Author:
Michigan Geographic Alliance
Subject:
Environmental Science
Material Type:
Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan
Level:
Middle School
Tags:
  • Enviromental
  • Environment
  • MEECS
  • License:
    Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial
    Language:
    English

    Education Standards

    Ecosystems and Biodiversity Lesson 1 Extension : Ecosystem Scavenger Hunt

    Overview

    Students take a short field trip into the schoolyard for a scavenger hunt to find examples of nonliving (abiotic) and living (biotic) ecosystem components, including organisms, habitat, population, community, ecosystem, sunlight, water, temperature, nutrients, and wind. This activity can be used as an informal assessment for Lesson 1.

    Lesson Overview

    Students take a short field trip into the schoolyard for a scavenger hunt to find examples of nonliving (abiotic) and living (biotic) ecosystem components, including organisms, habitat, population, community, ecosystem, sunlight, water, temperature, nutrients, and wind. This activity can be used as an informal assessment for Lesson 1.

    Subject/Target Grade
    Science
    Upper Elementary & Middle School (4-6)

    Duration
    30-45 minutes – Schoolyard

    Materials
    per small group
    • clipboard
    • magnifying glass
    • thermometer (optional) (Caution: Avoid fragile glass thermometers or those filled with toxic mercury)
    • field guides (optional)
    • Ecosystem Scavenger Hunt (student activity)

    Michigan Grade Level Content Expectations
    Science:
    • Make purposeful observation of the natural world using the appropriate senses. S.IP.04.11
    • Use tools and equipment appropriate to scientific investigations. S.IP.04.14, S.IP.05.13, S.IP.06.13
    • List examples of populations, communities, and ecosystems including the Great Lakes region. L.EC.06.11
    • Identify the living (biotic) and nonliving b(abiotic) components of an ecosystem. L.EC.06.31

    Objectives

    Students will be able to:
    1. Find examples of living and non-living ecosystem components (organism, habitat, population, community, ecosystem, sunlight, water, temperature, nutrients, and wind) in the schoolyard.

    Advance Preparation

    Survey area of schoolyard (or other area) used for the activity. Determine boundaries and make sure the area is free of hazards.
    Safety Note: Before taking students outdoors, read the 10 Tips for Taking Students Outdoors information located on page 3 in the Information section of this notebook.

    Procedure

    1. Introduce the activity and connect to Lesson 1.
    Review that an ecosystem can be defined as a community of organisms interacting with one another and the non-living environment. What examples of organisms, populations, habitats, and ecosystems can we find in the schoolyard? [Allow students to suggest answers.]
    2. Conduct the activity.
    Give each group of two to four students an Ecosystem Scavenger Hunt student activity page, clipboard, magnifying glass, and field thermometer (optional). Explain to students that they will have 15-20 minutes in the schoolyard to locate and describe as many of the 12 items listed on the Ecosystem Scavenger Hunt student activity page and describe where they found them.

    Review the vocabulary used in the Ecosystem Scavenger Hunt handout and make sure that students are aware of teacher expectations for student behavior. Guide students to make their observations unobtrusively, without collecting or harming living things. Groups should consider it a challenge to find examples that are uncommon or less obvious. For example, a pinecone or acorn may serve as habitat for small insects.
    3. Tying it all together.
    Discuss findings and examples of each of the categories from the scavenger hunt. Which examples were hardest/easiest to find? Which were living/non-living? What were some of the more interesting or surprising pieces of evidence found? What examples of ecosystems were bfound in the schoolyard?

    Assessment Options

    1. Evaluate group work for understanding.
    2. Have students think of one example of an ecosystem they observed in the schoolyard, and then draw and label the parts of an ecosystem.

    Ask students to describe the ecosystem, using the following terms: habitat, community, population, organisms, wind, temperature, water, sunlight, and nutrients. Have students differentiate between living and non-living components.

    Extension

    Have students cut apart the 9 squares on their Ecosystem Scavenger Hunt student activity page and then group similar squares on a bulletin board display, so that students may visualize multiple interpretations of the same concept. (For example, group all of the “population” cards together in one place and all the “water” cards in another place.)