Curriculum into the classroom
Science
Year 9
Lesson: Exploring ecosystems — Exploring the Reef (1 of 6)
Content descriptions
Unit 6
90 minutes
Science Understandings
Biological sciences
•
Ecosystems consist of communities of interdependent organisms and
abiotic components of the environment: matter and energy flow
through these systems
Science Inquiry Skills
Planning and conducting
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Plan, select and use appropriate investigation methods, including
field work, to collect reliable data; assess risk and address ethical
issues associated with these methods
Select and use appropriate equipment, including digital technologies,
to systematically and accurately collect and record data
Communicating
•
General capabilities
Communicate scientific ideas and information for a particular
purpose, including constructing evidence-based arguments and
using appropriate scientific language, conventions and
representations
Literacy
Students will:
•
•
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use and develop an understanding of science language specific to
this lesson. This will include:
o technical vocabulary and everyday language used in science
contexts (e.g. ecosystem, communities, biotic, abiotic, biosphere)
o procedural vocabulary (e.g. collect, discuss, reflect)
o conventions and symbols (e.g. ˚C, pH)
read and view texts
create print materials accurately and purposefully.
Numeracy
Students will use appropriate units of measurement when collecting and
analysing first hand data.
Critical and creative thinking
Students will analyse and summarise information related to ecosystems.
Personal and social competence
Students will:
• make responsible decisions
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Andrew Gill (NKIEEC)
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work effectively in teams
follow procedures and work safely.
Lesson objectives
Students will:
• understand biotic and abiotic components of an ecosystem
• measure and collect abiotic data.
Evidence of learning
Can the student:
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•
Resources
identify biotic and abiotic conditions in a particular environment?
use field methods to collect data about abiotic factors?
Sheet — An Ecosystem
Sheet — Class master copy
Measuring instruments
Learning area
specific language
(metalanguage)
ecosystem, community, biosphere, abiotic, biotic
The Australian Curriculum: Science includes a glossary of definitions of
language specific to the science learning area. (Select Download.)
Definitions of science terms are also available from the C2C: Science
glossary.
Misunderstandings
and alternative
conceptions
Students may demonstrate the following misunderstandings or
alternative conceptions:
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•
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Andrew Gill (NKIEEC)
Students may think that water is purely an abiotic factor. Explain to
students that water contains biotic components such as
decomposers and micro-organisms.
Students may think that dead material is still biotic because it came
from something living. Explain to students that once something dies it
becomes abiotic.
Teaching and learning sequence
Opening the lesson
Intertidal Walk
Teaching strategy
used
Discuss various environments that students see around them in their
daily lives.
Interactive teaching:
Whole-class discussion
Focus questions:
How does the environment influence us?
What connections can you make between parts of an environment?
How do the environments that you encounter change?
As a class discuss the organisation of the environment as displayed in
Task 1 of the sheet An Ecosystem
Ask students to complete Task 1.
Discuss student responses.
Focus questions:
What examples did you use?
Why did you differ in your answers?
What communities would you see on the reef flat?
Body of lesson
Teaching strategies
used
Interactive teaching:
Whole-class discussion
Draw attention to coral, then sun and water. Discuss with students the
difference between these components of the environment.
Focus questions:
How do these factors differ?
How can the components/factors that exist within the environment be
grouped?
How could factors change from one group to another?
Explain to students that factors within an ecosystem have been referred
to previously as living or non-living.
Introduce and define the terminology biotic and abiotic and record in the
Task 2 table in the sheet An Ecosytem.
Ask students to identify the biotic and abiotic factors observed on the
reef flat and note the influence these have on the surrounding
environment.
Focus questions:
What effect would freshwater have on the reef flat?
If there was no coral, what would happen to the sand in a storm?
What effect does sunlight have on the Sargasm seaweed?
When coral dies, what happens to it?
Discuss student responses with the class.
Interactive teaching:
Cooperative learning
Explain to students that they will measure two abiotic factors of the
environment.
Discuss Task 3, highlighting the table and the student’s responsibilities.
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Andrew Gill (NKIEEC)
Distribute equipment and instruct students on how the data is to be
collected.
Allow students to familiarise themselves with the equipment and its use.
Proceed to Site 1 on the reef flat, conduct measurements and record
data.
Ask students to swap equipment with another group and explain to the
other group how it is used.
Proceed to Site 2, rock flat conduct measurements and record data.
Return to the longhouse.
Display the sheet Class master copy.
Collate class data.
Ask students to record the collated data.
Closing the lesson
Teaching strategy
used
Interactive teaching:
Whole-class discussion
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Andrew Gill (NKIEEC)
Discuss with students the similarities and differences observed between
the two environments.
Make links between the abiotic conditions recorded and the visual
observations they made of the sites.
Focus questions:
What were the similarities and differences between the two sites?
How could the abiotic factors influence what you saw at the two sites?
If more current and deeper water was available to the sites, how could
this influence the organisms that were seen?
From your data, what factors do you feel had the most influence? Why?