Learning targets

URLs and resources

Assessment expectations

Download .pdf unit activity guide

Guide to the use of this document : The following document contains the eighth grade learning targets ( benchmarks). Each learning target has elaborations - more detailed information about the particular learning target. Thus, the first Learning Target has five elaborations; the second Learning Target has seven elaborations; and the third Learning Target has six elaborations; the fourth Learning Target has three elaborations; and the fifth Learning Target has two elaborations.

Theme:  Ecology and the Environment

Storyline 

Living organisms can be categorized into five kingdoms. The biological classification scheme is based on the similarities and differences in the characteristics among organisms. The similarities and differences in the characteristics among species of organisms have arisen through the adaptation of organisms to their environment through the process of natural selection. Variations among members of a species may impart survival advantages to an organism. Those members without the advantage, can be selected against, as an environmental pressure, and thus not live to reproduce. Those organisms possessing the favorable advantage, survive to pass on these traits to future offspring.

Concepts dealt with in the unit: taxonomy / systematics, energy and life, evolution, environment, and human impacts.

State Essential Academic Learning Requirements - Science

To meet this standard, the student will:

Component 1.3 - understand how interactions within and among systems cause changes in matter and energy.

Interdependence of Life

Benchmark 2 - Explain how organisms interact with their environment and with other organisms to acquire energy, cycle matter, influence behavior, and establish competitive or mutually beneficial relationships.

Elaborations :

• A population consists of all individuals within a species that live together at a given place and time. An ecosystem encompasses all populations living together and their physical surroundings.
• The number of organisms an ecosystem can support depends on available resources and environmental factors, such as amount of light and water, range of temperatures and soil composition.
• Populations increase at rapid rates when adequate resources to maintain life are available and no disease or predators are present. Many factors limit population growth in specific ecosystem niches, such as predation, climate, or inadequate food or water sources.
• In all environments (examples: freshwater, forest, or desert) growth and survival of organisms depend on physical conditions. Organisms with similar needs compete with one another for resources, including food, space, water, air, and shelter.
• Relationships among organisms may be competitive or mutually beneficial, such as producer/consumer, predator/prey, or parasite/host relationships. One organism may scavenge or decompose another. Some species have become so adapted to each other that neither could survive without the other.

Life Processes and the Flow of Matter and Energy

Benchmark 2 - understand that individual organisms use matter and energy for life processes, and the mechanisms accomplishing these processes are complex, integrated, and regulated.

Elaborations :

• Energy can be changed from one form to another in organisms. Food contains molecules that serve as both an energy source and building material. Plants use the energy from light to build sugars from carbon dioxide and water. This food can be used immediately or stored for later use in the plant.
• Organisms that eat plants break down the plant material to produce the molecules and energy they need to survive. Then, they are consumed by other organisms. Animals get energy from oxidizing their food, and heat energy may be a by-product in such reactions.
• In ecosystems, the major source of energy is sunlight. Producers convert energy entering the ecosystems as sunlight into chemical energy through photosynthesis. That energy then passes from organism to organism in food webs.
• Over a long time, matter is transferred from one organism to another repeatedly, and between organisms and their physical environment. As in all material systems, the total amount of matter remains constant in the system, even though its form and location may change.

Biological Evolution

Benchmark 2 - describe how biological evolution accounts for species diversity, adaptation, natural selection, extinction, and the change in organisms over time.

Elaborations :

• Millions of animals, plants, and microorganisms are alive today. Although species of organisms may look different, analysis of internal structures, similarities in chemical processes, and evidence of common ancestry point to unity among organisms.
• Biological evolution suggests that the diversity of species developed over many generations. Mutations in the genes of individual organisms give rise to modifications in the characteristics of organisms. Species acquire unique characteristics through biological adaptation, involving the selection of naturally occurring variations in populations.
• Biological adaptations include changes in structures, behaviors, or physiology that enhance an organismís survival and reproductive success in a particular environment. Changes in environmental conditions can affect the survival of individual organisms or entire species.
• Small differences between parents and offspring can accumulate (through differential breeding) in successive generations. In this way, descendants can be very different from their ancestors.
• Extinction of species is common. It occurs when the environment changes and the adaptive characteristics of a species are insufficient for survival. Fossils indicate that many organisms that lived on earth in the past no longer exist.
• Thousands of sedimentary rock layers provide evidence for the long history of the earth, and the fossils they contain demonstrate the long history of changing life forms. More recently deposited rock layers are more likely to contain fossils resembling existing species.

To meet this standard, the student will:

Component 1.1 - use properties to identify, describe, and categorize substances, materials, and objects, and use characteristics to categorize living things.

Basis of Biological Diversity

Benchmark 2 - categorize plants and animals into groups according to how they accomplish life processes and by similarities and differences in external and internal structures.

Elaborations :

• Both plants and animals have body plans and internal structures that either contribute to their ability to make carbon compounds (through photosynthesis) or consume and digest food (carbon compounds), and enable them to reproduce.
• Plants and animals can be sorted into smaller classification groups using their physical and functional characteristics. Characteristics used for grouping include the organismís body plan (for example, an insectís body plan), reproductive strategy (for example, seeds, spores, or eggs), way of life (for example, terrestrial or aquatic), and physiology (for example, cold-blooded or warm-blooded).
• A similarity in external and internal structures and functional processes among organisms implies a biological relationship and common ancestry.

To meet this standard, the student will:

Component 1.3 - understand how interactions within and among systems cause changes in matter and energy.

Environmental and Resource Issues

Benchmark 2 - explain how human societiesí use of natural resources affects the quality of life and the health of ecosystems.

Elaborations :

• Environmental degradation and resource depletion vary from region to region and from country to country. Various factors affect the amount consumption, scarcity, or loss, such as overpopulation, environmental laws, technological resources, or affluence of a country's residents.
• Human activities can induce environmental hazards through acquisition, urban growth, land use decisions, and waste disposal. Such activities may accelerate changes in resource availability, ecosystem viability, and an environment's carrying capacity for life.

Unit Outline

Key Resource: Ecology - Improving Teaching and Learning Using Assessment in the Middle School - Michigan State University - James Gallagher

1. Population Ecology

• Organisms are dependent on one another and their environment for sources of food, resources, and energy.

• Carrying capacity of the environment influences population size.

Activities & Resources

• Insights in Biology: What on Earth (WOE) - Ch. 1 - Home is . . . & Ch. 4 - Population Pressures

• Michigan State University - Ecology teacher guide

• Aquatic Wild

• Project Wild

• Glencoe Life Science Text and Resource materials

2. Energy and Life

• The recycling of matter and energy through the biogeochemical cycle is critical to ecosystems.

Activities & Resources

• Insights in Biology: What on Earth (WOE) - Ch. 2 - Oh, What a Tangled Web; Ch. 3 - Round and Round They Go

• Michigan State University - Ecology teacher guide

• Project Wild

• Glencoe Life Science Text and Resource Materials

3. Evolution

• Natural selection results in the survival of organisms that well-suited for survival in particular environments.

• Traits which are neither beneficial nor detrimental to survival or reproductive may persist by chance.

Activities & Resources

• Insights in Biology: What on Earth (WOE) - Ch. 5 - Variation . . .Adaptation . . . Evolution

• Michigan State University - Ecology teacher guide

• Glencoe Life Science Text and Resource Materials

4. Diversity

• Biodiversity is the result of speciaition and is infleuenced by environmental conditions.

Activities & Resources

• Insights in Biology: What on Earth (WOE) - Ch. 6 - The Diversity of Life

• AIMS : Unique You

• Glencoe Life Science Text and Resource Materials

5. Human Impacts

• Ecosystems are in balance; changes in any one component of the ecosystem may impact other components in small and large ways: humans impact ecosystem in ways that other organisms do not.

Activities & Resources

• Insights in Biology: What on Earth (WOE) - Ch. 7 - Back to Nature

• Michigan State University - Ecology teacher guide

• Glencoe Life Science Text and Resource Materials

USEFUL URLs

Site	Comment - Specific relationship to unit learning targets
Teaching about Evolution and Science	An online edition of the NSF edition of Teaching about  Evolution and Science. Each High School in SD 81 will have a hard copy.  This site will allow you to access the text in another media.
Introduction to Evolutionary Biology	Another site dealing with evolution. There are many links which provide a variety of discussions to this often controversial topic.
Biological Diversity : Classification	The name says it all.  A good primer on the fundamentals of classification. Teacher information is good.
Ecology,Biodiversity, and the Environment	This is the ecology section of the huge library of links called the Virtual Library. Check here if you can't find what you are looking for. Fortunately, there is a search engine available on the home page that works quite well.
Enter Evolution	Readable, elementary, short biographies of 20 or so individuals from John Ray through Erasmus Darwin and Lamarck to Cope and Osborn. Useful for historical background; portraits are provided, and Web links
Evolution on the Web for Biology Students	More information on Evolution.
The Need to Know Library --Ecology and the Environment Page	WWW Resources Related to the Science of Ecology and the State of the Environment. A list of web sites dealing with the environment.
Exploring the Environment	Information on Temperate Rainforests, Learning Modules, Activities and Links to other Ecology and Biodiversity Sites
Endangered Species Home Page US Fish And Wildlife Dept.	Good site for student or Teacher research on Endangered Species Act and Endangered Species
Rivers Run Through It Discovering The Columbia River Basin -BLM	Comprehensive resource on the Columbia Basin - Climate, Flora and Fauna

Community Resources 

Site	Comment - Specific relationship to unit learning targets

Other URLs 

Site	Comment - Specific relationship to unit learning targets
The Science Site	The most compete list of Science Education Lists I have seen! Click on Lesson Plans and Activities or Instructional Resources
Discover Magazine Database	List of actual articles and resources by topic.  The articles would be good for student research and the resource list great for teachers.
The World Wide Web Virtual Library	Search engine for a variety of science topics
Pinchbeck's Homework Helper	Long list of science sites for teachers and students
The Compost Resource Page	This site is intended to serve as a hub of information for anyone interested in the various aspects of composting.
PBS SCIENCE SITE	This site has descriptions of upcoming PBS specials many of which have great life science components.  Has content links and video clips.
Research National Geographic	This site has a search engine for looking up content specific articles, books videos etc.  It does not have the articles however!
Genetics Resource Site	Teacher resource for a variety of information and lessons on Genetics
Frank Potter's Science Gems - Life Science I	This site has an incredible list of resources for both students and teachers on life science.  Units included are: Life Science - Part I 1.Measurement & Scientific Investigation 2.Living Things: Origin & Molecules 3.Cells: Energetics to Heredity 4.Molecular Genetics 5.Evolution 6.Ecology More units under construction!
EXPLORER science curriculum K-12	University of Kansas 250 lessons in science and mathematics:  There are many activities for Ecology, Photosynthesis, and all areas of Life Science (as well as Physical Science).  These are in the form of files that you download and then print out! (usually need ClarisWorks, Acrobat reader or equivalent to use.
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology	Get the lecture notes and online resources from this course offered by the University of Texas at Austin. Follow along if you have Campbell 4th ed. A definite teacher site--great for background information.  This course covers the following: Basic Chemistry, Macromolecules, Cell Structure and Function, Cell Division: Mitosis and Meiosis, Mendelian Genetics, DNA Structure and Function, Recombinant DNA Technology ,Human Genetics, Darwin and the Theory of Evolution, Microevolution and Selection, Speciation, Systematics and Phylogeny Reconstruction, Origin and History of Life, Viruses, Bacteria, Protista, Fungi, Plants, Animals, Human Evolution, Population Ecology, Human Population Growth, Community Ecology, Ecosystems, Biogeochemical Cycles, Biogeography and Climate, Biomes, Conservation Biology, Air Pollution, Ozone and Global Warming, Water Resources, and Waste Management.
NSTA: Scope, Sequence, and Coordination	Explore the SS & C site and the National Science Education Standards with detailed explanations of the Content Standards, listings of applicable concepts, laws, and theories, and materials presented as Micro-Units designed to achieve the NSE Standards offered for download and free use in your science class. A good starting place for some ideas to implement the standards as well as assessments that can modified to fit your class
Online Biology Book	A major site for resources for teachers and for students. There are many links to related sites.Cool site
The Biology Place	A subscription site from Peregrine publishing. A great site that covers all areas of biology, and will provide your students with a all-purpose site
Sierra Club--Environmental Education	A clearing house of sites for environmental education, sponsored by the Sierra Club. Many associated links with an environmental twist.
The Environmental Education Network	The Environmental Education Network (EEN) is a collaborative effort among educators, the EnviroLink Network and the environmental community to bring environmental education on-line and into a multimedia format. The EEN will act as the clearinghouse for all environmental education information, materials and ideas on the Internet.
Biology 4 Kids	A great site for students 7-10. The topics covered include cells, chemistry, ecology and studies.  Possibly a good site for students to access at home.
Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators--science sites	Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators is a categorized list of sites on the Internet found to be useful for enhancing curriculum and teacher professional growth. It is updated daily to keep up with the tremendous number of new World Wide Web sites. This will take you to the current science sites and links.
TEACHERS HELPING TEACHERS	To provide basic teaching tips to inexperienced teachers; ideas that can be immediately implemented into the classroom. To provide new ideas in teaching methodologies for all teachers. To provide a forum for experienced teachers to share their expertise and tips with colleagues around the world. The site is update weekly, and addresses all areas of science and all grade levels.
Access Excellence	A great site for many diverse areas of life science--but specifically for genetics and biotechnology. The activities exchange is worth it's weight in gold in ideas!
Genetics Education Partnership	A Genetics Learning Community in Washington State. Teachers, scientists and other genetics professionals working together to improve K-12 genetics education in the state of Washington. Teachers from SD81 and Dr. Don Lightfoot, from EWU,  have participated in this project.  Site is due for an update.

{Tim's suggestion is that we include the unit assessments and the performance expectations for students. The performance expectations should be detailed and specific so that students know the specific characteristics of exemplary student responses to performance tasks.}