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Vanessa Ricker
Grade 9
Subject: Biology
Date: April 16, 2007
1. Title/Source of Lesson: Biome Projects
Resources from the media center
2. Description of Learners: 21 adolescents, 2 on IEPs, both males and females,
Mostly Caucasian, 1 Asian, 2 African American
3. Goals:



The students should be introduced to several factors that are
present in a few of the biomes. These include location,
temperature range, precipitation, plant life, animal life, and
additional information.
The students should learn how to divide the work up in groups.
The students should gain more experience giving presentations
4. Student Performance Objectives:
Benchmark F: Explain the structure and function of ecosystems and relate
how ecosystems change over time. Indicator 15. Explain how living
things interact with biotic and abiotic components of the environment
(e.g., predation, competition, natural disasters and weather).
5. Connections to previous learning and future content:
The students have graphed the different climates of 3 of the biomes in
class last week. To do this they were given average temperatures and
precipitation values. This had introduced them to the topic of biomes.
They will need to understand the different biomes for future science
classes. They will also be expected to give presentations in the future so
this lesson is helping prepare them for that.
Materials/Resources Needed:
Materials for presentations, computer with powerpoint presentations set up,
outline to be distributed to students for taking notes, grading rubric.
Procedure:
Today we’re going to start a group investigation of biomes. The students will be
put into 9 heterogeneous groups with a randomly assigned biome to explore. They will
be given a rubric that tells them the directions and what they must find. In a week they
will be expected to give a presentation to the class on their particular biome. Each person
in the group must participate in this presentation. This presentation can be in the form of
a PowerPoint or a regular poster board. Either way, the presentation should include all
the necessary information including climate, location, plant communities, animal
communities, and environmental concerns. After your presentation, you should allow
your classmates and myself to ask you questions. You may find it easiest to assign roles
to each person in the group about finding information and becoming experts on
individual aspects. Then you should share your information with the rest of the group.
This will help you on the overall project as well as on the test that will cover all the
different biomes.
You will be given class time to work on this down at the media center beginning
today. Make sure you use the time wisely.
Biomes:
Tropical Rain Forest
Nutrient poor soils,
Location: parts of south and central America, Southeast Asia,
parts of Africa, southern India, and northeastern Australia
Temperature Range/precipitation- hot and wet
Plant life- broad-leaved evergreen trees; ferns; large woody vines
and climbing plats, orchids, bromeliads
Animal life- sloths, jaguars, monkeys, toucans, anacondas, boa
constrictors
Tropical Dry Forest
Generally warm year round
Seasonal rainfall; alternating wet and dry seasons
Richer soils
Plant life: tall deciduous trees, drought-tolerant orchids and bromeliads,
succulent plants
Animal life: tiger, monkeys, elephants, rhinoceros, snakes, lizards
Location: parts of Africa, South and Central America, Mexico, India,
Australia
Tropical Savanna
Location: large parts of eastern Africa, southern brazil, northern Australia
Temperature: warm temperatures
Frequent fires, compact soils prevent it from turning into a dry forest
Plants: tall, perennial grasses, drought-tolerant and fire resistant trees.
Animal life: lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, aardvarks, elephants, giraffes,
zebras, ostrich, storks
Desert:
Location: Africa, Asian, the middle east, United States, Mexico, South America,
Australia
Are all deserts hot? Variable temperatures
Mongolia and China and the Great Basin in the western United States
Low precipitation less than 25 cm
Plants: cacti and other succulents
Wildlife: mountain lions, gray foxes, bobcats, mule deer, rattlesnakes, lizards
Temperate Grassland:
Temperature: warm to hot summers, cold winters
Precipitation: seasonal,
Plant life: lush, perennial grasses and herbs, most are resistant to drought
fire and cold
Animal Life: predators such as coyotes and badgers, wolves, rabbits, prairie dogs,
snakes,
Location: central Asia, NA, Australia, central Europe
Temperate Woodland and Shrubland (chaparral)
Location: western coasts of North and South America, South Africa, Australia
Precipitation: dry summer, moist winters
Temperature: hot summers, cool winters,
Plant life: woody evergreen shrubs, small leathery leaves
Animal life: coyotes, foxes, mountain lions, rabbits, squirrels, haws, lizards
Growth of dense low plants that contain flammable oils makes fires a
constant threat
Mix of shrub communities and open woodlands
Temperate Forest
Location: eastern U.S., southeastern Canada, most of Europe
Temperature: cold to moderate winters, wamr summers
Precipitation: year-round;
Plant life: broadleaf deciduous trees, conifers, flowering shrubs
Animal life: deer, black bears, bobcats, raccoons
Fertile soils
Northwestern Coniferous Forest
Location: pacific coast of northwestern U.S. and Canada
Temperature: mild
Precipitation: abundant;
Animal Life: bears, elk, deer, beavers
Plant life: Douglas fir, western hemlock, redwood
Conifers
“temperate rain forest”
Boreal Forest: (taiga)
Location: North America, Asia, northern Europe
Precipitation; moderate
Temperature: long cold winter, short, mild summers
Animal Life: lynx, timberwolves. Beavers, songbirds
Plant life: needleleaf coniferous trees
Northern hemisphere
Tundra:
Location: northern North America, Asia, Europe
Precipitation: low
Temperature: short cool summer; long, cold winters
Permafrost
Animal Life: waterfowl, arctic foxes, caribou
Plant Life: mosses, lichens
Opening/focus/anticipatory set:
I will introduce the first day of the biome presentations. I will also remind the
students of a few key points they should remember. For example, they should know it
should be between 5 and 10 minutes and each person in your group must participate.
Teacher modeling/demonstration of learning:
The students will demonstrate that they know their biome by presenting it to the
class. They will be evaluated on their presentations.
Check for Understanding.
The students are giving presentations and I will be asking questions if they miss
any of the information. The other students in the class will also be given the opportunity
to ask questions for further information. This will check if the students understand the
information.
Guided Practice or activity
The students are involved in a group activity and are presenting their biomes to
the class.
Independent Practice:
Each student must participate in this presentation. They all must have an active
role. Therefore, they will all be held accountable for their part.
Class discussion and/or group activity
The students were put in groups to present information on a biome. They collect
information and put the presentation together as a group.
Closure of lesson that determines if goals/objectives were met
At the end of class each student should have filled out their notes worksheet that
had been provided. This will give the students a summary of the different biomes to
study for their test.
Authentic assessment:
The students will be assessed on their presentations by a rubric. The presentation
is worth 30 points. They have been given the rubric ahead of time so they know what I
will be looking for and what content they must include
Name _________________________________
Period_______
Biology
Partner(s) ______________________________
Biome Project 2007
With you partner(s), you will thoroughly research the ______________________ biome.
You are to develop a presentation that will convey to the rest of the class an
understanding of the abiotic and biotic factors that define your particular biome. The
research will culminate with a 5-10 minute presentation that will include the
participation of all members of your group. The presentation should include some visual
aid to help explain the content. You may be creative in the method of presentation; there
is no single correct format. The content, however, must be factual and should convey to
your classmates your expertise of the topic. Presentations will be October 24-26, chosen
in a random order.
Rubric for grading:
Content:
Climate (temperature and precipitation)
0-3 pts.
______
Location throughout the world
0-3 pts
______
Plant communities described
0-5 pts.
______
Animal communities described
0-5 pts.
______
Environmental concerns explained
0-3 pts.
______
1-3 pts
______
Visual aid
0-5 pts.
______
Questions and answers
0-2 pts.
______
Originality/creativity
1-2 pts.
______
Presentation: Group participation
Total:
____
Elements of cooperative learning
Positive Interdependence: The students each need to participate and look at different
aspects of the biome. They must then be prepared to give a presentation where each
person is included. Also, they can work together to answer the questions posed by the
teacher and class at the conclusion.
Individual Accountability: Each group must present what they contributed to the
overall project. However, each student will be held accountable for all the material
presented on the test that will be given at the end of the chapter.
Social Skills: The students must be willing to work together to build the project or they
will not have all the required parts. They also
Face-to-face interaction: The students will be given the opportunity to work face-to
face during class in the media center
Heterogeneous Grouping: The groups were put together by the students randomly
drawing a number. Also, the biomes were assigned randomly to the groups.
Evaluation: The students will be evaluated while they work on their project as I will
come around during class and make sure everyone is participating. Also, they will be
evaluated on how well they present the information and how well they are able to answer
questions posed following the presentation. Finally, the students will again be assessed
on the material on the test at the end of the chapter.
Trust: The students must trust their other classmates to do their part and gather the
correct information.
Expectations: The children all have expectations of themselves and of their overall
group and how well they can do on the assignment.
There are also expectations set by the teacher through the directions given and the rubric
provided.
Friendship: Hopefully this assignment will foster a new friendship since the groups are
being formed randomly and the students are not just in groups with their friends who they
talk to all the time.