Looking for a culminating environmental science project on habitat loss, invasive species, endangered species, and pollution (biomagnification) that is innovative, student-driven, and standards-based? Looking for curriculum materials that free up your time as a teacher, take the pressure off you from leading instruction, and engage students at all academic levels in your classroom? Then YOU have come to the right place!

In this project, students will choose an environmental issue to study (e.g., habitat loss, endangered species, invasive species, or pollution). Each student will then complete an interactive Peardeck to learn more about their environmental issue. Students will then design solutions for their environmental issues by following guided prompts, considering constraints, and learning about the needs of stakeholders. Lastly, students will create final posters detailing their solutions. 

• NOTE: It's important for students to have a firm foundation in population ecology before they start this project. Therefore, if your students have NOT learned about the topics listed below yet, I recommend checking out my environmental biology unit instead.
  • Biomes/ Ecosystem Services
  • Population Growth and Reproductive Strategies
  • Biomagnification of Food Webs

THIS RESOURCE INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING MATERIALS:

• 4 Self-Directed Digital Activities (Peardecks) - 63 slides
• 1 Rubric (PDF) - 1 page
• Answer keys (PDF)
• Powerpoint/ Google slides to accompany the lesson - 16 slides
• Teacher Video Tutorial for Peardeck

THIS RESOURCE CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING ACADEMIC AND SOCIOEMOTIONAL SUPPORTS FOR STUDENTS:

• GENERAL/ ELA/ SPED
  • Multiple choice questions to reduce cognitive load
  • Graphically designed materials that reduce visual fatigue
  • Small group collaboration to encourage students to support one another
  • Multiple learning modalities of learning
  • Simple directions to guide students at each stage of the lesson
  • Discussing personal relevance to maximize student engagement
• GIFTED AND TALENTED
  • Inquiry (student-led) learning

THE TIME FRAME FOR THIS LESSON IS:

• This lesson can last anywhere from 5-7 days depending on your schedule and how in-depth you want to go with the project.

THIS RESOURCE IS RIGHT FOR YOU IF…

• You have a lot of academic levels present in your classroom (SPED, ELA, mainstream, gifted and talented)
• You want a resource that is editable

THIS RESOURCE IS NOT RIGHT FOR YOU IF…

• You teach middle school students
• You teach in a home school setting
• Your students do not have access to Chromebooks or laptops
• You are uncomfortable using Peardeck (a digital platform)
  • NOTE: If you are inexperienced with Peardeck but willing to learn how it works, I do provide a video tutorial on how to use the Peardeck platform. You will need a teacher account with Peardeck. Fortunately, Peardeck does run a 1 month free trial period for teachers interested in trying out their platform.

• It's important for students to have a firm foundation in population ecology before they start this project. Therefore, if your students have NOT learned about the topics listed below yet, I recommend checking out my environmental biology unit instead.
  • Biomes/ Ecosystem Services
  • Population Growth and Reproductive Strategies
  • Biomagnification of Food Webs

WANT TO ASSESS THE QUALITY OF MY WORK?

• Please check out these free resources
  • Free chemistry resource: Strong Nuclear Force (click here)
  • Free biology resource: Characteristics of Life (click here)
  • Free general science resource: Experimental design (click here)

WANT TO VIEW OTHER RELATED RESOURCES?

• Have you struggled to find a larger, unifying theme for your population ecology lessons? Then this Population Ecology and Ecosystems phenomenon-based unit will help. This biology unit not only ties population ecology lessons into engaging, real-world environmental applications but it also challenges students to devise solutions to real environmental issues that are practical, meet all necessary constraints, and have the support of all stakeholders. Below are some of the topics addressed in this unit along with their corresponding real-world environmental applications:
  • Biomes/ Ecosystem Services (Habitat Loss)
  • Population Ecology (Invasive Species/ Endangered Species)
  • Human Population Growth (Overpopulation and Overconsumption)
  • Predator-Prey Relationships (Trophic Cascades/ Overharvesting)
  • Bioaccumulation/ Biomagnification of Food Webs (Pollution)
  • End-of-Unit Environmental Solutions Project
  • CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS!

HAVE A QUESTION?

I’d love to answer any questions you have! Please email me at claire.crouse@crouseworkslearning.com

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