Backyard Bush Blitz - Important Roles In An Ecosystem

Backyard Bush Blitz - Important Roles In An Ecosystem

Lesson 1 of 3 in this unit

  • Cool+
  • Secondary
  • Year 9 - 10
  • Science
  • Biology
  • Environmental
  • Biodiversity
  • Citizen Science
  • ...

Lesson summary

Students will consider how competition for resources influences the ecological role an organism plays in an ecosystem. They will then research a subspecies and explore its role in an ecosystem before attempting to persuade the class that their subspecies, and its role, makes it the most important in the ecosystem.

Learning intentions:

Students will...

  • understand that all organisms fulfil a role in a sustainable ecosystem
  • understand the different types of roles in an ecosystem and how they interact with other organisms.

Success criteria:

Students can…

  • match terms with definitions
  • conduct and report on research
  • work collaboratively
  • participate in group and class discussions
  • use facts and persuasive language to present an argument
  • evaluate the arguments of other groups.

Lesson guides and printables

Lesson Plan
Student Worksheet
Teacher Content Info

Lesson details

Curriculum mapping

Australian Curriculum content descriptions: 

Year 9 Science:

  • Use models, including food webs, to represent matter and energy flow in ecosystems and predict the impact of changing abiotic and biotic factors on populations (AC9S7U02)
  • Write and create texts to communicate ideas, findings and arguments for specific purposes and audiences, including selection of appropriate language and text features, using digital tools as appropriate (AC9S7I08)

Syllabus outcomes: SC5-9WS, SC5-14LW.

General capabilities: LiteracyCreative and Critical Thinking.

Cross-curriculum priority: Sustainability

Relevant parts of Year 9 achievement standards: Students analyse how biological systems function and respond to external changes with reference to interdependencies, energy transfers and flows of matter. They evaluate others’ methods and explanations from a scientific perspective and use appropriate language and representations when communicating their findings and ideas to specific audiences.

This lesson is part of the wider unit of work Backyard Bush Blitz – Year 9

Resources required

  • Device capable of presenting a video to the class
  • Bush Blitz Information Sheet (one copy, single-sided)
  • Ecosystem Interaction Matching Activity (one copy for the whole class or one per small group – cut out individual words and definitions and place in an envelope or small tub)
  • Student devices with internet capability
  • Student Worksheets – one copy per student

Skills

  • Communication
  • Creativity
  • Critical thinking
  • Collaboration
  • Digital literacy
  • Social skills

Additional info

Time required: 70 mins

Level of teacher scaffolding: Medium – facilitate class discussion

This is an original Cool+ lesson.

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