Life
and Death of a Barrier Island
- On-site Activities/Interpreter Led
Grade
Level: 7
Content Area: Science
Time
to Complete: 2 hours
Title of Lesson: Life and Death of a Barrier Islands
Maximum Number of Students: 30
South Carolina State Standards Addressed:
|
I.A.1.a.1. |
Observe patterns of objects and events. |
|
I.A.1.a.2. |
Use scientific (field guides, charts, periodic tables,
etc.) and dichotomous keys for classification. |
|
I.A.7.a. |
Use drawings, written and oral expression to communicate
information. |
|
I.A.7.b. |
Create drawings, diagrams, charts, tables and graphs
to
communicate data. |
|
I.A.7.c. |
Interpret and describe patterns of data on drawings,
diagrams, tables, graphs and maps. |
|
II.A.1.d.
|
Distinguish between habitats and niches. |
|
II.A.2.a.
|
Analyze the role of producers, consumers and decomposers
in an ecosystem. |
|
II.A.2.b. |
Identify kinds of relationships organisms have with
each other (predator/prey, competition.) |
Lesson Description:
Students will apply and better understand biological elements
and changes learned in the classroom by visiting Hunting Island
State Park. This lesson focuses on identifying, categorizing
and hypothesizing about plant and wildlife habitats.
Focus Questions For Students:
| 1. |
What are the four habitats of a barrier
island? |
| 2. |
What are the characteristics of these
habitats (i.e. wind, salt, sun, etc.)? |
| 3. |
How do different plants and animals
adapt to the conditions of these habitats? |
| 4. |
What are some examples of ecological
relationships in each of the habitats? (i.e. predator/prey,
competition, symbiosis). |
Material/Equipment/Resources:
| Provided by teacher: |
| copies of
Dichotomous Key and Quadrat Worksheets |
| list of
groups (Teachers: please divide students into groups before arriving
at Hunting Island.) |
| Provided
on site: |
| screens |
| sampling
tools |
Procedures:
|
1. |
During the Quadrat
Examination students will be guided to their areas to gather
information and will review and discuss biological and physical
elements and changes of a Barrier Island. |
|
2. |
Students
will begin identifying, keying out and categorizing plants and
wildlife. |
|
3. |
Once students have accumulated their
data and information they will return to their classroom groups
to share quadrat data and erosion data so that each student
will have a complete list of species found in each quadrat
area. |
|
4. |
Students
will gather as a group before returning to their school to discuss
the discoveries of the various groups. |
| |
The goal of the visit is to examine the primary concepts of
succession and erosion with the concepts of habitat, adaptations,
food web, predator/prey relationships, producers, consumers
and decomposers serving as the puzzle pieces that bring Barrier
Island Ecology together. This is an opportunity to have students
contribute examples, begin making connections about overlapping
species and to ask any questions that were left unanswered. |
|
