Big Idea 4 Populations are dependent on environmental processes which affect the ecosystem. What you intend the students to learn about this idea:
How the population of an ecosystem is affected by both inputs and outputs, consisting of birth, death and migration.
The levels of predation and cycle of life within an ecosystem.
The various factors in which affect an ecosystem and how an ecosystem consists of many organisms which all have some level of impact on one another.
Why it is important for students to know this:
It is important for students to be aware of the world around them in order to be able to maintain it and help our various ecosystems flourish.
Students need to know that all organisms in an ecosystem affect each other in some way and as humans we need to try and not interfere with the natural order of things, as the repercussions could be quite severe and impact us in the long run.
What else you know about this idea (that you do not intend students to know yet): The students are not required to know the unusual situations in which affect the population density dynamics in which are not considered to follow a particular pattern. The unpredictability of certain situations may be explained at a later time. Difficulties/limitations connected with teaching this idea: A difficulty in trying to teach this big idea to the students will be trying to get them to see themselves as a reasonably small part of a bigger ecosystem in which they have an impact on and can exist without the presence of humans. Knowledge about students’ thinking which influence your teaching of this idea: The students might have a hard time realising how they affect their ecosystem as it would be something they would not have considered before. As a result I would endeavour to use many “real life” examples to help them relate the theory to the real world. Other factors that influence your teaching of this idea: The student’s prior knowledge is a factor which would affect the way in which I would teach this big idea to the class. Depending on their levels of prior knowledge, the amount of detail in which I go into will be determined accordingly. Teaching procedures (and particular reasons for using these to engage with this idea):
Taking the students outside and get them to look around the nearby ecosystem so they might experience and observe it so they can be able to relate it back to the theory in an attempt to make sense of it.
By bringing into the class various objects which symbolise organisms in an ecosystem such as stuffed animals or pictures of certain organisms. Then the students will be instructed to place the organisms in which they think would exist in the same ecosystem together and to provide reasoning for their actions.
Provide the students with a scenario where an ecosystem is faced with a particular environmental disaster such as a flood and to inquire as to what the effects may be on a particular ecosystem compared to another more likely to be faced with such a scenario.
Specific ways of ascertaining students’ understanding or confusion around this idea (include likely range of responses).Showing images to the students of particular ecosystems and then asking them a series of prompting questions such as:
What the images makes them think of?
Where would humans thrive and why?
What sort of animals would exist or not exist here and why? Etc.
Populations are dependent on environmental processes which affect the ecosystem.
What you intend the students to learn about this idea:
Why it is important for students to know this:
What else you know about this idea (that you do not intend students to know yet):
The students are not required to know the unusual situations in which affect the population density dynamics in which are not considered to follow a particular pattern. The unpredictability of certain situations may be explained at a later time.
Difficulties/limitations connected with teaching this idea:
A difficulty in trying to teach this big idea to the students will be trying to get them to see themselves as a reasonably small part of a bigger ecosystem in which they have an impact on and can exist without the presence of humans.
Knowledge about students’ thinking which influence your teaching of this idea:
The students might have a hard time realising how they affect their ecosystem as it would be something they would not have considered before. As a result I would endeavour to use many “real life” examples to help them relate the theory to the real world.
Other factors that influence your teaching of this idea:
The student’s prior knowledge is a factor which would affect the way in which I would teach this big idea to the class. Depending on their levels of prior knowledge, the amount of detail in which I go into will be determined accordingly.
Teaching procedures (and particular reasons for using these to engage with this idea):
Specific ways of ascertaining students’ understanding or confusion around this idea (include likely range of responses).Showing images to the students of particular ecosystems and then asking them a series of prompting questions such as: