Download Ecosystems - Rockaway Township School District

Life Science Progressions:
Rockaway Township Public Schools
Science Unit Guide
Life Science – Grade 6
Matter and Energy in Organisms and Ecosystems
Key Concepts:
From: Appendix E:
Progressions within the Next Generation Science Standard
The atoms that make up the organisms in an ecosystem are
cycled repeatedly between the living and nonliving parts of
the ecosystem. Food webs model how matter and energy
are transferred among producers, consumers, and
decomposers as the three groups interact within an
ecosystem.
Including:
 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and
Processes (Structure & Function; Growth &
Development of Organisms; Organization for
Matter & Energy Flow in Organisms; and
Information Processing)
 Photosynthesis (cycling of matter & flow of
energy in organisms)
 Release of energy in the chemical process of
food
Topic Standard(s)
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MS-LS1-6
MS-LS1-7
MS-LS2-1
MS-LS2-3
MS-LS2-4
Next Generation Science Standard Storyline
The performance expectations in LS1: From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes help students formulate an answer to the
question, “How can one explain the ways cells contribute to the function of living organisms.” The LS1 Disciplinary Core Idea includes
Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms.
Students can gather information and use this information to:
 support explanations of the structure and function relationship of cells
 communicate their understanding of cell theory
 understand the basic role of cells in body systems and how those systems work to support the life functions of the organism
 further understanding how cells provide a context for the plant process of photosynthesis and the movement of matter and energy
needed for the cell
 construct an explanation for how environmental and genetic factors affect growth of organisms. They can connect this to the role of
animal behaviors in reproduction of animals as well as the dependence of some plants on animal behaviors for their reproduction.
Crosscutting concepts of cause and effect, structure and function, and matter and energy are called out as organizing concepts for the core
ideas about processes of living organisms.
Rockaway Township Public Schools
Science Unit Guide
Life Science – Grade 6
Matter and Energy in Organisms and Ecosystems
Disciplinary Core Ideas(DCI):
LS1.A: Structure and Function
 Plants, algae (including phytoplankton), and many microorganisms use the energy from light to make sugars (food) from carbon dioxide
from the atmosphere and water through the process of photosynthesis, which also releases oxygen. These sugars can be used
immediately or stored for growth or later use.
 Within individual organisms, food moves through a series of chemical reactions in which it is broken down and rearranged to form new
molecules, to support growth, or to release energy.
PS3.D: Energy in Chemical Processes and Everyday Life
 The chemical reaction by which plants produce complex food molecules (sugars) requires an energy input (i.e., from sunlight) to occur. In
this reaction, carbon dioxide and water combine to form carbon-based organic molecules and release oxygen. (secondary to MS-LS1-6)
LS1.C: Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms
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Plants, algae (including phytoplankton), and many microorganisms use the energy from light to make sugars (food) from carbon dioxide
from the atmosphere and water through the process of photosynthesis, which also releases oxygen. These sugars can be used
immediately or stored for growth or later use. (MS-LS1-6)
PS3.D: Energy in Chemical Processes and Everyday Life
 Cellular respiration in plants and animals involve chemical reactions with oxygen that release stored energy. In these processes, complex
molecules containing carbon react with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide and other materials. (secondary to MS-LS1-7)
LS1.C: Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms
 Within individual organisms, food moves through a series of chemical reactions in which it is broken down and rearranged to form new
molecules, to support growth, or to release energy. (MS-LS1-7)
Rockaway Township Public Schools
Science Unit Guide
Life Science – Grade 6
Matter and Energy in Organisms and Ecosystems
Performance Expectations (PE) / Clarification Statement and Assessment Boundary:
Students who demonstrate understanding can:
1. MS-LS1-6 Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for the role of photosynthesis in the cycling of matter and flow of energy into
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and out of organisms.
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Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on tracing movement of matter and flow of energy.
Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include the biochemical mechanisms of photosynthesis.
1. MS-LS1-7 Develop a model to describe how food is rearranged through chemical reactions forming new molecules that support growth
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and/or release energy as this matter moves through an organism.
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Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on describing that molecules are broken apart and put back together and that in this process,
energy is released.
Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include details of the chemical reactions for photosynthesis or respiration.
5.
6.
1. MS-LS2-1 Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms
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in an ecosystem.
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Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on cause and effect relationships between resources and growth of individual organisms and the
numbers of organisms in ecosystems during periods of abundant and scarce resources.
Assessment Boundary: none
1. MS-LS2-3 Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.
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Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on describing the conservation of matter and flow of energy into and out of various ecosystems,
and on defining the boundaries of the system.
Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include the use of chemical reactions to describe the processes.
1. MS-LS2-4 Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem
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affect populations.
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Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on recognizing patterns in data and making warranted inferences about changes in populations,
and on evaluating empirical evidence supporting arguments about changes to ecosystems.
Assessment Boundary: none
Essential Question:
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Rockaway Township Public Schools
Science Unit Guide
Life Science – Grade 6
Matter and Energy in Organisms and Ecosystems
Enduring Understanding:
How can one explain the ways cells contribute to the
function of living organisms?
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Sustaining life requires substantial energy and matter inputs and the
structure and functions of organisms contribute to the capture,
transformation, transport, release, and elimination of matter and
energy.
Organisms and populations of organisms are dependent on their
environmental interactions both with other organisms and with nonliving factors.
The limits of resources influence the growth of organisms and
populations, which may result in competition for those limited
resources.
Rockaway Township Goals:
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Show and explain the flow of energy through an ecosystem
Explain how the sun’s energy is used in photosynthesis
Understand the Law of Conservation of Energy
Describe an ecosystem, including all of the plant and animal populations and nonliving resources in a given area.
Describe and explain how organisms interact with each other and with other components of an ecosystem
Give examples of how personal activities impact the local and global environment.
Unit Learning Targets:
The student will be able to….
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Rockaway Township Public Schools
Science Unit Guide
Life Science – Grade 6
Matter and Energy in Organisms and Ecosystems
Suggested Activities:
Including Differentiated Strategies (DI)
Recognize that plants are producers: They use
the energy from light to make food (sugar)
from carbon dioxide and water.
Explain how plants are used as a source of food
(energy) for other organisms.
Understand that all animals, including humans,
are consumers that meet their energy needs by
eating other organisms or their products.
Understand that all animals, including humans,
are consumers that meet their energy needs by
eating other organisms or their products.
Various human activities have changed the
capacity of the environment to support some
life forms.
The number of organisms and populations an
ecosystem can support depends on the biotic
resources available and on abiotic factors, such
as quantities of light and water, range of
temperatures, and soil composition.
All organisms cause changes in the ecosystem
in which they live. If this change reduces
another organism’s access to resources, that
organism may move to another location or die.
This curriculum has been revised and updated for September,
2016, using the NGSS.
Target activities may be modified, revised, or added by the
sixth grade middle school teachers to maintain relevancy to
the ever-changing scientific world. Changes to target
activities will reflect 100% agreement with the science
certified teachers at the sixth grade level. Any changes to
target activities will be shared with grades 6-8 to provide
consistency with all middle school grade levels.
Target Activities:
 Owl Pellet Dissection Lab
 Construct 3D Energy Pyramid
 Illustrate 10% Rule for energy transfer
 Construct a digital simulation to explain how energy
entering the ecosystem as sunlight is transferred by
producers into chemical energy through photosynthesis.
 Create a digital interactive food web that traces energy
from light through an ecosystem.
 Highlight each transfer of energy between organisms,
and discuss how the pathway may vary within one
ecosystem and between ecosystems.
Vocabulary:
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producer
carnivore
consumer
energy pyramid
food chain
food web
herbivore
omnivore
predator
prey
producer
Resource Materials:
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Rockaway Township Public Schools
Science Unit Guide
Life Science – Grade 6
Matter and Energy in Organisms and Ecosystems
Assessments:
Assessments: Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics’ Digital Video
Library provides short video clips of teachers describing experiments
associated with this CPI.
http://www.hsdvl.org/video.php?record_serial=231
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics’ Digital Video Library
provides short video clips of classroom experiences and interviews with
students and scientists regarding the content aligned with this CPI.
http://www.hsdvl.org/video.php?record_serial=110
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics’ Digital Video Library provides
short video clips of an interview with a science education expert regarding
content associated with this CPI.
http://www.hsdvl.org/video.php?record_serial=1005
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics’ Digital Video Library provides
short video clips of an interview with a science education expert regarding
student misconceptions associated with this CPI.
http://www.hsdvl.org/video.php?record_serial=43
Teachers’ Domain provides lesson plans and other multimedia resources
(video clips and simulations) that support this CPI.
http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/tdc02.sci.life.oate.decompose/
http://www.mce.k12tn.net/science/life_science/diversity/diversity.htm
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Organized Science Notebooks/ Science Journals
Daily and Graded Homework Assignments
Lab Investigations (controlled variables)
Teacher observation, checklists, rubrics
Student assessment rubrics (self checking / student
created / teacher created)
Lab group assessments (student created / teacher
created, student peer-to-peer feedback)
Projects / STEM Activity as determined by grade
level
Project – Straw Skyscraper Structure – tested on
Earthquake Shake table (located in room 216) in
conjunction with Force Unit
Exit Tickets
Quizzes
Tests
Benchmark Assessment ( for SGO, as determined by
grade level)
Rockaway Township Public Schools
Science Unit Guide
Life Science – Grade 6
Matter and Energy in Organisms and Ecosystems
Science and Engineering Practices :
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Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
Construct an explanation that includes qualitative or quantitative relationships between variables that predict phenomena. (MS-LS2-2)
Constructing explanations and designing solutions in 6–8 builds on K–5 experiences and progresses to include constructing explanations and
designing solutions supported by multiple sources of evidence consistent with scientific ideas, principles, and theories.
Engaging in Argument from Evidence
Evaluate competing design solutions based on jointly developed and agreed-upon design criteria. (MS-LS2-5)
Engaging in argument from evidence in 6–8 builds on K–5 experiences and progresses to constructing a convincing argument that supports or
refutes claims for either explanations or solutions about the natural and designed world(s).
Cross Cutting:
Cause and Effect
 Cause and effect relationships may be used to predict phenomena in natural or designed systems. (MS-LS2-1)
Energy and Matter
 Matter is conserved because atoms are conserved in physical and chemical processes. (MS-LS1-7)
 Within a natural system, the transfer of energy drives the motion and/or cycling of matter. (MS-LS1-6)
 The transfer of energy can be tracked as energy flows through a natural system. (MS-LS2-3)
Stability and Change
 Small changes in one part of a system might cause large changes in another part. (MS-LS2-4)
Rockaway Township Public Schools
Science Unit Guide
Life Science – Grade 6
Matter and Energy in Organisms and Ecosystems
Common Core State Standard Connections:
Common Core State Standard Connections:
ELA/Literacy
Mathematics
RST.6-8.1
Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts. ,
(MS-LS1-6),(MS-LS2-1),(MS-LS2-4)
RST.6-8.2
Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; provide an accurate
summary of the text distinct from prior knowledge or opinions. (MS-LS1-6)
RST.6-8.7
Integrate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text
with a version of that information expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart,
diagram, model, graph, or table). (MS-LS2-1)
RI.8.8
Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether
the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient to support the
claims. (MS-LS2-4)
WHST.68.1
Write arguments focused on discipline content. (MS-LS2-4)
WHST.68.2
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas,
concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis
of relevant content. (MS-LS1-6)
WHST.68.9
Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and
research. (MS-LS1-6)
SL.8.5
Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify
information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest.
(MS-LS1-7),(MS-LS2-3)
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6.EE.C.9
Use variables to represent two quantities
in a real-world problem that change in
relationship to one another; write an equation
to express one quantity, thought of as the
dependent variable, in terms of the other
quantity, thought of as the independent variable.
Analyze the relationship between the
dependent and independent variables
using graphs and tables, and relate these to the
equation. (MS-LS1-6),(MS-LS2-3)