Martin Luther King High School 1

Biology / Enviro Science - Bader

Course:
Teacher:
Env. Sci. /
Lina Bader
Biology
Unit 2:
Academic Objective:
Ecological
SWBAT Describe ecological levels of
Organization organization in the biosphere.
A. Describe the levels of ecological
organization (i.e. organism,
population, community,
ecosystem, biome and biosphere)
B. Describe characteristic biotic and
abiotic components of aquatic and
terrestrial ecosystems.

Date:
Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Working vocabulary:
Organism
Population
Community
Ecosystem
Biome
Biosphere
Abiotic
Biotic
Aquatic Ecosystem
Terrestrial Ecosystem

Biology Keystone Alignment:

BIO.B.4.1.1, BIO.B.4.1.2
Assessment: (will build toward this advanced level in tomorrows lesson)

Classroom
Culture
Component
Catalyst (7
min.)

Character Objective:
SWBAT maintain individual responsibilities (jobs) toward a greater group/team score.
Teams will be assigned as will jobs through a rotation.
On projector:
Directions: Complete the following prompts you should be writing for the full 7
minutes. Complete at least number one I challenge you to get through #2 & #3 as
well (intermediate and advanced)!

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Biology / Enviro Science - Bader
1. Basic: Discuss a time either at school, at work, or at home, when you were
given a job to complete. Why was it important for you to complete your job?
Who was counting on you to complete it?
2. Intermediate (if you finish #1): Why do we need people to do jobs in our
communities?
3. Advanced (if you finish #1 & #2): Think of some important jobs that people do
in your community. What do you think would happen if people did not do those
jobs?
Share Out /
Discuss
(3 5 min.
max)
INM:
Character
(10 min)

Explain instruction that I will take volunteers. We will follow the norm of one voice.
To make this easier, the person who I give Mr. Red Blood Cell to will be able to speak
no one else will. Raise your hand if you want to share out your responses.

Hook:
Ecology
(Verbal segue
+ video of
snake eating
gator 5
min)
INM:
Ecological
organization

Explain that ecology is the study of relationships between living things in nature. How
do organisms interact with other organisms? How about with non-living things? Here
is an example to illustrate who would win in a fight? An alligator or a python (show
still photos of each organism on projector, some stats on size/etc).

Assignment of Teams & Jobs

(Refer to excel sheet for assignments) jobs are as follows (on poster):
1. Materials Manager get non-paper materials for group (stuff for labs, marker
boards, markers, chart paper for group work)
2. Human Resources (HR) Manager: take attendance for your team and hand
sheet in to Ms. Bader if there are absences on your team, you are in charge of
delegating their job to yourself and other members.
3. Secretary you are in charge of making sure team members have all paper
materials for class (get worksheets, note taking sheets, folders, and notebooks)
4. Task Manager you are in charge of making sure the members of your team
are on task; if members of your team are having side conversations / not doing
the work, re-direct them. Keep a list of non-cooperative team members and
hand them in at the end of class.
5. Recorder for group work, you are in charge of writing during activities; for
labs, you are in charge of recording data. You do not take notes for people and
you do not do each others work though! Each team member is still responsible
for handing in his/her own individual work.
6. Speaker For group work, you are in charge of being the speaker
representative for your group. When I ask for answers, I will ask for the teams
response you will be in charge of sharing for the group. If anyone on your
group has a question, you are responsible for raising your hand to ask the
question on behalf of your group.

Hook kids on learning about animals and ecosystems https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=dVRhRzE_AkQ
1. Use graphic organizer to show levels of ecology.
2. Use photographs to demonstrate examples of each level.
3. Relate ecological organization to different types of ecosystems (vocabulary

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Biology / Enviro Science - Bader
pyramid (10
min)

build-on: aquatic, terrestrial ecosystems).

Cfu:
Ecological
organization
(5 min)

Have students draw ecological organization pyramid in teams on chart paper (materials
coordinator should get markers, secretary should get paper, recorder should write, task
manager makes sure all of this gets done, speaker presents to class). Have instructions
for jobs and for task clearly written on PowerPoint slide.
Exemplar response:

Formal
Assessment:
(10 min with

Have students do matching worksheet (vocab + components of ecosystems).

Emphasize timed component 6 minutes to do 10 questions. Work urgently!

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Biology / Enviro Science - Bader
instruction
overview +
reminder of
jobs)
Brain Break
(2 min)

Have secretaries hand in worksheets at end of six minutes.

Have task managers keep time for their teams and make sure their team mates are
doing the work.
Allow students to take a two minute long brain break.
Rules:
Stay at your station.
You may stand up and stretch, but may not leave your designated seat.
Two minutes timed by task managers.
If you are late back from your brain break / to get started, the whole team gets docked
on their paycheck $1 / 30 seconds late.

Hook:
Biotic v.
Abiotic
components
of an
Ecosystem (7
min with
instruction)
INM: Biotic
v. Abiotic
(5 - 7
minutes)

Have resource manager get packet of index cards with photos glued on.
Give students 60 seconds to organize photos into two categories and to name those two
categories.
Have scribe come up and share their results with the class on the board (write on board
the name of their categories and tape the items they put in them).
Discuss what the students have organized then get back to PPT and start next INM
(biotic v. abiotic)
You guys did a good job of dividing things into living and non-living. Lets expand our
vocabulary because we are scholars.
Biotic and Abiotic
Lets break it down into root words.
Bio = LIFE
A = Anti / Against
So what does biotic mean? Abiotic?

INM: Biotic
and Abiotic
Interactions
in
Ecosystems
(10 min)

Define biotic and abiotic. Give examples. Re-visit lists the class made and discuss how
abiotic and biotic components of ecosystems can be found everywhere.
Why care about biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems? They interact with
each other. Living things depend on non-living things. Biotic components depend on
abiotic components to survive. Every ecosystem has its own unique set of biotic and
abiotic components.
Give examples of biotic-abiotic interactions:
1) humans depend on having clean air and water

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Biology / Enviro Science - Bader
2) fish depends on water being a certain temperature
Ask for examples of biotic abiotic interactions they see in their ecosystems.

Cfu:
Identify the
biotic and
abiotic
components
(use
markerboar
ds)

Have students quick ID the biotic and abiotic components they see in the following
picture using their marker-boards:

(60 seconds)

Rapid
Review
(5 minutes)

We study ecology so that we can understand how biotic and abiotic components
interact within our biosphere.
The biosphere is broken up into different small components we can think of it as a
pyramid of organization with the largest being the biosphere (at the bottom) and the
smallest being the individual organism.
Why should we care? Understanding the ecosystem and how living organisms interact
can solve big problems: for example, there are certain bacteria that are capable of
producing their own energy. Scientists are now working on using these bacteria as a
source of energy for cars, buildings, etc.
Understanding how microorganisms work has helped us advance medicine vaccines
are actually weakened forms of bacteria or viruses that help prepare our bodies for a
real attack from deadly bacteria and viruses (use tetanus, flu, ebola and MRSA as
examples).
Video on biofuels: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4D8EqEOXFS8 (really cool!)

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Biology / Enviro Science - Bader
Exit-slip /
clean-up (10
minutes)

1. True or False: Ecology is the study of the relationships between organisms and
their environment.
2. True or False: Individual organisms of the same species make up a community.
3. True or False: In this classroom, all of the human students are considered a
population of students.
4. A student wants to observe how changes in the water temperature of a local
stream affect the fish living in the stream. Which of the following levels of
organization would be most appropriate for this study?
a. Individual
b. Biosphere
c. Ecosystem
d. Community
5. All of the following are examples of biotic components of an ecosystem
EXCEPT:
a. Moss (this is the fuzzy green stuff you see growing on a tree trunk or on a
stone /cinder block that hasnt been moved around a lot it usually grows in
damp places)
b. Gravel / stones
c. Bacteria
d. Humans
6. Which of the following is a bioticbiotic interaction (an interaction between
two biotic components)?
a. A snake warming itself on a sunny rock
b. A rainstorm washing nutrients from the soil
c. A human shivering because of cold weather
d. A squirrel gathering acorns from an oak tree
7. Which of the following is an example of an abioticbiotic interaction (an
interaction between a biotic component and an abiotic component)?
a. A snake eating an alligator
b. A rainstorm washing nutrients from the soil
c. A human shivering because of cold weather
d. A squirrel gathering acorns from an oak tree
8. A sunflower uses sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to make food through
photosynthesis. Is this an example of a bioticbiotic, abioticbiotic, or
abioticabiotic interaction? Explain your reasoning.

Homework

1. Fill out the following chart listing 10 biotic and 10 abiotic components of the
Germantown / Mt. Airy Ecosystem.
Biotic Components
Abiotic Components
1.
1.
2.
2.
3.
3.
4.
4.
5.
5.
6.
6.
7.
7.

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Biology / Enviro Science - Bader
8.
9.
10.

8.
9.
10.

2. Describe one biotic-biotic interaction that you observe. Draw a picture in the
space below.
3. Describe one abiotic-biotic interaction that you observe. Draw a picture in
the space below.
4. Describe one abiotic-abiotic interaction that you observe. Draw a picture in
the space below.
Homework part 2 / extra credit: bring in a clear plastic water jug or 2 Liter soda
bottle we will be doing an experiment with designing our own ecosystems.

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Biology / Enviro Science - Bader
Lesson Plan Rationale:
1. Description of Context
The classroom culture component of this lesson plan is designed to work with a
challenging classroom layout and student population. Over half of my students have IEPs that
recognize special education needs. One hundred percent of my students are economically
disadvantaged and receive free lunch. Zero out of over one hundred students received a
proficient let alone an advanced mark on the Algebra I or Reading Keystone Assessment
(eight received scores of basic while every other student received below basic marks). For
many of my students, this year marks the first that they have had 5-days-a-week science-class
(since it is the first year they will have to pass a science-based Keystone Exam). Prior to this,
students only had science class once per week for a forty-five-minute block.
Martin Luther King High is part of the SDP Turnaround Network and is deemed a
Promise Academy and comprehensive high school despite administrators in the building
acknowledging that the school should be a neighborhood school since we do not offer
everything that a comprehensive high school should (anonymous source). There are zero
functional laboratory spaces in the school, limited access to technology in the classroom, and the
classroom space itself can be described as jail-like. Bars cover windows. Doors are kept locked
at all times. Cabinets are falling apart. Rainy days yield leaky, collapsing ceiling tiles. A mouse
that can be heard, but never seen, scurries about a labyrinth of unusable cabinetry. An
overwhelming sense of negativity amongst students results in a lack of any sense of respect for
the space or anyone in it. Every forty-five minutes, a threatening hall sweep announcement is
made over the 70s-era intercom: students who are wandering the halls during the sweeps are
corralled and subsequently suspended. If an adult approaches a student even just to greet him or

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Biology / Enviro Science - Bader
her, chances are the student will respond with a defensive What did I do? A recent publication
that ranks all of the schools in Philadelphia gives the school a mere one out of ten star ratinga
ranking I was unaware of until I learned about it from my kids as an excuse for their not wanting
to comply with completing their exit slips.
2. Lesson Plan Connections to Classroom Context:
a. Developing a sense of intrinsic motivation:
Intrinsic motivation is something I wish my students had. I think one of the biggest
mistakes I made going into the school year was to assume that intrinsic motivation
which seems second nature to mewas something that most students had by virtue of
being in school. I was wrong. So I struggled. Developing a paycheck / extrinsic
motivation system, I realized, has to precede any sort of intrinsic motivation with a lot
of the kids I serve whose families live paycheck-to-paycheck. The idea of working
for some sort of tangible output is something one hundred percent of my students can
relate to and is something that is reality for them. Intangible goal-setting is not
something that most of these kids have ever had exposure to, so how could I expect
them to follow through on that expectation? My hope is that as relationships are built
with students, what starts as extrinsic motivation develops into one that is intrinsic for
85% of the class. Furthermore, a rewards system built around teamwork fosters
collaboration, positivity, and gives students a reason to celebrate themselves and each
other.
b. Working with students with limited exposure to science and special education needs:
As far as the biology-related content, I designed the lesson to be largely visuallybased to provide a framework for the large special education population.
Furthermore, the notion that science is just a way of explaining concepts they
probably already know or are familiar with (for example, building on the idea of

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Biology / Enviro Science - Bader
living v. nonliving into biotic v. abiotic) is one tactic that I rely on to avoid students
becoming overwhelmed by the technical-nature of science that draws students with
poor marks in school away from the subject. Use of a graphic organizer gives
students the opportunity to demonstrate understanding of the concepts in a way that is
not standardized-test-like nor writing-intensive (again, a modification that allows for
assessment of special education students). Furthermore, it provides an exemplar of a
study techniqueand for those who aspire to attend college, study skills are
something that most of my students have had zero exposure to in their educational
experiences so far.