1. BIODIVERSITY Expected Learning Outcomes, Lessons, & Activity Ideas
6th Grade, 7th Grade, & 8th Grade

2. BY THE END OF THE LESSON STUDENTS SHOULD BE ABLE TO…
Recognize Different Types Of Habitats, And The Animals That Live Within Them
Observe How The Animals Within A Habitat Depend On Each Other
Identify The Natural Resources Within Habitats
Examine How Animals Depend On These Natural Resources
Appreciate How Human Interaction May Help Or Hurt The Habitat, Natural Resources, And Animal Populations

3. CONTENT & KEY CONCEPTS THAT WILL BE COVERED
Biodiversity
Environmental Awareness
Map Interpretation
Habitats ( I.E. Mountains, Desert, Swamps, Plains, & Suburban)
Species Richness
Human Impact
Landscape Change (And Resulting Habitat Change)
Endemism
Endemic Species Richness
Population Growth
Abundance
Deforestation
Plant Identification
Agriculture
Animal Classification
Evenness
Graphing
Geography

4. IN WHAT WAYS CAN WE REPRESENT BIODIVERSITY?
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
WHAT IS BIODIVERSITY?
IN WHAT WAYS CAN WE REPRESENT BIODIVERSITY?
HOW DO LANDSCAPES CHANGE OVER TIME AND HOW MIGHT THESE CHANGES AFFECT PLANT AND ANIMAL COMMUNITIES?
ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS
WHY IS BIODIVERSITY IMPORTANT?
WHAT ARE HABITATS AND WHY ARE THE IMPORTANT?
WHAT KINDS OF ANIMALS LIVE IN WHICH HABITATS? WHY?
WHAT IS A BIODIVERSITY ACCOUNT?
WHICH OF THESE HABITATS IS MOST IMPORTANT TO MAINTAIN?
WHICH OF THESE HABITATS IS MOST BENEFICIAL TO OUR WORLD?
HOW MANY SPECIE EXIST ON EARTH?

5. EXPECTED SKILLS MASTERY Grade 6
At The Conclusion Of The Learning Unit, Students Will…
Retain All Information and Knowledge Learned Previously
Gain An Understanding Of The Broadest Taxonomic Classifications Of Organisms And How Characteristics Determine Their Classification
Be Able To Appreciate The Interdependence Between Organisms And Their Environments And The Levels Of Organization Within An Ecosystem
Know That All Organisms Are Classified Into Domains And Kingdoms
Be Able To Recognize That Organisms Within Taxonomic Groups Share Similar Characteristics, Which Allow Them To Interact With The Living And Nonliving Parts Of Their Ecosystem
WHILE COMPLETING THE LESSON, THE STUDENT IS EXPECTED TO:
Recognize That The Broadest Taxonomic Classification Of Living Organisms & Is Divided Into Currently Recognized Domains
Identify Characteristics Of Animals That Further Classify Them Into The Currently Recognized Kingdoms
Describe Biotic And Abiotic Parts Of An Ecosystem In Which Organisms Interact
Diagram The Levels Of Organization Within An Ecosystem, Including Organism, Population, Community, And Ecosystem
* All Information On This Slide Gathered From: Chapter 112. Texas Essential Knowledge And Skills For Science Subchapter B. Middle School*

6. EXPECTED SKILLS MASTERY Grade 7
At The Conclusion Of The Learning Unit, Students Will…
Be Expected To Retain All Information and Knowledge Learned The Previous Year
Be Aware Of The Relationships Between Organisms And The Environment
Know That Populations And Species Demonstrate Variation
WHILE COMPLETING THE LESSON, THE STUDENT IS EXPECTED TO:
Observe And Describe How Different Environments, Including Microhabitats And Biomes, Support Different Varieties Of Organisms
Describe How Biodiversity Contributes To The Sustainability Of An Ecosystem; And Observe, Record, And Describe The Role Of Ecological Succession.
Explain Variation Within A Population Or Species By Comparing External Features, Behaviors, Or Physiology Of Organisms That Enhance Their Survival.
Identify Some Changes In Genetic Traits That Have Occurred Over Several Generations Through Natural Selection And Selective Breeding By Examining The Galapagos Medium Ground Finch (Geospiza Fortis).
* All Information On This Slide Gathered From: Chapter 112. Texas Essential Knowledge And Skills For Science Subchapter B. Middle School*

7. EXPECTED SKILLS MASTERY Grade 8
At The Conclusion Of The Learning Unit, Students Will…
Be Expected To Expected To Retain All Information and Knowledge Learned The Previous Year.
Know That Interdependence Occurs Among Living Systems
Recognize That The Environment, And Human Activities Can Affect These Systems.
WHILE COMPLETING THE LESSON, THE STUDENT IS EXPECTED TO:
Describe Producer/Consumer, Predator/Prey, And Parasite/Host Relationships As They Occur In Food Webs Within Marine, Freshwater, And Terrestrial Ecosystems
Investigate How Organisms And Populations In An Ecosystem Depend On And May Compete For Biotic And Abiotic Factors Such As Quantity Of Light, Water, Range Of Temperatures, Or Soil Composition;
Explore How Short- And Long-term Environmental Changes Affect Organisms And Traits In Subsequent Populations
Recognize Human Dependence On Ocean Systems
Explain How Human Activities Such As Runoff, Artificial Reefs, Or Use Of Resources Have Modified These Systems
* All Information On This Slide Gathered From: Chapter 112. Texas Essential Knowledge And Skills For Science Subchapter B. Middle School*

8. ACTIVITY IDEAS A BIRD’S EYE VIEW OF CHANGING LANDSCAPES
Biodiversity, Species Richness, Endemism, Endemic Species Richness, Abundance, Evenness, Graphing, & Map Interpretation
A BIRD’S EYE VIEW OF CHANGING LANDSCAPES
Human Impact, Landscape Change, Population Growth, Deforestation, & Agriculture
BIRD ISLAND: WHAT IS BIODIVERSITY?
Use Satellite Imagery To Investigate Landscape Change Over Time At A Location Of Interest Within Your Local Area.
To analyze landscape change over time and infer how these changes might affect plant and animal communities. Students will discover various ways in which landscapes change over time by analyzing patterns in current and historical satellite images from locations around the world.
INVESTIGATION OVERVIEW
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Discover The Concept Of Biodiversity.
To define “biodiversity” and explore various methods of representing this concept. Students will develop operational definitions of biodiversity and related terms through spatial and graphical analysis of fictional bird populations. Students will also be able to define and understand the meaning of biodiversity and related terms. Students will also be able to identify and use appropriate terms to describe biodiversity.
Explore Ways To Represent And Compare Biodiversity.
Explore Landscape Change Over Time In Las Vegas Using Skills Learned From The Previous Local Exploration.
Graph Abundance Of All Species Within Individual Ecoregions.
Explore Landscape Change Around The World.
Discuss These Single Ecoregion Bar Charts.
Discuss And Share Findings.
Graph Abundance Of Each Species Across All Six Ecoregions.
Discuss These Cross-ecoregion Bar Charts.
Discuss Ways To Assess And Compare Biodiversity.
KEY CONCEPTS
Plant/Animal List (5 minutes) [Level 1]
Each student will receive a list of plants and animals that are to be placed in the proper habitat.
The class will do the first one together with the teacher.
Each student will then individually proceed to place the rest of their list in the correct habitat.
Yarn Activity (5 minutes) [Level 2]
Students will stand in a circle.
One student will hold the end of a ball of yarn while tossing it to another student in the circle.
Each student will hold a section of the yarn while tossing it to another student.
Repeat this process until each student is holding a section of the yarn and the circle is crisscrossed randomly with yarn.
The yarn will go continuously across and around the circle.
Have one student release his section of yarn.
Result: All of the remaining students must adjust to tighten the strands of yarn.
Repeat with second student.
Point out that this is similar to the interdependence of plants and animals and their habitats.
Each component affects the other components.
Habitat Assignment [level 3 & 4]
Students will choose a habitat.
They must remove one component and then write down all of the consequences that result from the removal of the component.
Endangered Species Project [Levels 5 & 6]
*Activity & Materials Provided By &

9. TEKS STRANDS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS LESSON
(ii)  Students learn that all organisms obtain energy, get rid of wastes, grow, and reproduce. During both sexual and asexual reproduction, traits are passed onto the next generation. These traits are contained in genetic material that is found on genes within a chromosome from the parent. Changes in traits sometimes occur in a population over many generations. One of the ways a change can occur is through the process of natural selection. Students extend their understanding of structures in living systems from a previous focus on external structures to an understanding of internal structures and functions within living things.
ORGANISMS AND ENVIRONMENTS
(i) In studies of living systems, students explore the interdependence between these systems. Interactions between organisms in ecosystems, including producer/consumer, predator/prey, and parasite/host relationships, are investigated in aquatic and terrestrial systems. Students describe how biotic and abiotic factors affect the number of organisms and populations present in an ecosystem. In addition, students explore how organisms and their populations respond to short- and long-term environmental changes, including those caused by human activities.
(i)  Students will understand the relationship between living organisms and their environment. Different environments support different living organisms that are adapted to that region of Earth. Organisms are living systems that maintain a steady state with that environment and whose balance may be disrupted by internal and external stimuli. External stimuli include human activity or the environment. Successful organisms can reestablish a balance through different processes such as a feedback mechanism. Ecological succession can be seen on a broad or small scale.
* All Information On This Slide Gathered From: Chapter Texas Essential Knowledge And Skills For Science Subchapter B. Middle School* ml

10. TEKS STRANDS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS LESSON
SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION AND REASONING.
(ii)  Scientific investigations are conducted for different reasons. All investigations require a research question, careful observations, data gathering, and analysis of the data to identify the patterns that will explain the findings. Descriptive investigations are used to explore new phenomena such as conducting surveys of organisms or measuring the abiotic components in a given habitat. Descriptive statistics include frequency, range, mean, median, and mode. A hypothesis is not required in a descriptive investigation. On the other hand, when conditions can be controlled in order to focus on a single variable, experimental research design is used to determine causation. Students should experience both types of investigations and understand that different scientific research questions require different research designs.
(iii)  Scientific investigations are used to learn about the natural world. Students should understand that certain types of questions can be answered by investigations, and the methods, models, and conclusions built from these investigations change as new observations are made. Models of objects and events are tools for understanding the natural world and can show how systems work. Models have limitations and based on new discoveries are constantly being modified to more closely reflect the natural world.
(i)  To develop a rich knowledge of science and the natural world, students must become familiar with different modes of scientific inquiry, rules of evidence, ways of formulating questions, ways of proposing explanations, and the diverse ways scientists study the natural world and propose explanations based on evidence derived from their work.
* All Information On This Slide Gathered From: Chapter Texas Essential Knowledge And Skills For Science Subchapter B. Middle School* html

11. “Hands-On, Collaborative and Project-Based”
CONSTRUCTIVISM
Constructivism, which is considered to be the teaching method that is more
“Hands-On, Collaborative and Project-Based”
would be where this lesson plan and activity suggestions would fit best.
This is because this lesson plan adheres to the following constructivism goals:
“…it is student-driven rather than teacher-driven. Students take part in hands-on, collaborative and/or project-based learning. Instead of being told explicitly that magnets attract metals that contain iron, students are given magnets and asked to find which materials they 'stick to' in the classroom. In science education, this is often called inquiry-based learning, an important part of many contemporary science curricula, in which students explore science concepts for themselves through carefully set-up experiments.”
The second part of this definition is an exact representation of what will be done in the aforementioned lesson. *

12. REFERENCES & CREDITS
19 TAC Chapter 112, Subchapter B. (2009, August 4). Retrieved from
A Bird’s Eye View of Changing Landscapes Lesson 1. (2010, June 28). Retrieved from pdf
Bird Island: What is Biodiversity? Lesson 1. (2013, March 8). Retrieved from
Conservation Scientist. (n.d.). Retrieved from
Howard, M. (n.d.). Direct Instruction Teaching Method: Definition, Examples & Strategies - Supplemental Lesson. Retrieved from instruction-teaching-method-definition-examples-strategies.html