Lesson 1

Unit Title:  Ecological Relationships
Caretaker:  CLL

Unit No   
8D

Lesson Title:  In the environment

NC Ref: 
Sc2 4b, Sc2 5b

Objectives:    

MK -  definition of a habitat and environment, that the animal kingdom contains vertebrates and invertebrates, the plant kingdon is divided into groups, the words environment, habitat, physical environmental factor, classification, kingdom, vertebrate, fish, amphibian, reptile, bird, mammal, invertebrate.
SK -  how to use a key, how to distinguish between the 5 vertebrate groups, features of molluscs, echinoderms and arthropods, that arthropods are divided into 4 groups with the most important being insects, names and features of the 4 plant groups, plants photosynthesise, about xylem vessels, the words species, mollusc, echinoderm, arthropod, insect arachnid, crustacean, centipede, exoskeleton, moss, fern, conifer, flowering plant, xylem, photosynthesis, spore, seed, cone and fruit.
CK -  how to construct a key, all the features used to distinguish between the 5 vertebrate groups, all the features used to distinguish between the invertebrate groups, the 5 kingdoms, the words phylum, class, genus, bacteria, fungi, protoctist, annelid, flatworm, roundworm, cnidarian, sponge, cellulose, cuticle

Lesson outline: Why are there differences between organisms?  How are animals put into groups?  How are plants put into groups?

Starter activity:
 This lesson is a recap of the ecology and animal classification children did in Year 7. 

Recap what a habitat is (could use pg 40 of Ex Sc 8, Boardworks or 8D starters and plenary sheets - ask them to suggest which animals live there, list environmental factors, and suggest how the organisms get everything they need to survive).  Recap how animals are classified - use 7Dd/4 and/or 7De/3 to revise the groups. Or pupils could sort the animals on 7Dc/1 and then add on ertebrates from 7Dd/7 (on the website). Pupils should be asked to explain how they decided on the sets, and to list the characteristics of each group.  8Da/2 - classification of plants and animals sheet.

Or use Practical 1 from Teacher's Guide 8 (pg 82-82)- pupils are given pictures of wide range of animals and asked to classify.

Main course:

The plant classification will be new.  Intro the a selection of plants from the 4 groups and discuss their features - many pupils will not know that grasses and deciduous trees produce flowers.  Could extend Practical 1 into classifying plants as well - use worksheets 8Da/6 - grouping plants, 8Da/5 - grouping plants, 8Da/3 - classifying plants.  Foe less able students seperate Practical 1 into animals and then plants to classify.

orPractical 2 from Y8 Teachers Guide (pg 82-82)- 8Da/1 - water loss from plants.  Can put in front of fan for faster results, discuss surface area, size of leaf, fair teating, waxy cuticle and cuticle thickness etc.  Note - strange results can occur in lab as lack of light causes stomata to close and so water loss may not be as predicted.

Sc1 opportunity - pupils could develop a classification system to group plants living in and around water.  Children to research the plants (CD Rom / internet etc) and classify them into groups.  More able children can discuss why some plants share certain features and relate this to their habitat.  This may extend to 2 lessons.

Plenary:

Pupils could look again at the pictures of habitats on 8Da/8 and see if they can add anything to the lists they made at the beginning of the lesson.

Alternatively, Worksheet 8Da/4 or 8Da/5  could be used as a plenary activity.

Timings:

Homework Suggestion: 
Complete one of the worksheets

Resources: 
Boardworks, animals in jars from Sc7 and classification sheets, background info sheet, word sheet, target sheet, quick quiz, end of unit test, mark scheme

7Dd/4  7De/3  7Dc/1

Lesson 2 

Unit Title:  Ecological Relationships
Caretaker:  CLL

Unit No   
8D

Lesson Title:  Detective work.

NC Ref: 
Sc2 4b, Sc2 5b

Objectives:    

MK -  different numbers  and different organisms are distributed in different places in a habitat due to environmental factors, simple sampling techniques including quadrats, how to use ICT to measure and record environmental factors, words population, sample, quadrat.
SK -  definition of a community, how to estimate population size from a sample, why many samples are required to account for uneven distribution, what a microhabitat is, words community, estimate, microhabitat, sweep net, tree beating, pitfall trap, pond dipping, Tullgren funnel
CK -  further methods of sampling

Lesson outline: How can we collect data to answer questions about a habitat?

Starter activity:
Show pictures of the woodland and the pond 8D starters and plenary sheets as a basis for a class discussion.

Ask pupils to suggest animals and plants that might live in each habitat, and where in the habitat the different organisms might be found. They could also suggest why organisms would be found in these placese.g. woodlice are likely to be found under fallen logs or leaf litter in the woodland; grass or fern plants will be most plentiful in the clearing, less common under deciduous trees, and not found at all under the conifer; caterpillars would be found on leaves, but only at certain times of the year.  Ask pupils to how they could find out if their suggestions are correct – this leads on to sampling methods.

Main course:
Talk - use the classroom as an example of a habitat - how are the pupils distributed? etc

Ask pupils how they would find out the distribution of oragnisms in a woodland habitat - intro taking samples.  refer back to classroom - how would they sample it?  what would a sample tell us?  Elict the idea of taking more than one sample.  Pupils to appreciate that sampling eliminates the need to count every organism - which is time consuming and impossible for very small organisms.  The more samples, the more accurate the results, but need to balance number of samples and time taken.

Intro the most important of sampling methods - quadrats.  Complete Practical 1 using worksheet 8Db/1 (less able) or 8Db/2 (more able) as appropriate.  This could be as a demo. 

Show children range of sampling techniques -  8Db/7 - children to guess (or sort card) what is used to sample which types of organisms - pooters, small mammal trapping, sweep nets, Tullgren funnel, pitfall traps, quadrats etc.  Next lesson uses a pooter so may want to leave it out of this lesson.

Could take children to set pitfall traps and return the next day, use quadrats, pooters etc in real environment.

Plenary:

Worksheet 8Db/7

Timings:

Homework Suggestion: 
8Db/3 8Db/4 8Db/5

Resources: 
Boardworks, SEN worksheets, 8D starters and plenaries sheets, background info

Lesson 3  

Unit Title:  Ecological Relationships
Caretaker:  CLL

Unit No   
8D

Lesson Title:  Homing In.

NC Ref: 
Sc2 4b, Sc2 5b, Sc2 5c

Objectives:    

MK -  different plants and animals have features that make them adapted to different habitats, words adapted, environment
SK -  organisms show adaptations to environmental conditions, how to use ICT to measure, record and describe environmental factors, words pooter, reliable data
CK -  organisms are adapted to extreme survival of the species, there are sometimes associations between environmental conditions within a habitat

Lesson outline: Why do different organisms live in different environments?

Starter activity:

Pupils studied adaptations of organisms in Year 7.  Could ask what would happen to the organisms if one or more of their features were changed e.g. - Polar bears should be black, Elephants should not have such big ears, Dolphins should have gills, Amphibians should have a waterproof skin, Cactus plants should have lots of leaves, Bluebells should flower in the autumn.

Main course:
Discuss adaptations of animals.  Discuss adaptations of plants e.g. for reproduction (seed dispersal, pollination etc).  How have humans made use of plant adaptations?   How are humans adapted to their habitat?  Use photos to identify where an organism lives and what adaptations it has for the environment (see background info).

Could play wildlife videos and pause whilst children spot adaptations.

Children to design an imaginary organism to live in s specific habitat (e.g. dry, rocky, little vegetation etc) - 8Dc/4.

Invertebrates.  Revisit invertebrate practical from Year 7De topic - use worksheet  7De/1 - using a pooter.  Use 8Dc/1 to identify organisms and display in the form of a table.  Pupils to form conclusions and spot anomalies (e.g. why more woodlice under stone X rather than Y?), suggest improvement to experiment - e.g. using dataloggers.Could use 8Dc/2 to take a more investigative approach into the habitats of woodlice.

Comparing environmental factors in two habitats.  Datalogging opportunity - may extend into several  lessons.  8Dc/3 Measure environmental conditions in 2 habitats, sample the organisms, estimate population sizes (from previous lesson), use keys to identify organisms etc.  Pupils could produce a report on the 2 environments including photos, graphs of data, how the conditions affect the organisms living there etc. 

Could use KS3 consultants lesson plan

Plenary:

Worksheet 8Dc/7 – pupils are given an answered crossword, and have to write their own clues.
 

Timings:

Homework Suggestion: 
8Dc/4 8Dc/5 8Dc/6

Resources: 

Boardworks, SEN worksheets, 8D starters and plenaries sheets, background info

Lesson 4 

Unit Title:  Ecological Relationships
Caretaker:  CLL

Unit No   
8DSc2 4b, Sc2 5b, Sc2 5c

Lesson Title:  Populations

NC Ref: 
 

Objectives:    

MK -  the distribution of organisms is different in different habitats, how to use different sampling techniques, how to use ICT to measure environmental factors, words community, distribution, predator, prey, population, quadrat
SK -  how to use ICT to measure, record and describe environmental factors, that the abundance and distribution of organisms in a habitat is related to the resources available, word resources
CK -  how to collect reliable data taking into account that some variables cannot be controlled

Lesson outline: Why do populations change in a habitat?

Starter activity:
Carry out habitat connectives exercise on Worksheet 8Dd/7  Pupils can be given five minutes to complete their sentences, and then they can share their ideas with the class.  The obvious answers to most questions involve using ‘because’ as a connective, but more able pupils should be encouraged to use the other connectives if they can.

Some possible answers are given below, although these are not the only valid responses:

1   There are non-living factors in every habitat … such as the temperature or the amount of light / which are called physical environmental factors / which all make up the environment of that habitat

2   Organisms need several things from their habitat … such as food, water, oxygen and shelter / and if they do not get these things they die or move away

3   Organisms are adapted to their habitats … and many organisms in a habitat may have similar adaptations / therefore they do not always survive if the habitat changes

4   Plants and animals can be classified … to make it easier to study them / and this is done by looking at certain features

5   It can be difficult to count the number of organisms in a habitat … so ecologists have to estimate numbers / because there are so many of them / so ecologists use different sampling techniques

Main course:
Plant populations.  Use quadrats to estimate the population of a certain plant on the school field.  Use 8Dd/1 or 8Dd/2 8Dd/3.  Emphasise random sampling.  Could measure environmental factors at centre of each quadrat and relate to the plants found.

Classroom quadrats.  Use worksheets   8Dd/2 and 8Dd/3 and plastic acetate squares to do classroom sampling.  Use 8Dd/1 to help less able students with calculations.

Fieldwork.  Compare the environmental conditions and communities living in 2 different habitats.  Pupils to identify and sample organisms, estimate population sizes and investigate the distribution within a habitat.  Env. conditions can be investigated using dataloggers.  When writing reports, pupils could include photos, graphs of data, associations between conditions and how organisms are influenced by these factors, spreadsheets.  Could use as display work.   Comparisons could be a pond and a stream, two soil habitats, woodland shrub area and leaf litter, rocky and sandy shores, "wild" areas of the school field and mowed grass.

The children could watch any relevant wildlife videos e.g. Trials of Life, Blue Planet etc.  There is also a DVD with clips from top wildlife programmes.  Could read fiction e.g. Watership Down.

Plenary:

Allow pupils five minutes to note down their ideas to explain the reasons for the following observations before reporting back to the rest of the class, 1) The population of aphids in a garden decreases, 2) There are no frogs in a pond, 3) The population of squirrels in a wood increases, 4) There are no plants under the trees in a wood.
 

Timings:

Homework Suggestion: 
 8Dd/1 8Dd/2  8Dd/3 8Dd/4 8Dd/5 8Dd/6

Resources: 
Boardworks, SEN worksheets, 8D starters and plenaries sheets, background info

Worksheets:
8Dd/1 8Dd/2 8Dd/3 8Dd/4 8Dd/5 8Dd/6

Lesson 5 

Unit Title:  Ecological Relationships
Caretaker:  CLL

Unit No   
8D

Lesson Title:  Webs and Living pyramids

NC Ref: 
Sc2 3, Sc2 5a, Sc2 5b, Sc2 5d, Sc2 5e

Objectives:    

MK -  feeding relationships can be shown by food chains and webs, the energy in a food chain comes from the Sun, words producer, consumer, predator, prey, top predator, food chain, food web.
SK -  arrows in a food chain represents the flow of energy, organisms, compete, consumers can be primary, secondary or tertiary, how energy is lost in a food chain, pyramid of numbers, changes in a population have affect those in another, words primary consumer, secondary consumer, tertiary consumer, pyramid of numbers, competition
CK -  pyramids of biomass, trophic levels, how pesticides can disrupt food chains, other compounds e.g. vitamins that are passed along food chain, how organisms depend on each other, extinction, words pyramid of biomass, trophic level, interdependance, extinct, endnagered, pesticide, toxic.

Lesson outline: How do changes in a food web affect populations?  What are pyramids of numbers?  How do people damage food webs?  What causes extinction and how can we stop it?

Starter activity:
 

Worksheet 8De/6 to revise food chains and food webs.  Answers: A    True, B     True, B does not explain A, C    False - herbivores and carnivores are consumers, D    True, D explains corrected C, E     True, F     False – a predator is an animal that eats other animals.  Corrected F explains E, G    True, H    False – most animals eat more than one type of plant or animal.  Corrected H explains G.

Main course:
Recap food chains - starts with a producer, key terms of herbivore, carnivore and identifying them etc - Boardworks is good for this.  Build into food webs - organisms can have more than 1 label - e.g. can be a herbivore and a, primary consumer etc.  Can use energy in foodchains and webs worksheet and picture cards

Children could draw up chains and webs from their own fieldwork.  8De/1

Give children A4 sheet with a name (e.g. lettuce, rabbit, fox) on it and others arrow and ask them to stand in a food chain.

Children should be able to describe how a change in the population of an organism can have a knock on effect within the foodchain or web.

Introduce pyramids of number 8De/2 - again could use their fieldwork data to do this - pupils to be able to draw a pyramid of number from a food chain.  Introduce odd looking pyramids of numbers (e.g. oak tree, greenfly, bluetit, eagle, fleas).

Could discuss pyramids of biomass 8De/5 and that energy is lost in foodchains (see background info) and how and why pesticides such as DDT become more concentrated as they pass up the food chain.

Could draw predator-prey graph - CAT a good "cut and stick" activity or use 8De/3.

Discuss how orgamisms compete with each other.  Discuss how humans depend on others for their survival - 8De/4.

Introduce interdependance.

Could give the students an imaginary case study where the habitat us changed and they have to suggest what the effects would be on the organisms, food webs etc.

This may extend into 2 lessons

Plenary:

Worksheet 8De/7 -  loop activity to summarise the Unit and start revision.

Answers:

Timings:

Homework Suggestion: 
8De/1 8De/2 8De/3 8De/4 8De/5.  Revise for test.

Resources: 
Boardworks, SEN worksheets, 8D starters and plenaries sheets, background info Biology Dept have good food chains cards and other resources.  word sheet, target sheet, quick quiz, end of unit test, mark scheme

Lesson 6

Unit Title:  Ecological Relationships
Caretaker:  CLL

Unit No   
8D

Lesson Title: 

NC Ref: 
 

Objectives:    

MK - 
SK - 
CK - 

Lesson outline: 

Starter activity:
 

Main course:
 

Plenary:
 

Timings:

Homework Suggestion: 
 

Resources: 
Boardworks, SEN worksheets, 8D starters and plenaries sheets, background info

Lesson 7 

Unit Title:  Ecological Relationships
Caretaker:  CLL

Unit No   
8D

Lesson Title: 

NC Ref: 
 

Objectives:    

MK - 
SK - 
CK - 

Lesson outline: 

Starter activity:
 

Main course:
 

Plenary:
 

Timings:

Homework Suggestion: 
 

Resources: 
Boardworks, SEN worksheets, 8D starters and plenaries sheets, background info

Lesson 8 

Unit Title:  Ecological Relationships
Caretaker:  CLL

Unit No   
8D

Lesson Title: 

NC Ref: 
 

Objectives:    

MK - 
SK - 
CK - 

Lesson outline: 

Starter activity:
 

Main course:
 

Plenary:
 

Timings:

Homework Suggestion: 
 

Resources: 
Boardworks, SEN worksheets, 8D starters and plenaries sheets, background info, word sheet, target sheet, quick quiz, end of unit test, mark scheme