Eco-Inquiry

Eco-Inquiry, an ecology curriculum for grades 5-8 helps teachers transform their classrooms into centers of ecological research.

Day 5: Planting Preferences- Written Assessment

Objectives

Students work in groups to rank four sites according to their suitability for planting shrubs, then independently complete a diagram showing a nutrient cycle for the preferred site.

Lesson Overview

Students will be able to: understand that nutrients available on a site depend o the history and current condition of the site, weigh pros and cons to make and support judgements, diagram steps in a nutrient cycle, judge their own work and reflect on their understanding of nutrient cycling.

Time: 
40-60 min
Setting: 
Classroom
Materials

For each group of 3-4 students:

  • copy of four "Planting Preference Cards"
  • copy of "Scoring Sheet"

For each student:

  • copy of "Challenge Sheet, Part I"
  • copy of "Challenge Sheet, Part 2"
  • copy of "Scoring Sheet"
  • copy of "Reflections"
Procedure

See Lesson Resources below for further details.

Lesson Resources
NYS Standards
MST 4- Physical setting, living environment and nature of science
MST 3- Mathematics in real-world settings
ELA 4 - Language for communication and social interaction with a wide variety of people
Benchmarks for Science Literacy
1B Scientific Inquiry
5D Interdependence of Life
5E Flow of Matter and Energy

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