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The Human Connection to Animal Ecosystems. Unit Portfolio Presentation Trigette Spann. Unit Summary.
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The Human Connection to Animal Ecosystems Unit Portfolio Presentation Trigette Spann
Unit Summary Students will develop an awareness of the interconnectedness of all animals and plants and human life through research, a written project, and by creating a model of their assigned ecosystem. Students will incorporate technology by creating their written component in a word processing program and by presenting a brief PowerPoint presentation accompanying their projects.
CFQs Essential Question: What does it mean to be safe? Unit Question: • Why is it important to preserve habitats? • Does human activity affect the animals’ habitat? And how? Content Questions: • What are the roles of the biotic and the abiotic elements of your ecosystem? • What does the animal contribute to the ecosystem? • What does the animal take from its environment? • What is the condition of the animal’s population and habitat?
Vision for Unit By creating this unit, I want to • Integrate technology, a hands on project, and address students’ informational written expression. • Make students aware of their ability to contribute positively to improving the environment. During this unit, I want my students to • Develop an understanding of ecosystem functions. • Use technology to communicate with different audiences. • Present ways they can personally make a difference.
Project Approaches As my students work on this project, they • Connect the science objectives to their own lives • Create a product that shows what they’ve learned • Share their learning with a real audience
21st Century Learning Students will develop higher-order and 21st century skills in this unit as they • Use the Essential and Unit Questions to guide their analysis of the play to find themes that cross places and times • Communicate their ideas to a community audience • Reflect on their reading, writing, research, and thinking strategies, and modify and adapt them as necessary • Use project assessments to self-assess their work and give feedback to their peers
Gauging Student Needs Assessments • Use KWLs to learn • Students’ ideas about how ecosystems work • Background knowledge of various ecosystems • Assess 21st Century skills • Ability to see common elements in classic and contemporary literature
Gauging Student Needs Assessments I can use the information from these assessments to: • Focus on the concepts that students have prior misconceptions about • Plan activities in which they will answer their questions Students can use the information from these assessments to: • Compare their prior and current knowledge • Set goals for how they will address what they need to learn about the unit
Requests for Feedback • Need ways to help students understand the play without paraphrasing and summarizing it for them • Need help assessing students’ higher-order thinking skills
Works Cited "Belize." Top Things to Do. Web. 15 Apr. 2010. <http://www.top- things-to-do.com/central-america/coral-reefs.jpg>. Hall, Charles. "Ecology." World Book Student Online. World Book. Web. 15 June 2010. <http://www.worldbookonline.com/student/article?id= ar173240&st=ecology>. National Geographic Kids. National Geographic, 2009. Web. 15 Apr. 2010. <http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngexplorer/>. Varlos, Laura. "Nine Essential Instructional Strategies." Welcome to MiddleWeb's Middle School Resources! Middle Web Listserv, Jan. 2002. Web. 15 June 2010. <http://www.middleweb.com/MWLresources/marzchat1.html>.