Students will be introduced to what an ecosystem is, its place within Earth’s four spheres, how they interact and our place within it. Students will understand how energy drives the ecosystem and the cycles that sustain it. Along the way, students will discover the food chain, prey-predator relationships and the driving force to keep the cycle going. They will understand, through a climate change lens, what happens when one piece of the ecosystem is removed and or added. Students will also understand the role of carbon within an ecosystem and what we can do to facilitate a balance.
This unit will be taught over an eight-week period. Weeks one and two will focus on what are the four spheres of the Earth and the ecosystems within it. Students will be able to discuss the factors within an ecosystem, abiotic and biotic. They will understand and be able to define organism, community, population and habitat. Students will demonstrate how the environment affects organisms in an ecosystem and vice versa.
During week three, students will be introduced to the energy flow within an ecosystem. They will learn about the role of the sun, the water cycle, nitrogen cycle and the carbon cycle. Students will participate in hands-on investigations to better comprehend the interactions as well as understand the processes of primary production and decomposition. Weeks four through five will allow students to dissect a food web and take a closer look at food chains. This will lead to a deeper understanding of the interdependent relationships that exist within each, as well as prepare students to understand how the pieces of the puzzle fit.
In week six, students will apply their background knowledge to understand the interactions, energy and dynamics within an ecosystem. Week six will allow students to grasp how an ecosystems’ carbon budget can impact atmospheric carbon dioxide. Students will investigate how carbon is both stored and released. They will understand greenhouse gasses and their effects. They will discuss how carbon fluxes can impact an ecosystem, with a better comprehension of its disruptions of a carbon budget. They will now investigate more fully how carbon plays an essential role in life and how we need it to fuel our daily lives in our community, our homes and in our transportation. During these weeks, students will come to understand that not only is carbon a foundation for life but that it is also a major source of energy. Students will investigate the movement of carbon between land, atmosphere and oceans and how human contribution can play a part in this. It is here that students will also begin to question the role of carbon as a necessary evil in that it contributes to global climate change. In weeks seven and eight students will learn about global warming and its impact on climate change. Because of this, students will then begin to think about changes they can make to budget for a better tomorrow.