"Maintaining Habitats and Mini-Ecosystems"
Bellwork:
1) An ecosystem is ________________.
2) Are producers biotic or abiotic?
3) A third-level consumer eats _________________.
- Note: CCA scores will hopefully be back for Monday.
- Observations: Using the 3 different record sheets in their notebooks, students observe the milkweed bugs, the aquariums, and the terrariums
- Discuss:
What struck you the most about what you saw?
What did the milkweed bug habitats look like? The aquariums? The terrariums?
What can we do to make it better?
- Write a paragraph using the following guidelines
Role: An organism living in our classroom
Audience: Ms. Davis
Format: A letter or email
Topic: What we should set up to help you survive
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
"CCA Test #1"
Bellwork: None
- Students complete CCA (core content assessment) 1 in science, consisting of 20 multiple choice questions and 1 open response question
Bellwork: None
- Students complete CCA (core content assessment) 1 in science, consisting of 20 multiple choice questions and 1 open response question
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
"Practicing for the CCA: Quiz Game"
Bellwork:
1) The place an organism lives is its ______________.
2) Aquatic organisms live in the _______.
3) A drought is when there’s not enough _________________.
- Students work in groups of 4 to compete in a 20 question quiz that helps them study for the CCA. Whichever team(s) get the most questions right win a prize.
- The questions are projected on the board - students receive 30-60 seconds to choose an answer from the four options and record it on their team answer sheet.
- Once the quiz is completed, we'll "trade and grade" as we go over the answers to the questions
Bellwork:
1) The place an organism lives is its ______________.
2) Aquatic organisms live in the _______.
3) A drought is when there’s not enough _________________.
- Students work in groups of 4 to compete in a 20 question quiz that helps them study for the CCA. Whichever team(s) get the most questions right win a prize.
- The questions are projected on the board - students receive 30-60 seconds to choose an answer from the four options and record it on their team answer sheet.
- Once the quiz is completed, we'll "trade and grade" as we go over the answers to the questions
Monday, September 24, 2007
"Practicing for the CCA Test: Food Web ORQ"
Bellwork:
1) The difference between a population and a community is ________________.
2) Two abiotic factors are ___________.
3) Producers _________ their own food.
- Discuss: what happens when you remove an organism from a food web?
Losing your predator (the animal that eats you) will increase your numbers.
Losing your prey (your food) will decrease your numbers - you’ll starve.
There can be other changes as well.
- Students receive a copy of the ORQ they will be asked to complete on Wednesday. Ms. Davis models an ORQ that would receive a score of 4 (distinguished). They write the ORQ for Ms. Davis to check over and comment on - this will be returned to help them study for Wednesday.
- ORQ:
A) Using the list of organisms provided, identify ONE producer, ONE decomposer, and FOUR consumers, and diagram the food web they compose.
B) Choose ONE organism in your web and discuss the impact on the other organisms if it is removed from the ecosystem.
C) Choose ONE abiotic factor and discuss how changes in that factor could impact the ecosystem.
Note: 1st day of 2nd grading period
Bellwork:
1) The difference between a population and a community is ________________.
2) Two abiotic factors are ___________.
3) Producers _________ their own food.
- Discuss: what happens when you remove an organism from a food web?
Losing your predator (the animal that eats you) will increase your numbers.
Losing your prey (your food) will decrease your numbers - you’ll starve.
There can be other changes as well.
- Students receive a copy of the ORQ they will be asked to complete on Wednesday. Ms. Davis models an ORQ that would receive a score of 4 (distinguished). They write the ORQ for Ms. Davis to check over and comment on - this will be returned to help them study for Wednesday.
- ORQ:
A) Using the list of organisms provided, identify ONE producer, ONE decomposer, and FOUR consumers, and diagram the food web they compose.
B) Choose ONE organism in your web and discuss the impact on the other organisms if it is removed from the ecosystem.
C) Choose ONE abiotic factor and discuss how changes in that factor could impact the ecosystem.
Note: 1st day of 2nd grading period
Friday, September 21, 2007
"Making Food Webs"
Bellwork:
1) An organism that makes its own food is ________________________.
2) Does a primary consumer eat plants or animals?
3) What happens when one member of a food web is removed?
- Review food webs: energy flows from one organism to the next as they eat each other. Arrows show this in drawn food webs.
- Students all complete food webs today using sets of cards. Some work in groups of 2-4, and some work by themselves.
- Using arrows, students create 1-3 food webs that include 1 producer, 1 decomposer, and 4 consumers. The organisms they use are the same organisms they will have to choose from when they complete their CCA next week.
- Students record their food webs in their workbooks
Note: Last day of 1st grading period
Bellwork:
1) An organism that makes its own food is ________________________.
2) Does a primary consumer eat plants or animals?
3) What happens when one member of a food web is removed?
- Review food webs: energy flows from one organism to the next as they eat each other. Arrows show this in drawn food webs.
- Students all complete food webs today using sets of cards. Some work in groups of 2-4, and some work by themselves.
- Using arrows, students create 1-3 food webs that include 1 producer, 1 decomposer, and 4 consumers. The organisms they use are the same organisms they will have to choose from when they complete their CCA next week.
- Students record their food webs in their workbooks
Note: Last day of 1st grading period
Thursday, September 20, 2007
"Interfering with Food Webs"
Bellwork:
1) Draw a food chain.
2) A decomposer eats _______________.
3) Is algae a producer or a consumer?
- Review of yesterday's work
- Record new vocabulary in ecosystem glossary
Food chain: A sequence of organisms that eat one another in an ecosystem
Food web: All the food chains in an ecosystem connected together
Producer: Organism that makes its own food (ex: plants or algae)
Consumer: Organism that eats other organisms (ex: animals)
Decomposer: Organism that breaks down dead organisms (ex: bacteria, mushrooms, earthworms)
- Create an arctic food web
- Discuss the effects of changes in a food web:
What happens if your top predator goes extinct?
What happens if humans overfish a marine ecosystem?
What happens if the producer/plant in an ecosystem dies?
==>Plants are essential to an ecosystem's survival. Consumers are important too: if a predator disappears its prey population grows (sometimes out of control); if an organism's prey/food disappears it will starve to death.
Homework: Draw a food web with 1 producer, 1 decomposer, and 4 consumers
Bellwork:
1) Draw a food chain.
2) A decomposer eats _______________.
3) Is algae a producer or a consumer?
- Review of yesterday's work
- Record new vocabulary in ecosystem glossary
Food chain: A sequence of organisms that eat one another in an ecosystem
Food web: All the food chains in an ecosystem connected together
Producer: Organism that makes its own food (ex: plants or algae)
Consumer: Organism that eats other organisms (ex: animals)
Decomposer: Organism that breaks down dead organisms (ex: bacteria, mushrooms, earthworms)
- Create an arctic food web
- Discuss the effects of changes in a food web:
What happens if your top predator goes extinct?
What happens if humans overfish a marine ecosystem?
What happens if the producer/plant in an ecosystem dies?
==>Plants are essential to an ecosystem's survival. Consumers are important too: if a predator disappears its prey population grows (sometimes out of control); if an organism's prey/food disappears it will starve to death.
Homework: Draw a food web with 1 producer, 1 decomposer, and 4 consumers
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
"Organizing Food Webs"Bellwork:
1) Trees, butterflies, water, and flowers are _______________.
2) “Rabbits” are a _______________.
3) If rabbits eat grass, which way does the arrow point in the food chain?
2) “Rabbits” are a _______________.
3) If rabbits eat grass, which way does the arrow point in the food chain?
- Students learn how scientists organize food webs by different categories in order to make them easier to understand
- They re-organize yesterday's food web and color-code the different levels
- They re-organize yesterday's food web and color-code the different levels
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
"Mono Lake Food Webs"
Bellwork:
1) Are “wolves, rabbits, and vegetation (plants)” a population or a community?
2) Give an example of a population.
3) What is a food chain or food web?
Reading: "Who Eats What?: Food Chains and Food Webs" by Patricia Lauber
Mono Lake Food Web Activity
- Students work in groups of 4
- Each group receives a set of cards, each of which has organisms from the Mono Lake ecosystem
- Students use arrows to create a food web that shows who eats what in the Mono Lake ecosystem
- They record a copy of their food web in their workbooks (the top predator in their food web is the coyote...they also include bacteria to act as a decomposer to break down dead things)
Bellwork:
1) Are “wolves, rabbits, and vegetation (plants)” a population or a community?
2) Give an example of a population.
3) What is a food chain or food web?
Reading: "Who Eats What?: Food Chains and Food Webs" by Patricia Lauber
Mono Lake Food Web Activity
- Students work in groups of 4
- Each group receives a set of cards, each of which has organisms from the Mono Lake ecosystem
- Students use arrows to create a food web that shows who eats what in the Mono Lake ecosystem
- They record a copy of their food web in their workbooks (the top predator in their food web is the coyote...they also include bacteria to act as a decomposer to break down dead things)
Monday, September 17, 2007
Note: Ms. Davis was sick today. Ms. McMillen - the preferred sub - filled in for her.
"Food Webs"
Bellwork: None
Read chapter 11-2 in Science Interactions text
Answer the section questions
Watch Bill Nye episode on "Food Webs" - answer the accompanying questions
"Food Webs"
Bellwork: None
Read chapter 11-2 in Science Interactions text
Answer the section questions
Watch Bill Nye episode on "Food Webs" - answer the accompanying questions
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Friday, September 14, 2007
"Introduction to Mono Lake"
Bellwork:
None
Note: Ms. Davis was at a conference today on environmental education. Mr. Skaggs, one of the school preferred subs, filled in for her.
- Students watched Of Ice and Fire: A Portrait of Mono Basin, a 20 minute video on the Mono Lake ecosystem.
- We will be studying Mono Lake for the next few weeks
- Students completed thought questions that went with the video on page 47 in their yellow workbook.
- Cheetahs Reward Day: movie and popcorn
Bellwork:
None
Note: Ms. Davis was at a conference today on environmental education. Mr. Skaggs, one of the school preferred subs, filled in for her.
- Students watched Of Ice and Fire: A Portrait of Mono Basin, a 20 minute video on the Mono Lake ecosystem.
- We will be studying Mono Lake for the next few weeks
- Students completed thought questions that went with the video on page 47 in their yellow workbook.
- Cheetahs Reward Day: movie and popcorn
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Thursday, September 13, 2007
"Observing Mini-Ecosystems"
Bellwork:
1) “Snails, fish, and elodea” is a ___________________.
2) Draw a picture of a population.
3) An ocean with water, rocks, birds, and fish is an ___________________.
- Tests returned and gone over
- Mini-Ecosystem Observations: use new log sheets for aquariums and terrariums
==> count numbers, record behavior, draw, measure temperature
Bellwork:
1) “Snails, fish, and elodea” is a ___________________.
2) Draw a picture of a population.
3) An ocean with water, rocks, birds, and fish is an ___________________.
- Tests returned and gone over
- Mini-Ecosystem Observations: use new log sheets for aquariums and terrariums
==> count numbers, record behavior, draw, measure temperature
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
"Investigations 1 and 2 Test"
Bellwork:
1) A group of the one kind of organisms is a ____________________.
2) A group of more than one kind of organisms is a ___________________.
3) A place with living and nonliving things is an ________________________.
- Take the Populations and Ecosystems Investigations 1 and 2 Test
Homework: Buddy Permission Slips due TOMORROW
Bellwork:
1) A group of the one kind of organisms is a ____________________.
2) A group of more than one kind of organisms is a ___________________.
3) A place with living and nonliving things is an ________________________.
- Take the Populations and Ecosystems Investigations 1 and 2 Test
Homework: Buddy Permission Slips due TOMORROW
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
"Observing Mini-Ecosystem Organisms"
Bellwork:
1) Is grass biotic or abiotic?
2) Give an example of a population in this room.
3) Give an example of a community in this room.
- Complete the "Observing Aquatic Organisms" (p. 43) and "Observing Terrestrial Organisms" (p. 45) worksheets in the yellow workbook. Use pages 64-68 in the Populations and Ecosystems Resources book to help you do this.
- Observe the actual organisms if finished on time
- Homework: Study for tomorrow's quiz
Bellwork:
1) Is grass biotic or abiotic?
2) Give an example of a population in this room.
3) Give an example of a community in this room.
- Complete the "Observing Aquatic Organisms" (p. 43) and "Observing Terrestrial Organisms" (p. 45) worksheets in the yellow workbook. Use pages 64-68 in the Populations and Ecosystems Resources book to help you do this.
- Observe the actual organisms if finished on time
- Homework: Study for tomorrow's quiz
Monday, September 10, 2007
"Building Mini-Ecosystems"
Bellwork:
1) “Chimpanzees” are an example of a _____________.
2) “Chimpanzees and baboons” are an example of a ________________.
3) An example of something abiotic is ______________.
- Learned 2 new vocabulary words and added them to Ecosystem Glossary
Terrestrial: Of the land
Aquatic: Of the water
- Divide the organisms on pages 64-68 in the Populations and Ecosystems Resources book into the 2 categories: aquatic or terrestrial (do this on page 41 in yellow workbook)
- Then on the bottom of page 41, brainstorm and record what these organisms would need to survive in their mini-ecosystems
- Each class built part of a mini-ecosystem, either an aquarium (for aquatic/water organisms) or a terrarium (for terrestrial/land organisms)
- BA Buddy System: the class will be participating in a pen pal/buddy program with Berwick Academy in South Berwick, Maine (where Ms. Davis went to high school). The students will be assigned a buddy and receive postcards and possibly small presents from their "BA" buddy.
- Homework: Bring in permission slip
Bellwork:
1) “Chimpanzees” are an example of a _____________.
2) “Chimpanzees and baboons” are an example of a ________________.
3) An example of something abiotic is ______________.
- Learned 2 new vocabulary words and added them to Ecosystem Glossary
Terrestrial: Of the land
Aquatic: Of the water
- Divide the organisms on pages 64-68 in the Populations and Ecosystems Resources book into the 2 categories: aquatic or terrestrial (do this on page 41 in yellow workbook)
- Then on the bottom of page 41, brainstorm and record what these organisms would need to survive in their mini-ecosystems
- Each class built part of a mini-ecosystem, either an aquarium (for aquatic/water organisms) or a terrarium (for terrestrial/land organisms)
- BA Buddy System: the class will be participating in a pen pal/buddy program with Berwick Academy in South Berwick, Maine (where Ms. Davis went to high school). The students will be assigned a buddy and receive postcards and possibly small presents from their "BA" buddy.
- Homework: Bring in permission slip
Friday, September 7, 2007
Friday, September 7, 2007
Bellwork:
1) When there’s 5 organisms of one kind, it’s a ______________.
2) A rock is ___________.
3) A group of fish and snails is called a ___________________.
- Vocabulary Review
- Complete the "Among the Chimpanzees" worksheet
- Discuss college experience: Ms. Davis went to Williams College in Massachusetts and the University of Aberdeen in Scotland (Europe)
1) When there’s 5 organisms of one kind, it’s a ______________.
2) A rock is ___________.
3) A group of fish and snails is called a ___________________.
- Vocabulary Review
- Complete the "Among the Chimpanzees" worksheet
- Discuss college experience: Ms. Davis went to Williams College in Massachusetts and the University of Aberdeen in Scotland (Europe)
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Bellwork:
1) Give an example of an ecosystem…
2) Give an example of a population…
3) Are “cats and dogs” an example of a population or a community?
- Review vocabulary
- Finish watching Among the Chimpanzees
- Work in pairs/groups to complete the "Among the Chimpanzees worksheet"
1) Give an example of an ecosystem…
2) Give an example of a population…
3) Are “cats and dogs” an example of a population or a community?
- Review vocabulary
- Finish watching Among the Chimpanzees
- Work in pairs/groups to complete the "Among the Chimpanzees worksheet"
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Ms. Davis: Sick today
Work with Sub:
- No bellwork
- Begin watching the Jane Goodall film Among the Chimpanzees
- Begin work on the "Among the Chimpanzees Worksheet"
Work with Sub:
- No bellwork
- Begin watching the Jane Goodall film Among the Chimpanzees
- Begin work on the "Among the Chimpanzees Worksheet"
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Ms. Davis: Sick Today
Work with Sub:
- No bellwork
- Vocabulary Review Sheet: Students identify, describe, and draw example of individuals, populations, communities, ecosystems, and abiotic factors.
Work with Sub:
- No bellwork
- Vocabulary Review Sheet: Students identify, describe, and draw example of individuals, populations, communities, ecosystems, and abiotic factors.
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