Maps and Major World Ecosystems

Group Size:   Large group instructions with individual rotation through stations.

Summary:  Students learn to identify and describe major world ecosystems using maps.

Main Curriculum Tie:

Social Studies – 3^rd grade

Standard 1 Objective 2

Time Frame: 

Five 40 minute lessons spread out over one week.

Materials:

Computer with projector, globe, atlas, computer lab with Internet access

Power Point on biomes Ecosystems.pptx

Graphic Organizer Ecosystem_Graphic_Organizer[1].doc

Activity 1:  Book Station

Activity 2:  Animal printouts from Enchanted Learning.com or National Geographic Kids. Com

Activity 3:  Computer Station

Activity 4:  Sorting animals and resources into different biomes (this can be done with photographs or manipulatives)

Activity 5: Atlas Scavenger Hunt

Activity 6:  Color World Climate Map world_clim.pdf

Additional Resources:

Books

What is a Biome by Bobbie Kalman

Planet Earth by Deborah Cancellor

Explore the Biomes series by Capstone Press

Kids World Almanac

Websites 

http://earth.google.com for teacher to demonstrate scale

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/education/resources/mapping_our_world/mapping_our_world/l/home/index.htm for assessment

http://magma.nationalographic.com/ngexplorer/0403/quickflicks/

http://www.mbgnet.net/index.html  for students with a high reading level

http://www.kidsknowit.com/interactive-educational-movies/free-online-movies.php?movie=Biomes

http://pbskids.org/eekoworld/index.html?load=environment  for students with a long attention span and understanding of large vocabulary words.

Background for Teachers:

Ecosystems are any community of living and nonliving things from very large such as Planet Earth to very small such as a drop of water.  Biomes are a way to think about some of the world’s major ecosystems.    This lesson plan will talk about the biomes:  desert, tundra, forest, tropic, wetland, mountain, tropical grassland, and temperate grassland and where on the earth they are located and their resources.  It is important to note that biomes are full of many different ecosystems.  This unit will be most successful if students have already completed a unit on communities.

Intended Learning Outcomes:

Students will be able to describe major world ecosystems, important natural resources in these ecosystems, and adaptations for living in these ecosystems.  Students will also be able to identify these ecosystems on a map.

Prior Knowledge:

Students should know about communities.

Instructional Procedures:

Day one: The teacher will introduce ecosystems using the attached power point.  Each slide will act as a sounding board for class discussion about attributes and resources found in each biome. 

The teacher will then show students where these different ecosystems are located on a map and a globe.  Scale will be demonstrated using Google Earth to zoom in on the school building.

Next, the teacher will demonstrate the six activities divided into three stations and show students how they will keep track of what they are learning on the graphic organizer.

Day two, three, and four:  Students rotate through the three stations filling in something on the graphic organizer at each activity.  The teacher roams through the classroom answering questions and praising student achievement.

Day five:  The teacher will summarize and demonstrate how to navigate the computer program that will be used for the assessment.

Strategies for Diverse Learners:

There are three interactive websites that teach about ecosystems, they range from very simple to requiring advanced reading skills.

Assessment Plan:

After spending the week working on major world ecosystems and introducing maps and globes take the class to a computer lab with Internet access.  Students will be assessed by completion of the interactive website:

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/education/resources/mapping_our_world/mapping_our_world/l/home/index.htm

Bibliography:

http://www.uen.org/core/core.do?courseNum=6030

http://www.eduplace.com/ss/maps/pdf/world_clim.pdf

http://www.mbgnet.net/index.html

http://pbskids.org/eekoworld/index.html?load=environment

http://globalis.gvu.unu.edu/

http://nationalgeographic.com

Author:

JaDean Frehner

Created Date:

April 2009

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