Download SCIENCE GRADE 7 UNIT 6

SCIENCE GRADE 7
UNIT 6
Unit 6: Ecology II
UNIT OVERVIEW
Students will have an appreciation for the diversity of life. Students will be able to compare traits of organisms of
different species that enhance their survival and reproduction.
ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS

Students will understand the difference between potential and kinetic energy and how energy flows in an
ecosystem.

Energy is neither created nor destroyed. It can only be transformed from one form to another.

Photosynthesis allows plants to make their own food from radiant energy.

Students will understand the interaction between organisms in an ecosystem. Students will understand how
ecosystems respond to natural change.
CONCEPTS

Energy constantly flows through an ecosystem, starting with the sun and ending with the top consumers of the
food web. The energy flow can be diagrammed in a food chain or food web.

Matter constantly cycles through all living systems.

A stimulus is anything that may bring about a response.

Organisms can respond to internal or external stimuli.

Dichotomous keys are useful for identifying organisms.
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

What are common stimulus with their predictable response?

How does a dichotomous key represent a species adaptation?

What determines how an organisms responds to external and internal stimuli?
LEARNING TARGETS
UNIT 6
LEARNING TARGET 1
PERFORMANCE LEVELS
LEARNING PROGRESSION
(Students will…)
PREREQUISITE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS
A.
The student identifies how energy flows through
living systems.
Identify energy as anything that causes
a change
B.
Recognize that radiant energy is
transformed into chemical energy
through the process of photosynthesis*
LEARNING TARGET
C.
The student diagrams the energy flow in an
ecosystem by using a food chain, food web, or
energy pyramid.
Understand how chemical energy is
obtained and used by living organisms
D.
Create a diagram illustrating the flow of
energy and predict how much energy
will be transferred between organisms
E.
Understand the 10% of available energy
is given to each successive trophic level in
a food chain.
A.
Recognize that toxins deposited into an
ecosystem will accumulate in the
organisms’ tissues.
B.
Calculate how much toxin will collect in
the top consumer of a food web.
C.
Explore how human activity will affect
the success of a coral reef ecosystem.
A.
Introduce common stimulus with their
predictable response.
B.
Understand how organisms respond to
external and internal stimuli.
C.
Earthworm Lab*
PREREQUISITE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS
A.
The student will identify different traits
of species within the same genus or
family.
Examine how similar organisms have
different traits according to their genus
species.
B.
Practice identifying and organizing
organisms within a dichotomous key.
The student will examine organisms and their
structures and organize them in a dichotomous
key.
C.
Name That Person Dichotomous Key *
PREREQUISITE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS
A.
Introduce examples of forces of nature
(turgor pressure, geotropism,
phototropism, etc.)
B.
Practice identifying example of forces
occurring in plants around the school
campus.
C.
Ecology II Quiz*
PREREQUISITE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS
LEARNING TARGET 2
The student recognizes that human activities
can negatively affect the success of an
ecosystem.
LEARNING TARGET
The student investigates the process of
biomagnification.
PREREQUISITE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS
LEARNING TARGET 3
The student knows that a living organism must
be able to maintain balance in stable internal
conditions in response to external and internal
stimuli.
LEARNING TARGET
The student is able to determine the proper
response to a stimulus and distinguish if it is
internal or external stimuli.
LEARNING TARGET 4
LEARNING TARGET
The student will recognize forces of natures in
plants.
LEARNING TARGET 5
LEARNING TARGET
The student will explain the natural forces that
are taking place every day in nature.
*Decision Point= is there a need for re-teach? Or, can we move forward?
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS

Ecology II Vocabulary Quiz (Energy Flow in Ecosystems)

Name That Person Dichotomous Key Project
SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS

Ecology II Test
TEKS
Scientific investigation and reasoning. The student, for at least 40% of the instructional time, conducts laboratory
and field investigations following safety procedures and environmentally appropriate and ethical practices. The student is
expected to:
7.1
demonstrate safe practices during laboratory and field investigations as outlined in the Texas
Safety Standards; and
(A)
(B) practice appropriate use and conservation of resources, including disposal, reuse, or recycling of materials.
Scientific investigation and reasoning. The student uses scientific inquiry methods during laboratory and field
investigations. The student is expected to:
7.2
plan and implement comparative and descriptive investigations by making observations, asking welldefined questions, and using appropriate equipment and technology;
(A)
design and implement experimental investigations by making observations, asking well-defined questions,
formulating testable hypotheses, and using appropriate equipment and technology;
(B)
collect and record data using the International System of Units (SI) and qualitative means such as labeled
drawings, writing, and graphic organizers;
(C)
(D) construct tables and graphs, using repeated trials and means, to organize data and identify patterns; and
analyze data to formulate reasonable explanations, communicate valid conclusions supported by the data,
and predict trends.
(E)
Scientific investigation and reasoning. The student uses critical thinking, scientific reasoning, and problem solving to
make informed decisions and knows the contributions of relevant scientists. The student is expected to:
7.3
(A) in all fields of science, analyze, evaluate, and critique scientific explanations by using empirical evidence, logical
reasoning, and experimental and observational testing, including examining all sides of scientific evidence of those
scientific explanations, so as to encourage critical thinking by the student;
(B) use models to represent aspects of the natural world such as human body systems and plant and animal cells;
(C) identify advantages and limitations of models such as size, scale, properties, and materials; and
(D) relate the impact of research on scientific thought and society, including the history of science and contributions
of scientists as related to the content.
7.4 Science investigation and reasoning. The student knows how to use a variety of tools and safety equipment to conduct
science inquiry. The student is expected to:
(A) use appropriate tools to collect, record, and analyze information, including life science models, hand lens, stereoscopes,
microscopes, beakers, Petri dishes, microscope slides, graduated cylinders, test tubes, meter sticks, metric rulers, metric tape
measures, timing devices, hot plates, balances, thermometers, calculators, water test kits, computers, temperature and pH
probes, collecting nets, insect traps, globes, digital cameras, journals/notebooks, and other equipment as needed to teach
the curriculum; and
(B) use preventative safety equipment, including chemical splash goggles, aprons, and gloves, and be prepared to
use emergency safety equipment, including an eye/face wash, a fire blanket, and a fire extinguisher.
7.5 Matter and energy. The student knows that interactions occur between matter and energy. The student is expected to:
(A) recognize that radiant energy from the Sun is transformed into chemical energy through the process of
photosynthesis
(B) demonstrate and explain the cycling of matter within living systems such as in the decay of biomass in a compost
bin
(C) diagram the flow of energy through living systems, including food chains, food webs, and energy pyramids
7.11 Organisms and environments. The student knows that populations and species demonstrate variation and inherit many of their
unique traits through gradual processes over many generations. The student is expected to:
(A) examine organisms or their structures such as insects or leaves and use dichotomous keys for identification;
7.12 Organisms and environments. The student knows that living systems at all levels of organization demonstrate the complementary
nature of structure and function. The student is expected to:
(A) investigate and explain how internal structures of organisms have adaptations that allow specific functions such as gills in
fish, hollow bones in birds, or xylem in plants;
7.13 Organisms and environments. The student knows that a living organism must be able to maintain balance in stable internal
conditions in response to external and internal stimuli. The student is expected to:
(A) investigate how organisms respond to external stimuli found in the environment such as phototropism and fight or flight;
and
(B) describe and relate responses in organisms that may result from internal stimuli such as wilting in plants and fever or
vomiting in animals that allow them to maintain balance.
8.11 Organisms and environments. The student knows that interdependence occurs among living systems and the environment
and that human activities can affect these systems.
(A) describe producer/consumer, predator/prey, and parasite/host relationships as they occur in food webs within marine,
freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems;
(B) investigate how organisms and populations in an ecosystem depend on and may compete for biotic and abiotic
factors such as quantity of light, water, range of temperatures, or soil composition;
(C) explore how short- and long-term environmental changes affect organisms and traits in subsequent
populations; and
(D) recognize human dependence on ocean systems and explain how human activities such as runoff, artificial reefs, or use
of resources have modified these systems.
PROCESSES AND SKILLS
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Biomagnification Demo
Food Chain Foldable
Build a Food Web Activity and Analysis
Food Chain Gizmo
Bill Nye “Food Web” Episode
Deer Predation vs. Starvation WS
Animal Behavior Reading
Using a Dichotomous Key
Sharks Dichotomous Key
Buttons or Leaves Dichotomous Key
Stimulus/ Response Notes
Organism and Stimulus Response Game
Earthworm Lab
LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION
Stimulus, response, internal stimulus, external stimulus, turgor pressure, geotropism, phototropism, equilibrium, trophic level, food
chain, food web, producer, consumer, toxin, biomagnification.
RESOURCES
Discovery Education (online textbook)