what lives o a? unit 6: ecosystems less raes -1 pdfs/1(k)/13_reach...“tundra.” low-lying shrubs,...

REACH ©2013 K-12 Outreach, UA

WHAT LIVES ON THE TUNDRA?

REACH

Unit 6: EcosystemsLesson 13 — Grades K-1

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Overview

In this lesson, students will learn about some features of the tundra and some types of animals that live there.

Objectives

On successful completion of this lesson, students will be able to:• identify mammals, birds, and fish that live on the tundra; and• classify tundra animals.

AlaskaStandards

AlaskaScienceStandards

[A] A student should understand and be able to apply the processes and applications of scientific inquiry. A student who meets the content standard should:

[A.1] develop an understanding of the processes of science used to investigate problems, design and conduct repeatable scientific investigations, and defend scientific arguments.

[C] A student should understand and be able to apply the concepts, models, theories, facts, evidence, systems, and processes of life science. A student who meets the content standard should:

[C.1] develop an understanding of how science explains changes in life forms over time, including genetics, heredity, the process of natural selection, and biological evolution.

AlaskaCulturalStandards

[D] Culturally knowledgeable students are able to engage effectively in learning activities that are based on traditional ways of knowing and learning. Students who meet this cultural standard are able to:

[D.3] interact with Elders in a loving and respectful way that demonstrates an appreciation of their role as culture-bearers and educators in the community.

[E] Culturally knowledgeable students demonstrate an awareness and appreciation of the relationships and processes of interaction of all elements in the world around them. Students who meet this cultural standard are able to:

[E.2] understand the ecology and geography of the bioregion they inhabit.



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BeringStraitSchoolDistrictScope&Sequence

1st grade sequence #7: EcosystemsD. Understands the characteristics of life in the tundra.E. Use scientific processes to directly support the concepts of the ecosystems.

Materials• Arctic Tundra-One Small Square by Donald Silver• Scissors• Glue• Student Worksheet: Animals of the Tundra

Multimedia

REACH Multimedia K-3: “What is a Tundra Ecosystem?” Available at: www.k12reach.org

AdditionalResources

Arctic Babies by Kathy Darling

Arctic Foxes (Polar Animals) by Emily Rose Townsend

Arctic Hares (Animals That Live in the Tundra) by Theresa M. Shea

Over in the Arctic: Where the Cold Wind Blows by Marianne Berkes

Life in the Tundra by Penny Clarke

ActivityPreparations1. Review Whole Picture section of the lesson for teacher background information.2. Read Arctic Tundra-One Small Square to become familiar with the text before

reading aloud to students.3. Invite a local culture bearer to come into the classroom and tell about local

animals they have had experience with in their lifetime. Ask the culture bearer to also discuss how the population of local animals has changed over the years (increased, decreased, stayed the same).



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WholePicture

An ecosystem is a community of living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) things that interact in the same environment. Biotic organisms include things like plants, animals, microbes, and people; abiotic components include things like rocks, minerals, and water. Ecosystems can be vast, like the tundra, or they can be small, like a classroom terrarium. In either case, each component of the ecosystem depends on the others for survival. When one part is disrupted, it can throw the entire system out of balance.

The primary terrestrial ecosystem in the Bering Strait School District (BSSD) region is “tundra.” Low-lying shrubs, mosses, sedges, and lichens carpet the valleys and hills of a tundra ecosystem. In the coastal plains region, the area is covered with small lakes and ponds and the surrounding landscape is decorated with geometric patterns caused by frost heaving (ADFG).

The primary feature of the tundra is its lack of trees. Scientists identify several reasons for this, including a short growing season, strong winds, and permafrost. Due to the small amount of precipitation that a tundra receives, it is sometimes called an “arctic desert.” Nevertheless, the wetlands in the area provide tundra plants and animals with ample water, and allow for an abundance of animal life, including moose, caribou, arctic foxes, and Alaska hares. Likewise, the surrounding aquatic ecosystems of the tundra (rivers, lakes, and ponds) support a plethora of species including river otter and beaver and an abundance of fish: five species of Pacific salmon, Dolly Varden, trout, Arctic grayling, Bering cisco, and Alaska blackfish (ADFG).

In the spring, after a long, bitter winter, the tundra explodes with plant and insect life, and migratory species arrive at the area to rear their young. Swans, terns, geese, ducks, loons, shorebirds, pharlaropes, and songbirds arrive en masse from the United States, Mexico, Argentina, and even as far south as Antarctica.

However, as the climate changes, people are witnessing disturbances in the fine ecosystem balance. Kenneth Kingeekuk, the former Vice President of the Savoonga Tribal Council, explained: “We’ve lost a lot of coastline. We’ve lost a lot of lakes and ponds where migratory birds lay their eggs in the summertime”(Kingeekuk, 2010). The loss of lakes and ponds means that migratory birds will necessarily find somewhere new to raise their young. In turn, the loss of birds will mean an eventual change in the rest of the habitat, for each living organism fulfills a specific niche in an ecosystem. In other words, all the elements of an ecosystem are intricately tied, and the loss of one can disrupt the entire system.

Many elders and culture bearers blame the changes happening in the ecosystem on poor human practices. Paul John, from Toksook Bay gave the example of disappearing fish and marine mammals as the result of “wasteful practices, noting that when people throw unwanted fish back in the water, food resources will be harmed” (Fienup-Riordan



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and Rearden, 2012, p.38). In order to preserve the fine ecosystem balance and ensure future subsistence success, elders warn that young people must “pay attention to qanruyutet [the wisdom and teachings of the elders], believing that if their values improve, correct actions [in the environment] will follow.” (Fienup-Riordan and Rearden, 2012, p.42).

Vocabulary

tundra area of land that includes permafrost, soil, water, plants, and animals

mammal warm-blooded animal with fur or hair, produces milk and gives live birth

fish cold-blooded animal with gills and fins

bird warm-blooded animal with wings, feathers, and a beak

ActivityProcedure1. Read Arctic Tundra-One Small Square and discuss the book as it is being read.2. Review the vocabulary words with definitions.3. Ask students to think of mammals, fish, and birds that live in the Arctic and

local area. List the animals on the board in three columns under the labels of mammals, fish, and birds.

4. Have students complete the Student Worksheet: Animals of the Tundra.5. Remind students about proper behavior for a guest speaker before he/she

arrives. Introduce the culture bearer and explain that they will be talking about their experiences with local animals.

ExtensionActivities• Have students draw a picture of the tundra with plants and animals they know

about. They could draw themself in the picture doing an activity like picking berries, fishing, hunting, etc.

• Encourage students to take a walk with their family and identify local animals and plants.



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Answers• Mammal column: arctic fox, moose, lynx, river otter, Alaska hare• Fish column: Arctic grayling, Northern pike, Dolly Varden, Broad whitefish, coho

salmon• Bird column: raven, willow ptarmigan, Wilson’s snipe, emperor goose, northern

pintail duck

ReferencesAlaska Department of Fish and Game [ADFG]. “Ecological Framework: The Lands and

Waters that Produce Our Fish and Wildlife.” Accessed from: http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/species/wildlife_action_plan/section3b.pdfBowman, Timothy D. (2008). Field Guide to Bird Nests and Eggs of Alaska’s Coastal

Tundra. US Fish and Wildlife Service, Anchorage, Alaska. Alaska Sea Grant College Program

Fienup-Riordan, Ann, and Alice Rearden. (2012). Ellavut: Our Yup’ik World and Weather. Continuity and change on the Bearing Sea Coast. Seattle and London: University of Washington Press.

Kingeekuk, Kenneth. (2010). “Overview of Impacts from Savoonga.” Stories About Adaptation and Subsistence: Native Voices from the Frontlines of Climate Change. Aksik. Accessed from: http://aksik.org/content/2010-overview-impacts.



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STUDENT WORK

StudentWorksheet:AnimalsoftheTundra

Name____________________________________________________________________

Instructions: Cut and Glue the pictures of the tundra animals in the correct box.

Mammals Fish Birds



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STUDENT WORK

what lives o a? unit 6: ecosystems less raes -1 pdfs/1(k)/13_reach...“tundra.” low-lying shrubs,...

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