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Lesson Title: How Humans Impact Our World Related Lessons: The Biosphere Grade Level: 6th Grade Unit: Ecology (Science) **Goals ** Content Standards: Life Science: Students know the number and types of organisms an ecosystem can support depends on the resources available and on abiotic factors, such as quantities of light and water, a range of temperatures, and soil composition. ISTE NET-S: Communication and collaboration  Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making
 * Problem-Based Learning Lesson 1 **

**Action ** Before class preparation:  Gather examples of deforestation, loss of animal habitat, endangered species, and pollution for students to examine on the Internet. Have Websites prepared and ready for exploration on SMARTboard and schedule computer lab time for students to complete independent investigations. Create a Wallwisher page for students to answer the question: How do humans impact the environment?

**During Class ** 30 min. Begin by posing a question to the class: How do humans impact the environment? Students will think about this question and discuss it with their partners. We will share out ideas and record them on the SMARTboard. We will then examine the Websites found during preparation to see what effects that the humans have had on the world. A class discussion on the importance of maintaining the balance in nature will follow. What will happen if these human activities continue? What will be the result on the environment? Why does this matter to us? We will discuss the impact of destroying our environment on both humans and animals and why we must help to maintain a balance of our resources. The problem-based learning unit will then be explained: we are going to take on the role of investigators, discovering ways to help manage our resources in order to have a flourishing environment. Materials needed: SMARTboard, Websites <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">10 min. Students will answer the question “How do humans impact the environment?” on the Wallwisher page. Students will be directed to post about the activity that most interests them. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Materials needed: computers for students, Wallwisher page <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">10 min. We will then review all of the answers posted by the students, forming groups of four for the investigation based on the activity which most interested the students. Students will then be given the task of investigating ways in which humans can preserve the environment by impacting it positively rather than negatively. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Materials needed: SMARTboard <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">20 min. Groups will meet and begin determining a GAME Plan for their investigation. They will create a timeline for completing the sections of their project by the due dates. Students must complete their research, write a persuasive essay, and create a class presentation about how they are going to impact the environment in a positive way. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Materials needed: timeline Word documents to be completed by groups

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Monitor ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Teacher will circulate around the room, checking on the progress of each group and answering any questions. A timeline of due dates will be posted on the class Website with reminders of when parts of the project are due. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Accommodations: students are able to decide how to present the information to the class, allowing them to focus on their strengths. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Evaluation ** <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The timeline will be collected for evaluation and returned to groups for their use during the project.

** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Problem-Based Learning Lesson 2 **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Lesson Title: How Humans Impact Our World Related Lessons: The Biosphere <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Grade Level: 6th Grade Unit: Ecology (Science) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Goals ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Content Standards: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Life Science: Students know the number and types of organisms an ecosystem can support depends on the resources available and on abiotic factors, such as quantities of light and water, a range of temperatures, and soil composition. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">ISTE NET-S: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Communication and collaboration <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Digital Citizenship <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Instructional Objectives: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Students will share various ways of how humans impact the environment through a blog. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Students will comment on and/or make suggestions about those ideas presented on other groups’ blogs. ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Action ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Before class preparation: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Each group will have created a group blog. Research into answering the posed question about how humans impact the environment will be complete and ready to be synthesized. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Other sixth grade teachers and their students across the district will be invited to view and comment on the blog postings. ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">During Class **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">20 min. Students will post their findings to their group blog. Each member will add the information discovered during the research phase of the unit. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">20 min. Students will be required to visit the blog sites of each group to see where their research is leading. They are required to leave comments and/or suggestions on at least two blog sites. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Materials: computer lab time to complete blog postings and comments. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Monitor ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I will visit each group’s blog site to determine if requirements were met. I will also circulate around the room to answer questions, offer help or suggestions, and observe students during the computer time. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Assessments: Each student created blog will be reviewed and questions will be posted directly on each group’s blog site. Comments and suggestions left by students will be examined to determine validity and helpfulness. No grade will be assessed during this portion of the unit; students will be checked for participation only. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Accommodations: students will have the opportunity to type their blog postings in a Word document to help with grammar and spelling. This will allow students to prepare and edit their postings and receive support before publically displaying their findings. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Extensions: students must reply to at least two blog sites; however, they have the option of commenting or offering suggestions on more sites. ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Evaluation ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Unit reflections: The final presentation will be evaluated using a rubric.