Caretakers versus Exploiters: Impacting Biodiversity in the Age of Humans

Rationale

In my twelve years of experience, with so much to pack into a school day with very little time and short pacing schedules, I am sad to say that teaching science concepts to mastery is one of the things that gets put on the back burner. Basic skills are brushed over so that students are able to have some knowledge, but as a whole it is never fully taught in depth or detail as it should be. Reading comprehension and math skills take precedence over everything else because of the pressures of meeting the goals of state testing. I have always believed that teaching the sciences (Life Processes, Living Systems, Matter, Earth and Space Systems, Earth patterns and cycles, force motion and energy, and Earth Resources) is so essential for the primary grades. It is in the primary grades that students learn foundation of skills that will later be beneficial for them as they grow to discover their purpose and passions in life, which would hopefully include science!

My goal is for students to understand how we have to be “caretakers” of Earth’s habitats, and even as children they can make a difference. Students will focus on the Forest habitat and all the living and non-living organisms in it. We will explore food chains, populations and communities within this habitat. From that we will identify animals threatened from extinction. Students will research causes of extinction in the park and what changes occurred that effected it all (humans taking over more land therefore disrupting their natural habitats). We will also explore the possibility of invading species of the park with the surrounding areas being affected by builders, and how those invading species may displace species that were originally there.  Students will list ideas of how humans can keep animals from being threatened from extinction and being displaced from their homes.

To tie in a few Language Arts standards that we practice in 3^rd grade, we will be making connections, identifying cause and effect relationships, and also identifying main idea and details. The main event of the unit will be students designing a wildlife corridor for a species of their choice. They have the options to make 3D models or drawings on large posters. They will present their ideas to the class and to Pocahontas State Park rangers during one of our future scheduled field trips.