Chapter 12 Lesson 1 "Living Things and Nonliving Things"

Materials:

• Ecology Crossword
• Write a sentence sheet
• Life in a Pond (optional)

Objective:

• Students will explain the relationships among organisms, populations, communities, and ecosystems.
• Students will describe the process of succession.
• Students will describe how pollution affects ecosystems.
• Students will understand how human activities affects the environment.
• Students will list examples of biomes.
• Students will describe two types of natural resources.

Anticipatory Set: * Students will take part in a discussion about how they have interacted with there environment today. Encourage discussion about the things that aren't very obvious. Snowmachine pollution, the bird they scared out of a tree, the organisms living in their outhouse, the bug living in the bark of the tree you threw in your wood stove.

Remind the students of the organization of living things.

Atom	molecule	compound	organelle	cell	tissue	organ
organ system	organism	Population	community	ecosystem	biosphere

Teacher Input: * How big is the biosphere? First, how high in the air can you find something that is alive? (12 km) How far down can you find something that is alive? (11 km in deep ocean trenches). How big is an ecosystem? (That depends on the area being researched or talked about. One tree can have its own ecosystem or the area of the Sahara Desert can be studied this is usually refereed to a Biome)

Are ecosystems always the same or do they change over time? Show this diagram of succession and explain the term. Use the diagram to tell what happens to a pond ecosystem over time. In the book on P 298-299. Then use a picture of the forest succession to explain a climax community. What effects to humans have on the ecosystem? Show these pics.Lake Cabin, Snowmachine 1, Snowmachine2, oilspill1, oil spill 2. Describe how a the biosphere and different ecosystems are affected by pollution and Acid rain. Will acid rain eventually take care of itself? (Show this cartoon)

What is the difference among threatened, Endangered, and Extinct animals?

Show this threatened animal, threatened animal 2, and explain threat ended. Show this endangered animal and explain endangered. Show this extinct animal and explain extinct.

Use this USFW web site to sum up the endangered and threatened species of North America. http://endangered.fws.gov/wildlife.html#Species

An ecosystem over a large area such as a desert, rainforest, or a tundra region has a different name. Do the students know what it is? Biome.

The things we or other organisms use to live are called a resource. What is it called if the resource grows back quickly and we can use it over and over again. Show timber and agricultural fields. What is it called if it cannot be replaced and once the organism uses it the resource is gone? Show coal and oil. Most of these non renewable resources were formed millions of years ago by the remains of plants and animals. What is the term for these resources?

Guided Practice: * Use the sentences sheet along with the discussion to write sentences while teaching the lesson.

Independent Practice: * Have the students complete the Ecology Crossword puzzle.

Check for Understanding: * Have the students complete the quiz for Chapter 12, lesson 1.

Duration:

30 minutes + 10-15 for Independent Practice (Could be longer if taken for homework).

Alaska Content Standards Addressed in this lesson:

• SCI A-9 Students will understand the transfers and transformations of matter and energy that link living things and their physical environment, fro molecules to ecosystems. (Flow of Matter and Energy)
• SCI A-10 Students will understand that living things are made up mostly of cells and that all life processes occur in Cells (Cells)
• SCI A-12 Students will distinguish the patterns of similarity and differences in the living world in order to understand the diversity of life and understand the theories that describe the importance of diversity for species and ecosystems.
• SCI A-14 Students will understand
  • the interdependence between living things and their environments:,
  • that the living environments consists of individuals, populations, and communities: and
  • that a small change in a portion of an environment may affect the entire environment (Interdependence);