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Introduction
This curriculum website is designed to support instructional activities in the classroom dealing with Georgia Performance Standards in Earth Science.
Video tour - "Mr. Bishop's Eco-Challenge"
Curriculum Standard(s)
S4L1 Students will describe the roles of organisms and the flow of energy within an ecosystem.
a. Identify the roles of producers, consumers, and decomposers in a community.
b. Demonstrate the flow of energy through a food web/food chain beginning with sunlight and including producers, consumers, and decomposers.
c. Predict how changes in the environment would affect a community (ecosystem) of organisms.
d. Predict effects on a population if some of the plants or animals in the community are scarce or if there are too many.
S4L2 Students will identify factors that affect the survival or extinction of organisms such as adaptation, variation of behaviors (hibernation) and external features (camouflage and protection).
a. Identify external features of organisms that allow them to survive or reproduce better than other organisms that do not have these features. (e.g. camouflage, use of hibernation, protection, etc.)
b. Identify factors that may have led to the extinction of some organisms.
ELA4W1 The student produces writing that establishes an appropriate organizational structure, sets a context and engages the reader, maintains a coherent focus throughout, and signals a satisfying closure. The student:
a. Selects a focus, an organizational structure, and a point of view based on purpose, genre expectations, audience, length, and format requirements.
b. Writes texts of a length appropriate to address the topic or tell the story.
c. Uses traditional structures for conveying information (e.g., chronological order, cause and effect, similarity and difference, and posing and answering a question).
d. Uses appropriate structures to ensure coherence (e.g., transition elements).
The student produces informational writing (e.g., report, procedures, correspondence) that:
a. Engages the reader by establishing a context, creating a speaker’s voice, and otherwise developing reader interest.
b. Frames a central question about an issue or situation.
c. Creates an organizing structure appropriate to a specific purpose, audience, and context.
d. Includes appropriate facts and details.
e. Excludes extraneous details and inappropriate information.
f. Uses a range of appropriate strategies, such as providing facts and details, describing or analyzing the subject, and narrating a relevant anecdote.
g. Draws from more than one source of information such as speakers, books, newspapers, and online materials.
h. Provides a sense of closure to the writing.
ELA4W4 The student consistently uses a writing process to develop, revise, and evaluate writing. The student
a. Plans and drafts independently and resourcefully.
b. Revises selected drafts to improve coherence and progression by adding, deleting, consolidating, and rearranging text.
c. Edits to correct errors in spelling, punctuation, etc.
Aim/Purpose Statement
The purpose of this website is to allow fourth graders to demonstrate what constitutes an ecosystem, an understanding of the role of each member of a food chain, how the organisms in an ecosystem would be affected by changes in an environment, and how organisms adapt to survive and thrive in their environment.
Rationale
Fourth grade Earth Science Georgia Performance Standards require a thorough knowledge of the components and organisms present in an ecosystem. This curriculum website is intended to enhance students’ enduring understanding through real life application of the scientific principles.
General Educational Goals
- Understand the role of each member of a food chain/web.
- Recognize adaptations that help an organism survive in its particular environment.
- Understand and communicate how changes to one segment of a food chain/web affect the entire ecosystem.
- Know and correctly use the scientific language associated with ecosystems.
Subject Matter Description
“Mr. Bishop's Eco-Challenge” – exploring the relationship between organisms in an ecosystem.
Learner Description
The activities and procedures contained in this website are designed primarily for fourth grade students. It can be used as an enrichment activity for younger students needing a challenge, or as a remediation activity for older students requiring a refresher.
Prerequisites
Before starting this activity, students should:
- Have at least a 3.0 Independent Reading Level.
- Possess gross and fine motor skills necessary to navigate across the Internet.
- Possess gross and fine motor skills necessary to operate various software packages.
- Be able to compose a letter that conforms to grade level standards of form, conventions, grammar, and vocabulary usage.
- Possess a scientific curiosity that leads to successful hypothesis formulation, inquiry, logical conclusions, and reasonable, practical solution to real life problems.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this website, students will be able to:
- Identify and describe the components of an ecosystem.
- Correctly draw and label a food chain of a given ecosystem.
- Correctly combine several food chains to create a food web.
- Accurately describe the effects on the ecosystem of removing a link in the food chain/web.
- Accurately identify adaptations organisms have made to survive in their natural environment.
Materials
Instructional Plan
Before using this website, you should be sure each student is skilled at using a web browser. They should be able to interpret and use icons, follow links, activate embedded videos or activities, close additional windows without closing the main site, and use the "back" button in the browser.
The website is divided into sections. Each section contains several activities that should be completed in the order in which they appear on the page. A brief description of each section is given below.
- Entry page. This page is presented in the form of a comic book to capture student interest. The "characters" in the comic appear as icons within the rest of the website. The entry page provides an intentionally brief overview of ecology and a portal into "Mr. Bishop's Eco_Challenge."
- Ecosystems page. This page begins with a brief written overview of ecosystems. Students proceed to a short embedded video, "The Nature of Ecosystems." Below the video is an owl icon that takes students to a Google quiz on information presented in the video. The quiz opens in a separate page that will need to be closed when the quiz is complete. Following the quiz there is an icon that leads to the first of two webquests contained in the website, "Don't Get Your Web in a Knot: Ecosystem Designer." More detail regarding the webquest is given later in the Instrucional Plan.
- Producers & Consumers page. This page begins with a brief written overview of the roles of producers, consumers, and decomposers. Students proceed to a short embedded video, "Energy Flow in Ecosystems." Below the video is an owl icon that takes students to a Google quiz on information presented in the video. The quiz opens in a separate page that will need to be closed when the quiz is complete.
- Food Chains page. This page begins with a brief written overview of of the nature and structure of food chains and webs. Students proceed to a short embedded video, "Food Chains." This is a shortened version of a longer video available at TeacherTube.com. Below the video is an owl icon that takes students to a Google quiz on information presented in the video. The quiz opens in a separate page that will need to be closed when the quiz is complete. Following the quiz there is an icon that leads to the second of two webquests contained in the website, "Don't Get Your Web in a Knot: Ranger." More detail regarding the webquest is given later in the Instrucional Plan.
- Adaptations page. This page begins with a brief written overview of the importance of adaptations. Students proceed to a short embedded video, "Adaptations for Obtaining Food." Below the video is an owl icon that takes students to a Google quiz on information presented in the video. The quiz opens in a separate page that will need to be closed when the quiz is complete.
- Supplemental page. This page is provided as a supplement to the main sections of the website. There is a vocabulary activity for all associated terminology. There are also flash activities to deepen student understanding. Some of these activities will require independent inquiry on that part of the student, as they go beyond the requirement of 4th grade Life Science standards.
Webquests
There are two webquests within the overall curriculum site. Each webquest is designed to be completed independently, although the structure allows them to be completed in small groups as well. You will need to decide, or let your students decide, how to subdivide the responsibilities of each task. Differentiation by product is built into the tasks. Students have choices on how to present completed projects within each webquest.
Pacing
This website will probably be of the most benefit if used in conjunction with or after direct instruction on the various components. Motivated students may be able to use it as a pre-learning activity. Depending on the length of each computer lab session, you may need to plan to devote as much as two weeks to complete all activities. If the webquests are not used, it may be possible to complete the associated activities in one or two 45-minute sessions.
Learning Activities Flowchart
Learning Activities Document
Assessment Plan
The following instruments/methods will be used to assess student understanding during and at the conclusion of the website activities:
- Video Quizzes
- A short, multiple choice quiz follows each video segment.
- Performance Tasks
- “Ranger”
- “Ecosystem Designer”
- Computerized Vocabulary Review
- Flash cards and matching activities will be provided for essential vocabulary review. Feedback and remediation or enrichment is suggested by the program.
Evaluation Plan
- The site has been tested in Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, and Safari.
- The site has been tested in the Windows 7 and Mac OS X operating systems.
- The site will be evaluated by the fourth grade science curriculum committee.
- The site will be evaluated by a fourth grade class with identified gifted students.
- Please use the link to provide feedback for the continued development and improvement of this curriculum website.
Website Evaluation Form
Teaching Plan
This curriculum website is designed to supplement direct classroom instruction in fourth grade Life Science standards. It will be most efficiently implemented in the computer lab. The website has been designed for individual instruction, requiring each student to have computer access. If so desired, tasks within the embedded webquests could be divided if there is a need for small groups. If the computer lab is not available, the instruction from the main sections of the website could be accomplished via projector. Embedded webquests could then be added as centers on classroom computers.
Prior to the first use of the website, students should be familiar with basic website navigation skills. Specifically, they should be able to recognize multimedia control icons and navigation icons. They should also be able to tell when content has opened in a new window, how to complete that activity successfully, and then close the window without closing the main site. They should also be familiar with completing and submitting online assessments.
The majority of the content is delivered within the website. The same desired technology skills for the students should already be familiar to teachers. Assistance from specialized technology instructions should not be required. A single teacher should be able to manage any technical problems that arise. However, assistance in guiding and advising students during the inquiry-based portions would make that process more fluid. Parts of the assignments could be printed out for use by students who choose not to stay on-task during the activities.
Rubrics have been provided for activities that will end in a finished product. The rubrics have been attached to the Teaching Guide in PDF format. They can be used as is, or the information can easily be transferred to a site like Rubistar for any changes that may need to be made.
A link to an online evaluation form is provided in the Teacher Guide. Please help refine or correct this site by contributing feedback.
Contact Information
For more information about this webquest or to make suggestions for improvement, please contact the author:
Scott Bishop
sbishop@white.k12.ga.us
Bibliography
Adaptations for Obtaining Food [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www1.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=183295&title=Adaptations_for_Obtaining_Food
Badders, W., Carnine, D., Feliciani, J., Jeanpierre, B., Sumners, C., & Valentino, C. (2009). Georgia science. Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Energy Flow in Ecosystems [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www1.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=161083&title=Energy_Flow_in_Ecosystems
Food Chains [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www1.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=143000&title=Food_Chains
Georgia Department of Education. (2004). Georgia science performance standards. Retrieved from https://www.georgiastandards.org/Standards/Pages/BrowseStandards/ScienceStandards.aspx
Northeast Georgia Youth Science and Technology Centers. (n.d.). [Citations from fourth grade science curriculum guide]. Unpublished raw data.
The Nature of Ecosystems [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www1.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=95173&title=The_Nature_of_Ecosystems
Last updated on
July 14, 2011
by Scott Bishop
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