Through the implementation of this unit, designed to complement an already existing science curriculum on butterflies and moths that was designed by Science and Technology for Children, students will take a close look at several urban habitats and in this process begin to acquire an understanding of the biological diversity on which we depend. We will start by answering some preliminary questions in a general way and depicting examples directly related to the topic of life on earth in order to understand some of the intricacies related to the multiple components of the web of life.
These preliminary questions are the foundation to the content and concept specific objectives that the hands on activities will lead us into. Some general questions that will frame this unit are:
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- Why is ecology and biodiversity conservation something that affects our lives directly?
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- What are the basic principles and relationships between ecology and biodiversity that any citizen should be aware of?
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- What are the direct and indirect impacts of loss of biodiversity in our lives?
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The introduction of the unit is one of the principal components because it will set up the foundation of the scope and sequence of the unit. In the process of activating the students prior knowledge, the teacher assess what is the students' level of understanding and creates the scaffolds and necessary schemas and foundations that will allow all students to experiment with the concepts and content in order to create meaning from these interactions.
The teacher begins to create a word and picture vocabulary bank that later in the field studies section, or right there in the highlighted habitat, will allow the students to describe their observations and data collection. Without this vocabulary the students won't be able to meet the unit's objectives.
