TE 802 Group Unit Plan

Names of Group Members AND their contributions: 1. Richard Schneeberger - OPM Table, Previous knowledge/Misconceptions, Assessments/Activities2. Ann Schultz - IEP Accommodations, Standards and Benchmarks, Synthesized Objectives, Assessments and Activities, Diagrams: carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and water cycle; trophic level efficiency3. Matt Sheick-Abstract, IEP Accomodations (slight contribution), Vocabulary Words, Big Ideas, OPM, Assessment and Activities4. Greg Smith Previous Knowledge, OPM, Assessments/Activities5. Ian Zang - Diagrams, Formulas, OPM, Formatting

Topic: Ecosystems - Flow of Matter and Energy

Abstract At this point, by studying photosynthesis and respiration, students have just learned how organisms store and use energy. This unit shifts the focus from cellular processes to how those processes allow energy and matter to move through ecosystems. We will understand the flow of energy through trophic levels using food webs. The flow of matter through an ecosystem will be covered by studying environmental processes (carbon, nitrogen, etc. cycles). This unit precedes the biological evolution unit.

Special Education Accommodations for Mild DyslexiaElizabeth has been diagnosed with mild dyslexia, which has the potential to handicap her access to and participation in curriculum, and necessitates special accommodations to support her receiving equal education (Bicard & Heward, 2010). Section 300.8(c) (10) of the IDEA states, “Specific learning disability. (i) General. Specific learning disability means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations, including conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.” (ED). Elizabeth’s mild dyslexia interferes with her

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ability to access the curriculum provided to the general population of students, and qualifies her, under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), for an Individualized Education Program (IEP). Dyslexia is a high-incidence cognitive learning disability (AIM). Elizabeth’s mild dyslexia makes it difficult for her to decipher written words, particularly words with multiple syllables and/or vowels, and words out of context. Elizabeth requires support with spelling and with decoding of written material. In accordance with the specific instructions of her IEP, Elizabeth will be provided with a dictionary or spell-checker for all written assignments, and all written instructions and assessments will be read to her. Lesson activities will include charts supported by contextual images, for which Elizabeth will be provided with a word bank. Any group work role assigned to Elizabeth requiring reading and/or writing will be done in a way to allow her to collaborate with peers, or her role could be adjusted/reassigned by the teacher as deemed appropriate.

Sources:Bicard, S., & Heward, W.L. (2010). Educational equality for students with disabilities. In J. Banks, and C. A. Banks. (Eds.), Multicultural education: Issues and perspectives, 7th edition (pp. 315-341). New York: John Wiley & Sons. National Center for Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM). Curriculum access for students with low-incidence disabilities: The promise of UDL. Retrieved 9 August 2011. http :// aim . cast . org / learn / historyarchive / backgroundpapers / promise _ of _ udl / what _ l - i _ d . United States Department of Education (ED). Building the legacy: IDEA 2004. Retrieved 9 August 2011. http :// idea . ed . gov / explore / home .

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CLARIFYING YOUR GOALS A. School Science ApproachVocabulary Words autotrophs - organisms that uses energy from the sun or energy stored in chemical compounds to manufacture their own nutrients heterotrophs - organisms that cannot make their own food and must feed on other organisms for energy and nutrientsdecomposers - organisms, such as fungi and bacteria, that break down and absorb nutrients from dead organismsfood chain - simple model that shows how matter and energy move through an ecosystemtrophic level - organism that represents a feeding step in the movement of energy and materials through an ecosystemfood web - model that shows all the possible feeding relationships at each trophic level in a communitybiomass - total mass of all living matter in a given areaenergy (review) - ability to cause change; organisms use energy to perform biological functions

From Biology: The Dynamics of Life textbook, Glencoe Science, McGraw Hill, 2004.

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Diagrams or standard representations

Students will observe their neighborhood environments, and make a trophic level diagram and food web with their observations.

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Trophic level efficiencyFrom Krill http :// apbiosemonefinalreview . pbworks . com / w / page /11980952/ Ecology %20( Ch %2054-56 )

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Students will label the title and components of the carbon cycle.http :// apbiosemonefinalreview . pbworks . com / w / page /11980952/ Ecology %20( Ch 2054-56 )

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Students will label the title and components of the nitrogen cycle.http :// apbiosemonefinalreview . pbworks . com / w / page /11980952/ Ecology %20( Ch %2054-56 )

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Students will label the title and components of the phosphorus cycle.http :// apbiosemonefinalreview . pbworks . com / w / page /11980952/ Ecology %20( Ch %2054-56 )

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Students will label the title and components of the water cycle.http :// apbiosemonefinalreview . pbworks . com / w / page /11980952/ Ecology %20( Ch %2054-56 )

Formulas or problem-solving skillsThe students will need to be able to take a word bank full of plants, animals, and other organisms and place them correctly into the various trophic levels and also into a food web. There are no formulas to speak of, but a good understanding of the flow of energy, starting with the sun, will constitute successful comprehension of the material.

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B. Standards and Benchmarks

Benchmarks for Science LiteracyOrganisms are linked to one another and to their physical setting by the transfer and transformation of matter and energy. This

fundamental concept brings together insights from the physical and biological sciences. The chemical elements that make up the molecules of living things pass through food webs and are combined and recombined in different ways. At each link in a food web, some energy is stored in newly made structures but much is dissipated into the environment. Continual input of energy from sunlight keeps the process going. 5E/H3

National Science Education Standards● Interdependence of organisms● Matter, energy, and organization in living systems● Conservation of energy

Paired Michigan Inquiry and Content ExpectationsAll living systems function in ways that are consistent with basic physical laws, including conservation of matter and energy.

Transformations of matter and energy are crucial to the functions of every living system, from the molecular to the global level. The food-making process of photosynthesis generates the energy source, in the form of organic compounds, for all living things. Organic compounds transfer matter and energy through ecosystems via food chains and webs. The chemical elements that make up the molecules of living things pass through food webs and are combined and recombined in different ways. At each link in an ecosystem, some energy is stored in newly made structures, but much is dissipated into the environment as heat. Continual input of energy from sunlight keeps the process going. As matter cycles and energy flows through different levels of organization of living systems—cells, organs, organisms, and communities—and between living systems and the physical environment, chemical elements are recombined in different ways. Each recombination results in storage and dissipation of energy into the environment as heat. Matter and energy are conserved in each change.

Rich● B1.2C Develop an understanding of a scientific concept by accessing information from multiple sources.● B3.2A Identify how energy is stored in an ecosystem

Matt

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● B1.2C Develop an understanding of a scientific concept by accessing information from multiple sources.● B3.2B Describe energy transfer through an ecosystem, accounting for energy lost to the environment as heat

Ann● B1.1f Predict what would happen if the variables, methods, or timing of an investigation were changed.● B3.2C Draw the flow of energy through an ecosystem. Predict changes in the food web when one or more organisms are

removed.

Ian● B1.1f Predict what would happen if the variables, methods, or timing of an investigation were changed.● B3.3A Use a food web to identify and distinguish producers, consumers, and decomposers and explain the transfer of energy

through trophic levels.

Greg● B1.2C Develop an understanding of a scientific concept by accessing information from multiple sources.● B3.3b Describe environmental processes (e.g., the carbon and nitrogen cycles) and their role in processing matter crucial for

sustaining life.

Synthesized Objectives● Students will understand how matter and energy are transferred and lost through trophic levels of an ecosystem, be able to

identify ecosystem factors in diagrammatic representations of environmental processes, and be able to explain the roles of biotic and abiotic factors in sustaining life.

● Students will be able to represent the flow of matter and energy through an ecosystem on food webs and trophic level diagrams, and will be able to predict changes to the food web in response to introduction or removal of, or variation in, ecosystem factors.

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C. Big IdeasThe Sun serves as the original source of all energy used by organisms on Earth. Light energy is captured and stored by

producers (autotrophs) through a process called photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is a reaction that occurs in chloroplasts in which light energy is used to convert carbon dioxide and water into simple sugars. As organisms (heterotrophs) consume the autotrophs, energy moves through the various trophic levels. In each step, only about 10% of all available energy is captured and used, much is given off as heat to the environment. As a way to understand this flow of energy, food chains/webs can be created to explain the interdependence of organisms and the movement of energy and matter through various trophic levels. In a food chain, energy and nutrients (usually represented by arrows) commonly move from autotrophs to heterotrophs and eventually, decomposers. Using these graphic organizers, the relationships between producers, consumers and decomposers can be understood. By removing one or more organisms involved in the food web, possible changes to the ecosystem can be predicted. Ecological pyramids are another graphic organizer in which organisms are arranged by trophic levels. In these ecological pyramids, higher trophic levels are often layered on top of one another and can be organized by biomass.

The flow of matter through an ecosystem can be understood by learning how elements are cycled through the environment. The water, carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycles are all essential processes that ensure the recycling and reusing of atoms. Water is cycled through our environment through a series of evaporation (or transpiration), condensation, precipitation, etc. Water is always in motion, moving between the Earth’s surface and atmosphere. Carbon is constantly being cycled between CO2 in the atmosphere and other carbon molecules in organisms. In the nitrogen cycle, nitrogen is converted from a gas to compounds that are usable and necessary for life, and then back to a gas. Phosphorus moves between living and nonliving parts of the ecosystem in the phosphorus cycle. These cycles are crucial to the conservation of matter and allow life on Earth to be sustainable. Sources: Michigan High School Content Expectations-Biologyhttp://www.michigan.gov/documents/BIOMMC_168213_7.pdfNational Science Education Standards http :// www . nap . edu / openbook . php ? record _ id =4962& page =103 Benchmarks for Science Literacy(5E/H3) http :// www . project 2061. org / publications / bsl / online / index . php ? chapter =5# E 4

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D. Observations, Patterns, and Models

Observations or experiences (examples, phenomena, data)

WHAT

Patterns (laws, generalizations,

graphs, tables, categories)

HOW

Models (explanations,

theories)

WHYLooking at a representation of an environment, and identify the organisms.

Food Webs Food Chains

Transfer of Energy: How energy is stored and moved in an environment

Observation of their neighborhood. What organisms live there?

Students hear the story about DDT sprayed on Borneo (observations include mosquito population decline, cockroaches were also affected and their #’s declined, the geckoes at the cockroaches so their #’s declined, etc)

Students are presented with

Plants are producers.

Certain animals eat other animals.

When one organism is removed, the whole food web is affected.

Interdependence of organisms

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story about Brown Tree Snake on Guam (similar observations as above).

Have students grow a grass plant throughout the duration of the school year, record the mass and height daily.Ask students where the energy comes from and where it is stored.

The grass plant gets bigger and taller.

Carbon Sink/Sequestration(C-cycle)

Nutrient Cycles (N, P, C) How there is a limited number of each element on earth and must be cycled in order to meet the demands of life (essential elements)

Maintain a compost pile in the classroom, record the temperature and the biomass daily.

As the compost pile is decomposed by detritivores: - the mass decreases - the temperature increases

Carbon source (C-cycle)

Record the amount of food a mouse or bird eats daily compared to its body size; compare that quantitatively with that of an elephant and it’s daily diet.

Smaller organisms lose energy more rapidly.

Smaller organisms eat more compared to their body size than do larger organisms.

Interpret/read MSU Kellogg Biological Station research figures.

N-fertilizer for corn crops increase Nitrous oxide gas emissions (greenhouse gas)

Nutrient Cycles & Climate Change

Research figures of Atmospheric

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atmospheric concentrations of CO2 and N2O

concentration of Carbon dioxide and Nitrous oxide increased since preindustrial times to present

Research figures of N2O vs. CO2 relative radiative forces (potential to alter climate b/c of wavelength absorption)

Nitrous oxide has a greater relative radiative effectiveness (298 per unit of mass over 100yrs) then Carbon dioxide (1 per unit of mass over 100yrs)

E. Students’ Prior KnowledgeA. Accurate examples or ideas you can build on –

Students will be familiar with food chains, having some semblance of an idea where nutrients comes from for predators.Students will be familiar with producers (plants) and their use the sun to produce usable food sources.Students know from personal experiences that in order to have energy to perform daily functions, people have to eat to get nutrients by eating food. This encourages the notion that food has energy in it.Seeing leaves fall off of a tree and ‘crumble’ and disappear, as well as grass clippings and dead weeds, is a perfect example of plant matter decomposing. Similarly with animals, viewing roadkill after a day or so, when microorganisms begin to take over, or after several weeks, whereupon the original carcass is significantly smaller and has ‘lots of bugs on it’.Students ought to be familiar with the shape of a pyramid, and understand it gets smaller toward the top. Applying this idea to animals makes sense, as there are many smaller prey, and less intermediate predators, and the fewest of the top predators.Students may be familiar with what happens when an organism is scarce or removed that is a food source for another causing populations changes or trophic collapse (i.e. invasive species, endangered species, etc.)

B. Common misconceptions When examining a food pyramid, following the exchange of energy through the consumption of producers, through the consumers, to the top predator, is often misunderstood. Also, the presence and role of a decomposer is frequently forgotten/misunderstood.

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An organism higher on a given food chain is a predator of all organisms located below it in the chain.Some students believe that all of the energy of an organism is gained by the consumer.The notion that energy is “burned up”, rather than converted through a complex network of chemical reactions, indicates actual atomic fission taking place, which is indeed quite inaccurate. The belief that energy is simply ‘lost’, as opposed to being converted to another form of energy, most often that of heat.While most students understand that plants require light from the Sun to grow, being able to explain where the ‘growth’ comes from, what exactly is added to the plant to make it bigger, and understanding the role of water in plants is a topic even most adults have difficulty explaining. The top of the food chain has the most energy because it accumulates as it goes up the chain.Realizing that a food chain is not linear but cyclical, and does not necessarily have a starting point nor an endpoint is a common thought entertained by middle school students.The notion that decomposers ‘eat’ the dead remains of (only) the predators, most often the top predator.

http :// biology - forums . com / index . php ? topic =119.0 http :// departments . weber . edu / sciencecenter / biology %20 misconceptions . htm

http :// homepage . mac . com / vtalsma / misconcept . html # ecosystems http :// ecomisconceptions . binghamton . edu / energyflow . htm

ASSESSMENTS AND ACTIVITIES

Synthesized Unit Objectives

Summative Assessment Formative Assessment Major Activity

B1.2C & B3.2B Students will understand how matter and energy are transferred and lost through trophic levels of an ecosystem, be able to

Describe a compost pile, and explain why the air above a large composting facility appears “wavy”. Include possible sources of energy in a compost pile.

Essay question demonstrating the loss of energy as it is passed on to successive trophic levels.

Using a composting pile, record the daily temperature. Before adding to the compost pile, record the mass of biomass. After some time has elapsed, measure the mass and core temperature again to see that decomposition is taking place.

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identify ecosystem factors in diagrammatic representations of environmental processes, and be able to explain the roles of biotic and abiotic factors in sustaining life.

Explain how a plant grows when it receives adequate sunlight and water.

B1.1f & B3.2CStudents will understand how matter and energy are transferred and lost through trophic levels of an ecosystem, be able to identify ecosystem factors in diagrammatic representations of environmental processes, and be able to explain the roles of biotic and abiotic factors in sustaining life.

Using data on the amount of corn grown and the amount of food available through raising cattle, compare the quantity of usable mass of a cow to the amount of usable mass of the corn it is raised on.

Given information from a farmer on the biomass of crops in a field, calculate the approximate amount of corn required to feed the cattle required to provide a steakburger for members of a small town festival.

Make a bar graph to chart data on a logarithmic scale comparing available energy of an organism vs transferable/usable energy in successively higher trophic levels.

B1.1f & B3.3A B1.2C & B3.2A B1.1f & B3.2CStudents will be able to represent the flow of matter and energy through an ecosystem on food webs and trophic level diagrams, and will be able to predict changes to the

Given a food web with only arrows, demonstrate your understanding of energy transfer via predation by filling in the empty spaces with pictures of organisms and sources of energy from a bank of selections (Leave room for multiple possibilities, yet have only one correct

Exit slip: What possible issues do you see arising from the World Health Organization’s response to the problems caused by DDT on Borneo? (Their response was to import cats to the island)

Students will be presented with an ecological scenario (DDT introduced on Borneo or Brown Tree Snake on Guam for instance). Students will construct a food web and predict the consequences. They will then propose solutions and compare the solutions to the actual solutions that were used.

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food web in response to introduction or removal of, or variation in, ecosystem factors.

answer).

B1.2C & B3.3bStudents will understand how matter and energy are transferred and lost through trophic levels of an ecosystem, be able to identify ecosystem factors in diagrammatic representations of environmental processes, and be able to explain the roles of biotic and abiotic factors in sustaining life.

Students will label diagrams of the carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and water cycles.

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B1.2C & B3.3b

Students will be able to represent the flow of matter and through an ecosystem, and will be able to predict changes in response to introduction or removal of, or variation in, ecosystem factors.

Fill out worksheet questions that requires students to utilize the provided graphs, chemical properties of Nitrous Oxide, and corn farm yeilds from MSU’s KBS to demostrate what happens when a farmer applies more N-fertilizer than needed and how it influences climate change/greenhouse gases.

Students will understand nutrient sources of N (agriculture) and be able to compare how N-fertilizers producing Nitrous Oxide gas can act like other greenhouses gases (i.e. CO2), and be able to make recommendation to corn farmers on how to maximize crop yield while preventing minimal greenhouse gas emisions from Nitrous Oxide by interpreting graphs and data generated from MSU’s Kellogg Biological Stations from 2001 to 2003[McSwiney & Robertson (2005) ‘Global Change Biology’ Journal.

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