7TH Grade Science
Unit 3: Ecology
Lafayette Parish School System
2013-2014
LPSS Science Teacher Leader Cadre
Annette Chapman – Paul Breaux
André Deshotel – Judice
Nathan Griffin – LJ Alleman
Nanette Meaux – Milton
Bridget Trahan – LPSS Science Lead Teacher
Lafayette Parish School System
2013-2014 Curriculum Map
Grade: 7th Science: Unit 3: Ecology
Time Frame: January 13 – March 14
(45 Days)
Unit Description and Student Understandings: In this unit, activities will focus on biomes and their characteristics; distinguishing among ecosystems,
communities, populations, species, habitats, and niches; symbiotic relationships; and the impact of population changes on ecosystems. In this unit, activities will
focus on adaptations of plants and animals for survival within an ecosystem and the essential roles of biotic and abiotic components in various ecosystems. The
unit will also address the concepts of limiting factors and carrying capacity with regard to populations that can be sustained in an ecosystem. The impacts of
environmental factors and human interventions on ecosystems are analyzed. This study of ecology requires that students understand and recognize various biomes
around the world, the dynamics of populations and factors that influence populations, the impact of human intervention, and the levels of organization within
ecosystems. The students will understand that ecosystems function with a delicate balance in the short term and as dynamic entities in the long term. Provided
illustrations of ecosystems, students will identify both the biotic and abiotic factors that must balance to sustain the system. Balance is supported and affected by
the immediate and long-term impacts of factors such as overpopulation, widespread death and disease, and biotic and abiotic changes in certain habitats and in the
overall ecosystem. Students will identify behavioral and structural adaptations while providing multiple examples of each. Provided an ecological description,
students will describe the impact of introducing a specific non-native species into this ecosystem.
Guiding Questions:
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Can students construct a food web for an ecosystem and trace and describe the energy flow through the system?
Can students describe the components of a habitat and a niche and how they differ?
Can students list, locate, describe, compare, and contrast the eight major biomes of Earth?
Can students describe the behavioral and physical adaptations of animals in a given biome?
Can students describe survival of organisms in terms of the environmental factors that impact the survival of a population, the ability of the organism to
change, and the variations in individual organisms within a population that aid in the survival of the species?
Can students identify and analyze the human factor as it affects an ecosystem’s health and productivity?
Can students predict the impact on ecosystems as changes in populations occur through natural events or human interactions?
Can students predict the impact of introducing a nonnative species into an ecosystem?
Can students describe the carbon cycle?
Can students explain the importance of the nitrogen cycle to the survival of living organisms?
Key Concepts:
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Identify the roles of biotic and abiotic components in various ecosystems
Identify relationships and interactions among producers, consumers, decomposers, scavengers, herbivores, and carnivores and identify forms of symbiosis:
mutualism, parasitism, and commensalism
 Identify the levels of organization of living things within an ecosystem: producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, decomposers, individual,
population, community
 Differentiate among and sequence levels of organization in the biosphere from specific to general (atoms, molecules, organelles, populations,
communities, ecosystems, biomes, and biosphere)
 Differentiate and compare between habitat and niche
 Identify the various relationships among plants and animals (Ex: mutualistic, parasitic, producer/consumer)
 Describe the major biomes of the world and identify organisms
 Use structures and features of organisms for simple classification and to determine adaptations to specific habitats
 Differentiate between behavioral and structural adaptations
7th Grade Science 2013-2014
Lafayette Parish School System
2013-2014 Curriculum Map
Grade: 7th Science: Unit 3: Ecology
Time Frame: January 13 – March 14
(45 Days)
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Provide or select examples of changes over time that have allowed various species to survive or that illustrate similarities in structures of animals. Fossil
evidence may be used.
Determine energy transfer among organisms by analyzing food webs
Identify the sun as the ultimate source of energy to power ecosystems and trace the energy flow in ecosystems using food webs, chains, or pyramids
Describe the effects of limiting factors on a given population
Describe the carrying capacity, limiting factors, and sustainability, and their relationships to changes in habitat and populations
Identify environmental factors that impact the survival of a population
Predict the effects that habitat destruction, the introduction of a nonnative species, or the loss of an organism have on an ecosystem or other species
Identify the consequences of human actions on ecosystems
Analyze and identify the impact of human activities and technology on populations, habitats, and earth systems
Determine an organism’s ability to survive during changes that occur in various ecosystems
Identify that variations in individual organisms within a population determine the success of the population
Identify resources that humans derive from ecosystems (wetlands, tropical rainforests, tundra)
Determine the impact of introducing nonnative species into an ecosystem
Identify positive and negative effects that human use of technology has on the environment
Predict the changes that a species’ population has on an ecosystem
Relate photosynthesis and respiration to the carbon cycle
Interpret, illustrate, or describe natural cycles, such as the carbon and nitrogen cycles
Explain why the nitrogen cycle is important to the survival of organisms
Vocabulary List:
Abiotic factors, Biotic factors, decomposer, ecosystem
Ecology, Predator, Prey, producer, scavenger, species
habitat, niche
Commensalism, mutualism, parasitism, parasite, host, symbiosis
climate, biomes (see biomes from activity)
Endangered species, extinction, survival
Adaptations, herbivore, instinct, learned behavior
food webs, food chain, community, competition, consumer, ecosystem, producer, decomposer
limiting factor, carrying capacity
specialization, diversity
ozone layer, acid rain, greenhouse gases, global warming, deforestation, smog, fossil fuels, renewable resources, nonrenewable resources, sewage, thermal pollution, erosion,
loss of biodiversity, overfishing, pollution, nonpoint source pollution, point source pollution, invasive species, endangered species, threatened species, extinct, hypoxia,
conservation, soil conservation, reforestation, forest management, use of renewable resources, wildlife preservation, reserves, landscape preservation, natural pest control,
recycling, emissions control, water cycle, water table, water shed, aquifer, hydrosphere
barrier island, bottomland hardwood forests, brackish marsh, chenier, delta, detritivore, detritus, dredging, estuary, freshwater marsh, intermediate marsh, marsh, ppt, saltwater
intrusion, saltwater marsh, sea-level rise, spoil, subsidence, swamp, wetlands
nitrogen cycle
7th Grade Science 2013-2014
Lafayette Parish School System
2013-2014 Curriculum Map
Grade: 7th Science: Unit 3: Ecology
Time Frame: January 13 – March 14
(45 Days)
GLEs
CCSS Literacy Standards
NGSS Practices
Instructional Strategies
Differentiation
(Enrichment/Remediation Strategies)
One week extra has been added to allow for the 4 days of AIDs education in the spring.
SE-36 (E)
Distinguish the essential roles
played by biotic and abiotic
components in various
ecosystems
LS-26 (E)
Describe the levels of
organization of living things
within an ecosystem
NGSS Practices:
2
CCSS:
ELA-Literacy
RST.6-8.1,2,5,6,7,8,9,10
CCSS:
ELA-Literacy
WHST.6-8.1,2
LS-28 (I)
Differentiate between ecosystem
components of habitat and niche
CCSS:
ELA-Literacy
WHST.6-8.4,5,6,7,8,9,10
LS-27 (E)
Identify various relationships
among plants and animals (e.g.
mutualistic, parasitic, and
producer/consumer.)
LS-25 (E)
Locate and describe the major
biomes of the world
Interactive Science Textbook: Intro 165-167, 284-287, 340342, 348-350
Addressed in Activity 3, 9
Interactive Science Textbook: pgs.288-289
Activity 3: “What’s the connection?”
Interactive Science Textbook: pgs. 290-292
Addressed in Activity 3
Activity 5: My Niche
Interactive Science Textbook: pgs.293-295, 488-491
Activity 10: “I Depend on You”
Interactive Science Textbook: pgs.296-309
Activity 4: Biome Field Trip Simulation
LS-32 (E)
Describe changes that can occur
in various ecosystems and relate
the changes to the ability of an
organism to survive.
LS-30 (E)
Differentiate between structural
and behavioral adaptations in a
variety of organisms
7th Grade Science 2013-2014
Interactive Science Textbook: pgs.320-324, 334-339, 362
Addressed in Activity 6, 9
Interactive Science Textbook: pgs. 328-332
Activity 6: Adaptations
Lafayette Parish School System
2013-2014 Curriculum Map
Grade: 7th Science: Unit 3: Ecology
Time Frame: January 13 – March 14
(45 Days)
Interactive Science Textbook: pgs. 492-495
LS-24 (E)
Analyze food webs to determine
energy transfer among organisms
SE-40 (E)
Construct or draw food webs for
various ecosystems
SE-36 (E)
Distinguish the essential roles
played by biotic and abiotic
components in various
ecosystems
(SE-M-A1)
SE-37 (E)
Identify and describe the effects
of limiting factors on a given
population (SE-M-A2)
SE-38 (E)
Evaluate the carrying capacity of
an ecosystem (SE-M-A2)
LS-34 (E)
Explain how environmental
factors impact survival of a
population (LS-M-D2)
SE-39 (E)
Analyze the consequences of
human activities on ecosystems
(SE-M-A4)
LS-32 (E)
Describe changes that can occur
in various ecosystems and relate
the changes to the ability of an
organism to survive (LS-M-D2)
LS-33 (I)
Illustrate how variations in
individual organisms within a
7th Grade Science 2013-2014
Activity 7: “Food Webs”
Activity 9: “Energy Transfer”
Interactive Science Textbook: pgs. Intro 165-167, 284-287, 340342, 348-350
Activity 1: “Factors That Limit Plant and Animal Populations”
Interactive Science Textbook: pgs. 325-327
Addressed in Activity 1
Interactive Science Textbook: pgs. 36-37, 325-327
Addressed in Activity 1
NGSS Practices:
1,2,3
Activity 7: “Parachuting Cats into Borneo”
Interactive Science Textbook: pgs. 351-353, 362
Activity 2: “Bird Beak Adaptations”
Activity 3: “Exploring the Environment”
Interactive Science Textbook: pgs. 343-344, 351-353
Addressed in Activity 2, 3 &7
Activity 5: “Natural and Man-Made Changes in an Ecosystem
Activity 8: “Let It Rain on the Sparta”
Activity 9
Interactive Science Textbook: pgs. 320-324, 334-339, 362
Addressed in Activity 2 & 10
Activity 4: “Wetland Wonders”
Activity 6: “Alligators and Such!”
Interactive Science Textbook: pgs. 332-333
Addressed in Activity 1, 2, & 6
Lafayette Parish School System
2013-2014 Curriculum Map
Grade: 7th Science: Unit 3: Ecology
Time Frame: January 13 – March 14
(45 Days)
population determine the success
of the population
(LS-M-D2)
SE-35 (E)
Identify resources humans derive
from ecosystems
(SE-M-A1)
LS-31 (E)
Describe and evaluate the impact
of introducing nonnative species
into an ecosystem (LS-M-D1)
SE-43 (E)
Identify and analyze the
environmental impact of humans’
use of technology (e.g., energy
production, agriculture,
transportation, human habitation)
(SE-M-A8)
LS-29 (E)
Predict the impact changes in a
species’ population have on an
ecosystem (LS-M-C4)
SE-42 (E)
Describe how photosynthesis and
respiration relate to the carbon
cycle
SE-41 (I)
Describe the nitrogen cycle and
explain why it is important for the
survival of organisms
Interactive Science Textbook: pgs. 340-342, 348-350
Addressed in Activity 4 & 8
Interactive Science Textbook: pgs. 343, 354-357
Addressed in Activity 5
Interactive Science Textbook: pgs. 345-347
Addressed in Activity 5 & 9
Interactive Science Textbook: pgs. 320-324 (should add
supplement - this not enough.)
Addressed in Activity 7
CCSS:
ELA-Literacy
RST.6-8.7,10
WHST.6-8.2b,2c,2d
CCSS:
ELA-Literacy
RST.6-8.7,10
WHST.6-8.2b,2c,2d
UNIT 3 BENCHMARK ASSESSMENT
7th Grade Science 2013-2014
Interactive Science Textbook: pgs. 498-499
Activity 1 (Old Unit 2): “Round and Round They Go”
Activity 2 (Old Unit 2): “Cycles”
Interactive Science Textbook: pgs. 500-503
Addressed in Activity 1,2
MARCH 14