Brief Description

This three part lesson* introduces students to the field of ecology and the wide variety of topics it can include. In Part I students participate in an activity to develop a definition for ecology. In Part II students explore the online version of National Wildlife magazine to look for examples that illustrate the traditional meaning of ecology. Part III requires students to think about how ecological relationships can change by considering the ways that human ecology has been impacted by technology. Part III will be completed in an essay format that will be published online at the Project Poster website.

* Part III (which includes the actual student publishing) can be done without Parts I and II as long as students have a prior understanding of what ecology is and what types of relationships it involves.

Standards and Frameworks

Technology Standards

• 1T-P1. Use the appropriate technology device to complete a task
• 2T-P2. Analyze advantages and disadvantages of widespread use and reliance on technology in the workplace and in society as a whole
• 3T-P1. Communicate to a variety of audiences using professional level technology tools

• R-P1. Apply reading strategies such as extracting, summarizing, clarifying, and interpreting information; predicting events and extending the ideas presented; relating new information to prior knowledge; supporting assertions with evidence; and making useful connections to other topics to comprehend works of literature and documents
• 2SC-P3. Explain the impact on society of major scientific developments
• W-P1. Use transitional devices; varied sentence structure; the active voice; parallel structures; supporting details, phrases and clauses; and correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar and usage to sharpen the focus and clarify the meaning of their writings

Academic

• In writing, students will accurately define ecology, including a description of each of the three general types of ecological relationships.
• Students will write a 5-paragraph essay connecting changes in human ecological relationships to the uses of technology, scoring at least a level 3 on all parts of a 4 level rubric.

• Students will use an online magazine to extract and accurately summarize at least 9 examples (3 for each category of ecological relationship) that support the definition of ecology.
• Students will successfully publish their essay online using the Poster Project website.

• Keyboarding skills
• Ability to connect to and navigate a website to collect information
• Ability to follow a series of directions to publish an essay online

Part I:  Old newspapers or magazines that can be cut apart, scissors
Part II: “Examples of Wildlife Ecology” worksheet, access to internet
Part III: Essay directions, access to internet, assessment rubric

Accommodations for Special Needs

• Part I can be completed using pictures instead of written text.
• Part II can be scaled down so that students are only looking for one of the three categories of ecological examples.
• Part II can be completed individually or with a partner designated by the teacher.
• Students can use alternative reading materials for Part II (either easier to read or more challenging).
• Part III can be scaled down to a one-paragraph assignment rather than a 5-paragraph essay.
• A student aide can be used to assist students with the writing of the essay.
• The teacher can modify the essay prompt.
• Students can modify the essay prompt and present the changes to the teacher for approval.
• Students can compare/contrast two or more decades in their essays (the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s) to more specifically trace changes in human ecological relationships over time.
• Students can find supporting websites and/or pictures to attach to the page that they publish online. Students could use a digital camera to take original pictures to add to the page or use a scanner to incorporate original artwork.

Part I – What is ecology? (1 class period)

1. Introduce students to the word ‘ecology’ without telling them what it means. Ask them to think about its parts (‘eco’ and ‘ology’). Have students quickly brainstorm with a partner. Call on students for ideas. Use student comments to piece together the idea that ecology is a type of biology that focuses on the study of relationships.

2. Provide students with scissors and copies of newspapers and/or magazines that can be cut. Ask students to cut out headlines, articles, and/or pictures that illustrate some sort of relationship. This can be done individually or in small groups. Have students spend approximately 15 minutes collecting their examples.

3. Since there are different types of relationships, ask students to think about how their examples could be categorized. Discuss their ideas. Tell them that ecology focuses on three different categories of relationships. Since ecology is a type of biology, ask them how these three categories might be connected. (Each of the categories somehow involves living organisms.) Use student comments to develop the following definition:
 

Ecology is the study of relationships between
1. Members of the same species
2. Members of different species
3. Organisms and their physical surroundings.
 
4.  Have students try to organize their cut out examples of relationships into the three categories. Ask them to analyze their categories. Into which category did most of their examples fall? What might be a reason for this? Were there any items that didn’t fit into any category?

5.  Before leaving class, have students use their own words to describe, in writing,
the meaning of ecology. Ask them to provide an original example of each of the three types of relationships. This can be done individually or in small groups.
 

1. Have students review the definition of ecology.

2. Pass out the “Wildlife Ecology Examples Chart” worksheet.

3. Tell students that they are going to use the online version of National Wildlife Magazine (http://www.nwf.org/nationalwildlife/pastissues.cfm) to find a variety of wildlife examples of ecology and complete the worksheet.

4. Assign each student (or pair of students) an issue of the magazine to use to search for examples. The site provides links to the past 5 years of magazines. The articles and features in each issue will provide more than enough examples to complete the worksheet. Having students assigned to different issues of the magazine will ensure a wide variety of examples for later discussion. Even if students work in pairs they should complete their own worksheet for future reference.

5. Before going online, make sure students are aware of the school policies regarding computer and Internet use.

6. Have students type in the URL (http://www.nwf.org/nationalwildlife/pastissues.cfm). Once at the site, they need to use the pull down menu on the right side of the screen to locate their assigned issue of the magazine. (A screen may pop up asking for a name and email address before allowing entry to the site. If this happens, the teacher’s name and email address should be used.)

7. Remind students that their purpose for exploring the magazine is to find 3 examples of each of the types of ecological relationships previously discussed.

8. Once the worksheet is completed, have students revise their definition of ecology from Part I into a well-crafted paragraph that includes examples from the worksheet. The Six Traits of Writing Matrix can be used to assess the paragraph.

1. Tell students that they are going to write a 5 paragraph essay where they will analyze how ecological relationships can change by applying the traditional definition of ecology to humans and their use of technology.

2. Have students brainstorm several ways that technology has changed over the last 15-20 years. (Before this discussion takes place students could be asked to gather this information from their parents or other adults.) Then have them brainstorm several ways that today’s technology has impacted humans in terms of the three types of ecological relationships.  Have them identify at least one way that technology has impacted the relationships people have with each other, at least one way that it has impacted the relationships people have with other species, and at least one way that it has impacted the relationships people have with their physical surroundings. These relationships can be both positive and negative.

3. Provide students with the essay directions. Discuss the directions. Determine where the essay will be written (in class or at home), when the first draft should be turned in, who will evaluate the first draft (self, peer, and/or teacher), and when the second draft should be turned in.

4. Since this will be published online, stress the importance of creating a high quality piece of writing. Students should use some sort of graphic organizer to organize their thoughts before writing. Provide students with a copy of the assessment rubric for the essay to use in their organizing, writing, and revising.

5. Once the finalized versions of the essay have been completed, students will need to spend at least a class period in the computer lab to type and publish their essay online at Project Poster (http://poster.hprtec.org/). Students can type the essay ahead of time using a word processing program then copy and paste the text during the publishing process.

6. Before going to the computer lab, the directions for student publishing should be discussed with students to maximize lab time. Teachers should preview these directions at the Project Poster web site ahead of time.

7. Before allowing students to publish online, make sure they have parent permission forms signed.

8. Once in the computer lab, direct students to the Project Poster web site and have them follow the step-by-step directions. First they will need to press the “Build My Project” button. Students will encounter a series of blanks to fill in which ask for their first name (no last names will be published), teacher’s last name, a password, and the area code. Make sure students record the password they use. The password will be needed later on if students need to edit their project. Next students will be directed to a page where they enter the title and text of their project. If the text has been typed ahead of time, students can cut and paste their essay into the appropriate box. The next page students are directed to is optional and only needs to be completed if students are adding pictures and/or links to their essay page. Finally, students will be provided with an ID number and a URL for their project. Make sure to have students record both of these numbers. The ID number and password are both needed to edit the content of the project. The URL is needed to view the project.

9. Students should be required to share their published essay with an audience (classmates, family, friends, etc.) and collect feedback. Finally, students could complete a final reflection on the process, what was learned, what it was like to share their essay, etc.

Rubrics to assess student products were created using the Rubistar website (http://rubistar.4teachers.org/)

The rubric to assess the definition and examples of ecology can be found at http://rubistar.4teachers.org/view_rubric.php3?id=677553

The rubric to assess the published essay can be found at http://rubistar.4teachers.org/view_rubric.php3?id=677532