Ecosystem Lesson

Abiotic and Biotic Factors

One of the essential questions for the Earth Systems unit I teach is how do changes in one part of an Earth system affect other parts of the system?  In order to build up to the enduring understanding for this question, students need to understand the terms ecosystem, interaction, abiotic, and biotic factors.  This lab covered the standard 5.3.6.C.2  “the number of organisms and populations an ecosystem can support depends on the biotic resources available and on abiotic factors, such as quantities of light and water, range of temperatures, and soil composition” (Mount Laurel Science Curriculum, 2011).  Students have studied these terms and applied them in the field.  Students used a hula-hoop to create a small area representing an ecosystem outside.  Within this small area, students observed insects, grasses, mushrooms, worms, soil, and water drops. 

I believe the goals from the inquiry activity were met.  My students had a valuable learning experience being outside and interacting with others in a group. After reviewing their lab worksheets, I learned the connections students made. They understand biotic factors within an ecosystem as other living organisms.  For example, few students called me over to examine their findings.  Their curiosity and excitement was amazing.  They paid close attention to things they usually do not see.  They drew pictures of grasses, insects, and soil in their labs.  Abiotic factors were difficult for them to keep in mind while observing the hula-hoop ecosystem.  After conversations with several groups, I learned they did not take into consideration climate, air, and perhaps water.  In the future, I will provide more examples and pictures of abiotic factors.  Many students were confused about whether soil, water, and fungus were abiotic.  Upon the completion of the lab, students felt more confident about both biotic and abiotic factors.

This would be a great picture to help my students identify abiotic and biotic factors: 

A website to use to self-monitor or diagnostic assessment: 

http://www.neok12.com/Ecosystems.htm

 

Reference

Mount Laurel Science Curriculum (2011). Mount Laurel Schools: Curriculum & Assessment. Retrieved on February 2, 2013 from http://www.mtlaurelschools.org/Program/Curriculum--Assessment/index.html

Ask A Scientist Response

A few weeks ago, I visited Ask A Scientist Website- Howard Hughes Medical Institute.  http://www.hhmi.org/askascientist/

The question I asked was: how can bdelloid rotifers still be considered living if they can shut down their metabolism for a period of time during harsh conditions?  

The background on the question was further examining the characteristics of life.  I began to think about bdelloid rotifers and their ability to shut down during harsh conditions.  I was curious if they were still considered living at the point of slowed or shut down of metabolic systems. 

The response I received was simple and easy to understand.  A volunteer scientist wrote to me that typical characteristics that we view in living organisms do not need to be evident at all times or during all life stages.  For example, all organisms must have the capability to reproduce.  However, during certain stages in life, women go through menopause and can no longer reproduce.  They are obviously still living.  I found this to be an interesting comparison and helped to put the answer to my question into perspective.  

I believe my students would enjoy using this website and receiving an answer from a scientist.  It helps to make science seem real and not just something to study in class.  I am going to incorporate this site into my science lessons! 

Ask A Scientist

Experience with Ask A Scientist Website

To further explore cells and their functions, I visited Ask A Scientist Website- Howard Hughes Medical Institute. http://www.hhmi.org/askascientist/

I read Can’t Count in A Really Short History of Nearly Everything by Brian Bryson. This short expository sparked curiosity for me about the bdelloid rotifers. According to Bryson (2008) bdelloid rotifers can switch of their metabolism during harsh living conditions. I began to reflect on the five characteristics of living organisms: metabolic processes, generative processes, responsive processes, control processes, and structural organization (Tillery, Enger, & Ross, 2008). Bdelloid rotifers do demonstrate all five characteristics when they are living in a favorable environment. However, they have the ability to shut down their metabolism. That led me to the question how can bdelloid rotifers still be considered living if they can shut down their metabolism for a period of time during harsh conditions? I submitted this question to the Ask A Scientist website. I have not received a response yet, but I did a little research to try and answer my question.

Bdelloid Rotifers are microscopic organisms known as metazoans. They live in freshwater ponds, lakes, brackish water, and even sewage (DCEB, 2013). At times, these habitats can dry out. The organism undergoes a process called anhydrobiosis, which many plants undergo, which protects from dehydration stress (Tunnacliffe, 2003). Some scientists called this type of organism the resurrection plant. Research identified LEA proteins, which likely prevents the bdelloid rotifer from drying out (DCEB, 2013). Is this the mechanism to shut down their metabolism? There is scientific interest in this organism for vaccines that could lose their potency if not kept cool (DCEB, 2013). Understanding the process bdelloid rotifer undergoes could help scientists to dry out medicine could be an enormous benefit (Tunnacliffe, 2003).

References 

Bryson, B. (2008). A really short history of nearly everything. New York, NY: Delacorte Press. 

DCEB (2013). Bdelloid Rotifers: Cell and Organism Engineering. Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology. Retrieved on January 21, 2013 from http://www.ceb.cam.ac.uk/pages/bdelloid-rotifers.html 

Tillery, B. W., Enger, E. D., & Ross, F. C. (2008). Integrated science (4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. 

Tunnacliffe, A. (2003) . Animal Magic: Cell and Organism Engineering. Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology. Retrieved on January 21, 2013 from http://www.ceb.cam.ac.uk/pages/bdelloid-rotifers.html

Web 2.0 Presentation Tools

Presentation tools are great avenues to express research, data, and all types of information.  Since I teach science, I find it important for lesson delivery to be engaging.  I have experimented with a few methods. Below are a few programs I can use in my classroom for lesson delivery or student performance.

21st Century Topics and Tools

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Education is moving to incorporate 21^st century skills.  Children need to be exposed to and practice many cross-curricular disciplines.  Each day, students should be building on critical thinking skills, technology, and collaboration with their peers (Partnership for 21^st Century Skills, 2009).  Implementing inquiry and STEM lessons can help use reach our goal.  However, there are many methods of networking and PLCs to help teachers plan effective science curriculums.

At the moment, I am teaching a forces and motion unit that has a lot of emphasis on energy.  An enduring understanding I am working towards mastery with my students is changes take place because of the transfer of energy.  I would like to share a few resources I found that would help me to embed 21^st century skills into my instruction.

First, NSTA learning center has excellent resources and recommendations for lessons.  There are seminars teachers can take (some are free, some are not) to improve understanding on the concept.  Here is a link for energy: http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/stlouis07/energy/webseminar.aspx

I have also found PhET.org to be an excellent method to engage multiple learning styles.  I have used this website as a whole class and individually on laptops.  To demonstrate the transfer of kinetic and potential energy, I use the simulation with a skate boarder.  The link: http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/energy-skate-park-basics  I can click the a pie graph to display while the skate boarder is moving.  Students can observe when potential energy transfers into kinetic and vice versa.  When students interact with the website, they are demonstrating their knowledge of technology and the enduring understanding. 

                                           Here is an introduction about the website!

                                           

Interactive read alouds are proven to enhance students’ understanding of vocabulary and literacy (Bircher, 2009).  I read in October’s addition of Science and Children a book that will promote inquiry, vocabulary practice, and engineering.  The interactive read aloud is called The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkawamba and Bryan Mealer.  This book can be used to enhance diversity, spark curiosity, and inspire hands-on learning.  In the biography, a 14-year-old boy uses scraps from a junkyard to build a windmill to harness energy.  This would be a great addition to my science unit.

                                          A video to supplement the book!

Finally, I believe reaching out to the community would help to apply the content students are learning in science.  Throughout the year, I try to invite guest speakers to my fifth graders to show my students the purpose of developing a deep understanding of science.  

Reference

Bircher, L. S. (2009). Reading Aloud: A springboard to inquiry. Retrieved on September 23, 2012 from

https://esc.tricountyesc.org/cos/scienceresources/Resources-Article-Reading-Aloud-A-Spring-Board-to-Inquiry.pdf+interactive+read+alouds+for+science&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESi0Sv65JqawhJvW5O0RkR0-sF8cizIiXnPl9GnKpGta7Rp--djRPlGPMvNiSzzCbFwwJmDTwDMv-h

Partnership for 21^st Century Skills. (2009). 21^st Century Skills Map: Science. Retrieved on October 6, 2012 from www.p21.org/storage/documents/21stcskillsmap_science.pdf

Heat Transfer

I begin my guided inquiry with a question: Which material do you think would make the best insulator?  I know that a conductor allows heat to travel through it.  Therefore, an insulator is going to reduce the heat from escaping a container (Elvidge, 2012).  With this in mind, I went searching for materials in my house that may be insulators.  Since this is a guided inquiry activity, I know I can design the investigation using materials I choose to answer the teacher question (Banchi & Bell, 2008).  The materials I choose to use are foil, plastic wrap, cardboard, and parchment paper.  

 

 

My hypothesis in the investigation is the foil will keep the most heat in the container.  In order to test the insulator, I will use ceramic mugs.  I line up four ceramic mugs on the counter.  Then, I pour in hot water at equal amounts in each mug.  The water is at 38°C at the start of the experiment.  Quickly, I cover each mug with a different material and set a timer for thirty minutes.  At the end of the thirty minutes, I found that the parchment paper held the most heat in at 35°C.  The weakest insulator turned out to be the cardboard.  I thought this would be true since it may have absorbed some of the water vapor taking heat with it.  At the end of the activity, I continued to think about what I knew about heat and convection to justify my outcome.  Convection is the transfer of heat through liquids and gasses (Tillery, Enger, & Ross, 2008).  The foil and parchment paper had the higher temperatures, so they were insulators to keep the heat from escaping.

 Although the experiment was straight forward, I believe I could make it better.  First of all, I only used one thermometer.  I do not think my results were completely accurate due to this fact.  While I measured the temperature of one mug, another sat losing heat until I could reach it.  Also, the thermometer itself was difficult to use since it did not have measuring lines on it.  I actually needed to measure the temperature, than place it along the paper it was glued to in order to record the degree.  I am sure I lost some valuable data in this process.  Also, I did not have enough rubber bands to wrap each material onto the mug.  I did this for cardboard and parchment paper only.  The benefit of guided inquiry is the learning experience and the making sense of the results.

 This would be a great experiment for my students.  I would begin using a video from Teacher’s Domain (I will include the site in the reference section).  This video demonstrates students experimenting with materials to keep an ice cube cold.  This would launch us into our guided inquiry lab.  Students need to test materials to determine the best insulator.  I would allow students to use four cups of various materials.  For example, I will provide Styrofoam, plastic, ceramic, aluminum, etc.  Students will choose their materials and fill with hot water.  Thermometers will be available to each testing material.  Students will record the beginning temperature along with temperature readings every five minutes for a twenty-minute period.  This activity will require consistent observation and teamwork. 

 

References

Banchi, H., & Bell, R. (2008). The many levels of inquiry. Science and Children, 46(2), 26–29. Retrieved on July 8, 2012 from http://web.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ehost/detail?sid=f218157f-411e-4b18-a5ee-9c8577f37f96%40sessionmgr11&vid=1&hid=21&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=ehh&AN=34697743

Elvidge, S. (2012). Keeping Warm or Cold: Insulation and Conduction. Retrieved on September 23, 2012 from http://www.scienceprojectideas.co.uk/keeping-warm-cold-insulation-conduction.html

Tillery, B. W., Enger, E. D., & Ross, F. C. (2008). Integrated science (4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Teachers' Domain. (2004). Testing Insulators: Ice Cube in a Box. Retrieved on September 23, 2012 from 

http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/phy03.sci.phys.mfe.zice/

 

Engaging in Guided Inquiry

Science education is a combination of questioning, problem solving, and discovery. Therefore, it is essential that students play an active role in their own learning.  Inquiry will allow students to complete hands-on investigations to master science concepts.  While planning my experiment, I immediately put myself in my student’s shoes.  I developed a hypothesis, materials list, procedure, and examined my results.  I will share my experience.

The question I chose to investigate was “how do different surfaces affect the momentum of marbles?” My hypothesis for the investigation is I believe on all surfaces the light blue marble (21 g) will go further then the dark blue marble (8 g).  Since the light blue marble has more mass, it will move further.  “It takes a longer time to stop something from moving when it has a lot of momentum” (Tillery, Enger, & Ross, 2008). To design this experiment, I need to use three surfaces of various textures to help me understand momentum and its relationship to friction.  I will use a smooth granite counter, carpeted area, and grassy section of my yard.  After brainstorming, I decide to use a ramp to release each marble.  This will give me the best results.  As I record data from the experiment, I will need a tape measure and a stopwatch. 

After I completed my experiment, I evaluated my results.  I realized that the more mass an object has, the longer it takes to stop, and therefore it will go further.  This holds true even on different surfaces.  I found both marbles had very similar results on the smoothest surface, the granite counter.  As the surfaces changed and got rougher, the light blue marble went further.  I do agree with my hypothesis reflecting on the lab.  Different surfaces can have an affect on momentum of a marble depending on its mass. Momentum is closely related with Newton’s laws of motion since it involves both inertia and velocity (Tillery, Enger, & Ross, 2008).  This lab demonstrated Newton’s first and second law while the marbles were in motion until an outside force (friction) acted on it.

I can certainly use this experiment with my students.  I would give them a question to explore along with various materials.  I would like to give them some guidance and review expectations before they start.  I would quickly review background knowledge of Newton’s laws, mass, and friction.  This activity did take some time and in the classroom I am confined to forty minutes.  I could make it more interesting for students to bring in their own materials to test.  I could give them the assignment the day before to begin thinking about materials to use and how to test.  I would like my students to walk away from this activity feeling in control of their learning.  I want them to have a memorable experience while developing a deeper understanding of science.  

References

Tillery, B. W., Enger, E. D., & Ross, F. C. (2008). Integrated science (4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.