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Environment & environmental factors

Environment unit with lesson plans, activities, & lab notebook

Wise related quote.

Overview

A sequence of plans to facilitate a review and develop a deeper understanding of the environment and the environmental factors that are necessary to support life.

Contents Overview

Background information:

This plan is designed for students who have very little prior knowledge of environmental factors.

Related study topics:

  •  

Big ideas, concepts, facts, and outcomes

Big ideas

  • Life requires optimal ranges of environmental factors for survival. Temperature, light, nutrients or food as a source of energy, water

Related concepts and facts

  • Better decisions (claims) are made when information is verified, with evidence and reasoning, before being considered accurate and used to reason and develop explanations and models to understand the world and make decisions.
  • People make better decision when they understand and consider the positive and negative influences that effect their decision making.

Outcome

Use accurate verifiable information to consider and decide how objects can be balanced or made more stable.

Science concepts: physical, earth, life

Big ideas:Th

Related concepts

Outcome

  1. S

Science inquiry, process, & perspective concepts, facts, & outcomes

Big ideas: Science (claim evidence & reasoning) can be used to understand and explain cause and effect in the world.

Related concepts and facts

  • Variables describe properties that change and can be used to explain interactions.
  • Relative position describes changes in positions of objects when they are moved relative to a common position.
  • Systems are used to describe objects that interact together.
  • Interactions can be explained by describing how variables change within a system and how a system interacts with other objects or systems.
    • Objects change.
    • Change can be observed and recorded as before, during, after.
    • Change is observed through properties of the object.
    • Change can vary.
    • Constancy Somethings stay the same and some things change.
    • Constancy can sometimes be observed during a very slow rate of a change process or focusing on a particular property.
  • When I experiment I collect observations that describe how different properties change (become variables) when objects and systems interact. This helps me make claims, explain what is happening, and to predict what might happen in the future.
  • Inquiry concepts
  • Process concepts
  • Perspective concepts

Outcome

  1. Describe

Pedagogical Overview

Activities Sequence to provide sufficient opportunities for students to achieve the targeted outcomes.

Make sure students have the prior knowledge identified in the background information.

  1. Activity 1 - What do you know about life?
  2. Activity 2 - Healthy Beans
  3. Activity 3 - What's That Temperature?
  4. Activity 4 - Environmental Factors That Effect Bean Plants 
  5. Activity 5 - Light As An Environmental Factor
  6. Activity 6 - Water As An Environmental Factor For Seeds
  7. Activity 7 - Chemical Fertilizer As An Environmental Factor - Experiment
  8. Activity 8 - Do
  9. Activity 9 - Ho
  10. Activity 10 - Pa
  11. Activity 11 - B
  12. Activity 12 - O
  13. Activity 13 - O
  14. Activity 14 - O

Focus question

Unit focus question:

What is

Sub focus questions:

  1. What is

Materials

  • T

Lab notes

References and other resources

 

Scoring guides suggestions (rubric)

Rotational motion (scoring guide)

Top level

  • Explains

Lower level

Lesson Plans

Activity 1 - What do you know about life?

Materials

Focus questions:

  1. What is

Learning outcomes:

  1. Explo

Suggested procedures overview:

  1. Put learners in groups, focus their attention, and assess their initial understanding of the focus questions.
  2. Give l

Exploration -

  1. Put learners in pairs.
  2. Ask.

Invention -

  1. Explain and discuss with the learners

Discover

 

 

Activity 2 - Healthy Beans 

Materials:

Focus questions:

Learning outcomes:

Suggested procedures overview:

  1. Put students in groups, focus their attention, and assess their initial understanding of the focus questions.
  2. Activity twirl zoomers.
  3. Describe

Exploration

  1. Put students in pairs.

Invention

  1. Recall and review

Discover

 


Activity 3 - What's That Temperature?

Materials:

Focus questions:

Learning outcomes:

  • T

Suggested procedures overview:

  1. Put students in groups, focus their attention, and assess their initial understanding of the focus questions.
  2. Activity

Exploration

  1. Put learners in pairs.

Invention

  1. What

Discovery

  1. Discuss how



 

Activity 4 - Environmental Factors That Effect Bean Plants 

Materials

Focus questions:

  1. How does

Learning outcomes:

  1. Learners

Suggested procedures overview:

  1. Put students in groups, focus their attention, and assess their initial understanding of the focus questions.
  2. Activity

Exploration

  1. Ask.

Invention

  1. Ask. How

Discover

Activity 5 - Light As An Environmental Factor

Materials:

Focus questions:

  1. What

Learning outcomes:

  1. Explain

Suggested procedures overview:

  1. Put students in groups, focus their attention, and assess their initial understanding of the focus questions.
  2. Activity

Exploration

  1. Organize learners into pairs and groups.
  2. Have learners

Invention

  1. W

Discover

  1. If

 

Activity 6 - Water As An Environmental Factor For Seeds 

Materials

Focus questions:

  1. How do

Learning outcomes:

  1. Describe

Exploration

  1. Organize learners into groups and pairs.

Invention

  1. Regroup as a class and groups demonstrate their projects.
  2. Ask.

Discover

  • Propose

Activity 7 - Chemical Fertilizer As An Environmental Factor - Experiment 

Materials

Focus questions:

  1. What is f

Learning outcomes:

  1. Describe

Exploration

  1. Organize learners into groups and pairs.
  2. T

Invention

  1. Regroup as a class and groups demonstrate their projects.
  2. Ask.

Discover

  • Propose

 

Lab Notes for activities

Lab notes 1 - What do you know about life?

Materials

  • Lab notes

Directions

Here are some words for you to review. 

Write a definition for each word.

 

Plant

 

Animal

 

Predator

 

Prey

 

Population

 

Organism

 

Barrier

 

Dispersal

 

Plant eaters

 

Animal eaters

 

Bean

 

List variables that will make plants grow taller.

 

Write your plan to grow a bean that would make any farmer proud.

Describe what you do.

 

 

Lab notes 2 - Healthy Beans 

Materials

  • beans, water, containers, light source, temperature control, soil or other substance

Challenge

List variables that might cause plants to grow better.

 

 

Create and write a plan to grow a healty bean.

 

What could be recorded every day as a measure of a bean plant's health?

Describe how it can be recorded in the table below.

 

Date Data Other
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

 

Is there a way to graph the data? If there is graph it.

 

 

 

Lab notes 3 - What's That Temperature?

Materials

What's That Temperature?

Place Date:  Time: 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

 

What is the outdoor temperature today? 

 

Record the temperature for several different places.

Suggestions:

  • On a hard surface, rock, cement, blacktop.
  • In a grassy place on the ground.
  • In a grassy place below the ground, tell how far below. 
  • In a grassy place at the top of the grass. 
  • In a wooded area on the ground.
  • In a wooded area below the ground, tell how far below.
  • In a wooded area 1 m above the ground.
  • If there is a pond around what is the temperature of the surface.
  • What is the temperature below the surface of the water, and how far below?

 

What did you discover?


 

 

 


Lab notes 4 - Environmental Factors That Effect Bean Plants 

Materials

 

Focus questions:

  • How d

Challenge

 

Environmental Factors That Effect Bean Plants 

What’s an Environmental factor?

Review the list of what you thought would effect how your bean plant grows.

These are some of what are called environmental factors.  

Environmental factors may be divided into two groups:  
Biotic and abiotic environmental factors.  
Something is biotic if it is living or came from a living organism.  
Something is abiotic if it was never living or isn’t from a living organism.  

Think of environmental factors and write them in the appropriate column below.

Biotic Abiotic
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lab notes 5 - Light As An Environmental Factor

Materials

Challenge

Light As An Environmental Factor - Experiment 

Question:  How will ………….. plants respond to light?

Equipment:  Seeds, pots, soil, and a black cap.

Procedure:  Plant several seeds in two different pots.  Set them aside and wait for them to emerge from the soil.  When there are plants coming up in both pots measure the plants and record the starting date below.  Then place one pot in the dark, with the dark cap on, and the other in a lighted area.  Measure the plants and record the data on the chart for two weeks.

Graph your results: 

Summarize what you discovered.

Results:

What do these results suggest for other plants?

Conclusions:

 

Lab notes 6 - Water As An Environmental Factor For Seeds

Materials

Challenge

Water As An Environmental Factor For Seeds 

Question:  How does water affect the germination of………….. seeds?

Equipment:  Plants, pots, seeds, dropper, and soil.

Procedure:  Plant the seeds in 4 containers and water each with different amounts of water.  Start the first container with 0ml and then increase each container by ……… ml up to …….. Record your data below.

Graph your results.

Summarize your results.

Results:

How would what you learned apply to seeds outside?  Think spring.  

Conclusions:


 

 

Lab notes 7 - Chemical Fertilizer As An Environmental Factor - Experiment 

Materials

Challenge

Chemical Fertilizer As An Environmental Factor - Experiment 

Chemical fertilizer as an environmental factor

Question:  How does chemical fertilizer effect the growth of …………………. plants?

Equipment:

Procedure:

Results:

Conclusions:

 

 

Lab notes 8 - Environmental Factors Of Chemicals For Animals Experiments - Shrimp

Materials

Challenge

 

8 Environmental Factors Of Chemicals For Animals Experiments - Shrimp

Chemicals as environmental factors

Question:  Will the amount of a chemical in the environment affect the organism?

Equipment:  Small containers, water, salt, measuring devices, and shrimp eggs.

Procedure:  Fill six containers with the same amount of water (40ml) and put no salt in the first container, 1 measure of salt in the second, 2 measures in the third and so forth up to 5 measures.  Stir the salt until as much as possible dissolves and add the same amount of eggs to each container.  Shake or stir the containers everyday.  

Record the results.

Results:

 

Conclusions:

Lab notes 9 - Temperature As An Environmental Factor For Animals - Experiment

Materials

Challenge


9. Temperature As An Environmental Factor For Animals - Experiment

Question:  What is the effect of temperature on isopods?

Equipment:  Light bulb heat source, ice chamber, aluminum foil tray (about 7cm wide x 40cm long x 3cm high sides); and 6+ isopods.

Procedure:  Set up your aluminum foil tray so that one end is in the ice chamber and the other is on the heat source.  Divide the tray into six sections and record the temperature at each section (you may have to wait a few minutes after you set it up for the temperatures to stabilize).  Place one isopod on each of the sections that you divided and record that below.  Then every minute record where they are for ten minutes.

Graph results.

Results:

Conclusions:

Did the animals move in a certain direction?

Did they move randomly?

Did they travel to the ends of the ramp?  Why or why not?

Did they stay in one temperature range?

Describe how they moved.

What advantages do animals have over plants?

If you were looking for one of these animals where would you look?

What was the optimum temperature range indicated by the class data?

 

 

Lab notes 10 - Light As An Environmental Factor For Animals - Experiment 

Materials

Challenge


10 Light As An Environmental Factor For Animals - Experiment 

Light as an environmental factor

Question:  How does the environmental factor light effect ………………………..?

Equipment:  Light source, tray of aluminum foil (see temperature), ………………. And a black cover for the foil.

Procedure:  Take the light source and set it up at one end of the tray so the first section of the tray is in the light.  The rest of the sections will be in various shades of darkness down to very dark at the opposite end.  Take the ……………… like before and place one in each section and record where the ………………. are after each minute for ten minutes.  

Record the results below.

Graph results.

Summarize results.

Results:

Does the class data indicate an optimum range of light?

If so what is it?

If you were going to look for ……………………… outside where would you look (include what you learned from the last experiment)?

Conclusions:

 

 

Lab notes 11 - Moisture As An Environmental Factor For Isopods Or Insects 

Materials

Challenge


11 Moisture As An Environmental Factor For Isopods Or Insects 

Question:  Is there an optimum range of moisture for …………………….?

Equipment:  Tray (from before), dirt, water, and ………………..

Procedure:  Take the tray from before and put 1cm of dirt in the bottom.  In one of the end sections place no water, in the section next to it put …… ml of water, in the one next to it place ………. ml of water, and so on until you put ….. ml of water in the last section.  Place the ………………… so that one is in each section and record what section they are in every minute for ten minutes.  

Record results.

Graph results.

Summarize results.

Results:

What does the class data indicate for the optimum range of moisture?  Where would you expect to find the ………. Outside (remember last experiments)?  

Conclusions:

 

Lab notes 12 - Environmental Factors For Other Animals Experiments - Snails

Materials

  • Rocks, sheet of plastic, thermometer, and a snail.
  • To make snails active you may have to place them in cool water for five minutes.

Challenge

Discover the optimum temperature range for snails

Focus question - What is the optimum temperature for snails?

 

Procedure

  1. Place the snail on a sheet of plastic and place one rock in front of the snail and see if the snail will climb the rock. 
  2. If the snail climbs on the rock record the temperature of the rock in that column and if the snail didn’t climb on the rock record the temperature in that column. 
  3. Repeat with the other rocks and record below. 
  4. Remember to take the temperature of the rock often as it will change. 
  5. If the snail won’t go onto the rock, try another and then come back and try the rock again when its temperature changes.

Results:

What temperature were the rocks the snails did climb?

 

 

What temperature were the rocks that the snails didn’t climb?

 

Share the class data

Does the class data indicate an optimum temperature?

 

 

Did the snails show evidence of variation?

 

Conclusions:

 

Snails and the optimum amount of light

Question:  What amount of light do snails choose?

Equipment:  Light source, polar overlay, marker, and a snail.

Procedure:  Take the light source and set it up so that the overlay will have the light at the zero point.  Darken the rest of the room and check the overlay to see if there are different amounts of light on the overlay with the most being at zero.  Then take the snail and place it at (0,0).  Follow the trail of the snail with the marker.  If the snail moves off the overlay then put it back at the center and start over again.  Continue for 10 minutes.

When all the teams are finished we will put all the overlays on the overhead projector so they are all facing the same way relative to ……………………… 

Record the results.

Results:

Does the data indicate an optimum range of light?

Was there evidence of variation?  Explain

Conclusions:

 

Snails and the optimum amount of moisture 

Question:  What amount of moisture do snails choose?

Equipment:  Polar overlay, a snail, 

Procedure:  

 

 

Record the results.

Results:

Does the data indicate an optimum range of moisture?

Was there evidence of variation?  Explain

Conclusions:

 

 

Lab notes 13 - Environmental Factors Of Chemicals For Animals Experiments - Shrimp 

Materials

  • Small containers, water, salt, measuring devices, and shrimp eggs

Challenge

Explore chemicals as environmental factors.

Question:  Will the amount of a chemical in the environment affect the organism?

 

Possible procedure

Fill six containers with the same amount of water (40ml) and put no salt in the first container, 1 measure of salt in the second, 2 measures in the third and so forth up to 5 measures.  Stir the salt until as much as possible dissolves and add the same amount of eggs to each container.  Shake or stir the containers everyday.  

Record the results.

Results:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusions:

 

Lab notes 14 - Environment summary 

Materials

  • Lab notes

Challenge - complete the following.

1.  What is a plant?

 

2.  What is an animal?

 

3.  What is a predator?

 

4.  What is the prey?

 

5.  What is population?

 

6.  What is an organism?

 

7.  What is a barrier?

 

8.  What is dispersal?

 

9.  What is a plant eater?

 

10.  What is an animal eater?

 

11.-15.  List 5 biotic objects.

 

 

16.-20.  List 5 abiotic objects.

 

 

21.-25.  List 5 environmental factors.

 

 

26.-30.  Pick anyone of the experiments we did in this packet and tell what the experiment was, how it was done, and what the results were.  Hint: you will need more than three sentences to answer this!

 

 

Material Sheets

A

 

 

B

 

 

 

 

 

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