At the 2015 Winter Teacher’s Workshop, elementary teachers continued to focus on ecology. Teachers were fortunate to work with researcher and professor in the department of integrative biology, Mark Novak. A seven lesson unit focused around streams and macroinvertebrates was shared during this session. Novak provided an overview presentation that can help with understanding the concepts included in these lessons.
Build-a-Bug allows students work in pairs to create macroinvertebrates with adaptations that would allow them to survive in a habitat. This supplemental PowerPoint gives students the necessary background information for this lesson plan.
Home, Home, in a Stream is an activity in which students create mock streams containing the same habitats that they built their bugs for.
In the activity Macro Feeding Frenzie (along with this PowerPoint) students use various tools to collect a variety of ‘food’, which models the different feeding styles and the accompanying adaptations.
Macro Mayhem allows students to play an exciting game to help them understand how pollution impacts the biodiversity of macroinvertebrates found in a stream ecosystem.
In Biodiversity in a Leaf Pack, students create micro-habitats that will attract macroinvertebrates and place them local streams to collect organisms.
With the activity Analyzing a Leaf Pack, students collect leaf packs and analyze their findings.
Hungry, Hungry Macros allows students to use the macros collected from leaf packs and perform an experiment to determine whether shredders or grazers will eat more leaf material.
During the Winter Teacher’s Workshop, SMILE Elementary Club teachers were introduced to lessons and content around the topics of coral reefs and ocean acidification.
In the first lesson on coral reefs, Coral Reef Diversity, students are introduced to coral reef ecosystems, the importance of coral, and adaptations coral has made to live in a unique habitat. In the second, Coral Skeletons, students learn how coral shells are formed and the impact of climate change has had on coral reef ecosystems worldwide. In the final lesson, Thermal Expansion, students learn about how warming waters affect the ocean ecosystem.
This presentation on coral reefs was shared by PhD Student Katherine Dziedzic from the Department of Integrative Biology.
In the first lesson on ocean acidification, Whale Jenga, students learn about how changes in the food web might impact the ocean ecosystem. In the second, Lego Shell Building, students are to explore how ocean acidification may make it harder for corals to grow shells. In the third lesson, Marine Osteoporosis, students learn about the effects of acidic oceans on certain marine organisms and the causes of ocean acidification. In the fourth lesson, Ocean Acidification Car Activity, students find out how the burning of fossil fuels in automobiles can introduce CO2 to seawater causing acidification. In the final lesson, Ocean Acidification Demo the students observe first hand CO2 being absorbed into water.
The following presentations on ocean acidification were shared by the Olympic Coast Marine Sanctuary as part of the workshop ocean acidification:
This activity was provided by high school club leader Ken Dicky. It adds to the sampling concepts taught in the halibut unit with a sample-to-population-inference activity. It is a chance to do some basic math (statistics) and eat food at a club meeting! Along with the activity worksheet you will find teacher notes with specifics on leading it during a club meeting. Ken says: “It was fun, valuable, and took about 1 hour”.
Sample to Population Inference Activity
Teacher Notes
This post contains the Ocean Fisheries activities that were presented at our Summer Teacher’s Workshop in August. Learning about fisheries can help students understand how all organisms have an essential role in an ocean ecosystem. The following activities highlight the affects that fishing can have on the ocean ecosystem and the important role that fishers, biologists, managers, and other stakeholders play in helping to protect the ocean.
Halibut: Flat or Fiction? Pacific Halibut and the Ocean Ecosystem
This unit of curriculum focuses on the Pacific halibut fishery. There are four lessons and each one builds off of the last. Students are able to take on various roles and perspectives of ocean organisms, fishers, biologists, and managers. Students make tough decisions about the ocean ecosystem and recognize the difficulties that managers face in maintaining a balanced ecosystem.
Rockfish Barotrauma Presentation by Lynn Mattes of Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
You’re Excluded!
This is activity was developed by Oregon Sea Grant and explores the changes in the trawl industry technology. Students identify ways that changes in technology can positively and negatively affect fish populations and use problem solving skills to engineer their own fish excluder device.
Introduction to Fishing Fleet Presentation by Kaety Hildenbrand of Oregon Sea Grant
