Teacher Resources for Instructional Planning


HS, Biology Std 14-1: Discuss factors that affect the dynamic equilibrium of ecosystems. • Relating natural disasters, climate changes, nonnative species, and human activity to the dynamic equilibrium of ecosystems. • Describing the process of ecological succession.

Lesson Plans: The Natural Selection of Forks and Beans Students will observe how population size can vary from generation to generation in response to changing environmental conditions. Defining Drought To examine the hydrologic impacts of drought. Managing the Everglades Ecosystem To explore the Everglades ecosystem using the Internet. To develop an understanding about conservation of resources in the context of the Everglades; explore relationships between species and habitats; and develop an understanding of how human beings have altered the equilibrium in the Everglades. Acid Rain and How it Affects Our Environment Demonstrate phenomenologically the effects of acid rain on our environment and perform long-term "real-time" experiments. Wetland Ecosystems A great collection of labs. Abrupt Climate Changes To explore how scientific knowledge changes in the context of abrupt climate change. Cricket Patch Density A semester-length field study investigating the size of a grassland patch as related to cricket population density. By utilizing the mark-recapture method, students apply the Lincoln-Peterson equation to population estimates. Comparisons are made between large grassy patches and small ones for population density. Findings can then be related to further research on habitat fragmentation and species diversity. Design an Ecosystem A simulation activity: Students create a simple, imaginary ecosystem. They describe the interrelations between the species inhabiting the ecosystem and their physical environment. Then then imagine an alteration in their environment and project the impact that such a change would have on the organisms living in their ecosystem. Finally, they write an environmental impact statement suggesting ways to mitigate the effects of the change. Two Threats to African Wildlife Two of the most serious threats to African wildlife today are habitat destruction and hunting/poaching. In this lesson, students will investigate both of these issues and determine which problem should be addressed first or whether they must both be addressed simultaneously. Crowding in an Ecosystem What happens when a plant population is too dense?

Resources: National Wildlife Federation Biodiversity Online Presentation Mark-Recapture Lab: This is a laboratory that simulates a population census technique commonly used by wildlife biologists in the field Wildlife Wired: Ask the Expert! Science as a Catalyst for Life-Long Learning
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