Scenario
|
 The
third grade teachers at your school have requested your help in teaching
their students about the different habitats
in Maryland. To prepare for your teaching assignment, you must
research a habitat found in Maryland; participate in a field study where
you collect and analyze data about non-living and living factors using
this Science Log; and create an ecochamber
of a habitat found in Maryland.
Every fifth grade student who
successfully
 |
completes
his or her research and earns an eco-guide
certificate; |
|
conducts
a field study of Maryland's habitats; |
| and
creates an ecochamber
demonstrating the interactions between groups of organisms
and their environments |
will be
invited to teach third grade students about their habitat.
 |
Essential
Question: How
do individuals and groups of organisms interact with each other and
their environment? |
|
Task
|
Research
a habitat that is indigenous to Maryland. You will be assigned to one of
the following habitats:
|
Forest
|
Wetlands
|
|
Shoreline |
 Meadow
|
Your team will gather
information about how organisms interact with their environment,
including:
| Predator/prey relations |
| Food chain |
| The roles of producers, consumers, and decomposers in a habitat |
| Competition for space, food, and water |
| Interactions of organisms with the non-living environment (field
study) |
| Changes to the environment and if those changes are beneficial or
harmful |
After completing your
research, you will be prepared to use your knowledge to build and present
an ecochamber
that demonstrates how groups of organisms interact with each other and
their environment. |
Product
|
Research
your habitat, then,
| Create a scientific drawing of your
ecosystem to share your results with your group members.
|
| Complete your field study by gathering
data about all of the ecosystems using this Science
Log. |
| Graph and analyze the data you collected by comparing the data to the normal
ranges you found in your research. |
| Share the results of your research with your group. Use the
information presented to decide what to put in your ecochamber. |
| Create an ecochamber that demonstrates the interactions of
organisms in an environment. |
| Prepare an oral or multimedia presentation to share with
your fellow students and/or the third grade students. |
| Use this planning checklist
to make sure you have completed each step. |
Your teacher may decide to assign an
alternate type of presentation from the following list:
| Virtual ecochamber
- or your teacher may decide that the best way to teach the third
graders is through a KidPix, or Hyperstudio presentation where you
explain how organisms interact with their environment and then, create
a virtual ecochamber which graphically demonstrates the interactions. |
| Multimedia
presentation
- your teacher may decide that the best way to teach the third graders
is through a PowerPoint presentation where you explain how organisms
interact with their environment and then, insert digital photos of the
various stages of growth in your ecochamber. |
|
Assessments
|
The
following scoring tools will be used to assess both the process of
gathering information and your finished product:
You will also be graded
on your work in your group using this Group
Work Scoring Tool.
|
Question
|
|
Essential
Question: How
do individuals and groups of organisms interact with each other and
their environment? |
Subsidiary questions
| What is a predator? a
prey? When can an organism be both? |
| What is the food chain? |
| What happens when an
organism is removed from the food chain? |
| What are the roles of
producers, consumers, and decomposers in a food chain? |
| What happens when there
is competition for space, food, and water? |
| What does data like
temperature, salinity, and wind speed tell me about the
environment? |
| Which environments in
Maryland are fragile and why? |
|
Gather and Sort
 |
Each
member of your group should complete one of the following notetaking/planning
sheets for one of Maryland's ecosystems:
 Gather
information about from a variety of sources.
Be
sure to avoid plagiarism and keep track of your resources for a
bibliography. Need help
documenting your resources? Use the interactive tools at Noodle
Tools Quick Cite. |
Organize
|
Analyze your completed graphic organizer.
Synthesize your findings by choosing to answer
one of the
following questions using a BCR format:
| Choose an organism and
explain how it interacts with the living and non-living factors of its
ecosystem.
| Which environments in
Maryland are the most fragile and why? |
|
Evaluate the effectiveness of your research for
the task.
|
Conclusion
|
Reflection and/or Extension
Activities:
| Which ecosystem in Maryland is most fragile?
Why should it be protected? What can be done to protect it? |
| How do humans affect the
habitat you have chosen to study? Are human interactions
harmful, beneficial, or both? |
|
Last update: March, 2005
Created by Sharon Grimes
BCPS Research Module,
Copyright 2004, Baltimore County Public Schools,
MD, all rights reserved. This Research Module may be used for educational,
non-profit school use only. All other uses, transmissions, and duplications are
prohibited unless permission is granted expressly.
- The Baltimore County Public schools does not
guarantee the accuracy or quality of information located on
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- Copyright © 2003 Baltimore County Public Schools,
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All rights reserved.
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All other uses, transmissions and duplications are prohibited unless
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