National and
Plant Inventory
Purpose: Students identify plant species, count the number of stems, and record the height of each stem. Representative samples are taken on native prairie upland and restored lowland prairie for comparison.
* Items marked with an asterisk, are particularly applicable to this activity.
This activity will help meet the following National Standards:
Standard A- Science as Inquiry- As a result of activities, all students should develop abilities to do scientific inquiry and understandings about scientific inquiry
· Identify questions that can be answered through scientific investigations
· Design and conduct a scientific investigation.
· Use appropriate tools and technology to gather, analyze and interpret data.*
· Develop descriptions, explanations, predictions, and models using evidence
· Communicate scientific procedures and explanations*
· Understandings about scientific inquiry
Standard C- Life Science- As a result of activities, students should develop and understanding of
·
Regulation and behavior
o All organisms must be able to obtain resources to grow, reproduce and maintain stable internal conditions while living in a constantly changing external environment
·
Populations and ecosystems
o A population consists of a species that occur together at a given place and time. All populations living together and the physical factors which they interact compose an ecosystem.*
o Populations can be categorized by the function they serve in an ecosystem.
o Sunlight is the major source of energy in ecosystems. The energy is transferred to the food web via producers.
o The number of organisms an ecosystem can support depends on the resources and abiotic factors. Lack of resources and other factors limit growth.*
Standard G- History and Nature of Science- As a result of activities should develop understanding of:
·
Science as a Human Endeavor
o
Women and men of various social and ethnic
backgrounds engage in the activities of science, engineering and related fields
o
Science requires different abilities, depending
on such factors as the field of study and type of inquiry
·
Nature of Science
o
Scientists formulate and test their explanations
of nature using observations, experiments, and models. All ideas are tentative, though most major
ideas are supported by experimental and observational confirmations
o
It is part of scientific inquiry to evaluate the
results of scientific investigations, experiments, observations, models and
explanations proposed by other scientists.*
This
activity will help meet the following Kansas State Standards
Standard 1- Science as Inquiry- As a result of activities, all students will develop the abilities to do scientific inquiry, be able to demonstrate how scientific inquiry is applied, and develop understandings about scientific inquiry.
· Benchmark 1: The students will demonstrate abilities necessary to do the process of scientific inquiry.
o 1. The student will identify questions that can be answered through scientific investigations.
o 2. The student will conduct a scientific investigation.*
o 3. Use appropriate tools, mathematics, technology, and techniques to gather, analyze and interpret data*
o 4. Think critically to identify the relationship between evidence and logical conclusions
o 6. Communicate scientific procedures and explanations*
· Benchmark 2: The students will apply different kinds of investigations to different kinds of questions.
o 1. The student will differentiate between a qualitative and quantitative investigation
o 2. The student will adapt an existing lab or activity to write a different question, identify another variable, and/or adapt the procedure to guide a new investigation.
· Benchmark 3: The students will analyze how science advances through new ideas, scientific investigations, skepticism, and examining evidence of varied explanations.
o 1. After doing an investigation, students will generate alternative methods of investigations and/or further questions for study.
o 3. Students will identify faulty reasoning or conclusions that go beyond evidence and/or are not supported by data.
Standard 3: Life Science- As a result of activities, all students will apply process skills to explore and understand structure and function in living systems, reproduction and heredity, regulation and behavior, populations and ecosystems, and diversity and adaptations of organisms.
· Benchmark 3: The students will describe the effects of a changing external environment on the regulation/balance of internal conditions and processes of organisms. *
o 1.Understand the effects of change in environmental conditions on behavior of an organism by carrying out a full investigation.*
· Benchmark 4: The students will identify and relate interactions of populations of organisms within an ecosystem
o 1.Students will recognize that all populations living together and the physical factors with which they interact compose an ecosystem*
o 2. Classify organisms in a system by the function they serve (producers, consumers, decomposers.)
o 4. Relate the limiting factors of biotic and abiotic resources with a species population, growth, decline, and survival. *
· Benchmark 5: The students will observe the diversity of living things and relate their adaptations to their survival or extinction.
o 2. The student will understand that adaptations of organisms- changes in structure, function, or behavior contribute to biological diversity
Standard 6: Science in Personal and Environmental Perspectives- As a result of activities, all students will apply process skills to explore and develop an understanding of issues of personal health, population, resources and environment, and natural hazards.
· Benchmark 2: The students will understand the impact of human activity on resources and environment.
o 1. The students will investigate the effects of human activities on the environment.
· Benchmark 3: The students will understand that natural hazards are dynamic examples of earth processes which cause us to evaluate risks
o 3. Communicate human activities that can cause/contribute to natural hazards.
Standard 7: History and Nature of Science- As a result of activities, all students will examine and develop an understanding of science as a historical human endeavor.
· Benchmark 1: The students will develop scientific habits of mind.
o 4. Students will base decisions on evidence
· Benchmark 2: The students will research contributions to science throughout history
o 1. Recognize that new knowledge leads to new questions and new discoveries.
* Items marked with an asterisk, are particularly applicable to this activity.