Ecology

Some Math /Science NGSS performance tasks from Steve Pruitt-

In this one the performance task is on page 22 to 27

Human population data at: [|UN population division]

KD Fleming's Data on lizard populations compared to rainfall, invasive mustard, and soil compaction

Pit trap photos



Pogo ants in a pit trap



Here are some food web cards for the local desert. They are written at an elementary level. Feel free to edit them if you like. You may add more organisms. I'm sure some of the information is not 100% correct. They are in powerpoint format- to make food web cards, print them as handouts, two to a page. An oil spill lab They work well for this food web activity- Here is an animation on the carbon cycle [|carbon cycle]

Here is a game Sarah R uses as an icebreaker at the beginning of the year. Each student gets a different card and has to go around and try to find people who know some answers- it s a great way to check prior knowledge as well.

Here is a great template for kids to make an ecological "pyramid" from Robert P

Model the energy by having students run a relay race in which they pass water from cup to cup to represent energy moving through a food chain. The cups have holes in them that represent energy loss at each level. (do outside). At the start is a large water bucket representing the suns energy- the first kid on each team is the producer, then a herbivore, a first level carnivore, and then a top predator. Space the kids out so there is considerable water loss at each level. the goal is to "fill" the top predator's cup. Very fun.

This lab from Robert P. uses a count of pepper seeds to estimate how fast a population could grow- one to revisit when talking about Darwin and "overproduction"

Here is a human population activity from Sarah R.

Kim R. uses a seed germination lab to teach scientific method There is a similar one in the 7th grade curriculum that most 7th grade teachers do, so you might consider letting the class choose a variable to test.

Start a Population bomb by putting canned pumpkin in a 2 liter bottle - you can either wait for fruit flies to show up or put a few purchased //Drosophila// in. Once you have 5 or 6 flies cover the top with gauze to let air in but trap the flies. Explain to the students that this is a paradise for flies- lots of food and air. the next few months the population will explode and the jar will get very gross and very crowded.

Erik C. does a big Bio Bottle project go to [|Bottle Biology]

Brad Fleener uses bottle biology throughout the ecology unit to model cycles. sorry the picture is upside down. Here is the handout explaining the project A great thinking experiment is to ask teams of kids to imagine they are setting up a Biodome on the Moon and need to pick 12 species to bring along to provide food. Teams will likely focus on things they want to eat- cows, pigs, chickens and forget about producers, insect pollinators and scavengers, and decomposers. As we go through the unit teams should be given chances to revise their lists- to make it possible you might allow "soil bacteria" to be one species even though there might be hundreds of species in soil, the same goes for fungi.

Resources coming soon !

Sarah R- Bean food lab

Kim R- predator Prey game using And food chain cards

Kim R- Kaibab deer lab

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