Kathy Rossetti
Lauryn Funteas
Population Ecology 5-E Model Lesson
Title: Rabbit vs. Environment / Grade Level:9
Objectives:
SWBAT…. Predict how density dependent and independent factors will control and affect population growth.
Explain how altering habitats can affect a population of a species and the environment around it.
Describe the importance of environmental factors/resources in ecosystems.
Illinois Learning Standards:
Stage H12B
1. Apply scientific inquiries or technological design to explore the implications of change and stability in ecosystems, identifying evolutionary adaptations brought on by environmental changes, analyzing factors that influence the size and stability of populations (e.g., temperature, climate, soil conditions, predation, habitat), or contrasting energy use by organisms.
2. Apply scientific inquiries or technological design to examine species' demise or success within ecosystems identifying problems for species conservation and extinction, projecting population changes when habitats are altered or destroyed (deforestation, desertification, wetlands destruction, introduction of exotic species),or researching economic and scientific value implications for changes to genetic diversity.
3. Apply scientific inquiries or technological design to study biogeography, researching global biomes, locating hemispheric, continental, and regional examples of each biome, or graphing associated mathematical comparison factors.
4. Apply scientific inquiries or technological design to analyze Illinois-specific ecosystems and biomes, modeling topographic features, population data, plant diversity and distribution from historic records, collecting scientific seasonal/annual local ecosystem data for direct connection to change and stability factors, or projecting scenarios of changes to local ecosystem for near- and long-term future contingencies.
Engagement:
For the engagement part of the lesson the students will be completing the game of the rabbit vs. the environment. The point of this game is to show the students how changing the environment by either adding predators or taking away resources alters populations. Before starting the game students will be asked to predict how density-dependent factors will affect the population of rabbits. Students will be able to hypothesize about the outcome of the game. To start this game we will have one student be a rabbit and the rest of the students will be different parts of the environment. The students who are part of the environment will be counted off 1-3 to be placed under various resources. Students given 1 will be water, 2 will be food, and the 3’s will be shelter. Students then will represent the resource by covering their mouths if they are water, put their hands on their stomach if they are food, or put their hands in a triangle over their heads if they represent shelter. The students will have their backs to each other before starting the game. When go is said the rabbit will try to collect as many resources as possible by moving in a straight line. The resources that were caught will then become rabbits in the next generation. If the rabbit gets nothing then the rabbit will not live to reproduce. The game will continue like this for a few generations. Then a predator, a fox, will be entered into the scenario in a later generation. The fox is going to try and catch the rabbits in order to live. Throughout the game, recordings will be made in the generation data table which will count the amount of rabbits, resources, and predators that were present after each generation. After certain generations we will ask the students a few questions about what is occurring in order for them to comprehend various ecological concepts.
Exploration:
The exploration for this lesson occurs during the game. The questions asked after certain generations are intended to get the students critically thinking and coming to conclusions about the populations. It is also designed to make the students realize how changing one factor can greatly affect population.
Explanation:
The questions asked at the end of the game will give the students the opportunity to explore and create ideas about population ecology before the lesson is taught. At the end of the game we will recap what went on in the game. We can take the results from the generation’s data table in order to visualize what occurred during the game. After that is completed there would be a lecture or PowerPoint going over the major ideas and concepts of population ecology. This is the part where population ecology would be explained in detail and any misconceptions will be cleared up.
Extension:
Our extension for this activity involves an interactive website. The website is http://www.pbs.org/teachers/connect/resources/5151/preview/ . This website lets students explore and learn about different shark species. On the page for each shark there is background information on the shark. If the students then click population decline it is explains what will happen to the shark’s ecosystem if they were to go extinct. The students would have to complete a worksheet while navigating through the site.
Evaluation(Assessment Strategies):
The students will be graded on the graphs that they complete from the rabbit vs. environment game. The data will be collected on the board and then the students will have to properly illustrate a graph that shows what happened to the population of each species over the generations. Students will also be graded on the worksheet that is to be completed with the shark website.
Rationale:
We decided on this lesson for a few reasons. We really liked how immediately the game got the students up and out of their desks. We also liked how the exercise allows us to teach to multiple learning styles. Kinesthetic, visual, and auditory learners could all participate and learn from the game. We choose the game because many students do not think of ecology as a branch of biology. We thought it was a great way to introduce ecology to students in a fun and interactive way. Finally the game allows the students to think on the grand level of ecology. The game’s principles can be applied to any species in the world and allows the students to see how changing one thing can affect a whole ecosystem.
Resources:
(2008, July 31). Lesson Plans Inc.. Retrieved September 8, 2009, from Population Ecology Lab Web site: http://www.lessonplansinc.com/science.php/biology/lessonplans/C112/
Cousteau, Jean-Michel (2006, July 6). PBS Teachers. Retrieved September 2, 2009, from Vanishing Sharks Interactive Web site: http://www.pbs.org/teachers/connect/resources/5151/preview/
Plan of execution for the game:
· Before it starts explain rules to the students ( leave out the part about the fox)
· Have students make predictions about what will happen
· Ask them what an density independent /dependent factors are
· Explain the terms density independent = factors such as weather, environmental conditions, or disturbances affect a population’s carrying capacity.
· Density dependent = population is affected by predators, crowding, and competition
Generation1:
· Ask students to list density dependent/independent variable
· What are 3 limiting factors
Play out a Few Generations:
· Ask what will happed if predator introduced and add fox
Generation 5(depending on time)
· How did fox change things
· What will happen to rabbit and resource numbers
· Is the fox a density dependent or independent variable
After Last Generation
· List possible other factors in the situation and explain how they would affect the game
· Explain the importance of ecosystems and not disrupting them