1. Introduction.

Why are ecosystems important to people? Use the Michigan Ecosystems: What Have They Done for You Lately? poster to guide a discussion of the benefits provided by Michigan ecosystems. 

Discuss the following related questions: What are some services that ecosystems provide? [For example, photosynthesis, water purification, and flood control.]

farming, hunting, etc. depend on products provided by ecosystems. Products that are sources of medicine and/or food are important to our health.]

How do people in the local community benefit from ecosystems? [Answers will vary—think of what activities in the local community may depend on ecosystems. Some examples might include tourism, fishing, or gardening.]

2. Play Ecosystem Services Charades Game.

Divide the class into groups of three or four students. Tell the students that each group will receive a card describing a way that people benefit from natural ecosystems. Each group will act out their benefit, similar to playing charades. Therefore, they must keep their benefit a secret from the rest of the class.

Give one Ecosystem Services Charade Cards to each group and allow 5-7 minutes for them to read their card and plan their skit. Emphasize that the performers should act out the service rather than the exact words on the card. Groups should not use any words in their performance, though the teacher may choose to permit the use of sound effects. One group at a time presents their skit. It may be helpful to have each group begin by stating whether they will be depicting a service or product. Encourage the audience to allow each group to finish their performance before guessing. Some students will benefit from a list of possible answers that the teacher has written on the board. Without prior knowledge of the services, students will be hard-pressed to think of some of the more subtle ones, even while others are acting them out.

After each benefit has been performed, make sure everyone has an understanding of that service or product. As needed, refer to the Michigan Ecosystems: What Have They Done for You Lately? poster.

Option: This activity can be extended by asking students to generate a list of additional services or products that ecosystems provide. Students can then play charades again using their own examples.

3. Benefits to people from Michigan ecosystems.

How do we benefit from Michigan’s different ecosystems? Lead a class discussion, encouraging students to share their ideas of how people benefit from Michigan’s forests, coastal dunes, wetlands, rivers/streams, inland lakes, agricultural land, urban areas, and Great Lakes. List students’ ideas on the board or overhead.

How can the benefits be classified or grouped? Provide each student with a copy of the Ecosystem Benefits student activity sheet and explain that each of the statements represents a benefit provided by ecosystems. Introduce the terms economic, social, and ecological to describe the types of benefits from Michigan’s ecosystems.

• Economic—relating to the movement and

consumption of goods and services.

• Social—having to do with the health and

well-being of society.

• Ecological—concerned with the

relationships between living things and their

environment.

Ask students to read each of the statements, and decide if the term economic, social, or ecological best describes that benefit. This activity is meant to stimulate discussion, as there is not necessarily one “right answer.” Suggested answers are as follows: economic (1, 5, 6, 9); social (2, 4, 8, 10, 11); and ecological (3, 7, 12). Answers for 13-15 will vary. Tell students they may think some services can be described by more than one term and they should list both in those instances.

Give each student a copy of the Ecosystem Benefits B-I-N-G-O student activity page. Tell students to write the following ecosystem benefits randomly in the squares on their blank Bingo card (it is important that students write the benefits randomly or all students will achieve a Bingo at the same time). List the following 18 benefits on the board or overhead for student to copy down: decomposition; pollination; pest & disease control; water purification; erosion & flood control; air purification; shipping; forest products; tourism; agriculture; fish; wild edible plants; recreation; seed dispersal; wild game; nature appreciation; wildlife habitat; and medicine.

Provide each student with at least 16 beans or other material to use as Bingo markers. Explain that you will read a clue and students are to determine which benefit the clue describes. Read aloud one clue from the Michigan Ecosystem B-I-N-G-O Clue Sheet teacher resource; discuss the correct answer with students and ask whether that benefit would be important for economic, social, and/or ecological reasons. Students should put a marker over that benefit on their Bingo card.

Repeat the same procedure with other clues. To make the process more challenging, do not read the clues in the same order in which you read the benefits above. Students should yell out “BINGO” when they have a row (diagonal, horizontal, or vertical) of four markers.

4. Tying it all together.

To reinforce the concepts developed in this lesson, have each group focus on one of Michigan’s ecosystems (Great Lakes, forests, rivers, coastal dunes, wetlands, or farmland), and then list examples of the various ways people benefit from that ecosystem. Have students share ideas. Discuss the economic, ecological, and social importance of different Michigan ecosystems.