TAKS Objective 5 The student will demonstrate an understanding of Earth and Space systems

Identify that change in environmental conditions can affect the survival of individuals and of species TEKS Science Concept 8.14 B

Lesson Objective The student will be able to describe environmental conditions that can have significant impact on the survival of individuals and species.

Question True or False: With intervention any species can be saved from extinction.

Once a species is threatened or endangered it is not always possible to remove the threat or endangerment. Once a species drops past a critical number of individuals, the species will most likely go extinct regardless of what we do to intervene

Question True or False: Environmental dangers are usually visible.

There are many environmental problems that are not always obvious. For example, UV radiation, CFCs, microscopic organisms/viruses, and many forms of pollution cannot be seen or detected without special equipment. For this reason, an individual may not be aware of the nature of the problem.

Prior Knowledge 1. What is biodiversity? 2.What is the role of sexual reproduction in survival of organisms? 3. How do changes in the phenotype of an individual occur?

The Golden Coqui Extinction Dice Game

99.9% of all species that have ever lived are extinct. Many of them perished in five mass extinctions. According to the America Museum of natural History and the Louis Harris Survey research firm, seven out of ten biologists believe we are in the mist of a sixth mass extinction  ENGAGE

 EXPLORE Get ready to play the Golden Coqui Extinction Dice Game. Let’s read the directions together.

EXPLAIN 1.Why are all the graphs not identical? 2. How do the three lines on the graph compare? 3.Under what circumstance might an increased birthrate have a negative outcome? 4.What are ways that citizens can become active in the protection of biodiversity?

EXPLAIN 5. What causes a population to grow? 6. What causes a population to decline? 7. What makes a population stay the same in size? 8. Does the size of the population matter? Why or why not? 9. Associate the probability of rolling the dice with the outcome of the simulation (i.e., what is the probability of rolling a 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12?

 ELABORATE Explore species no longer found in Texas using information from the following website: na_ext.html

 EVALUATE After completing the learning experience, The Golden Coqui Extinction Dice Game” the learner will participate in a class discussion by providing at least two meaningful interactions during the class debriefing sessions.

 EVALUATE Given information about species which are longer living in Texas, the student will conduct web research to determine the cause of loss for at least three animals. The information will be recorded in the science journal.