New York City Department of Education
Magnet Program District 25 & 28
Edward Bleeker Junior High School 185
6th Grade Science
Unit 4:
Interdependence
Essential Question: How does architecture vary from biome to biome?
Suggested Time Frame: 5-6 weeks (4-5 for lessons and labs, 1 for project development)
Theme: Architecture
1
Graphic Overview of Unit
Suggested Time Frame:
Essential Question: How does architecture vary from
biome to biome?
Interdependence
The Nonliving Environment
Cycles and Energy Flow
Mini-Units
* It is
recommended
that each miniunit end with a
standardized test
that reflects the
state / city
assessment
Biomes
How Ecosystems Change
Unit’s Culminating Project: (briefly explain in 2-3 sentences):
Working collaboratively, students will build a structure suited for an ecosystem that has been
assigned to them. Using the concepts of scale model and architectural techniques, they will
develop blueprints for their building plans and implement them. Groups can choose to construct
functional buildings (homes, supermarkets, schools) or external structures (playgrounds, parks).
2
Stage 1- Desired Results
Standards-Based Learning Goals:
LE 7.1a: Create a chart to compare biotic and abiotic features of an environment. List
examples of biotic and abiotic features.
LE 6.1c: Matter is transferred from one organism to another and between organisms and
their physical environment. Model a cycle in nature to support this statement.
LE 6.1a: Design a model to show how energy flows through ecosystems. Analyze which
model demonstrates the most complete feeding relationship in a community.
LE 7.2b: Design a flow chart to show the process of primary succession.
LE 7.1d, 7.2b: Design a flow chart to show the process of secondary succession that
becomes a climax community
LE 7.2c, 7.2d: Discuss how human activities affect air, water and soil of the climate and
ecosystems of the seven major biomes.
LE 7.2c, 7.2d: Hypothesize how the effects of human activities have resulted in pollution
to aquatic ecosystems.
Concepts
Magnet School Theme: Architecture
Big Ideas for this Unit
Abiotic Factors
Cycles (water, nitrogen, carbon)
Energy flow (food chains/webs)
Ecosystems
Biomes
Aquatic Ecosystems
Enduring Understandings
The nonliving components of an
ecosystem are essential to the plants and
animals that inhabit it.
How does the Big Idea in your unit
connect to your theme?
Students will observe how the humanbuilt environment is engineered to suit the
natural environment they inhabit.
Overarching Essential Question: (this
question should connect to your school
theme)
How does architecture vary from biome to
biome?
Cycles and energy flow in an ecosystem
help to maintain equilibrium.
Ecosystems change over time and
organisms, including humans and their
built environment, must adapt along with
them.
Humans adapt their environment to suit
their needs, and the structures and materials
they use vary according to the biome they
inhabit.
3
Content
Students will know…
Content and Skills
Skills
Students will be able to…
biotic
abiotic
soil
- Identify biotic (living) and abiotic
(nonliving) factors in most ecosystems.
atmosphere
- List the components of air that are needed
for life.
- Explain how climate influences life in an
ecosystem.
climate
water cycle
evaporation
condensation
nitrogen cycle
nitrogen fixation
- Explain the importance of Earth’s water
cycle.
- Recognize the role of nitrogen in life on
Earth.
- Diagram the carbon cycle.
carbon cycle
chemosynthesis
- Explain how organisms produce energyrich compounds.
food web
energy pyramid
-Describe how energy flows through
ecosystems.
- Recognize how much energy is available
at different levels in a food chain.
biome
tundra
taiga
temperate deciduous forest
temperate rain forest
tropical rain forest
desert
grassland
- Explain how climate influences land
environments.
- Identify seven biomes of Earth, their
defining characteristics, and compare them.
wetland
coral reef
intertidal zone
estuary
- Compare flowing freshwater and standing
freshwater ecosystems.
- Identify and describe saltwater
ecosystems.
- Identify problems that affect aquatic
4
ecosystems. - Explain how ecosystems
change over time.
succession
pioneer species
- Describe how new communities begin in
areas without life.
- Compare pioneer communities and
climax communities.
climax community
5
Stage 2- Summative Assessment Evidence
If students understand, know and are able to do the items in Stage 1, they should be
able to show their understanding by completing an authentic task found in the
world beyond the classroom.
G- (goal) Your goal is to create a model home for a panel of
community members in the biome you have been hired by. The
panel
R- (role) You are an architect who has been called in by a
neighborhood to build a model home for a new housing
community.
A- (audience) Your model will be presented along with competing
architects for a contract to build your design in the community that
hired you.
S- (situation) Your challenge is to think from the perspective of
someone living in that region. You will also see how this relates to:
 How your home is built to suit your climate
 How energy is brought to your home
 Why homes in other parts of the country are built differently
 How climate affects architecture
 How waste management is essential to keep an environment
as healthy as possible
 Where is your food coming from?
 Imagine you were living in the home; what would you expect
to find there? How would it have to be suited for the
environment in which you live?
 How can you incorporate what was learned earlier in the year
(Unit 1) about renewable and nonrenewable resources to
include an energy source in your model home?
P- (purpose and product) The purpose of this project is to teach
others about natural ecosystems influence the built environment
6
humans develop.
S- (standards for performance)
Standard 1 – Interactions of the community and the physical
environment (LE 7.1a)
You will need to consider how the nonliving environment,
including weather, soil type and sunlight, interact within your
community and with humans in general.
Standard 2 – Interactions of humans within the natural
community (LE 7.2c, d)
You must keep in mind how your home will interact within the
community related to pollution and disruption of the local plant
and animal life.
Standard 3 – Energy in the environment (LE 6.1c)
How can you take advantage of the natural resources in the area
in terms of electricity, food and water without harming the local
ecosystem?
7
Dear Student:
Student Task
Congratulations! Your class has been invited to attend the Community Design
Symposium. It is a great honor to participate in the conference, and we hope to
receive your R.S.V.P. soon!
The Community Design Symposium (CDS) is an event organized by the Homes for
All Foundation, and focuses on building housing communities in neighborhoods in
a variety of ecosystems. Homes for All is the group that built the first successful
housing community under water back in 2003, and has been holding this
symposium every year since then to further their cause.
As a participant in the CDS, you and your colleagues must design a home for one of
the six biomes listed on your RSVP form.
Your challenge is to think from the perspective of someone living in that. What would
you expect to find there? How would it have to be suited for the environment in which
you live?





How your home is built to suit your climate
How energy is brought to your home
Why homes in other parts of the country are built differently
How climate affects architecture
How waste management is essential to keep an environment as healthy as
possible
 How can the design be made affordable?
You must submit THREE items for your presentation:
1. A fact sheet poster about your biome and home with the following
information:
a. Average annual rainfall
b. Average temperature throughout the year
c. Plants and animals that inhabit the biome
d. A food web that shows how the organisms in the biome are related
e. A list of materials you used to make your model home
f. An explanation of the parts of your model home
g. A map showing the location and latitude of the neighborhood you
are planning
8
h. Pictures of the planned location for your neighborhood (photos or
diagrams of your assigned biome)
2. A journal from EACH member of your group that maps the progress of
your model-building (See below)
3. A model home created to scale
As you are developing the model of your home as a group, you will be maintaining
your own journal to demonstrate your engagement with the project. The journal will be
presented along with your model, so it should be well organized, neat and attractive.
The following information should be collected in a journal as you go along:
 Weekly journal entries that will be assigned to you throughout the unit.
 Dated, daily logs of the work your group has done when you are given
time in class to work on your model
 Research that you found, written out as a paragraph explaining what
information you have found
 A one-page POINT OF VIEW journal entry of what it might be like to live
in the house you developed.
Your model will be presented along with competing architects for a contract to build
your design in the community that hired you.
We look forward to your response!
Sincerely,
Rayne Forrester
President and Chief Organizer of the CDS
Please RSVP within one week of the announcement to increase your chance of
being assigned your top choice.
I would like to create a home for the following ecosystem, listed in order of
preference from 1-4
____ Tropical Rainforest
____ Tundra
____ Wetlands
____ Desert
____ Grassland
____ Deciduous forest
Name: ______________________________________ Class: ____________________
9
Rubric For Culminating Project
Project
Component
(Percent of total
grade)
Model Home
(50%)
Construction of
the Model: Care
taken
(10%)
Biome Factsheet
(20%)
1
2
3
4
The model meets the
criteria of the project.
Care was taken to
ensure that the home
meets the needs of
the biome it inhabits.
The model
demonstrates realworld applicability.
The model meets
the criteria of the
project. The home
is mostly suitable
for the biome it
inhabits. All
components are
present. With some
work, the model
could be real world
applicable.
Construction was
careful and
accurate for the
most part, but 1-2
details could have
been refined for a
more attractive
product.
Appropriate
materials were
selected and there
was an attempt at
creative
modification to
make them even
better.
Food web contains
accurate
information for the
biome.
Map of the world is
accurately labeled
with the location of
your biome.
Climate
information is
correct and
complete.
Model home
materials and parts
of the model are
listed and justified
on the factsheet.
The pictures are
accurate
The model meets
the criteria for
the project. The
home is
somewhat
suitable for the
biome. Some
components may
be missing.
The model does
not meet the
criteria of the
project.
Components are
missing. The
model does not
demonstrate real
world
applicability.
Construction
accurately
followed the
plans, but 3-4
details could
have been
refined for a
more attractive
product.
Appropriate
materials were
selected.
Construction
appears careless
or haphazard.
Many details need
refinement for a
strong or
attractive
product.
Inappropriate
materials were
selected and
contributed to a
product that
performed poorly.
Food web
contains
accurate
information for
the biome.
Map of the world
is accurately
labeled.
Climate
information is
complete.
Model home
materials and
parts of the
model are listed
and justified on
the factsheet.
The pictures are
accurate
One or more
components are
missing, or the
poster shows little
preparation and
care taken. There
are multiple
spelling errors.
Great care taken in
construction process
so that the structure
is neat, attractive and
follows plans
accurately.
Appropriate
materials were
selected and
creatively modified in
ways that made them
even better.
Food web contains
accurate information
for the biome.
Map of the world is
accurately labeled
with the location of
your biome.
Climate information
is correct and
complete.
Model home
materials and parts of
the model are listed
and justified on the
factsheet. The
pictures are accurate
representations of
the biome.
Overall the poster is
10
attractively displayed
and neat. There are
few, if any, spelling
errors.
Journal
(20% - Graded
individually)
Journal provides a
complete record of
planning,
construction,
research, and some
reflection about the
strategies used and
the results beyond
the minimum
requirements. Entries
all have dates on
them, and are in
order. It is well
organized and
attractive. There are
no spelling errors.
representations of
the biome.
Overall the poster
is neat. There are
few spelling errors.
Journal provides a
complete record of
planning,
construction, and
research beyond
the minimum
requirements.
Entries have dates
and are organized
chronologically.
There are few
spelling errors, if
any, and they do
not affect
comprehension of
the journal.
representations
of the biome.
There are a few
spelling errors.
Journal provides
the minimum
requirements,
including a
decent record of
planning,
construction, and
research. Entries
mostly have
dates. There are
a few spelling
errors that make
comprehension
difficult.
Journal provides
very little detail
on planning,
construction, and
research. Entries
are disorganized,
or journal appears
to have been put
together
carelessly and
haphazardly.
There are many
spelling errors.
11
Backwards Design Unit Planning
Unit’s Essential Question: How does climate influence architecture?
Mini-Unit
Title
(each mini-unit is
approx 1 week
long)
Big ideas of the
mini-unit /
concept
statement
(macro)
What is the big
idea of this
mini-unit?
Key Content
/Knowledge
(Important Content
to Know about,
vocabulary, the
specifics)
(Micro)
Skills
What should the
students be able to do?
(rule of thumb - skills
are verbs – knowledge
is a noun)
Magnet
Connection
How does the
mini-unit
connect to the
theme of
Architecture?
List of Topical /
Content Based
Questions
(make sure to
amend the
essential
question so that
it becomes
topical for this
mini-unit)
The Nonliving
Environment
How does the
nonliving
environment
interact with
the living
environment?
biotic
abiotic
soil
atmosphere
climate
What are the
abiotic and
biotic
components of
a building? A
neighborhood?
A city?
What are the
abiotic
components of
your
neighborhood?
What are the
gases in the
atmosphere
necessary for
life?
How does
latitude
influence
climate?
Cycles and
Energy Flow
How do living
organisms
interact with
each other and
with the
nonliving
environment?
water cycle
evaporation
condensation
nitrogen cycle
nitrogen fixation
carbon cycle
chemosynthesis
food web
energy pyramid
- Identify biotic
(living) and abiotic
(nonliving) factors in
most ecosystems.
- List the components
of air that are needed
for life.
- Explain how climate
influences life in an
ecosystem.
-Identify the latitude
and longitude on a
map and make
predictions about
climate
- Explain the
importance of Earth’s
water cycle.
- Recognize the role of
nitrogen in life on
Earth.
- Diagram the carbon
cycle.
- Explain how
organisms produce
What have
humans
engineered to
absorb carbon
dioxide from
the
atmosphere?
How is water
recycled in an
ecosystem?
Where is
carbon dioxide
coming from,
and how is it
taken out of the
air?
How is energy
What
structures
Mini-Unit
Assessment
(must be aligned
to the NYS /
NYC exams. It
can be a test or a
quiz DBQ Essay; 10
multiple choice
questions; or 3
constructed
response q’s)
-Chapter 10
Review
- Humus Farm
Lab
Scaffolding
towards the
culminating
project
(what can be done
during this miniunit to develop the
stage 2
culminating
assessment (grasp)
- Chapter 10
review
- Food
chain/food web
construction
- Plant Mass Lab
- Comparing
Nitrogen content
in fertilizers
Creation of the
food web showing
the biotic factors
of their biome
and how they are
interacting
- Creation of map
that
demonstrates a
possible
geographic region
for their biome
home
12
Backwards Design Unit Planning
Biomes
How does
climate impact
the
development
of an
ecosystem?
biome
tundra
taiga
temperate
deciduous forest
temperate rain
forest
tropical rain
forest
desert
grassland
Aquatic
Ecosystems
and
How
Ecosystems
Change
How will an
ecosystem
develop and
change over
time?
wetland
coral reef
intertidal zone
estuary
succession
pioneer species
climax community
energy-rich
compounds.
-Describe how energy
flows through
ecosystems.
- Recognize how much
energy is available at
different levels in a
food chain.
- Explain how climate
influences land
environments.
- Identify seven
biomes of Earth, their
defining
characteristics, and
compare them.
- Compare flowing
freshwater and
standing freshwater
ecosystems.
- Identify and describe
saltwater ecosystems.
- Identify problems
that affect aquatic
ecosystems.
- Explain how
ecosystems change
over time.
- Describe how new
communities begin in
areas without life.
- Compare pioneer
communities and
climax communities.
have humans
built to
harness
energy from
the natural
environment?
(dams, wind
vanes)
transferred in
an ecosystem?
How have
humans built
their homes to
deal with the
natural
environment?
How have
organisms
adapted to the
environment?
At what latitude
would you find
any of these
ecosystems?
How does
geography
influences
climate? (i.e.,
rainshadow)
-Chapter 11
Review
questions
- Culminating
Project
Development of a
plan for the home
based on the
needs of humans
living in that
biome
Students will
examine how
scientists have
created ecofriendly homes
and structures
to minimize
impact on the
environment.
How have
organisms
adapted to the
environment?
How can the
nonliving
environment
change?
How have
humans
affected the
environment?
- Chapter 11
Review
- Ecological
Succession Lab
Refining of a plan
for keeping the
built home from
negatively
impacting the
local ecosystem
13
Backwards Design Unit Planning
The Nonliving Environment
A Week at a Glance
WHERE is the student going and what is expected
HOOK with needed skills to experience and explore
Opportunity to REVISE and RETHINK their understanding
Monday
Tuesday
Content Focus: Introduction of Content Focus:
Unit: How is interdependence essential
Living and
in nonliving
maintaining life on Earth?
components of an ecosystem
Hook: Brainstorm a list of
plants and animals in our
local ecosystem. What else is
the area that isn’t living? How
would this list change across
the world?
Students will see that plants,
animal and even buildings
change in structure across
the globe.
Hook:
1. Picture of a forest: Identify
living and nonliving
components of picture. (Quick
write, turn and talk, group
share)
2. Picture of buildings in
Flushing, NY. Identify the living
and non-living components of
Flushing, NY (Quick write, turn
and talk, group share)
Daily Assessment:
Introduction of the unit task.
Groups assigned
“RSVP” sheets returned
Daily Assessment:
List three biotic and three
abiotic components of the
classroom.
Allow students to EVALUATE work and implications
TAILOR work to student needs
Be ORGANIZED to maximize engagement
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Content Focus:
Composition of soil
Content Focus:
Composition of soil:
Creating humus
Content Focus:
How does the atmosphere
interact with the
biosphere?
Hook:
What do you think dirt is
made of?
Daily Assessment:
Lab (Glencoe textbook p.
286)
Where would you find a soil
that has more sand? A soil
that has more silt?
Hook:
You want to build a garden
for your home, but the soil
in your ecosystem has too
much sand. How can you
create your own soil for
your garden?
Daily Assessment:
Humus creation lab and
hypothesizing. Students
will observe grass clippings
added to a jar and the
thickness of the humus
layer will be measured over
the course of the following
3-4 weeks.
Hook:
1. Picture of a tree: Where
does the tree come from?
How does it grow?
Daily Assessment:
Development of the radish
growing lab. Students
measure soil mass and
radish seed mass, and
hypothesize where the
mass of a radish comes
from. (Soil and radishes
will have mass measured
in 3-4 weeks and see that
the mass of a radish does
not come from the soil, but
from the water and air.)
14
Backwards Design Unit Planning
Weekly Assessment (must be aligned to the NYS / NYC exams):
1. Quiz using questions from the NYS 8th grade science test aligned with this unit. Students will chart the living and nonliving components of an ecosystem from a
diagram.
2. Portfolio assignment: Students will cut out pictures from magazines, newspapers and the Internet to represent abiotic factors in an ecosystem.
What have the students produced that scaffolds towards the units culminating assessment? Students will identify the biotic and abiotic components of an
ecosystem and will begin to formulate ideas on how to deal with them during the construction of their model homes. Students will see how latitude
influences climate and will be able to incorporate this information into their culminating project’s factsheet.
The Nonliving Environment Week 2
A Week at a Glance
WHERE is the student going and what is expected
HOOK with needed skills to experience and explore
Opportunity to REVISE and RETHINK their understanding
Allow students to EVALUATE work and implications
TAILOR work to student needs
Be ORGANIZED to maximize engagement
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Content Focus:
Climate
Content Focus:
What is the rain shadow
effect?
Content Focus:
Content Focus:
Content Focus:
Hook:
Hook:
Hook: The southwest
coast of California is
covered in greenery and
forests. Less than three
hundred miles from the
coast is Death Valley,
California’s most popular
desert. How can a desert
exist at the same latitude
as a state park?
Daily Assessment:
Daily Assessment:
Hook:
On New Year’s Day, describe the
weather you’d expect to find in New
York and the weather you’d expect
to find in Florida. How is it
different?
Daily Assessment:
Locate our city on a world map and
describe the climate. Locate another
city on a world map at our latitude
and describe the climate. Locate two
more cities, one at a higher latitude
and one at a lower latitude, and
describe their climates.
Daily Assessment:
Rain Shadow Effect Lab
Activity (Glenco lab book,
or see bottom for
weblink)
15
Backwards Design Unit Planning
Weekly Assessment (must be aligned to the NYS / NYC exams):
1. Quiz using questions from the NYS 8th grade science test aligned with this unit. Students will chart the living and nonliving components of an ecosystem from a
diagram.
2. Portfolio assignment: Students will cut out pictures from magazines, newspapers and the Internet to represent abiotic factors in an ecosystem.
What have the students produced that scaffolds towards the units culminating assessment? Students will identify the biotic and abiotic components of an
ecosystem and will begin to formulate ideas on how to deal with them during the construction of their model homes. Students will see how latitude
influences climate and will be able to incorporate this information into their culminating project’s factsheet.
Cycles/Energy Exchange
A Week at a Glance
WHERE is the student going and what is expected
HOOK with needed skills to experience and explore
Opportunity to REVISE and RETHINK their understanding
Monday
Content Focus: How is water
recycled? (Water cycle:
Evaporation, condensation,
precipitation)
Hook: How much water does
the average apartment
building use in a day?
Allow students to EVALUATE work and implications
TAILOR work to student needs
Be ORGANIZED to maximize engagement
Tuesday
Content Focus: The
Nitrogen cycle
Wednesday
Content Focus: The
carbon cycle
Hook: Where did the
most common gas in
our atmosphere
come from?
Hook: We know carbon
dioxide is bad for the
atmosphere. What
could be engineered to
take the extra carbon
out of the air?
Daily Assessment:
Daily Assessment: Using the dataDiagram
table in the nitrogen
the textbook (p. 293) that list thecycle
water
use of homes, industry, farming and
Compare nitrogen
electricity production, students will
content in different
create a bar graph and determinebrands
which of fertilizer
type of water use consumes the most
and compare their
water, and make predictions about
costs
why
Daily Assessment:
Diagram the carbon
cycle
Prepare a concept map
that describes the
carbon cycle
Thursday
Content Focus:
Energy exchanges and
food webs
Friday
Content Focus:
How much energy is
available in a biome?
Hook: Picture of a
building, a plant in the
sun, an animal eating
grass, and a carnivore.
Where do each of these
things get their energy
from?
Hook: Who has access
to the most energy in
this forest
environment: the
mouse that eats the
grass or the hawk that
eats the mouse?
Daily Assessment:
Development of a food
web in a community.
Daily Assessment:
Development of an
energy pyramid.
16
Backwards Design Unit Planning
they think that is
Weekly Assessment (must be aligned to the NYS / NYC exams):
Quiz using questions from the NYS 8th grade exam. Students will interpret a diagram of a food web.
What have the students produced that scaffolds towards the units culminating assessment?
Students will research organisms in their biomes and develop a food web that will be used on their Factsheet Poster.
Biomes
A Week at a Glance
:
WHERE is the student going and what is expected
HOOK with needed skills to experience and explore
Opportunity to REVISE and RETHINK their understanding
Monday
Tuesday
Allow students to EVALUATE work and implications
TAILOR work to student needs
Be ORGANIZED to maximize engagement
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
17
Backwards Design Unit Planning
Content Focus: Tundra and
arctic biomes
Content Focus: Temperate
climates
Hook: Image of an Eskimo
home, inside and outside. How
have the people who live in the
Arctic adapted to their
environment?
Hook: Images of several
temperate climate animal
homes and human homes from
the neighborhood. Discuss
what about them makes them
ideal for our environment.
Daily Assessment: Students will
develop a map showing the
Daily Assessment: Students
seven major biomes.
will graph the average annual
rainfall in temperate climates,
including their city, and
compare it to a graph of the
average rainfall of the tundra.
Content Focus:
How has life adapted to the
rainforest?
Content Focus: How have
organisms adapted to the
desert?
Content Focus:
How do humans adapt to
their environment?
Hook: Image of a rainforest
home. What structures on
the home have made it
suitable for this
environment?
Hook: Image of a Dogon
Mali home from Traditional
Homes Around the World
(See link on resources
page). How has this home
been built to withstand the
harsh climate of the
Sahara?
Hook: Where do you think
your water comes from?
Daily Assessment:
Students create two shapes
of leaves, one with a drip
tip and one without and
infer why rainforest tree
leaves would want to get
rid of their water quickly.
How can you relate this to
the roofs of homes in the
rainforest?
Daily Assessment:
1. Graph of annual
precipitation in the Sahara
desert
2. Discussion of river
irrigation and engineering
based on the article,
“Irrigation” (website
below)
Daily Assessment:
Discussion of a NY Times
article, “Business Booming
at Drip-Irrigation
Company” (link below).
Students determine in a
seminar-setting what the
benefits of irrigation
systems are, and if they
would need to use this
engineering technique in
their model homes.
Weekly Assessment: (must be aligned to the NYS / NYC exams):
Quiz using NYS 8th grade science test questions. Students will interpret a map of earth biomes and use lines of latitude to describe them.
What have the students produced that scaffolds towards the units culminating assessment?
Students have demonstrated their ability to graph precipitation and have begun to discuss how homes are engineered to withstand the difficulties of their
assigned biomes.
Journal Entry: How do you think you can engineer your home so that the impact on the environment is minimal? What do you need to take into
consideration when you are designing your model?
Aquatic Ecosystems and How Ecosystems Change
A Week at a Glance
-
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Backwards Design Unit Planning
WHERE is the student going and what is expected
HOOK with needed skills to experience and explore
Opportunity to REVISE and RETHINK their understanding
Monday
Content Focus: Aquatic
Ecosystems
Tuesday
Content Focus:
Aquatic Ecosystems
Hook:
Two corks in two beakers of
water. Why do you think one
is floating higher than the
other? (One beaker has salt
water, the other fresh water)
Hook: Rivers and
ponds located near
farms tend to be very
polluted. What kind
of pollution would a
farm produce?
(Nitrogen from
Daily Assessment: Comparing wetland
fertilizers, sewage,
ecosystems. Groups develop a wetlands
etc.)
field guide for the area they investigate
and present to the class.
Daily Assessment:
Students continue to
work on their
wetlands ecosystems
field guides.
Allow students to EVALUATE work and implications
TAILOR work to student needs
Be ORGANIZED to maximize engagement
Wednesday
Content Focus:
Primary & Secondary
Succession
Thursday
Content Focus:
Primary & Secondary
Succession
Hook: What would
happen to this person’s
lawn if he didn’t mow
it for two weeks? For
twenty years?
Hook: This picture
shows a forest that
was destroyed by a
forest fire. How do you
expect this forest to
look in one week? One
year? In twenty years?
Draw 3 diagrams.
Daily Assessment:
Ecological Succession
lab tie-in with aquatic
ecosystems (see
bottom)
Friday
Content Focus:
Putting it all together
Daily Assessment:
Students will begin
designing their model
homes, They will
spend the following
week constructing the
models and putting
their Factsheet
Posters together.
Daily Assessment:
Completion of
ecological succession
lab, discussion of
NatGeo article
(textbook p. 314) on
secondary succession
Weekly Assessment (must be aligned to the NYS / NYC exams):
1. Questions from the Intermediate Science test. Illustrations showing primary and secondary succession
What have the students produced that scaffolds towards the units culminating assessment?
Journal entry prompts: How has what you’ve learned this week helped you refine your biome home plan, if at all? If not, why do you feel confident about your plan
using what you’ve learned about other kinds of ecosystems?
19
Backwards Design Unit Planning
Unit Resources
Books:
- New York Science Grade 6
- Traditional Houses from Around The World
(http://books.google.com/books?id=ql1uBODJnlEC&dq=houses+around+the+world+kids&printsec=frontcover&source=in&hl=en&
ei=Aqt-S5zWJ8KUtgfGwZChDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=11&ved=0CDMQ6AEwCg#v=onepage&q=&f=false)
Websites:
- “Irrigation” – History for Kids! http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/economy/farming/irrigation.htm
- What is it like where you live? http://www.mbgnet.net/
- Food Chain/Web practice activity
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/science/living_things/food_chains/play.shtml
Teacher Materials:
- Smarter Farming Key to Saving Amazon Rainforest, The New York Times, February 8, 2010.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/02/08/world/AP-LT-Brazil-RainforestFarming.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=rainforest%20science&st=cse
- “Business Booming at Drip-Irrigation Company,” New York Times Green Inc. Blog by Jeffrey Marlow, 9/17/09
http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/17/business-booming-for-drip-irrigation-firm/
- Rain Shadow Lab (Hands-On activities in Glencoe chapter resources) or edited at www.mrphome.net/mrp/RainShadow.pdf
- Ecological Succession Lab http://www.biologycorner.com/worksheets/succession.html
Other:
- Planet Earth or Disney’s Earth DVDs, if time permits
Earth worksheet http://www.moviesheets.com/worksheets/Earth_Guide_Questions.doc
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