Schenectady City
  School District

108 Education Drive
Schenectady, NY  12303
518.370.8100

 

    Smithsonian Environmental
 
Aquatic Ecosystems

Instructions:
Any materials must be received at an appropriate time before the conference.  This school is on Spring vacation the week before the proposed dates, so materials must be available in early April.

This video conference will coincide with a unit on ecosystems that will be an on-going project in the classroom.  Students will be constructing eco-columns from soda bottles and will be making observations over time.  The columns will include a water level which includes fish, snails, and aquatic plants, an empty level and a ground level to grow small plants and experiment with water flow through various soil levels.

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Provider Contact
 Dottie Klugel
443.482.2470

This integration plan was used by a Grade 5 Teacher at Malta Avenue Intermediate School.

Students will need to bring knowledge or experience from the eco-columns to be able to make generalizations about human activity and its impact on the ecosystem.

Mathematics, Science and Technology:  Standard 1
Students will use mathematical analysis, scientific inquiry and engineering design, as appropriate, to pose questions, seek answers and develop solutions.

Standard 2
Students will access, generate, process and transfer information using appropriate technologies

Standard 5
Students will apply technological knowledge and skills to design, construct, use and evaluate products and systems to satisfy human and environmental needs.

Standard 7
Students will apply the knowledge and thinking skills of mathematics, science and technology to address real-life problems and make informed decisions.

Time Required:
Planning:  5 weeks

Pre-Lessons:  The on-going experiments with the eco-columns will last about 10 weeks.

Implementation:  Transportation (30 min x2), video conference (1 hour) = Total 2 hours

Post Lessons:  Students will continue making observations with their eco-systems and use the information from the conference to make connections to a larger ecosystem.  The kits themselves are self-contained units of study which include a variety of activities.  5 Weeks

Assessment:  Any culminating assessments will include a review if ecosystems created in the classroom as well as applications to the community and the information from SI.  Up to 1 week.

Logistical Planning:  We will run a videoconference simulation in the classroom to get students acquainted with proper methods of asking and answering questions that students will want to ask to make sure they are on-topic and at an appropriate volume.

The learning environment will be set up ahead of time for camera settings etc.

This is an inclusion class with a variety of disabled students.  They will participate fully, but may have their questions screened for appropriateness.  They will also have an opportunity to practice their questions ahead of time.

Techniques and Tools
Science journal observations and other entries
Group discussions
Small group work
Demonstration/presentation of findings

Tools
Rubrics and checklists

Approximately three weeks will be used for pre-lessons and activities.

The conference will require 45 minutes and probably 15 minutes to set up before connecting.

Post lessons and activities will take about two forty-five minute sessions.

Assessment:  1 - 2 hours

Logistical Planning:
In preparation for this experiment, students will have opportunities to use the video conferencing equipment in the computer lab at Pinewood.  Hopefully they will be able to do in school conferencing to familiarize themselves with proper protocol.

This class includes two students with IEPS that will probably require additional assistance.  The teachers will have these students go over the materials and procedures in advance and if possible, arrange to have an aide in there to asist as needed.

Techniques and Tools:
Students will be asked to complete a journal writing activity, participate in small group discussions and will also be taking a formal paper and pencil assessment at the end of the unit of study.  It is expected that students will show better performance on this assessment than those for other units because of the hands on nature and higher interest level.