Survivor! Plant Edition

Languages

Jan 05 2012

Source: amandasolarsh

Summary Information

Keywords:

adaptations, biomes, plant, global warming, climate, weather, habitat, biology

Workplace Skills:

Raising Questions

Secondary Research

Use of Data

Discussion

Recording & Reporting

Teamwork

Estimated Time Required:

5-8 hours

Diversity Indicators:

This lesson plan is suitable for all learners but it best if done in heterogeneous groups by skill and ability levels.

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LESSON

Goals and Prerequisites

Goals:

1) Students will learn about adaptations and how they relate to plants in differing biomes.

2) Students will create a plant that can adapt to future climate change predictions.

Prerequisites:

Students should have a basic understanding of plant structures and how plants obtain food, reproduce, and grow.

Students should also have a basic understanding of the characteristics of different biomes (reviewed in this lesson).

Students should know how to use Microsoft PowerPoint

Students should have a basic understanding of global warming and how it causes climate change.

Instructional Objective(s)

Objectives:

1) SWBAT define what an adaptation and identify adaptations in different biomes.

2) SWBAT research different biomes and the requirements for plants and animals to survive there.

3) SWBAT identify the different functions of a plant.

4) SWBAT discuss how global warming will affect different biomes in the future.

5) SWBAT to develop/create a plant that will be able to adapt to climate change in a designated biome.

Instructional Resources

Background:

Background Research:

Adaptation- special features that enable a plant or animal to live in a particular place or habitat.

Biome- a large area on the Earth's surface that is defined by the types of animals and plants living there

Habitat- the type of environment in which an organism or group normally lives or occurs.

Climate- the average weather pattern in a region over a long period of time

Weather- the day-to day state of atmospheric conditions in any given place influenced by temperature, precipitation, humidity, pressure, wind and clouds.

Climate change- significant changes in a region’s weather-related phenomena such as temperature and precipitation for a long period of time.

Global warming- when the Earth heats up due to greenhouse gases thickening the Earth’s atmosphere trapping in solar radiation which heats up the Earth’s atmosphere.

Materials:

Biome Trek Supply Cards (12 sets, pre cut)
Biome Trek Survivor Sheet
Laptops or book on plants/adaptations/biomes (8 sets) with PowerPoint
Earth Biomes Sheet
Biome Adaptation Sheet
Biome Adaptation PowerPoint Assignment Checklist/Rubric
Biome Adaptation PowerPoint/Poster Evaluation Sheet
Biome Precipitation Sheet
Design a Global Warming Survivor Species Poster Project Sheet
Poster Paper
Markers

Procedure:

Day 1

Step 1: Pre-lesson discussion- Post the following question on the board and have students respond

“If an alien’s spaceship were all of a sudden to crash into the middle of NYC, what would the alien need to survive? Make a list of as many different things as you can think of (but come with at least three different things).

Elicit student answers and post their answers under “ALIEN NYC SURVIVAL GUIDE”

Step 2: Mini Lecture- Introduce students to the following terms using a Smartboard Presentation and make connections to their Do Now Responses. (10 mins)

Adaptation

Climate vs. weather

Biome

Habitat

Step 3: Main Activity: Biome Trek Survival (15 minutes

A) Divide class into 12 different groups with a pack of a Biome Trek Supply Cards and a Earth Biomes Chart

B) Assign each group one of the following biomes: Tropical Rainforest (winter) Tropic Rainforest (summer) Desert (winter), Desert (summer), Grassland (summer), Grassland (winter), Deciduous Forest (winter), Deciduous Forest (summer) Coniferous Forest (winter) and Coniferous Forest (summer), Arctic Tundra (winter), Arctic Tundra (summer)

C) Give groups about 5 minutes to debate, which 10 items they would need to survive in their biome during their assigned time of year and record results.

D) Have each group share their results and debate whether their group would survive or not given the supplies they decided to bring with them.

Step 4: Reflection- Have the students answer the following questions on an exit slip. (5 minutes).

1. How did the climate of your biome determine what items your group decided to bring?

2. Since plants and animals are unable to buy these items at stores, list two adaptations you can infer that plants and animals in your assigned biome have in order to survive.

Day 2/3- Biome Research

Step 1: Pre-lesson discussion- Post the following question on the board and have students respond.

“What type of biome do you think we live in? Describe our climate and the types of plants and animals we can find where we are living.”

Elicit student responses

Step 2: Biome Research

Break students up into 6 different heterogeneous groups and assign each group one of the following biomes.

Desert

Tropical Rainforest

Grassland

Deciduous Forest

Coniferous Forest

Arctic Tundra

Each group will receive a laptop with internet and a reference packet on their biome to fill out their Biome Adaptation Sheet and to create a PowerPoint on their biome (focusing on how plants adapt to live in their biome). Students will follow the Biome PowerPoint Assignment and Rubric Sheet.

Day 4- Effects of Global Warming

Step 1: Pre-lesson discussion- Post the following question on the board and have students respond.

“Define what global warming is in your own words. How do you think it might affect your biome.”

Elicit student responses and make a list of entitled “The Effects of Global Warming”.

Step 2- Climate Change Video

Watch the following video A Way Forward: Facing Climate Change and have students take notes on the impacts of global warming.

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/environment/global-warming-environment/way-forward-climate/

Have students share out answers and add to the class list, “The Effects of Global Warming”. Guide students to make this type of list.

Drought/Wildfires

Excessive Rainfall/Storms/Flooding

Decrease or increase in temperature

Sea-level rise

Beach erosion

Threats to biodiversity

Step 3- Biome Precipitation Sheet

Have students make a bar graph of the levels of rainfall in all of the biomes.

Step 4- Reflection

Have students answer the following questions in their group.

1. After reviewing your biome precipitation sheet, how do you think global warming will impact the rainfall of your assigned biomes?

2. Which biomes will receive more rainfall? Which do you think will receive less? Explain your answer choices.

3. How do you think changes in the amount of rainfall will affect plants in your biome? How can they adapt?

Day 5- Design a Species

Step 1: Pre-lesson discussion- Post the following question on the board and have students respond.

Review the class list from yesterday on the Effects of Global Warming. Which problems do you think will affect the plants in your biome the most? Explain why in complete sentences.

Step 2: Design a New Plant Species

In their groups students will design a new plant species that they believe will be able to survive in their biome and to adapt to the future effects of global warming. Students will fill out their Design a New Plant Survivor Species Sheet and draw and label their new plant on poster paper.

Day 6- Presenting New Survivor Species

Step 1: Pre-lesson discussion- Post the following question on the board and have students respond.

“How hard or easy was it for you and your group to design a new plant species that could survive global warming? How hard or easy do you think it will be for plants to do this in real life? Explain your answers in complete sentences.

Step 2: Group Presentations

Each group will present their Biome PowerPoints and their newly designed Survivor Species.

Other groups will fill out their Biome Presentation Evaluation Sheet

Assessments and Rubrics

Students will be assessed on their Biome Adaptation Powerpoint Presentations, Poster Project, and Presentation

External Resources

Biome/Adaptation Research Sites

http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/tundra.htm

http://library.thinkquest.org/C0113340/main.php?section=biomes

http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/msese/earthsysflr/dforest.html

http://www.playlearnschool.com/Science/3/Plants/Plant-Adaptations-3.aspx

http://www.thewildclassroom.com/biomes/speciesprofile/index.html