Unit 1:
Ecosystems
Lauren Ard
Santa Clara High School
Tucson, Arizona
Instructions: Below are the
activities you can choose from to earn points for this unit. Start with
the C activities. These will help you learn the basics of the unit.
Activities in bold are required for every student. After you have
enough points in the C section, move on to section B and then A for
more challenging activities. Here's how to get the grade you want:
F: 0 - 210 C points
D: 211 - 240 C points
C: 241 - 280 C points
B: 280 C points and 5 - 35 B points
A: 280 C points, 35 B
points, and 5 - 35 A points
When you are finished with
an activity, you must sit down and discuss what you've learned with
Mrs. Ard. You may not turn in more than two activities on the last
day of the unit.
C Activities
| Description | # of Periods | Points | Score |
| Take Cornell notes on the entire unit. | - | 20 | |
| Research a biome with a group and make a detailed power point presentation. | 5 | 100 | |
| Do the “Observing Ecosystems” activity with the rest of the class. (You will observe a small ecosystem and its organisms.) | 2 | 40 | |
| Do the “Eating for Energy” activity using Activity #79 in the Ecology book AND the worksheet I have made to help you. (You will learn about food webs and how to create them.) | 1.5 | 30 | |
| Watch “Ecosystems: The Role of Abiotic Factors” on Mrs. Ard's computer and take notes on the five nonliving things that are important to an ecosystem. | 0.5 | 10 | |
| Watch “Bill Nye: Biodiversity” and take at least one side of a page of Cornell notes on this 20 minute video. | 0.5 | 10 | |
| Living things in an ecosystem interact in many different ways. Use the internet to define Mutualism, Commensalism, and Parasitism and give two examples of each one. | 0.5 | 10 | |
| Read pages E8-E11 in the hardcover Ecology book and answer questions 1-5 on page E11. Then, read pages E20-E24 and answer questions #1-5 on page E24. (You will read about ecosystems and how organisms interact within these ecosystems.) | 1 | 20 | |
| Read pages E36-E42 in the hardcover Ecology book and answer questions 1-5 on page E42. Then, read pages E50-E53 and answer questions #1-5 on page E53. (You will learn about the nonliving parts of an ecosystem and energy flow in an ecosysytem.) | 1 | 20 | |
| Read pages E68-E75 in the hardcover Ecology book and answer questions 1-5 on page E75. Then, read pages E77-E83 and answer questions #1-5 on page E83. (You will learn about Biomes and Aquatic Ecosystems.) | 1 | 20 | |
| Do the “Observing Organisms” activity using Activity #74 in the Ecology book AND the worksheet I have made to help you. (In this activity you can observe the behavior of a live blackworm.) | 1 | 20 | |
| Do the “Classifying Animals” activity using Activity #75 in the Ecology book AND the worksheet I have made to help you. (You will use flash cards of animals to decide how to classify the animals into groups.) | 1 | 20 | |
| Do the “Coughing up Clues” activity using Activity #78 in the Ecology book AND the worksheet I have made to help you. (You will dissect an owl pellet and examine its contents to figure out what kind of ecosystem the owl lives in.) | 1 | 20 | |
| Do the “Food Webs” worksheet. (You will look at several different food webs and answer questions about them.) | 1 | 20 | |
| Pretend that you know of 10 different alien species that live on Mars. Make a food web that connects these creatures, making sure to draw a picture of each one. Write five sentences explaining your food web. Label the producers and consumers. | 1 | 20 | |
| Pick one of the “Jeff Corwin Experience” videos to watch on Mrs. Ard's computer and take at least one page (front and back) of notes. You can pick from The Rainforest, Namibian Ecosystem, Desert Ecosystem, or Island Ecosystem. | 1 | 20 | |
| Learn how to play the “Into the Forest” card game, play it for one period, and write down five things you learned from playing the game. | 1 | 20 | |
| Do the “People, Birds, and Bats” activity using Activity #76 in the Ecology book AND the worksheet I have made to help you. (You will read descriptions of different animals and use the clues to figure out how to classify the animals.) | 1.5 | 30 | |
| Write a 5-sentence summary about the characteristics of at least 6 different biomes using a book or the internet. | 2 | 40 |
B Activities
| Description | # of Periods | Points | Score |
| Make a food web with the following animals: Owl, Hawk, Mouse, Fox, Snake, Grass. Label the producers and consumers. | 0.5 | 5 | |
| Pick ten things that you like to eat, with 5 of those things being animals (like chicken or beef) and 5 being plants. Using the internet, research what foods those animals eat that you eat. Make a food web with you and the 10 things you like to eat (and the things they like to eat). Label the producers and the consumers in your food web. | 1 | 20 | |
| Use the internet to research the alpine and tundra biomes. List at least three similarities and five differences between these biomes. | 1 | 20 | |
| After doing the “Coughing Up Clues” activity, do some research about owls and the habitat they live in. Write a one page paper for 20 points, or a two page paper for 40 points. | 1-2 | 20-40 |
A Activities
| Description | # of Periods | Points | Score |
| Write a short essay (10 sentences) about how ecosystems are important to your life. | 0.5 | 10 | |
| Watch “Ecosystems: The Role of Abiotic Factors,” take notes on the video, and explain why each of the five nonliving factors in the video are necessary for an ecosystem to thrive. | 1 | 20 | |
| Write a one page letter to a friend describing the importance of preserving our Tucson desert ecosystem, and how they can help to preserve it. | 1 | 20 | |
| Do the “A Suitable Habitat” project using Activity #83 in the Ecology book AND the worksheet I have made to help you. (You will do an experiment to figure out what kind of habitat a blackworm likes best.) | 2-3 | 40 |