Name:  Peter Nelson

Subject: Biology (Ecology)

Period: 3rd

Approximate Time: 50 minutes

Objectives:

1. The student will identify and describe the main features of one land biome (7.c)

Materials:

Whiteboard, markers, writing utensils, biome packet. 

Set: 

Ask one of the students if he or she could survive in antarctica for a day, a week, a month? How about a different environment? The earth includes a huge variety of living things, from complex plants and animals to very simple, one-celled organisms. But large or small, simple or complex, no organism lives alone. Each depends in some way on other living and nonliving things in its surroundings. Just as ____ depends on on the things that he or she has become accustomed to,  a cow depends on an abundant amount of grass for food and a king cobra depends on the hot and humid weather of a rain forest in order to leave properly. Today we will look at some of the relationships in the land biomes. By the end of the day today you will have each researched one biome and learned about the rest from the class.

    *  What the climate of the region is like.

    * Where each biome is found and and what its geography is like

    * The special adaptations of the vegetation.

    * The types of animals found in the biome and their physical and behavioral adaptations to their environment.

Procedure:

1. Give an intro to biomes. A biome is a large geographical area of distinctive plant and animal groups, which are adapted to that particular environment. Take 5 minutes to write down some of the animals in our environment and record why they are here.

2. The climate and geography of a region determines what type of biome can exist in that region.  Does anyone know what biome mississippi is in? Deciduous forest. The other major land biomes are tundra, taiga, grassland, desert, rainforest, and savanna. Each biome consists of many ecosystems whose communities have adapted to the small differences in climate and the environment inside the biome.

2. Explain what each student will do for their biome (answer the questions above) and also explain that they will present their biome to the class. Make sure to tell them that they must speak loudly and clearly while presenting.

3. Explain the deciduous forest biome in the format that you want them to explain.

4.  Deciduous Rain Forest

    Climate:  Average yearly temperature: 6-28 degrees celsius, precipitation 75-125 cm.  Add around 60 degrees to get fahrenheit.

    Where: Eastern North America, most of Europe, and parts of Asia.

    Vegetation: Trees: maple, oak, hickory. Trees with broad surface area that permits maximum light absorption.

    Animals: deer, skunk, squirrels, fox. Preparation for winter. Living off the land in the other three seasons. The animals have adapted to the land by trying the plants in the forest to see if they are good to eat for a good supply of food. Also the trees provide shelter for them. Animal use the trees for food and a water sources. Most of the animals are camouflaged to look like the ground.

5. Explain that you want the students to follow the same format as you and to first write it on the back of their card and then come up to the board to write.

6. After all students are done, have each student explain their biome to the class.

7. Check their biome sheets for completion (10 points).

8. They should be able to get the basic information for each biome but here is some additional info.

    Tundra: Plant adaptations are that they are low to the ground, fast growing. Animals have thick coats and good fat storage.

    Taiga: Similar to Tundra

    Grassland: grass can adapt to being consumed at high levels because the actively growing part of the the pant is at or below the ground.  Little trees.

    Deserts: Plants reduce transpiration through only opening stomata at night and developing a waxy coating. Animals must also conserve water (come out at night, burrow in the ground)

    Savannas: grassland supports herbivores. Some trees shed leaves during dry season to conserve water.

    Tropical Rain forests: Plants need light, grow to be very tall. little vegetation on ground because of lack of sunlight. Some animals depend on the high level of biodiversity in tropical rain forests.

Closure:

Great job today. Ask what questions are important to know the answers to when thinking about a biome. What the climate of the region is like, where each biome is found and and what its geography is like. The special adaptations of the vegetation. The types of animals found in the biome and their physical and behavioral               adaptations to their environment. Ask a few questions about each biome to the student who researched it. “who had the rainforest?”  “who had grasslands?”. Tomorrow we will ask these same questions about the aquatic biomes.

Assessment/Evaluation:

Objective: The student will identify and describe the main features of one land biome (7.c)

Formal: The student will present his findings in a short presentation that will be graded and recorded in the grade book.

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