Citizen Science - Food Webs and Climate Change

Australian curriculum content descriptions:

Year 7 Science:

• Interactions between organisms, including the effects of human activities can be represented by food chains and food webs (ACSSU112)
• Summarise data, from students’ own investigations and secondary sources, and use scientific understanding to identify relationships and draw conclusions based on evidence (ACSIS130)
• Communicate ideas, findings and evidence based solutions to problems using scientific language, and representations, using digital technologies as appropriate (ACSIS133)

Year 8 Science:

• Summarise data, from students’ own investigations and secondary sources, and use scientific understanding to identify relationships and draw conclusions based on evidence (ACSIS145)
• Use scientific knowledge and findings from investigations to evaluate claims based on evidence (ACSIS234)
• Communicate ideas, findings and evidence based solutions to problems using scientific language, and representations, using digital technologies as appropriate (ACSIS148)

Syllabus outcomes: SC4-7WS, SC4-8WS, SC4-9WS, SC4-14LW, SC4-15LW.

General capabilities: Critical and Creative Thinking, ICT Capability.

Cross-curriculum priority: Sustainability OI.1, OI.2.

Relevant parts of Year 7 Science achievement standards: Students predict the effect of human and environmental changes on interactions between organisms. They summarise data from different sources, and communicate their ideas, methods and findings using scientific language and appropriate representations. 

Relevant parts of Year 8 Science achievement standards: Students use appropriate language and representations to communicate science ideas and findings in a range of text types.
Unit of work: ClimateWatch: Citizen Science – Science – Years 7 & 8.

Time needed: 60 minutes.

Level of teacher scaffolding: Medium – oversee activities and lead students in discussion.

• Tablets with ClimateWatch app installed
• Internet access
• Student Worksheet – print one copy per student
• Device capable of presenting a website to the class
• Food Web Worksheet
• Food Web Worksheet Answers one copy per student
• Enough pieces of A6 paper for each student
• Optional – Food Webs for Display

This lesson is designed to build students’ competencies in the following skills:

• Communication
• Creativity
• Critical thinking
• Digital literacy

This lesson has been developed in partnership with Earthwatch. Earthwatch developed the ClimateWatch program with the Bureau of Meteorology and The University of Melbourne to understand how changes in temperature and rainfall are affecting the seasonal behaviour of Australia’s plants and animals.