Jennifer B. Esty
This curriculum unit will explore species diversity in a number of different ecosystems. The ecosystems will be differentiated according to the amount of land management being practiced on them by humans. So, for example, a city park with swings, paved paths, and a soccer field would be considered one ecosystem while a state park in the same area with unpaved walking trails and open meadows would be considered a different ecosystem.
In this unit ecosystems are used as a way to study many related topics. Classification and taxonomy are essential for identification of organisms found in any ecosystem. Statistics and other mathematical tools also fit well into this curriculum unit as it is impossible to count every organism within the large areas we will study. Reading for content will be necessary to obtain information about the different ecosystems we will study in this unit. Strictly speaking, statistics and reading skills are not the purview of most science departments, but without the math and language backgrounds provided by these two activities, the observations made by the students are useless. So, there will be scientific topics covered in this unit as well as many topics typically covered in other classes.
At the end of this curriculum there is a collection of educational strategies for teaching various parts of this unit as well as a list of resources to help teach the unit. One of the more important resources is the list of books containing background for teachers. The book, Last child in the Wood by Richard Louv discusses the importance of allowing children to explore the world outside of the boxes, house, school bus, car, school room, sports field, in which we spend most of our lives. He advances some interesting theories about the connection between a lack of outdoor education and the prevalence of mental health diseases that seem to be becoming more common in children. While I'm not entirely sure that I agree with his analysis of the mental health improvements to be gained by outdoor education, he certainly makes some good arguments for getting children outside and allowing children the time that they need to absorb what they experience outside. Reading the Mountains of Home and Reading the Forested Landscape are similar to each other in topic, but they are written in very different styles. They both address the changes that appear in the landscape as different economic times demand different uses of the land. Both provide interesting insights into why we various organisms in their present locations. For example, they might answer the puzzle of why there are a large number of apple trees growing in what appears to be a common New England forest lot. Both books are useful when considering what organisms to expect in a given environment. And, both provide an interesting commentary on the ways that humans transform the world to suit our own need. The Earth Moved is a fascinating look at the earth worms. It goes into great detail about the different varieties currently found in the United States as well as a few interesting varieties in other parts of the world. It gives some of the best advice on vermicomposting (composting using worms) that I have found anywhere. It is a wonderful resource to have for addressing decomposition, a part of the food web that is so often left out of basic biology text books. Finally, Changes in the Land is useful in a few contexts. It is a good source of excerpts for students who are at home or unable to attend field trips because it contains many descriptions of the New England landscape as the land use practices have changed over time. In particular, this book contains many descriptions of the land before Europeans started using it heavily, which are difficult to find. Furthermore, William Cronon details some of the pitfalls inherent in using the sources he quotes. His caveats are useful reminders that the landscape descriptions usually were not written for the purpose of aiding later ecologists.