Process and Interactions of the Earth s Surface Missouri Grade Level Expectations Strand #4: Changes in Ecosystems and Interactions of Organisms with their Environments #1 Organisms are interdependent with one another and their environment. B. Living organisms have the capacity to produce populations of infinite size, but environments and resources are finite. b. Recognize the factors that affect the number and types of organisms an ecosystem can support (ex. food availability, abiotic factors such as quantity of light and water, temperature and temperature range, soil composition, disease, competitions from other organisms, predation). D. The diversity of species within an ecosystem is affected by changes in the environment, which can be caused by other organisms or outside processes. a. Describe the beneficial and harmful activities of organisms, including humans (ex. deforestation, overpopulation, water and air pollution, global warming, restoration of natural environments, river bank/ coastal stabilization, recycling, channelization, reintroduction of species, depletion of resources), and explain how these activities affect organisms within an ecosystem. Strand #5: Process and Interactions of the Earth s Surface #1 Earth s Systems (geosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere) have common components and unique structures.
A. The Earth s crust is composed of various materials, including soil, minerals, and rocks with characteristic properties. a. Describe the components of soil and other factors that influence soil texture, fertility and resistance to erosion. #2 Earth s Systems (geosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere) interact with one another as they undergo change by common processes. A. The Earth s materials and surface features are changed through a variety of external processes. a. Make inferences about the formation of sedimentary rocks from their physical properties. b. Explain how the formation of sedimentary rocks depends on weathering and erosion. c. Describe how weathering agents and erosional processes slowly cause surface changes that create and/or change landforms. d. Describe how the Earth s surface and surface materials can change abruptly through the activity of floods, rock/ mudslides, or volcanos. #3 Human activity is dependent upon and affects Earth s resources and systems. A. Earth s materials are limited natural resources affected by human activity. a. Analyze the ways humans affect the erosion and deposition of soil and rock materials (ex. clearing of land, planting vegetation, paving land, construction of new buildings, building or removal of dams).
Essential Questions: How does the Earth change? How are parts of the Earth (land, air and water) related? Understandings: 1. Soil is made of many components that affect its fertility, texture and resistance to erosion. 2. Sedimentary rocks are formed from particles of other rocks through different processes. 3. The particles in some sedimentary rocks come from the weathering and erosion of other types of rocks (sedimentary, igneous, metamorphic). 4. Water (in the form of rain, rivers, snow, ice) alters the appearance of the Earth over long periods of time through the process of weathering and erosion. 5. Floods can abruptly change the appearance of the Earth. 6. The abiotic factors in an ecosystem affect an organisms ability to survive in it. 7. Humans affect the erosion and deposition of soil by building dams on rivers. Knowledge: 1. Students will know that soil has many parts including rocks, minerals, organic material and living organisms. 2. Students will know that sedimentary rocks are formed from other sedimentary rocks, igneous rocks or minerals.
Skills: 3. Students will know that erosion can be caused by moving water, wind and the freeze-thaw cycle. 4. Students will know the different landforms created by water, wind or the freeze-thaw cycle. 5. Students will know that floods can quickly change a landscape by eroding soil and vegetation. They will also know that floods can deposit soils in the flood plains. Strand 7: Scientific Inquiry 1. Science understanding is developed through the use of science process skills, scientific knowledge, scientific investigation, reasoning and critical thinking. B. Scientific inquiry relies on gathering evidence from qualitative and quantitative observations. a. Make qualitative observations using the 5 senses. E. The nature of science relies upon communication of results and justification of explanations. a. Communicate the procedures and results of investigations through oral presentations, data tables, drawings and maps and equations and writings.
Assessment Evidence: Student responses in Lewis and Clark journal Student illustrations/ descriptions on living map Soil components table Student observations in sedimentary rocks table Student illustrations/ descriptions of landforms Quiz over identification of sedimentary rocks Student responses to The Missouri: A Journey with Stephen Ambrose Learning Activities Activity 1 In this activity the students will get some background about the Lewis and Clark Expedition and a look at their journals. The students will see some of the interactive CD-Rom to intro the unit as well as Jefferson s charge to the sergeants as 4 parts. They will also create their journals for use in class. Activity 2 Using pages 48-54 of their textbooks, students will design a table that will be used to analyze soil. Activity 3 Using the table created in the last activity students will analyze a scoop of soil for the different listed components. They will also be able to use a microscope when looking at the components. Activity 4 Students will create their 1 st journal entry in their journals. I will provide them some details about what was happening with the Lewis and Clark Expedition through the CD-Rom. The students will then respond in their journal as a member of the expedition to the following part of Jefferson s prompt: Record the conditions of the soil. They may also write a few details about what was happening to the expedition.
Activity 5 This activity will be the students 1 st entry on their living map. After watching some background about the surrounding ecosystem, land and animals on the way up the Missouri River, students will identify the abiotic factors present there and create an illustration (with description) of one organism found at this location along the journey. Before beginning their map students will also get to see the landscape and organisms in Eastern Montana in the Up the Missouri section of my presentation. Activity 6 In this activity, students will learn about different types of rocks. Using Netrekker and an example specimen, students will write down the characteristics of sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks. They will then classify 3 different examples of each into those categories. Activity 7 The properties of sedimentary rocks is the focus of this activity. Students will be given different specimens of sedimentary rock (ex. limestone, sandstone, etc ) and will be asked to write down their observations about each type of rock. I will then show them a short film (using United Streaming) about the formation of sedimentary rocks. Activity 8 Students will create their 2 nd journal entry as part of this activity. I will provide them some details about what was happening with the Lewis and Clark Expedition through the CD-Rom. The students will then respond in their journal as a member of the expedition to the following part of Jefferson s prompt: Record information about the types of rocks you find. In their journals students may write about the characteristics of sedimentary rock as well as their formation. They may also write a few details about what was happening to the expedition.
Activity 9 This activity will be the students 2 nd entry on their living map. After watching some background about the surrounding ecosystem, land and animals on the way over the Bitterroot Mountains, students will identify the abiotic factors present there and create an illustration (with description) of one organism found at this location along the journey. Before beginning their map students will also get to see the landscape and organisms in the Rocky Mountains in the Over the Bitterroots section of my presentation. Activity 10 & 11 Students will watch a film on the forces that cause weathering and erosion. Then, using their textbook as a resource, students will identify and describe different landforms caused by weathering and erosion. Activity 12 Students will create their 3 rd journal entry. I will provide them some details about what was happening with the Lewis and Clark Expedition through the CD-Rom. The students will then respond in their journal as a member of the expedition to the following part of Jefferson s prompt: Record information about the landscape and its formation. In their journals students may write about some of the landforms that they have seen as the expedition moves westward. They may write their inferences about how the landforms were created. Activity 13 This activity will be the students 3 rd entry on their living map. After watching some background about the surrounding ecosystem, land and animals on the way down the Continental Divide, students will identify the abiotic factors present there and create an illustration (with description) of one organism found at this location along the journey. Before beginning their map students will also get to see the landscape and organisms on the Salmon River in the Down the Divide section of my presentation. I will also show the video of Salmon Falls.
Activity 14 Students will create their final journal entry. I will provide them some details about what was happening with the Lewis and Clark Expedition through the CD-Rom. The students will then respond in their journal as a member of the expedition to the following part of Jefferson s prompt: Record information about the inhabitants of the area. In their journals students may write about some of the Native Americans that Lewis and Clark encountered as they moved toward the Pacific. Activity 15 For a final activity the students will watch the movie: The Missouri: A Journey with Stephen Ambrose and answer the comprehension questions that go with the film.