Healthier Habitats, Happier Humans

Healthier Habitats, Happier Humans

Overview:

In this inquiry activity, students will explore the importance of biodiversity and minimizing human impacts on natural systems. Through student created models and investigations about habitats, ecosystems, and food webs, they will explore how biodiversity is essential for the success of a species and the ecosystem as a whole. Communication skills will be developed through a presentations following investigations of Canadian habitats. They will identify an area of their local habitat to improve and create a design to test their ideas for habitat improvement.

Grade Level:4

Strand and Topic: Understanding Life Systems: Habitats and Communities

Inquiry Focus:

Using what you know about how habitats and communities, how could the Toronto Zoo incorporate more of Canada’s physical regions in their “Canadian Domain”?

Note: the Toronto Zoo plans to rename the “Canadian Domain” into the “Canadian Wilderness” Exhibit.

The time required depends on students’ background knowledge, skills set, level of interest and any additional time required for completion of student work.

Big Ideas:

Plants and animals are interdependent and are adapted to meet their needs from the resources available in their particular habitats.
Changes to habitats (whether caused by natural or human means) can affect plants and animals and the relationships between them.
Society relies on plants and animals.

Overall Expectations:

Science and Technology

analyse the effects of human activities on habitats and communities;
investigate the interdependence of plants and animals within specific habitats and communities;
demonstrate an understanding of habitats and communities and the relationships among the plants and animals that live in them

Social Studies: People and Environments:Political and Physical Regions of Canada

B2. Inquiry: use the social studies inquiry process to investigate some issues and challenges associated with balancing human needs/wants and activities with environmental stewardship in one or more of the political and/or physical regions of Canada (FOCUS ON: Perspective)

Specific Expectations:

Science and Technology

1.1 analyse the positive and negative impacts of human interactions with natural habitats and communities (e.g., human dependence on natural materials), taking different perspectives into account (e.g., the perspectives of a housing developer, a family in need of housing, an ecologist), and evaluate ways of minimizing the negative impacts
1.2 identify reasons for the depletion or extinction of a plant or animal species (e.g., hunting, disease, invasive species, changes in or destruction of its habitat), evaluate the impacts on the rest of the natural community, and propose possible actions for preventing such depletions or extinctions from happening
2.1 follow established safety procedures for working with soils and natural materials (e.g., wear gloves when handling soils to set up a working terrarium)
2.2 build food chains consisting of different plants and animals, including humans
2.3 use scientific inquiry/research skills (see page 15) to investigate ways in which plants and animals in a community depend on features of their habitat to meet important needs (e.g., beavers use water for shelter [they build their lodges so the entrance is under water], food [cattails, water lilies, and other aquatic plants], and protection [they slap their tails on the water to warn of danger])
2.4 use scientific inquiry/research skills (see page 15) to create a living habitat containing a community, and describe and record changes in the community over time
2.5 use appropriate science and technology vocabulary, including habitat, population, community, adaptation, and food chain, in oral and written communication
2.6 use a variety of forms (e.g., oral, written, graphic, multimedia) to communicate with different audiences and for a variety of purposes (e.g., use presentation software to show the steps one might follow to set up and maintain a terrarium)
3.1 demonstrate an understanding of habitats as areas that provide plants and animals with the necessities of life (e.g., food, water, air, space, and light)
3.2 demonstrate an understanding of food chains as systems in which energy from the sun is transferred to producers (plants) and then to consumers (animals)
3.3 identify factors (e.g., availability of water or food, amount of light, type of weather) that affect the ability of plants and animals to survive in a specific habitat
3.4 demonstrate an understanding of a community as a group of interacting species sharing a common habitat (e.g., the life in a meadow or in a patch of forest)
3.5 classify organisms, including humans, according to their role in a food chain (e.g., producer, consumer, decomposer)
3.6 identify animals that are carnivores, herbivores, or omnivores
3.7 describe structural adaptations that allow plants and animals to survive in specific habitats (e.g., the thick stem of a cactus stores water for the plant; a duck's webbed feet allow it to move quickly and efficiently in water)
3.8 explain why changes in the environment have a greater impact on specialized species than on generalized species (e.g., diminishing ice cover hampers the ability of polar bears to hunt seals, their main food source, and so the polar bear population in some areas is becoming less healthy and may begin to decrease; black bear habitat has been heavily disrupted by human encroachment, but because black bears are highly adaptable omnivores that eat everything from insects to garbage generated by humans, their numbers have been increasing)
3.9 demonstrate an understanding of why all habitats have limits to the number of plants and animals they can support
3.10 describe ways in which humans are dependent on natural habitats and communities (e.g., for water, medicine, flood control in wetlands, leisure activities)

Social Studies

B2.1 formulate questions to guide investigations into some of the issues and challenges associated with balancing human needs/wants and activities with environmental stewardship in one or more of the political and/or physical regions of Canada
B2.2 gather and organize information and data from various sources to investigate issues and challenges associated with balancing human needs/wants and activities with environmental stewardship in one or more of the political and/or physical regions of Canada
B2.3 analyse and construct print and/or digital maps, including thematic maps, as part of their investigations into balancing human needs/ wants and activities with environmental stewardship in Canada
B2.4 interpret and analyse information and data related to their investigations, using a variety of tools
B2.5 evaluate evidence and draw conclusions about issues and challenges associated with balancing human needs/wants and activities associated with environmental stewardship in Canada
B2.6 communicate the results of their inquiries using appropriate vocabulary
B3.1 identify various physical regions in Canada (e.g., landform, vegetation, and climatic regions), and describe their location and some of the major ways in which they are distinct from and similar to each other

Language: Oral Communication

1.4 demonstrate an understanding of the information and ideas in a variety of oral texts by summarizing important ideas and citing important details
1.6 extend understanding of oral texts by connecting the ideas in them to their own knowledge, experience, and insights; to other texts, including print and visual texts; and to the world around them
2.3 communicate orally in a clear, coherent manner, presenting ideas, opinions, and information in a readily understandable form
2.4 use appropriate words and phrases from the full range of their vocabulary, including inclusive and non-discriminatory terms, and appropriate elements of style, to communicate their meaning accurately and engage the interest of their audience

Language: Reading

1.1 read a variety of texts from diverse cultures, including literary texts (e.g., myths, plays, short stories, chapter books, letters, diaries, poetry), graphic texts (e.g., graphic novels, diagrams, brochures, graphs and graphic organizers, charts and tables, maps), and informational texts (e.g., textbooks, non-fiction books on a range of topics, print and online newspaper and magazine articles or reviews, print and online encyclopedia’s and atlases, electronic texts such as e-mails or zines)
1.4 demonstrate understanding of a variety of texts by summarizing important ideas and citing supporting details (e.g., make an outline of a section from a textbook in another subject to prepare for a test)
1.6 extend understanding of texts by connecting the ideas in them to their own knowledge, experience, and insights, to other familiar texts, and to the world around them
1.8 express opinions about the ideas and information in texts and cite evidence from the text to support their opinions
3.1 automatically read and understand high-frequency words, most regularly used words, and words of personal interest or significance in a variety of reading contexts

Language: Writing

1.2 generate ideas about a potential topic using a variety of strategies and resources (e.g., brainstorm; formulate and ask questions to identify personal experiences, prior knowledge, and information needs)
1.6 determine whether the ideas and information they have gathered are relevant and adequate for the purpose, and do more research if necessary (e.g., discuss material with a peer or adult using a KWHLW organizer: What do I know? What do I want to learn? How will I find out? What have I learned? What do I still want to know?; compare their material to the content of similar texts)

Language: Media Literacy

3.1 describe in detail the topic, purpose, and audience for media texts they plan to create (e.g., an album of camera shots to help classmates understand the uses of different camera angles and distances in photography and/or film)
3.2 identify an appropriate form to suit the specific purpose and audience for a media text they plan to create (e.g., a poster advertising a school science fair; a flyer to encourage students to participate in the fair)
3.3 identify conventions and techniques appropriate to the form chosen for a media text they plan to create
3.4 produce media texts for specific purposes and audiences, using a few simple media forms and appropriate conventions and techniques

Health and Physical Education

A1.3 identify factors that can either motivate or make it difficult for people to be physically active every day and describe ways of overcoming obstacles to staying active
A2.2 identify the components of health-related fitness and the benefits associated with developing and maintaining each of them
A2.3 assess a specific component of their health-related fitness by noting physical responses during various physical activities, and monitor changes over time
C2.1 explain how to use nutrition facts tables and ingredient lists on food labels to make healthier personal food choices
C3.1 identify ways of promoting healthier food choices in a variety of settings and situations

Key Concepts:

Interdependence of living things, stewardship, system interactions and dependency, communicating to persuade

Prior Skill Sets:

-design of experiments

-use of inquiry tools: rulers, magnifying glass

-safe use of hand tools: mini glue gun, scissors, mini hacksaws, hand drills

-research skills-selecting the main idea from text, using nontext features of nonfiction material, interpreting graphs, summarizing investigations

Prior Knowledge:

Science and Technology

Grade 1

1.1 identify personal action that they themselves can take to help maintain a healthy environmentfor living things, including humans
1.2 describe changes or problems that could result from the loss of some kinds of living things that are part of everyday life
2.2 investigate and compare the basic needs of humans and other living things, including the need for air, water, food, warmth, and space, using a variety of methods and resources
2.3 investigate and compare the physical characteristics of a variety of plants and animals including humans

Grade 2

1.2 identify positive and negative impacts that different kinds of human activity have on animals and where they live
2.5 investigate the ways in which a variety of animals adapt to their environment and/or to changes in their environment, using various methods
3.1 identify and describe major physical characteristics of different types of animals
3.2 describe an adaptation as a characteristic body part, shape, or behaviour that helps a plant or animal survive in its environment

Grade 3

1.1 assess ways in which plants are important to humans and other living things, taking different points of view into consideration
2.4 investigate ways in which a variety of plants adapt and/or react to their environment, including changes in their environment, using a variety of methods
3.4 describe how plants get energy from the sun and how plants help other living things to get energy from the sun
3.6 describe the ways in which plants and animals depend on each other

Materials and Equipment:

projector and internet access
Atlases and field guides

Outdoor surveying equipment

popsicle sticks
magnifying glasses
binoculars
String
rulers

Model making equipment

popsicles sticks
tissue paper
paint
toothpicks
basswood (jinx wood)
dowels
brass fasteners
card stock
clay
glue
2 L and 1 L plastic bottles
tubing
water pumps
buckets or plastic containers(these can be brought from student homes if needed)

Tools

rulers
junior hacksaws
mitre boxes
c-clamps
hand drills
string
soil
safety glasses- Information on safe use of tools can be found on pages 64-68 of the STAO Safety resource
pondwater (or tap water that has been left to sit overnight)
plants
snails, worms, or other similar creatures for ecosystems: See pages 50-57 of the STAO Safety Resource for tips.

Note: It is illegal to keep threatened species in a classroom for any length of time. This includes some plants, insects, and most salamanders and turtles. Please consult before bringing a captured creature into the classroom. If you buy a creature at a petstore, you are not permitted to release it into the wild as it may outperform native populations, be ill equipped for predators, or expose the natural population to disease or fungi. Please consider the care of bought animals for their entire lifetime before purchasing animals or plants for the classroom.

Safety:

Please consult the STAO Resource: Safety in Elementary Science and Technology

Instructional Planning and Delivery:

Engage -> Explore -> Explain -> Extend -> Evaluate

Type / Structured or Directed / Guided / Coupled / Open or Full
Participant / Teacher Initiated and Performed / Teacher Initiated, Students Performed / Teacher Initiated / Student Initiated

Path to Inquiry

Engage (I SEE)

Activity 1

Before beginning, create a large wall space containing the big ideas for the unit. Write a vocabulary words at the top of coloured construction paper. Leave the rest of the page blank and store them near the wall space. Students will add their own definition/diagram of the words as the unit progresses (assessment for learning). The completed vocabulary sheets can form a word wall close to the big idea. Index cards containing student questions will be added around the big ideas on the wall space. In keeping with the inquiry model, add your own questions once the students have added a few.

Vocabulary: food web, food chain, producer, consumer, omnivore, herbivore, carnivore, primary consumer, secondary consumer, tertiary consumer/top carnivore, decomposer, scavenger, biodiversity, transition zone, grassland, boreal forest, deciduous forest, Carolinianforest, rainforest, great lakes, ecozone

Idea for a gathering interest: watch the video of the cicada’s journey , an insect that many students have not seen, but most have heard. Introduce the inquiry unit by asking them to call out all the habitats the cicada needs for its short life. As the habitats are mentioned, write them on a sheet of chart paper. Ask them to think of the living things which depend on the cicada for food (don’t forget the decomposers of all those casings) and those living things which the cicada depends on. Why is it important for there to be both tall trees and grasses in the area? How does this video show the need for biodiversity? How are organisms dependent on each other? Why is it important that there are cicadas? Why does there need to be so many of them?

Lower technology: Read Dear Children of the Earth by SchimSchimmel. (Read aloud: In a knowledge circle, discuss the central ideas of the book. What did the author mean when she wrote that we are all Earth’s children? What does the idea of family mean in this story? What is the author suggesting about interrelationships of living things? What types of habitats were shown in the book? What does the story infer about the importance of insects and other small creatures? In their lab books, ask them to write down what they already know about habitats and biodiversity. After a short period of time, ask them to share their knowledge with a partner and agree on one question which would like to ask. Post those questions on the wall under one of the big ideas.

Get outside/first nations link: Take a walk to a woodlot or other naturalized space. For tips on outdoor learning, please consult the STAO resource, “Connecting with the Natural World”

Ask the students to find a special spot. The first nations people would call this spot a sacred space or a perch of perspective and state that nature will tell you all you need to know, to suit your needs, as long as you are quiet enough and patient enough to listen. Ask them to go to their special spot and sit or stand silently observing what they can for five minutes. Once the seven minutes is up, the students return to the meeting spot and stand in a circle. This is similar to the knowledge circle in first nations teachings. Pass a rock or stick to indicate who is allowed to speak. The student shares what they learned about their space and then passes the rock/stick clockwise (in keeping with the Ojibwa tradition). Once everyone has had an invitation to speak, let them know that the special place has more to tell them. Ask them to revisit the special place and look for signs of relationships in the place. They could be walking by the spot, consuming food, using a support to grow higher, nesting in the branches...whatever the special place shares with them is valid to bring to the circle. Allow them to revisit the special place in silence and spend five minutes getting to know the relationships in the place. After seven minutes, revisit the knowledge circle and give students time to share what they learned. Before the circle is opened up again, talk about the original idea that nature will give us the learning we need if we only have enough patience to listen. What did the special place show you the second time you visited? Visit the special place one last time. This time,students are to use their seven minutes to figure out how they will find their special place again. Using their lab notebooks, they will sketch the location, add any notes or maps, and look for identifying features which will not change over the year. In keeping with the sacred space teachings, they may wish to thank the space for the learning it has given.