Independent
Site Visits 8th Grade:
Brooklyn Botanical Garden
Diverse microscopic communities
Grade: 8th grade Life Science
Time: Three class periods
and several hours preparation.
Learning Standards: MST
Standard 1, Standard 6
Topics covered by this lesson:
Pond ecology.
Parts and function of a compound and stereomicroscopes.
Staining and wet mount techniques.
Slide preparation.
Diversity of plant.
The reproductive and vegetative parts of plants.
Function of the vascular tissue, and structures involved in photosynthesis.
Pre-Visit
Purpose: To visit the Botanical
Garden and collects samples from their pond. By sampling the pond the student will
realize that there exist a diverse microscopic community that is as important
to the health of the ecosystem as
the large tree and other large animal that live in and around the pond. They
should make a note of the date, the weather and the temperature. The Garden
can be used to acquaint students with the great variety of plants and
with some of the features, which serve to distinguished them from one another.
Objective:
Try to distinguished nonliving
material from organism and parts and products of organism.
Use the microscope to observe some of the wide variety of life forms that
live in a pond.
Study and try to identify organisms collected from different region of a pond.
Learning Prerequisites:
Student should be familiar with how to use the microscope and to create wet
mounts and the various staining techniques. They should also be thought how
to use the scoring cards.
Visit: Students will arrive
at the garden with sampling containers labeled: surface, edge, and bottom.
They will proceed to collect samples from the top of the pond, at the edge
of the pond and at the bottom of the pond.
Student will make note of the note of the environment in which the sample
was taken i.e. the presence or absence of trees, bugs and other living and
not living factors. Using the scorecard and score chart to compare and contrast
two or more kinds of plants regardless of their size or complexity. Record
data on the handout provided.
Post visit:
Look at the sample of pond water that was collect from the three location. Draw the specimens that were present.
With the help of a reference source try to identify that organism that you
drew. Compare four or five of the different kind of plants using the scorecard.
Arrange these plants in order from the lowest scores to the highest. Record
the observations about the characteristics of the low scoring and high scoring
plants. Record some of major difference and similarities among plants
Possible
questions:
1) Why are some organisms only
found on the top, edge or bottom of the pond?
2) If plant developed from simpler, fewer, and older species, would plant show
a greater diversity over time?
Material: Microscopes,
culture dishes pipettes, small tissues, cover slips, hand lens, paper towels,
and microorganism stain. Key showing the types of organism that might be found
in pond water.
MSTEP
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