record the data. All 5/5 of the ecosystems must be identifed to receive the full points in that column of the rubric. The students will develop research techniques to enable them to identify organisms seen on the field trip. At least 3 different techniques must be used. Students will enhance present technology skills and develop new ones through the use of a digital camera, multi-media equipment and a Smart Board.They will record what new techniques they used in their rubric. Students will generate a portfolio using at least 3 technology strategies. Students will develop a food web using the Inspiration Software . At least 4 organisms must be shown including their interdependence on each other and their environment.The students will enhance their ability to work cooperatively in units of two people. Students will enhance their communication skills by explaining their portfolios to parents, faculty, and administration during parent-teacher conferences. Students will create a newspaper article for the local paper and for the parent/ school newsletter within two weeks of the completion of the field trip.

Assessment

What quiz and test items (e.g. simple content-focused questions that require a single, best answer) will provide evidence of understanding? Various test questions for each chapter of the unit will be given before the students go on the field trip. The type of questions will be simple content-focused questions and also summative essay questions. Also included in many of the chapter tests will be interpretation of graphs and flow charts from which the students will need to draw conclusions. There are also two labs in which the students will work cooperatively. One is determining the type of symbiosis shown with use of colored toothpicks outside in the grass. The students will need to develop an experiment and form a hypothesis about which toothpick color shows up the least and how that relates to symbiosis. The other lab deals with food webs that they will create cooperatively. They will need to add abiotic factors and biotic factors and determine what role each organism or item plays in the food web. Conclusions will be drawn. The students will develop a rubric for the instructor to use to grade the food web. What academic prompts (e.g. open-ended questions or problems that require students to think critically and then to prepare a response / product / performance) will provide evidence of understanding? Evidence of understanding will be shown in the interpretation of the graphs and the flow charts previously mentioned. Also if the the students can answer the essential questions from assignment 2 this will show an understanding. I also believe the information that they show and develop in the report after the field trip and the data shown in the portfolio will help me see the understanding of the students. The students will be encouraged to gather artifacts and specimens throughout the field trip. These items will need to be identified, named (both scientific and common names)and then explain which role they play in the particular ecosystem. What performance tasks and projects (e.g. complex challenges that are authentic, mirror the real world and require a performance or product) will you include that will provide evidence of student understanding?  The entire field trip experience will mirror the real world. They will be observing science in nature and their own real world environment. They also will be performing tasks such as making observations, recording data,and drawing conclusions just like real scientists. The reports and portfolios will demonstrate their performance and be evidence of understanding. What other evidence (e.g. observations, work samples, dialogues, student self-assessment) of understanding will you collect? I have mentioned already the reports, portfolios and gathering of artifacts that will all be forms of evidence. I also will observe their techniques used throughout the trip and make conclusions about their gathering procedures and how well they worked together. I also will ask the students their opinion of the field trip, asking them to state whether the trip was valuable and any changes that should be made and/or ways to improve the plans. The students will be able to evaluate their own portfolios before submitting them to me using the rubric that they generated and agreed upon by the entire class. This will enable them to make a decision on changes necessary and then make the changes before submitting it for a grade.

Instructional Strategies

This project-based lesson will help promote higher-order thinking and self-directedness because the process is authentic and mirrors the real world. The students are out in the field; making observations,recording data and drawing conclusions,like real scientists. They are working as team members, again as scientists often do. They are seeing, touching real ecosystems and specimens similar to the ones they have previously read about. They will be able to see first hand what man has done, both favorably and unfavorably to their environment. They will record information and then later develop it into a report that they will share with others. The students will be using different technologies in the field,as well as,in the classroom so that they will feel competent with it. Examples of the technologies used are the digital camera, video camera, multi-media projector and various programs on the