Coral Reefs, Tidal Pools, and Estuaries

Transcription

1 Coral Reefs, Tidal Pools, and Estuaries Purpose : This lesson will serve as an introduction to ocean ecosystems, drawing on past knowledge of ecosystems and what students have learned about the ocean environment so far. Students will be introduced to 3 ecosystems: coral reefs, tidal pools, and estuaries. The lesson is written for a 2 day time period of minutes. Science SOL 5.6 The student will investigate and understand characteristics of the ocean environment. Key concepts include a) geological characteristics; b) physical characteristics; and c) ecological characteristics. National Science Content Standard C. Life Science: Organisms and their Environment Organism's pattern of behavior relate directly to the environment (kinds and numbers of other organisms, the availability of food and other resources, and physical characteristics of the environment). Objective: TSWBAT to correctly identify an ecosystem as Coral Reef, Tidal Pool, or Estuary given the definition or shown a picture with 80% accuracy. TSWBAT to elaborately describe one of the ecosystems with correct facts, meeting 8 out of the 10 criteria listed on the rubric. Procedure: Introduction The ocean ecosystems of tidal pools, coral reefs, and estuaries will be introduced using the student s prior knowledge of ecosystems and characteristics of the ocean. Students will learn that each ecosystem has different characteristics that are essential to the wildlife it can support based on how it s formed and location in the ocean. Development Engagement Introduce the topic of ecosystems by writing the word on the board. Call on students for their definitions of ecosystem or anything they know.

2 Then add the word ocean and have students again give responses, focusing on their previous knowledge of ocean conditions. Write the definition for ecosystem they need to know. Ecosystem: an organism together with its environment. Hand out paper for the foldable we will be creating to serve as notes and have students write their names and the definition of ecosystems on the back of the foldable. Teacher should walk around and make sure students are writing the information on the right side. As students are finishing writing ask students if they have heard of any the 3 ecosystems we will be discussing: Tidal Pool, Coral Reef, and Estuary. Then have students add those words to the front flaps, again walking around to check. Using the powerpoint (attached) have students write the definition of each on the left hand side of the flap (when open) to familiarize students with each ecosystem. Exploration In pairs or groups of 3 students will sort out key facts and pictures pertaining to each ecosystem. Teacher will pass out baggies that have pictures and facts for each of the three ecosystems. The teacher will walk around checking on the groups and asking questions. Why did you put this under this ecosystem? The teacher should also encourage groups who finish quickly to compare their sort with a neighbors. Also these groups can have their sort checked by a teacher and go back and do it again. After about 10 minutes the class will regroup and get out their foldables to take notes as we go over the sort. Explanation The teacher will start with Tidal Pools and have students share which facts and pictures they had under that category. Discussion will revolve around why and focus on ones where there is disagreement. After students have shared teacher will show the powerpoint slide containing the right facts and pictures about Tidal Pools and students will record those facts in their foldable on the right side. This same process will be completed for each of the ecosystems. Differentiation: Teacher will have printed out copies of the powerpoint or notes pages for students to copy or keep if they have trouble keeping up with the notes. Expansion At the end of taking notes the teacher will take any questions regarding the sort or about tide pools, coral reefs and estuaries in general. When questions are asked the teacher will answer or if unsure will walk the students through looking up the answer either in their textbooks or using google. Examples of questions that may come up: Why are corals colorful if they are made from dead animals? Aren t bones white? What ocean zone is ecosystem in? Using what they just learned about the 3 ecosystems, students will choose one (either tide pool, coral reef, or estuary) and make a real estate flyer advertising that habitat.

3 When doing their flyer encourage students to focus on what it would be like to live there and what may make it appealing to the animals. Prior to starting their flyer the students will complete the planning sheet to make sure they have all the requirements. The flyer should be neat and appealing and include the following: Physical description or definition of the ecosystem Picture Location Any other key facts we should know (example includes wildlife that live there) Students will have the remainder of class to work on their flyers. Summary Students will share their flyer with their table mates when they finish and if time with the whole class. Then the students will practice and review with the sort they used earlier in the lesson. Evaluation Teacher will collect flyers and evaluate student knowledge using the rubric attached. The teacher will then hang the student flyers up around the class. Students will also be evaluated on correct completion of their foldable and active participation during the sort. This will be done through teacher observation while walking around. Materials: Powerpoint with notes (attached) Paper to create a foldable with 3 flaps (example is attached) Ecosystem sort: bags with typed facts cut out and pictures Blank white paper (for the flyer) Coloring supplies Flyer Planning Sheet (attached) *Notes and Information came from my 5th Grade Practicum Teacher Ms. Seeber, the original handouts are attached Evaluation Part A: Students will be assessed on their knowledge of ecosystems based on their flyer they turned in with the following rubric.

4 Evidence Points Possible Points Awarded Flyer focuses on 1 of the 3 ecosystems (Coral Reef, Tide Pool, or Estuary) 1 Definition or description of ecosystem is present. 3 Picture of ecosystem is present. 2 At least 1 key fact is included. 2 Flyer is neat and includes color and/or creativity. 2 The students will also be assessed informally as they practice with the sort after the lesson if they are correctly matching the facts and pictures to each ecosystem. Evaluation Part B: Did the students meet your objectives? How do you know? The students definitely met my second objective based on how they scored on their rubrics for the flyer. All of my students scored 8.5 points out of 10 or above! I also think they really enjoyed the creative side of the project because I was happily surprised with how well their ecosystem flyers came out. My first objective dealt with the sort but it was hard for me to get around to each group and assess them accurately so I am unsure if they met my objective fully but I do think the sort helped get them familiar with some of the concepts. Did your lesson accommodate the needs of all your learners? My lesson included verbal strategies by having an opening discussion about ecosystem, being able to share their flyers with the table, and the time for questions during the expand. There was

5 lots of visual strategies with the pictures in the sort, the powerpoint, and drawing pictures in the flyer. I also found the lesson to meet kinesthetic needs with the sort and creating the flyer, both activities were hands on and interactive. One thing I changed to better fit the needs of all my students was with the notes. When I taught the lesson some students struggled to keep up with the notes and it made it take longer. Next time I teach it I will have printed out notes for students to copy if they are a little slower but also some copies they can take if that helps them more. What were the strengths? The interactive portion and the flyers! My students really got involved and interested in the activity and it was definitely a fun lesson. Also it kept the students engaged and working on their flyers for most of the time, even students they normally rush or don t put more effort. Their final product of the flyers were amazing and made me so happy to see all their creativity and them using the facts they learned. Another strength was the foldable, I think that format of notes is more appealing to students and lends itself to be a good study tool much easier. I think the sort went okay and can be a strength in my lesson, I just needed to explain it clearer and give an example maybe to help them because a couple got stuck and were confused. What were the weaknesses The lesson took a lot longer to get through then I thought. I knew when writing it out that it would take up more than one class but I was hoping to get through all the notes on the first day and then the flyer the 2nd. Instead the sort took longer for students to figure out so we only got through one flap of notes (hopefully having printouts to copy will make this go a bit quicker as well). Then the 2nd day I went to teach she had to do a study guide so I only had 15 minutes at the end to finish notes. Luckily I got to teach it a 3rd day and we did the flyers but some students never finished so it was hard to get them back from the students because I wasn t there every day then they switched to a different science class. So I think timing and pacing was the biggest weakness but one that could be easily fixed in my own classroom. Also I didn t actually have a lot of time for discussion during my actual teaching of the lesson so I didn t expand on the topic as much as I would ve liked. Also though most of the flyers were great, some students struggled or forgot to include a definition of their ecosystem, partly I believed because I just had the instructions on the board and not printed out, also I was not there if they didn't finish up their flyers on the 3rd day. How would you change the lesson? Some of the changes I made to my lesson was adding the notes page for slower students or those with poor handwriting. Another change is to take the time to explain the sort and what the categories were, also to make sure I really get around to each group. I would like to add some

6 way to keep them engaged if they finish the sort early as well. Another change is adding a time for students to ask deeper thinking questions and have more of a discussion. I also added that before students did the flyer they would have a planning sheet to fill out to be sure they included a definition and key fact in their flyer, also so they would have a printed out version of the directions. In the future I may also have the flyer more of a take home project or make sure I spend enough time on them and to be able to share them with each other.