Understanding Ecosystems: Interactions & Energy for Special Education Educators, Summaries of Designs and Groups

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Science

Module 2

Life Science: Energy Flow

Module Goal

The goal of this module is to provide information that will help educators increase their knowledge of grade-appropriate science concepts, knowledge, and skills to support effective planning or modification of their existing science instructional units for students with significant cognitive disabilities. The module includes important concepts, knowledge, and skills for the following instruction:

 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics (elementary)—Organisms have interconnected roles to meet needs (i.e., producers, consumers, decomposers); plants produce food (i.e., sugar) to grow through the process of photosynthesis; consumers get their food from plants or other consumers who eat plants. A healthy ecosystem is one in which multiple species of different types are each able to meet their needs in a relatively stable web of life.

 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics (middle)—Ecosystems include competitive, symbiotic, and predatory interactions; energy transfers through organisms in an ecosystem and can be modeled by a food web or energy pyramid. The atoms that make up the organisms in an ecosystem are cycled repeatedly between the living and nonliving parts of the ecosystem.

 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes (middle)—Matter, including carbon and oxygen, cycles through an ecosystem and can be represented by models. Plant growth can continue throughout the plant’s life through production of plant matter in photosynthesis.

 Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits (middle)—Mitosis and meiosis are two ways in which cells reproduce in humans and animals. When organisms reproduce, genetic information is transferred to their offspring, with half coming from each parent in sexual reproduction.

Module Objectives

The content module supports educators’ planning and implementation of instructional units in science by:

 Developing an understanding of the concepts and vocabulary that interconnect with information in the module units.

 Learning instructional strategies that support teaching students the concepts, knowledge, and skills related to the module units.

 Discovering ways to transfer and generalize the content, knowledge, and skills to future school, community, and work environments.

The module provides an overview of the science concepts, content, and vocabulary related to Life Science: Energy Flow and provides suggested teaching strategies and ways to support transference and generalization of the concepts, knowledge, and skills. The module does not include lesson plans and is not a comprehensive instructional unit. Rather, the module provides information for educators to use when developing instructional units and lesson plans.

The module organizes the information using the following sections:

I. Tennessee Academic Standards for Science and Related Knowledge and Skills Statements and Underlying Concepts; II. Scientific Inquiry and Engineering Design; III. Crosscutting Concepts; IV. Vocabulary and Background Knowledge information, including ideas to teach vocabulary; V. Overview of Units’ Content;

Table 1. Tennessee Academic Standards for Science and Related KSSs and UCs 1

Academic Standards Knowledge and Skills Statements (KSSs)

Underlying Concepts (UCs)

Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics (elementary)

4.LS2.1: Support an argument with evidence that plants get the materials they need for growth and reproduction chiefly through a process in which they use carbon dioxide from the air, water, and energy from the sun to produce sugars, plant materials, and waste (oxygen); and that this process is called photosynthesis.

4.LS2.1.a: Ability to recognize that plants produce materials they need for growth through photosynthesis

4.LS2.1.UC: Identify the materials plants need for survival (i.e., sunlight, clean air, and water).

4.LS2.3: Using information about the roles of organisms (producers, consumers, decomposers), evaluate how those roles in food chains are interconnected in a food web, and communicate how the organisms are continuously able to meet their needs in a stable food web.

4.LS2.3.a: Ability to identify an example of interconnectedness among plants and animals in their environment (e.g., animals that consume other animals) 4.LS2.3.b: Ability to identify that a healthy ecosystem is one in which multiple types of organisms are each able to meet their needs

4.LS2.3.UC: Identify roles of producers, consumers, or decomposers (e.g., dead plants and animals are broken down by decomposers).

Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics (middle) 6.LS2.2: Determine the impact of competitive, symbiotic, and predatory interactions in an ecosystem.

6.LS2.2.a: Ability to use a model of interactions between organisms in an ecosystem to identify a predatory relationship 6.LS2.2.b: Ability to use a model of interactions between organisms in an ecosystem to identify a competitive relationship 6.LS2.2.c: Ability to use a model of interactions between organisms in an ecosystem to identify a symbiotic relationship

6.LS2.2.UC: Identify the predator or the prey in a predation model.

6.LS2.3: Draw conclusions about the transfer of energy through a food web and energy pyramid in an ecosystem.

6.LS2.3.a: Ability to demonstrate an understanding of energy transfer between producers and consumers in an ecosystem using a model (i.e., food web or energy pyramid)

6.LS2.3.UC: Recognize that when people or animals eat plants they are taking energy into their bodies.

7.LS2.1: Develop a model to depict the cycling of matter, including carbon and oxygen, including the flow of energy

7.LS2.1.a: Ability to identify relevant components in a simple model of matter being continually recycled in an ecosystem (i.e., carbon/oxygen cycle)

7.LS2.1.UC: Identify relevant components in a simple model of matter transfer (i.e., organisms are decomposed after death to

Academic Standards Knowledge and Skills Statements (KSSs)

Underlying Concepts (UCs)

among biotic and abiotic parts of an ecosystem.

7.LS2.1.b: Ability to identify relevant components in a simple model of the flow of energy among parts of an ecosystem (e.g., energy passes from organism to organism through food webs)

return food materials to the ecosystem).

From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes (middle) 7.LS1.9: Construct a scientific explanation based on compiled evidence for the processes of photosynthesis, cellular respiration, and anaerobic respiration in the cycling of matter and flow of energy into and out of organisms.

7.LS1.9.a: Ability to identify a model illustrating the cycle of matter among the processes of photosynthesis and respiration (e.g., animals breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide, while plants do the opposite) 7.LS1.9.b: Ability to recognize a model of the flow of matter or energy in aerobic and anaerobic conditions

7.LS1.9.UC: Recognize that living organisms require both energy and carbon for growth.

Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits (middle) 7.LS3.2: Distinguish between mitosis and meiosis and compare the resulting daughter cells.

7.LS3.2.a: Ability to use a model to identify that mitosis produces two genetically identical daughter cells from one parent cell 7.LS3.2.b: Ability to identify that meiosis results in four daughter cells, each with half the number of chromosomes as the parent cell 7.LS3.2.c: Ability to recognize that two sex cells combine to form a new organism that is genetically unique from the parent

7.LS3.2.UC: Recognize that plants and animals grow as a result of cells dividing to form new cells.

(^1) Instruction is not intended to be limited to the concepts, knowledge, and skills represented by the KSSs and UCs

listed in Table 1.

size. Use mathematical representations of phenomena, students identify relevant components, including population changes, number of trophic levels supported by an ecosystem, and the energy available for top level consumers compared to organisms at lower levels.

 Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering). Examples: Explain the results of an investigation on the needs of plants to grow. Explain what happens to plants in soil that has been flooded (oversaturated) with water. Explain, using a model, how matter in an ecosystem is repeatedly recycled between organisms, and between organisms and the physical environment. Identify elements of the model that need to be improved. Develop possible solutions to problems caused when changes in an ecosystem affect resources (food, energy, and medicine). Compare the approaches/merits of multiple proposed solutions for design solutions for maintaining biodiversity.

 Engaging in argument from evidence. Example: Use empirical evidence to construct, critique, and defend scientific arguments. Evaluate empirical evidence supporting arguments about changes to ecosystems. Assess possible side effects of a given design solution on various aspects of an ecosystem (i.e., the possibility that a small change in one component of an ecosystem can produce a large change in another component of the ecosystem).

 Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information. Examples: Communicate the idea that energy flows through an ecosystem. Gather information on a local predator-prey relationship from multiple sources and summarize for a presentation. Students gather and use information to identify and describe how organisms are able to meet their needs in a stable food web. Students engage in a portion of the engineering design process in order to investigate the merit of solutions to problems caused when the environment changes.

Science Practices Resources^2

 Safety in the Elementary Science Classroom provides safety information for teachers and students. https://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/about/governance/committees/chemicalsafety/safetypr actices/safety-in-the-elementary-school-science-classroom.pdf

 This site categorizes inquiry into three types: structured inquiry, guided inquiry, and open inquiry. Each type provides a wide range of example lessons grouped by elementary and middle school. http://www.justsciencenow.com/inquiry/

 These are a variety of sites that provide models or directions to build models.

o http://seplessons.ucsf.edu/node/ o https://sciencing.com/science-projects-food-chain-7992636.html

o https://www.education.com/science-fair/article/food-chains/ o http://www.cpalms.org/Public/PreviewResourceLesson/Preview/

o http://www.scienceprofonline.com/genetics/classroom-demonstration-meiosis-with- photos.html

 Education.com provides a variety of life science activities and experiments. http://www.education.com/activity/life-science/

Section III

Crosscutting Concepts

Grade-level science content includes Crosscutting Concepts, which are concepts that connect information between different science strands and grade levels. The Crosscutting Concepts are intended to work together with the science inquiry and engineering practices, in addition to core content, to enable students to reason with evidence, make sense of phenomena, and design solutions to problems. Helping students make connections between these types of concepts and new content information supports comprehension of the concepts, knowledge, and skills as well as transference and generalization (see Section VII for more information). Crosscutting Concepts that are specific to this module connect to content across the units within the module as well as across modules.

Crosscutting Concepts are a common link between multiple standards and units of study. The Crosscutting Concepts, by being revisited and linked to multiple units of study, become a strong foundation of understanding, and support the students in learning new concepts. Life sciences focus on patterns, processes, and relationships of living organisms. For example, understanding patterns of change is a Crosscutting Concept that applies to the growth and development of organisms, symmetry of flowers, and the repeated base pairs of DNA. Crosscutting Concepts may apply across multiple content areas and instructional emphases (e.g., Observations and data describe cause and effect relationships). The Crosscutting Concepts of cause and effect and structure and function provide a framework for understanding how gene structure determines differences in the functioning of organisms.

This content module, Life Science: Energy Flow, addresses how plants produce their food, the interconnectedness among plants and animals in their environment, how organisms are affected by physical factors, and ways that new cells are created. A critical concept is the unifying principle that energy and matter flow through organisms and the environment.

Teaching Crosscutting Concepts

The following strategies pulled from the principles of UDL (CAST, 2011) are ways in which to teach Crosscutting Concepts to help students understand the concepts and make connections between different curricular content. During instruction, highlight:

 patterns (e.g., Point out patterns in the shape of a graph or repeating pattern on a chart.),

 critical features (e.g., Provide explicit cues or prompts such as highlighting that help students to attend to the important features.),

 big ideas (e.g., Present and reinforce the “big ideas” that students should take and apply throughout their lives.), and

 relationships (e.g., Make the connection between the unit concepts and how they apply to the students’ lives.).

Following are Crosscutting Concepts for this Content Module—Life Science: Energy Flow. According to A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas (2012), these concepts help provide students with an organizational framework for connecting knowledge from the various disciplines into a coherent and scientifically based view of the world.

o grades three through six. http://www.uen.org/3-6interactives/science.shtml

o grades seven through twelve. http://www.uen.org/7-12interactives/science.shtml

Section IV

Vocabulary and Background Knowledge

Vocabulary is critical to building an understanding of science concepts, knowledge, and skills. The vocabulary words that students gain through experiences provide ways for students to comprehend new information (Sprenger, 2013). Students can better understand new vocabulary when they have some background knowledge to which they can make connections. In addition, learning new vocabulary increases students’ background knowledge. Therefore, it is important to teach vocabulary purposely when introducing new concepts, knowledge, or skills (e.g., interconnectedness of animals in an ecosystem) and in the context of the specific content (e.g., teach the terms producer, consumer, decomposer while learning about a specific ecosystem).

This module includes two types of vocabulary words, both equally important to teach. The first type, general vocabulary words, labels groups of words that generalize to a variety of animals, plants, organisms, and activities. For example, understanding the meaning of the word “energy” helps students to connect the different ways organisms acquire and use energy. The second type, specific content words, represents groups of words that are associated with an organism, system, process, or phenomena. For example, the specific word “photosynthesis” connects to the general words “carbon dioxide” and “sugar” when learning how plants produce food. Providing exposure and instruction on general words provides background knowledge when introducing corresponding or related specific words.

Key Vocabulary for Instructional Units

Table 2 and Table 3 contain lists of key general vocabulary words and specific content words that are important to the units in this module. The vocabulary words span across grades four, six, and seven. Refer to the Tennessee Academic Standards for Science for grade specific words. Teach general vocabulary words to the student using a student-friendly description of the word meaning (e.g., Habitat is the place a plant or animal normally lives.) and an example of the word (e.g., A barred owl’s habitat is usually a forest.). Teach the specific content vocabulary using a student-friendly description of the word meaning (e.g., Photosynthesis is when plants take sunlight, air, and water and turn it into sugar.) and a possible connection to a general vocabulary word (e.g., Animals break down sugars to release energy.).

Do not teach memorization of vocabulary words; instead, place emphasis on understanding the word as a result of observation, investigation, viewing a model, etc. For example, a student should learn to identify an animal as a prey or a predator instead of formally defining each.

Table 2. General Vocabulary Words

General Vocabulary —words that generalize to different animals, plants, organisms, and activities. Describe the word and provide examples (e.g., An ecosystem is the place where several plants and animals live and interact with each other. Example: A lake ecosystem includes fish, turtles, and plants).  animal  energy  predator  carbon dioxide  environment  prey  cell  habitat  produce/producer  chromosome  matter  reproduce

Ideas Examples

Have students restate the vocabulary word in their own words. Take this opportunity to help students connect new vocabulary, especially general vocabulary, to prior knowledge.

 Have students keep a science vocabulary notebook and add words as they are introduced and discussed in context. Each page can have three columns with the following headings: My Description, Drawing or Picture, and New Understanding. [Individualization idea: Use hook and loop tape on the three column charts and continue to add into a three-ring binder (See Figure 1. Example Science Vocabulary Notebook Page). Have students pick from phrases/sentences and pictures to complete the pages of the notebook.]  Remind students that energy is what they need to work and play and then explain how the food we eat is converted to energy.  Have students state in their own words the meaning of cellular respiration (e.g., Cellular respiration happens when the food I eat changes into energy that my body can use.). [Individualization idea: Provide words or phrases needed to describe vocabulary words on the student’s AAC system.]

Have students represent vocabulary words in a variety of ways (e.g., pictures, symbols, graphic organizers, or models).

 Ask students to complete a vocabulary concept map that includes the word (e.g., mitosis), category it fits into (e.g., reproduction), a description (e.g., one cell divides into two identical cells), and an illustration (e.g., drawing or picture of a cell dividing into two cells). [Individualization idea: Have the student partner with a peer and provide choices that can be copied or pasted onto the map.]  Have students construct a model of a food chain using pictures labeled with the plant or animal name and place holders labeled: producer, consumer, and decomposer. [Individualization idea: Add pictures to slide show or document that allows the student to drag and drop the pictures representing the components of the food chain into the correct order. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKCD HrwAwcM)]

Ideas Examples

Provide multiple exposure to vocabulary words in a variety of ways. This does not suggest mass trials, but rather distributed trials in different ways or contexts. Reference http://projectlearnet.org/tutorials/learning_trial s.html for information on learning trials.

 Incorporate vocabulary into daily activities when appropriate (e.g., Talk about why a classroom plant needs to have sunlight, water, and clean air and how it makes its own food). [Individualization idea: Provide a picture checklist that includes the essential needs for a plant for the student to use each day to care for a classroom plant.]  Read books or watch videos related to the vocabulary and concepts (e.g., watch an animated video clip on photosynthesis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pD68u xRLkM).  Have students complete activities such as sorting words into categories or labeling a model (e.g., living things in an ecosystem).  Help students compare terms (e.g., habitat and ecosystem). [Individualization idea: Have a template and have students sort pictures representing habitats into the appropriate ecosystem.]

Ask students to discuss the vocabulary words with each other.

 Have students share a favorite word and explain why. [Individualization idea: Place a description of a few vocabulary words on a voice output device and have the student choose which one to share with a classmate using an adapted switch.]  Have students share their representations (e.g., drawings or pictures) of a vocabulary word with each other.

Play vocabulary word games with students. (^)  Have students play a vocabulary game (e.g., https://www.eduplace.com/kids/hmsc/activi ties/ewordgame/index.html?grade=3&unit= b&chapter=4).  Have students organize vocabulary words/pictures/representative objects on a graphic organizer.  Have students complete interactive software on the food chain (e.g., http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/content /animals/kidscorner/games/foodchaingame. htm).

Figure 1). Educators may need to support, modify, or adapt steps as needed for individual students. [Individualization idea: Use hook and loop tape on the three column charts and continue to add into a three-ring binder. Have students pick from phrases/sentences and pictures to complete the pages of their notebook.] Two National Center and State Collaborative (NCSC) resources are available and may prove helpful:

 Use systematic instruction as described in the NCSC Instructional Guide. https://wiki.ncscpartners.org

 Reference ideas in the NCSC Vocabulary and Acquisition Content Module. https://wiki.ncscpartners.org

Figure 1. Example Science Vocabulary Notebook Page

Vocabulary Resources

 Vocabulary.com provides explanations of words using real-world examples. Once signed in, an educator can create word lists for students. http://www.vocabulary.com/

 TextProject provides Word Pictures that are free for educators to use. Their site includes word pictures for core vocabulary and various content areas including science and social studies. This link will take you to the Word Pictures page where you can select the category of words you want to use. http://textproject.org/classroom-materials/textproject-word-pictures/

 The Science Penguin site provides ideas to teach science vocabulary. The vocabulary demonstration activity uses real objects to teach vocabulary terms. http://thesciencepenguin.com/2013/12/science-solutions-vocabulary.html

From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes (middle)

Content:

 Living organisms require energy and carbon for growth.

 Cellular respiration is the process cells use to release energy from sugar (food molecules).

 Plants use energy from sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water to produce sugars through a process called photosynthesis.

 Matter is cycled as animals breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide, while plants do the opposite.

 Energy and matter flow through an ecosystem in aerobic conditions (with oxygen) and anaerobic conditions (lack of oxygen).

 Models can be used to illustrate how energy or matter flow through an ecosystem in aerobic conditions and in anaerobic conditions.

Heredity (middle)

Content:

 Plants and animals grow by cells dividing to create new cells.

 Mitosis produces two genetically identical daughter cells from one parent cell.

 Mitosis is used to produce body cells (e.g., skin cells, stomach cells, etc.) for growth and repair.

 Meiosis produces four daughter cells from one parent cell.

 Meiosis is used to produce two sex cells (egg for females and sperm for males).

 The sex cells are unique from the parent cell and are used for reproducing a new organism.

Unit Content Resources

 Interactive Sites for Education provides a wide variety of topics that include interactive animations. http://interactivesites.weebly.com/science.html

Photosynthesis

 Better Lesson Plans provides a lesson on where plants get the materials they need. https://betterlesson.com/lesson/633008/where-do-plants-get-the-materials-they-need-day-1- gathering-evidence-to-support-your-claim

 These sites explain photosynthesis:

o http://photosynthesiseducation.com/photosynthesis-for-kids/ o https://biologywise.com/photosynthesis-for-kids

Roles of Organisms in an Ecosystem

 This site provides an explanation and photos of producers, consumers, and decomposers in a forest community. http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/forsite/2004presentations/taylor/forsite/forsite.html

 PBS Learning Media provides a lesson on producers, consumers, and decomposers. https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/tdc02.sci.life.oate.lp_energyweb/producers- consumers-decomposers/#.WutZXYiUsdU

 Geography 4 Kids has information on roles of organisms in an ecosystem. http://www.geography4kids.com/files/land_foodchain.html

 Khan Academy provides information on predation. https://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/ecology/community-ecosystem- ecology/a/predation-herbivory

 Biology 4 Kids provides information on relationships between organisms, including competition, symbiotic (i.e., commensalism, mutualism, and parasitism), and predator-prey. http://www.biology4kids.com/files/studies_relationships.html

 These sites have information on competition in an ecosystem.

o https://sciencing.com/competitive-relationships-ecosystems-8451289.html o http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/ocr_gateway/understanding_environment/ interdependencerev1.shtml

 Sciencing has information on symbiotic relationships. https://sciencing.com/symbiotic-relationship- 8794702.html

Flow of Energy and Cycling of Matter

 Ducksters has information on the oxygen cycle and the carbon cycle.

o oxygen: http://www.ducksters.com/science/ecosystems/oxygen_cycle.php o carbon: http://www.ducksters.com/science/ecosystems/carbon_cycle.php

 This site provides a lesson plan on matter cycles and energy flows in ecosystems. http://carbontime.bscs.org/ecosystems/lesson-

 cK–12 has a lesson plan on cycles of matter. https://www.ck12.org/book/CK-12-Earth-Science-For- Middle-School/section/18.2/

 This site provides a lesson plan on food webs. http://www.teacherstryscience.org/ngsslp/backyard- biodiversity-food-web-ngss

 Texas Gateway has an online resource for food chains, food webs, and energy pyramids. https://www.texasgateway.org/resource/food-chains-food-webs-and-energy-pyramids

Cellular Respiration

 These sites have information on cellular respiration.

o https://kids.kiddle.co/Cellular_respiration o http://mocomi.com/cellular-respiration/

 Sciencing has information on anaerobic environments. https://sciencing.com/anaerobic- environment-10003906.html

Mitosis and Meiosis

 These sites provide lesson plans on mitosis and meiosis.

o https://www.keslerscience.com/sexual-reproduction-and-asexual-reproduction-lesson-plan-a- complete-science-lesson-using-the-5e-method-of-instruction/ o http://www.cpalms.org/Public/PreviewResourceLesson/Preview/ o http://cavalierscience.blogspot.com/2009/04/phases-of-mitosis-activity-worksheet.html