Balance Of The Ecosystem Lesson Plan for 6th Grade Example Students

Topic:The Ecosystem and Human Impact on the Environment

Objectives & Outcomes

• Students will understand the concept of an ecosystem and how different organisms within an ecosystem interact with each other and their environment.

Materials

• Images or videos of different types of ecosystems (e.g. rainforest, ocean, desert, etc.)
• Handouts with information about different organisms and their roles within the ecosystem
• Colored pencils or markers

Warm-up

• Have students sit in a circle. Give each student a colored pencil or marker.
• Tell students to close their eyes and think about the different types of ecosystems that they have heard of.
• Once they have a clear image in their mind, have them draw a quick sketch of the ecosystem they are thinking of.
• After a few seconds, have the students open their eyes and share their drawings with the rest of the group.
• Ask the students to explain why they chose the specific organisms that they drew in their drawings.

Direct Instruction

• Review the different types of ecosystems (e.g. aquatic, forest, desert) and their characteristics.
• Discuss the importance of biodiversity in ecosystems and how it helps to maintain a balance in the environment.
• Introduce the concept of human impact on ecosystems, including deforestation, pollution, and climate change.
• Explain how these human effects can disrupt the balance of an ecosystem and cause harm to the organisms that live there.

Guided Practice

• Divide the class into small groups and give each group a handout with information about a specific ecosystem (e.g. the Amazon rainforest, the Great Lakes).
• Have the students work together to identify and list the species that live in the given ecosystem and discuss how each species contributes to the balance of the environment.
• Encourage the students to use their prior knowledge and reasoning skills to draw conclusions about how a human effect might disrupt the balance of the ecosystem.
• Bring the class back together and have each group share their findings.

Independent Practice

• Provide each student with a copy of a small section of a ecosystem (e.g. a pond, a forest clearing, a coral reef).
• Have the students use the information provided to identify the species that live in the ecosystem and draw a simple diagram illustrating the relationships between the species.
• Encourage the students to use their prior knowledge and reasoning skills to draw conclusions about how a human effect might disrupt the balance of the ecosystem.

Closure

• Have the students share their ecosystem diagrams and conclusions with the class.
• As a class, discuss the implications of the human effects on the balance of the ecosystem and how this might affect the survival of the species that live there.

Assessment

• Observe and assess the students' participation in the discussions during the closure activity.
• Review and evaluate the students' ecosystem diagrams for accuracy and completeness.
• Administer a quiz to assess the students' understanding of the concepts and principles discussed in the lesson.