Research Experience for Teachers (2013-2014)
Survival in an Ecosystem
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Pre/Post Test: Pre/Post Assessment  |
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The Big Idea (including global relevance) Sustainability of Biomes |
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Essential Questions How would you survive? |
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The Hook I am going to show a video clip from the movie Hatchet, where a boy is involved in plane crash and he has to survive off of the elements he has with him as well as the environment he is placed in. He has to problem solve just like the students in my class will have to problem solve. |
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The Challenge You have been selected to travel to an unknown destination. Your teacher will give you the destination 1 day before leaving. You will have to pack a bag (size of a shoe box) and take supplies you will need for a 2 week stay. Please consider the location you are staying. You have done previous research so you should consider the following things:
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Guiding Questions
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ACS (Real world applications; career connections; societal impact)
Students will learn how to problem solve on a grand scale by looking at a variety of ways to survive in a different location in the world. I would like my students to come away with an appreciation on how organisms work together to maintain a level of interdependence in a world. We can focus on topics such as evolution, adaptation, and sustainability in our world. The “A” part of the lesson will be found where the students are doing the prior research on the biomes as well as when they find out where they are going and how they are going to survive. They will have to look back on their previous research as well as possibly do more research to help them.
We are in a world where you hear the term global warming and how we are running out of resources; pollution is at an all-time high. With students having technology at their finger tips I would love to encourage them to take what they have learned and educate others on how to make less of an negative impact on our world. If they can learn how to recycle items, or that you do not have to have 40 t-shirts or just too maybe have the mind-set that “less is more” then I have made some sort of impact on their lives throughout this unit. Again, they will be doing a questionnaire at the end of the unit to address this item.
C- This lesson is applicable for a STEM career in the environmental engineering field or conservation field. Students will have a wider base of knowledge of how ecosystems work and how people in areas around the world live off the land and maintain a healthy environment. Students can also take their knowledge and use it for conservation efforts which can also interest them in careers in such fields. This will be addressed at the end of the lesson when students will be asked how they can use this information to help them in the future. I will have wrap up questions and they will be asked to correlate this lesson to something they can do in the future, such as work or education.
Misconceptions
- Students think that all the biomes are the same and the conditions are similar within each biome.
- Students think you will need the same type of equipment in their survival kits for each biome, when they will learn after this activity that each biome will need its own specific survival kit due to the elements and conditions each biome presents.
- Students have misconceptions about how they can bring so little and survive. Students are very materialistic and they will have to understand that sometimes less is more and they can bring very little and survive.
Unit Lessons and Activities
- Lesson 1: will focus on the critical thinking about how they will survive in an specific biome. Once they have seen the video “A Cry In The Wild” it will get them thinking about survival and how they would be able to survive. They will work watch the video first and the second activity will include them working in teams to prepare them for their main challenge of survival.
- Activity 1: The first activity is having the students watch video clips of the movie “Hatchet” here students will answer a series of questions on how they would survive and will analyze the decisions made by the main character in the movie which will eventually help them develop their plans for their survival back pack/survival box. We also took the Challenge Based Learning (CBL) template and went through this as a class. I had the students come up with questions after I told them the challenge. We then stepped through the CBL worksheet which allowed students to comprehend the EDP.
- Activity 2: The second activity will be to do the “plane crash” activity. (see attachment at the end of this unit plan). This will develop team building within the group as well as helping students prepare to get ready for the main challenge.
- Lesson 2: will focus on the research of each biome. Students will need computers or an electronic device or the folders with handouts the teacher has provided.
- Activity 3: The third activity is having students research all of the biomes (especially for the OGT) they will engage in research by making a biome booklet. Within this booklet students will research the following things (please see attachment at the end of this document).
- Activity 4: The fourth activity is to build a survival kit based on your location. This is where students will begin the challenge for this unit. They will be developing a survival kit to help them stay alive for a two week stretch in the biome they will be stranded. The will have to use previous knowledge and data from their research to come up with a proper survival kit.
- Evidence of CBL: Lesson 2, Activity 2
- Evidence of EDP: Lesson 2, Activity 2
Additional Resources