Unit Plan Daily Agenda
Science
Content Area:
Unit Plan Title: Biodiversity and Interdependence
Overview of Unit
Grade(s)
6
An ecosystem is an organizational unot of ilfe on Earth, defined by a physcial environment and the organisms that
live there. Organisms depend on their ecosystem for survival. Disruption to one element of the ecosystem
produces waves and ripples that touch every member of the system. When changes in an ecosystem are
incremental, genetic flexibility may allow a population to change over time to adjust to the new conditions. When
change is precipitous, a population may be exterminated. One powerful change agent in just about every
ecosystem on Earth is humans. Human mobility, technology, and institutions place pressures on many ecosystems.
This unit will provide students with the first step along the path of ecological understanding.
Essential Question(s) and Enduring Understandings (in grade appropriate terminology).
1. How do abioticand biotic interact within an ecosystem to support an ecosystem?
Content: The number of organisms and populations an ecosystem can support depends on the biotic resources available
and on abiotic factors, such as quantities of light and water, range of temperatures, and soil composition.
5.3.6.C.2 Predict the impact that altering biotic and abiotic factors has on an ecosystem.
2. How can humans improve the health of ecosystems through their actions.
Content:Personal activities impact the local and global environment.
5.4.6.G.3 Describe ways that humans can improve the health of ecosystems around the
world.
3. WE need help with understanding what they arey mean……
Content: Reproduction is essential to the continuation of every species.
5.3.6.D.1 Predict the long-term effect of interference with normal patterns of reproduction.
4
How does agricultural societies use variations within species to develop more useful varieties?
Content: Variations exist among organisms of the same generation (e.g., siblings) and of different generations (e.g.,
parent to offspring).
5.3.6.D.2 Explain how knowledge of inherited variations within and between generations is
applied to farming and animal breeding.
5.How can we use evidence to differentiate between acquired and inherited traits?
Content: Traits such as eye color in human beings or fruit/flower color in plants are inherited.
5.3.6.D.3 Distinguish between inherited and acquired traits/characteristics.
Content Statements and CPI
Content: The number of organisms and populations an ecosystem can support depends on the biotic resources available
and on abiotic factors, such as quantities of light and water, range of temperatures, and soil composition.
5.3.6.C.2 Predict the impact that altering biotic and abiotic factors has on an ecosystem.
Content:Personal activities impact the local and global environment.
5.4.6.G.3 Describe ways that humans can improve the health of ecosystems around the
world.
Content: Reproduction is essential to the continuation of every species.
5.3.6.D.1 Predict the long-term effect of interference with normal patterns of reproduction.
Content: Variations exist among organisms of the same generation (e.g., siblings) and of different generations (e.g.,
parent to offspring).
5.3.6.D.2 Explain how knowledge of inherited variations within and between generations is
applied to farming and animal breeding.
Content: Traits such as eye color in human beings or fruit/flower color in plants are inherited.
5.3.6.D.3 Distinguish between inherited and acquired traits/characteristics.
.
Student Learning Targets/Objectives: should be connected to content statements. Students will be able to:
e.g.: 1- Articulate predictions and imagine ways to test those predictions, using practice gained through class explorations of
water quality in the school pond and water supply.
interacting with one another and with their environment to develop
understanding of food webs and the effects of abiotic factors on ecosystems.
1. Observe organisms
2.
3.
Explain how those interactions impact the lives of species in an ecosystem.
Describe how environmental and human activities affect normal reproductive patterns of
animals.
4.
Differentiate between inherited and acquired traits.
5.
Describe how selective breeding has resulted in several specific animal breeds.
Strategies/Justifications
Note-booking will help students clarify their own thinking, identify weaknesses and document
progress.
Marshaling evidence will help students organize their thoughts and analytical writing.
Predicting how pieces of evidence fit into a larger schema will help students become aware of
the “big picture”
Explaining and justifying classifications of organisms will help them interact with vocabulary
and facts and improve retention of those details.
Preparing a culminating project will enable students to become experts in an area, and by
teaching other students promote long-term retention, and increase experience in articulating
ideas clearly to an audience.
Daily Activities, Lessons, and Assessments
Teaching Point 1: An ecosystem is a system of interacting organisms and nonliving
factors in a specified area. (FOSS Investigation 2, part 1 – guide p. 61)
Time Frame
Day 1 - 3
Vocab: individual, population, community, ecosystem, biotic and abiotic factors.
Then do Probe # 16 – Ecosystem Cycles –volume 1, Life Science
They work in groups to sort picture cards into categories based on the definitions.
After discussing the sorting activity, students record their results in their notebooks.
A reading on communities follows the activity. (Life in a Community pp. 6-7)
Teaching Point 2: There are defining characteristics that distinguish between an
individual, a population, a community, and an ecosystem. (FOSS Investigation 2,
part 2 – guide p. 77)
Days 4 – 7
Students review the reading “Life In A Community”. Introduce population studies
and preview students worksheet (see teacher guide p. 78)
They watch a video of Jane Goodall’s experience developing her population field
study on chimpanzees.
Students answer questions about Goodall’s experience. (Lab notebook 13).Discuss
video and complete wrap-up (guide p. 79)
Complete the mid-summative assessment exam 1-2
Teaching Point 3: An ecosystem is defined by the interactions among the organisms
Day 8 - 9
and physical factors that exist there. ( FOSS Investigation 4 – guide p. 109, 120)
Students review the definition of an ecosystem, then they go on a video field trip (20
minutes) of Mono Lake. After viewing the video, (Lab notebook 19) students
answer and discuss questions related to the organisms and abiotic factors in the
ecosystem.
Teaching Point 4: The feeding relationships in an ecosystem define the food web
for that ecosystem. These relationships can be diagrammed. (Investigation 4 part2 –
guide p. 122)
Days 9 – 12
Review ecosystems, refer to “Thinking About Mono Lake Sheet”. Focus on feeding
relationship which in Mono Lake is eating each other. Introduce organism cards and
introduce challenge. Students study the natural history of the major organisms in
Mono Lake, then use arrows to indicate the feeding relationships between
organisms. (guide p. 124)
The concept of a food chain and food web is introduced.
Vocabulary: producer, consumer, photosynthesis, secondary consumer, tertiary
consumer, omnivore, and decomposer (layers).
Students learn the feeding roles played by organisms in an ecosystem—producer,
consumer, and decomposer—and reorganize the Mono Lake organisms into “layers”
with producers and the bottom and the consumers above.
(Lab Notebook pg 21 Response Sheet Mono-Lake)
Students use a multimedia exercise to organize Mono Lake organisms into a food
web. Give mid-summative assessment 3-4 (refer to guide p. 417) or vocab quiz
Teaching Point 5: Photosynthesis (the process by which food is made from water,
carbon dioxide, and light) makes energy available to organisms. (Investigation 5
part2 – guide p. 153)
Day 13- 14
Probe: Giant Sequoia Tree (Probe 16, volume 2) Volume 2, “More Science Probes”
Discuss human food webs (guide p. 153) Students inquire into where food energy
comes from. They process data from a hypothetical experiment, lab notebook p. 25,
by analyzing data on a chart. Introduce photosynthesis as the process that produces
new energy rich biomass called food. (guide p. 154), transparency #11. Read and
discuss “Where does food come from?” – text p. 14- 16
Teaching Point 6: Organisms need energy to live and they expend this energy in
every activity they undertake. (Investigation 5 part3 – guide p. 1158)
Review relationships between food, energy, and calories (guide p. 158)
Probe # 15 – Food Chain Energy (volume 1, life science)
Day 15-16
Think of the ways organisms use energy to do work and make things happen. They
sort energy-use strips into categories: maintenance, growth/reproduction, waste, and
movement. They learn that all organism functions require energy.
Teaching Point 7: Trophic levels describe the movement of food energy in an
ecosystem. These levels are defined by feeding relationships. (Investigation 5 part4
- guide p. 161)
Day 17- 21
Vocab: trophic level, biomass, autotroph, heterotroph, detritus, detritivore
Review food and food web roles, and Mono Lake organisms (guide p. 164).
Introduce trophic levels (describing the movement of food energy from organism to
organism in a food web.) Trace food through Mono Lake trophic levels, and read
‘Trophic Levels (text p. 17 - 21)
Introduce the efficiency of transfer across levels -10% rule.(guide p. 165). Instead
of using beads (guide p. 166- 168 - # 9 – 14)) students use cut up paper squares and
create paper graphs to demonstrate 10% biomass food transfer.(use same color
chart,etc)
Mid summative exam 5 (guide p. 422)
Teaching Point 8 Abiotic factors can limit the growth of a population.
(Investigation 6, part2 - guide p. 188)
Day 22- 23
Review Mono Lake community and key organisms that act as producers and
consumers.
Vocab- reproduction, reproductive potential, limiting factors, predation, carrying
capacity.
Students analyze the results of a 1-year study of two important Mono Lake
populations, planktonic algae and brine shrimp.guide p. 189, lab workbook p. 3437).
Compare populations raised under varying conditions of light and temperature to
determine their rate of growth.(guide p. 190). Read Limiting Factors – text p. 2224)
Teaching Point 9: Population Dynamics- changes in population sizes of the
organisms can be attributed to both abiotic and biotic causes. (Investigation 6, part3
- guide p. 192)
Students review field data acquired by ecologists working at Mono
Lake.(transparancy p. 15, lab workbook, p. 38-41,guide p. 193- 196). They
determine that the changes in population sizes of th eorganisms can be attributed to
both abioitic and biotic factors. They find that feeding relationships play an
important role in population size. Students learn that population fluctuation is not
Days 24 - 25
necessarily an indication that an ecosystem is unhealthy or weak.
Introduce interdependence (guide p. 196), read ‘Mono Lake in the Spot light” text p.
25-29)
Probe # 17 – No More Plants (volume 1, life science)
Mid summative exam 6 (guide p. 425)
Teaching Point 10: Adaptations enhance an organism’s chances of surviving and
reproducing in its environment. (Investigation 8, part1 - guide p. 228)
Days 26- 27
Quick Write discussing their understanding of biological adaptation (guide p. 230),
then introduce an examples of an adaptation (kelp fish).
Vocab: adaptation, structural adaptation, structural adaptation
Read ‘Adaptations (text p. 42- 45). View video of octopus changing color and
discuss its adaptations.(skip # 6- guide p. 231)
View a video about population changes on the island of Hawaii. Students identify
and report on the adaptations that affect the survival of organisms in this sensitive
ecosystem mentioned in video (lab book p. 49)
Teaching Point 11: Populations can change over time in response to environmental
factors. (Investigation 8, part2 - guide p. 236)
Days 28 -29
Vocab: feature, trait (guide p. 240), variation (guide p. 242)
Introduce the population of walkingsticks that exhibit color variation. Using computer
simulation in lab use two levels of the multimedia simulation to investigat the impact of
predators on the insects in three different environments. They conduct predation
interactions over five generations, collect population statistics, and graph the numbers of
individuals with each color trate in each generation. They discover that the ration of
individuals with specific color traits varies, depending on the color of the environment in
which they live. (lab book p. 51 – 53)
Introduce variation, contrast walking stick to octopus’ adaptations (guide p. 243)
Vocab quiz – teaching points 7 - 11
Teaching Point 12: Observe variations in human and larkey traits. (Investigation 9,
part 1 - guide p. 262) **Prior to lesson- modify transparency (see guide p. 263)**
Review traits, features, and variation. Introduce human traits, observe and record
student traits (guide p. 264). Poll class results on transparency #20.
Introduce larkeys and their traits.(guide p. 265- #7 -8 (do not use lab book p. 5657only transparencies 20-21,),
Day 30
Teaching Point 13: Selective pressure can affect the genetic makeup of a
population(Investigation 10, part 1 - guide p. 302)
Days 31 - 33
Students discover what happens to a population of larkeys when the environment changes.
Describe a scenario about larkeys (guide p. 305-307) then together analyze the results of
two generations of offpring to determine how the selective pressure imposed by predation
affects the genetic compostion of the population.
Review features and traits that affected Larkey survival and data collected (guide p. 307308)
Introduce selective pressure and interpret how this affected the Larkeys. Students analyze
and describe the outcomes in terms of natural selection . Connect Larkeys and Walking
Sticks (guide p. 308)
Teaching Point 14: Animals best adapted to their environment tend to surve and
pass on their traits to subsequent generations.(Investigation 10, part 2 - guide p. 312)
Day 34 -36
Vocab: natural selection, invasive species, biological evolution
Read ‘Natural and Unnatural Selection (text p. 58 -61)
Students take a video field trip to the Galapagos Islands to observe biologists working with
endemic species in one of the world’s finest laboratories for studying natural selection.
View video in two parts and answer questions (lab book p. 70-71)
After learning the history of progressive change of the plants and animals living on the
islands, students think about the island’s ecosystems and the effects of natural selection over
time.
Probe #18 Changing Environment (Vol. 1 Life Science)
Culminating Activity: Read article “Mixed Up Species, then have students’ design
their own hybrid.
Days 37 - 38
Students should first research the two animals they choose to be able to describe
specific traits (physical and behavior), then create an original hybrid animal on
worksheet. Optional: students should create a model of their hybrid and present to
class, explaining its name, survival traits, etc
Final Assessment
Resources that need to be ordered or located.
Day 39
FOSS Populations and Ecosystems Kits
Kit comes with 16 resource books (need classroom set of 30 for each teacher)
Student post-its
Post-it Chart paper
Technology to be integrated (tools, equipment, software, and online learning)