Independent Site Visits 9th Grade:

Independent Site Visits 9^th Grade:

American Museum of Natural History, Exhibit: The Hall of Biodiversity.

Lesson Plan Title: Interdependence of living organisms.

Grade Level: Biology, 9th grade (regents), high school.

Learning Standard(s): New York State: Describe the interdependency of organisms on each other and their environment. Identify and describe ecological levels of organization in the living world.

New Standards Performance Standards: Use evidence from reliable sources to develop descriptions, explanations, and models. Acquire information from multiple sources. Identify and describe the components that form and maintain an ecosystem.

Time Requirements: Prep time: two weeks prior to attending the museum Time at the museum: three hours.

Topics covered by this lesson: This lesson will cover the following topics on the interdependency of organisms: 1. Interdependency of organisms 2. Biodiversity 3. Ecosystems 4. Biome

Previsit:(what we would have covered prior to going to the exhibit)

Purpose Prior to organizing the trip to the museum we will discuss and define various concepts that will be helpful to students to refer back to when they construct miniature ecosystems. They will eventually have to chose organisms, for their ecosystem, that will need each other to survive. Students will be instructed to research the answers to the following questions: Which organisms coexist in the ecosystem you have chosen? Explain what role three organisms play within the particular ecosystem? Are there any threats to the life forms within the particular ecosystem? List any way that you have been informed of or can think of to protect a threatened ecosystem.

Objective To have students use the concepts we have identified and defined and observe evidence gathered within the museum.

Materials Writing instruments, their journal and the list of questions they will be answering while in the exhibit.

Learning Prerequisites Basic understanding of vocabulary discussed. Students will be expected to develop their own eco-column once they have done the necessary research and become familiar with various ecosystem.

Visit: While at the museum students will be separated into groups. Students will be required to observe models of various ecosystems and biomes. They will also record data presented along with the model replicas and video data. Students will be given one hour and thirty minutes to collect necessary data.

Post visit: Students will work on their presentations and eco-columns. Students will eventually present information gathered along with their own miniature ecosystem. Students will be assessed on their presentation skills, the model design, and written information. As a class students we will discuss various aspects of interdependency among organisms and their environment . Identify and describe ecological levels of organization in the living world.

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