Download Comparative Country Study

Ecology Non-Fiction Book
Created by Natalee Dennis and Julie Plesha
Middle School Life Science Prescribed Learning Outcomes:
 Analyze the roles of organisms as part of interconnected food webs, populations,
communities, and ecosystems
 Assess survival needs and interactions between organisms and the environment
 Assess the requirements for sustaining healthy local ecosystems
 Evaluate human impacts on healthy local ecosystems
“AN ECOLOGICAL STUDY OF ____(name species)______”
Chapter One
Chapter Three
Chapter Two
Chapter Four
Page 1 Table of Contents, briefly describing
each page
Page 4 Chapter 1 title page – How Petey the
Peregrine Interacts in His Environment
Page 6 - species and their habitat(define
habitat, biotic and abiotic, list examples of
each for this habitat)
Page 8- the community and ecosystem of the
species (other populations that interact with
this species; define community, population,
and ecosystem)
Page 11-Drawn food chain for the species’
ecosystem
Page 13- Food web definitions(define food
web, producer, consumer, carnivore,
herbivore, omnivore, scavenger, and
decomposers)
Page 16-Chapter 3 title page – Keeping a
Healthy Ecosystem for Petey the Peregrine
Page 18-carbon cycle
Page 20-Different types of monitoring for this
ecosystem (define and give examples that
are used in this ecosystem)
Page 23-Human Impact on the ecosystem,
part 1. Pick a condition from the following list
and explain what it is(ACID RAIN, GLOBAL
WARMING, GARBAGE, ENDANGERED SPECIES,
RENEWABLE AND NON-RENEWABLE
RESOURCES)
Page 25-Explain 1 attempt to conserve and/or
protect the species from the condition
Page 27-Works Cited
Page 2 Dedication Page
Page 5 An introduction to the species (Fast
Facts)
Page 7-the species in their biome (define
biome and describe the one that they live in)
Page 10 - Chapter 2 title page – Petey the
Peregrine in Cycles
Page 12-Photosynthesis (definition and
diagram)
Page 14-Drawn food web for the ecosystem of
the species including labeled producers,
consumers, herbivores, carnivores, scavengers,
and decomposers
Page 17-water cycle diagram (define water
cycle, evaporation, transpiration,
condensation, precipitation)
Page 19-carrying capacity and limiting factor
for this species
Page 22 – Chapter 4 title page – Human
Impact on Petey the Peregrine and His
Ecosystem
Page 24-Human Impact on the ecosystem,
part 2. Explain how the condition selected is
impacting the species and/or it’s environment
Page 26-Explain at least 1 suggestion that WE
can do to help protect and/or conserve the
species from the condition
Page 28-About the author
AN ECOLOGICAL STUDY
You will be creating a non-fiction information book about a species entitled:
“AN ECOLOGICAL STUDY OF ____(name species)______”
A species is a group of organisms that can successfully mate with each other and reproduce.
Examples include the giant octopus, Atlantic salmon, Pacific tree frog, Polar Bear, or stellar jay.
Remember that a species is very specific; selecting “horse” or “bear” is too broad. Do not
make a hasty decision! Before you make your choice of species, be sure that you have
checked your local library and the internet to ensure that you will have access to sufficient
information. After choosing a species of your choice, you will be researching the animal and
it’s habitat in a series of mini assignments. Your work will be published in the form of a nonfiction bound book. The following table provides a page-by-page outline of this project:
Page 2: Dedication Page
A dedication page is an opportunity to give thanks to anyone that was influential in the
creation of your work. Here are some examples:
My Dear Lucy,
I wrote this story for you, but when I began it I had not realized that girls grow quicker than
books. As a result, you are already too old for fairy tales, and by the time it is printed and
bound you will be older still. But some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales
again. You can then take it down from some upper shelf, dust it, and tell me what you think of
it. I shall probably be too deaf to hear, and too old to understand a word you say, but I shall
still be
Your affectionate Godfather,
C.S. Lewis (Narnia Chronicles)
For my father and mother, Beck and Emma Gipson, whose memorable tales of fronti`er dogs
supplied me with incident and background for this story.
Fred Gipson (Old Yeller)
To my pretty wife Carla and our younguns, C.T., Tyler, Tara and Travis. May we never forget the
magic of childhood dreams which is really what being young at heart is all about. And to my
good friends at Thomas Nelson, for making these dreams come true.
T.L. Tedrow (Laura Ingalls Wilder series)
For Jessica, who loves stories, for Anne, who loved them too, and for Di, who heard this one first.
J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter series)
I wrote this book for my son, David Lord Paterson, but after he read it he asked me to put Lisa’s
name on this page as well, and so I do. For David Paterson and Lilsa Hill.
Katherine Paterson (Bridge to Terabithia)
Criteria: Include who the book is dedicated to, and why (this should be thoughtful and wellplanned)
TITLE PAGES
Page 4, 10, 16, and 22
Criteria: Create a colourful and eye-catching title page for each chapter of the book. Each
title page should include a combination of colourful graphics and labels which clearly illustrate
an understanding of the concepts covered in this chapter. Each title page will be assigned
upon completion of it’s chapter pages.
Chapter 1: HOW ORGANISMS INTERACT IN THEIR ECOSYSTEM
Chapter 2: ORGANISMS IN CYCLES
Chapter 3: KEEPING A HEALTHY ECOSYSTEM FOR THIS SPECIES
Chapter 4: HUMAN IMPACT ON THIS SPECIES AND IT’S ECOSYSTEM
Page 5: This Is ______________ (name your animal), A ___________ (name the species)
Criteria: name the species that you have chosen, including a brief description in the form of
Fast Facts. Include the following information:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Where are they found in the world?
What are their distinctive physical features?
Are they a land mammal, sea creature, bird, reptile, etc?
What does their diet consist of?
Are they an endangered species? Are they prospering? Why?
Other interesting facts about this species
Provide a coloured picture of the species.
Due Date: ___________________________
Completed ____
Page 6: _______________ ‘s Home
Criteria:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Define the word habitat (see page 17 in BC Science 7)
In detail, describe the habitat of your species.
Provide a labeled picture of your species’ habitat.
Define biotic (see page 9). Name at least 3 biotic parts of your species’ habitat.
Define abiotic (see pages 6-7). Name at least 3 abiotic parts of your species’ habitat.
Provide pictures of the biotic and abiotic examples.
Due Date: ___________________________
Completed ____
Page 7: ________________’s Biome
Criteria:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Define the word biome (see page 13)
Identify a specific country that your species can be found in
In detail, describe the biome that your species lives in
Provide a labeled biome map of the country (see pages 15, 18, and 19 of the Essential
Atlas of the World)
Due Date: ___________________________
Completed ____
Page 8: _______________’s Community
Criteria:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Define the word ecosystem (see page 12)
Define the word population (see page 17)
Define the word community (see page 17)
Identify at least 3 populations of species that interact with your species
Provide pictures of these other populations
Due Date: ___________________________
Completed ____
Page 11: ____________________’s Food Chain
Criteria:
1. Define food chain (see page 36)
2. Provide a labeled/illustrated food chain diagram that includes your species (see page
36)
Due Date: ___________________________
Completed ____
Page 12: Photosynthesis and _____________!
Criteria:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Define photosynthesis (see page 37)
Provide a labeled diagram of the process of photosynthesis
Define chlorophyll (see page 37)
Explain how your species benefits from photosynthesis
Due Date: ___________________________
Page 13: Food web definitions
Completed ____
Criteria:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Define food web (see page 40)
Define producer, and provide a visual example (see page 23)
Define consumer, and provide a visual example(see page 23)
Define carnivore, and provide a visual example (see page 23)
Define herbivore, and provide a visual example (see page 23)
Define omnivore, and provide a visual example (see page 23)
Define scavenger, and provide a visual example (see page 25)
Define decomposer, and provide a visual example (see page 25)
Due Date: ___________________________
Completed ____
Page 14: ______________’s Food Web
Criteria:
1. Draw a food web that includes a picture of your species with arrows connecting your
species to pictures of other species in the ecosystem (see page 40)
2. Include at least one species of each in the food web: herbivore, carnivore, omnivore,
scavenger, decomposer
3. Label each species with their name as well as EITHER a producer or a consumer
Examples:
Black Bear (herbivore, consumer)
Mushrooms (decomposer, producer)
Timber wolf (carnivore, consumer)
Turkey vulture (scavenger, consumer)
Grasses (producer)
Due Date: ___________________________
Completed ____
Page 17: The Water Cycle and _____________.
Criteria:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Define water cycle (see page 46)
Provide a labeled diagram of the water cycle process (see page 47)
Define evaporation (see page 46)
Define transpiration (see page 46)
Define condensation (see page 46)
Define precipitation (see page 46)
Explain how your species benefits from the water cycle
Due Date: ___________________________
Completed ____
Page 18: The Carbon Cycle and ______________.
Criteria:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Define Carbon cycle (see page 45)
Provide a labeled diagram of the carbon cycle process (see page 45)
Define cellular respiration (see page 37)
Explain how your species benefits from the carbon cycle
Due Date: ___________________________
Completed ____
Page 19: ___________’s Carrying Capacity and Limiting Factor
Criteria:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Define carrying capacity (see page 51)
Define limiting factor (see page 51)
Provide 3 illustrations of examples of limiting factors for your species (see page 51-52)
Label each example of limiting factor
Due Date: ___________________________
Completed ____
Page 20: Monitoring ____________’s Ecosystem
Criteria:
1. Define ecosystem monitoring (see page 67)
2. Identify and define two types of monitoring that occur in the ecosystem of your
species (see page 67)
3. Provide an illustration for each of the two types of monitoring that occur in the
ecosystem (see page 67)
Due Date: ___________________________
Completed ____
Page 23: Human Impact on ____________’s Ecosystem (Part 1)
Criteria:
1. Select a condition from the following list: a)ACID RAIN
b) GLOBAL WARMING
c)GARBAGE/SOLID WASTE
d)ENDANGERED SPECIES
e)RENEWABLE AND NON-RENEWABLE RESOURCES
2. Define the condition that you have selected (see pages 75, 78, and 79)
3. Identify the cause of the condition that you have selected
4. Provide an illustration of the condition that you have identified
Due Date: ___________________________
Completed ____
Page 24: Human Impact on ___________’s Ecosystem (Part 2)
Criteria:
1. Explain how the condition selected on page 23 is impacting the species
2. Explain how the condition selected is impacting the ecosystem of the species
3. Provide an illustration of the species being affected by the condition selected
Due Date: ___________________________
Completed ____
Page 25: Conserving and Protecting _____________
Criteria:
1. Identify 1 type of attempt to conserve and/or protect the species from the condition (see
pages 82, 83, 85, and 87)
2. Define the type of conservation/protection that you have identified (see above pages)
Due Date: ___________________________
Completed ____
Page 26: Can we help ____________?
Criteria:
1. Identify at least 3 suggestions that WE can do to help protect and/or conserve the
species from the condition
2. Provide at least 3 illustrations to show the actions that we can take (as mentioned
above)
Due Date: ___________________________
Completed ____
Page 27: Works cited
Criteria
1. Provide an alphabetical list of the sources you have used (all books, encyclopedias, and
websites)
2. Double space the list
3. Use the examples below to form your citations
a) Citation for a book with one author Author (last name first). Book title underlined. Publishing
place: publishing company, year published.
Example:
Forsyth, Adrian. Mammals of the Canadian Wild. Canada: Camden House Publishing Ltd.,
1985.
b) Citation for a book with two authors First author (last name first)and second author (first
name first). Book title underlined. Publishing place: publishing company, year published.
Example:
Caper, Charles and Lawrence Teamos. How to Camp. Philadelphia: Doubleday, 1986.
c) Citation for an encyclopedia Key word (in quotations). Title. Date.
Example:
“Egypt”. The New Encyclopedia Britannica. 2002.
d) Citation for a website Webpage name (top blue bar of screen). Website URL underlined.
Date you went on the site.
Example:
“Bats”. www.npca.org. September 6, 2006.
Page 28: About the author (criteria to come)
MARKING CRITERIA
Page 2: Dedication Page
Needs
Improvement
Criteria: Include who 1-5
the book is
dedicated to, and
why (this should be
thoughtful and wellplanned)
Attention paid to
neatness and
spelling, WOW factor
Satisfactory
Good
Excellent
6-7
7.5-8
9-10
3
4
5
Satisfactory
Good
Excellent
3
4
5
1-2
3
4
5
1-2
3
4
5
1-2
3
4
5
1-2
3
4
5
1-2
TITLE PAGES (Page 4, 10, 16, and 22)
Needs
Improvement
Criteria: colourful,
1-2
eye-catching title
page for each
chapter, including
colourful graphics
and labels which
illustrate an
understanding of the
concepts covered
Chapter 1: HOW
ORGANISMS
INTERACT IN THEIR
ECOSYSTEM
Chapter 2:
ORGANISMS IN
CYCLES
Chapter 3: KEEPING
A HEALTHY
ECOSYSTEM FOR THIS
SPECIES
Chapter 4: HUMAN
IMPACT ON THIS
SPECIES AND IT’S
ECOSYSTEM
Attention paid to
neatness and
spelling, WOW factor
Page 5: This Is ______________ (name your animal), A ___________ (name the species)
Needs
Satisfactory
Good
Excellent
Improvement
All detail included in 1-5
6-7
7.5-8
9-10
fast facts: Where
found in the world,
distinctive physical
features, land
mammal, sea
creature, bird,
reptile, etc, diet,
endangered species
or are they
prospering and why,
other interesting
facts
Coloured picture of
the species.
Attention paid to
neatness and
spelling, WOW factor
1-2
3
4
5
1-2
3
4
5
Satisfactory
Good
Excellent
6-7
7.5-8
9-10
1-2
3
4
5
1-2
3
4
5
1-2
3
4
5
Page 6: _______________ ‘s Home
Needs
Improvement
All detail included:
1-5
define and describe
the habitat, define
biotic and abiotic,
describe 3 biotic
parts of habitat and
3 abiotic parts of
habitat
Labelled picture of
species habitat
Labeled pictures of
biotic and abiotic
examples
Attention paid to
neatness and
spelling, WOW factor
Page 7: ________________’s Biome
Needs
Improvement
All detail included:
1-5
define biome,
species’ country
identified, biome
described in detail,
labeled biome map
of the country
Attention paid to
neatness and
spelling, WOW factor
1-2
Satisfactory
Good
Excellent
6-7
7.5-8
9-10
3
4
5
Good
Excellent
7.5-8
9-10
Page 8: _______________’s Community
Needs
Satisfactory
Improvement
All detail included:
1-5
6-7
defined ecosystem,
population, and
community, 3
populations
identified that
interact with species
Illustrations provided
of these other
populations
Attention paid to
neatness and
spelling, WOW factor
1-2
3
4
5
1-2
3
4
5
Good
Excellent
7.5-8
9-10
4
5
Page 11: ____________________’s Food Chain
Needs
Satisfactory
Improvement
All detail included:
1-5
6-7
definition of food
chain, labeled food
chain diagram that
includes the species
Attention paid to
neatness and
spelling, WOW factor
1-2
3
Page 12: Photosynthesis and _____________!
Needs
Satisfactory
Improvement
All detail included:
1-5
6-7
definition of
photosynthesis,
labeled diagram of
photosynthesis,
definition of
chlorophyll,
explanation of how
species benefits
from chlorophyll
Attention paid to
neatness and
spelling, WOW factor
Good
Excellent
7.5-8
9-10
3
4
5
Satisfactory
Good
Excellent
6-7
7.5-8
9-10
1-5
6-7
7.5-8
9-10
1-2
3
4
5
1-2
Page 13: Food web definitions
Needs
Improvement
All detail included:
1-5
definitions of food
web, producer,
consumer,
carnivore, herbivore,
omnivore,
scavenger, and
decomposer
Illustration of
producer, consumer,
carnivore, herbivore,
omnivore,
scavenger, and
decomposer
Attention paid to
neatness and
spelling, WOW factor
Page 14: ______________’s Food Web
Needs
Improvement
All detail included:
1-5
food web of species
with arrows
connecting your
species to other
species, one species
of each (herbivore,
carnivore, omnivore,
scavenger,
decomposer), all
species labeled and
identified as either a
producer or
consumer
Attention paid to
neatness and
spelling, WOW factor
1-2
Satisfactory
Good
Excellent
6-7
7.5-8
9-10
3
4
5
Good
Excellent
7.5-8
9-10
4
5
Good
Excellent
7.5-8
9-10
4
5
Page 17: The Water Cycle and _____________.
Needs
Satisfactory
Improvement
All detail included:
1-5
6-7
definitions for water
cycle, evaporation,
transpiration,
condensation,
precipitation,
labeled water cycle
diagram,
explanation on how
the species benefits
from the water cycle
Attention paid to
neatness and
spelling, WOW factor
1-2
3
Page 18: The Carbon Cycle and ______________.
Needs
Satisfactory
Improvement
All detail included:
1-5
6-7
definition of carbon
cycle and cellular
respiration, labeled
diagram of carbon
cycle process,
explanation on how
the species benefits
from the carbon
cycle
Attention paid to
1-2
3
neatness and
spelling, WOW factor
Page 19: ___________’s Carrying Capacity and Limiting Factor
Needs
Satisfactory
Good
Improvement
All detail included:
1-5
6-7
7.5-8
define carrying
capacity and
limiting factor, 3
labeled examples
and illustrations of
limiting factor for
your species
Attention paid to
neatness and
spelling, WOW factor
1-2
3
Page 20: Monitoring ____________’s Ecosystem
Needs
Satisfactory
Improvement
All detail included:
1-5
6-7
define ecosystem
monitoring, identify,
definition and
illustration for two
types of monitoring
that occur in this
ecosystem
Attention paid to
neatness and
spelling, WOW factor
1-2
3
1-2
3
9-10
4
5
Good
Excellent
7.5-8
9-10
4
5
Page 23: Human Impact on ____________’s Ecosystem (Part 1)
Needs
Satisfactory
Good
Improvement
All detail included:
1-5
6-7
7.5-8
Condition identified
and defined, cause
of the condition is
given, illustration of
the condition
Attention paid to
neatness and
spelling, WOW factor
Excellent
4
Excellent
9-10
5
Page 24: Human Impact on ___________’s Ecosystem (Part 2)
Needs
Satisfactory
Good
Improvement
All detail included:
1-5
6-7
7.5-8
explanations for how
the condition is
affecting the species
and the ecosystem,
illustration of the
species being
affected by the
condition
Attention paid to
neatness and
spelling, WOW factor
1-2
3
1-2
Page 26: Can we help ____________?
Needs
Improvement
All detail included:
1-5
at least 3
suggestions of
actions that we can
do to help conserve
and/or protect, at
least 3 illustrations to
show the actions
that we can take
Attention paid to
neatness and
spelling, WOW factor
1-2
Page 27: Works cited
Needs
Improvement
All detail included:
1-5
alphabetical list of
works cited done
correctly, double
spaced
Attention paid to
1-2
9-10
4
5
Good
Excellent
7.5-8
9-10
3
4
5
Satisfactory
Good
Excellent
6-7
7.5-8
9-10
3
4
5
Satisfactory
Good
Excellent
6-7
7.5-8
9-10
3
4
5
Page 25: Conserving and Protecting _____________
Needs
Satisfactory
Improvement
All detail included:
1-5
6-7
attempt to conserve
or protect identified
and defined
Attention paid to
neatness and
spelling, WOW factor
Excellent
neatness and
spelling, WOW factor