Introducing Biodiversity

This lesson has numerous online resources  students can access to learn about the basic components of biodiversity. Included in the lesson plan is a context for the learning, materials needed, planning for the activity, motivating students, developing the lesson, assessing students, and extending the lesson. This lesson is an introduction to biodiversity that  develops the ideas that there are different kinds of habitats, that organisms depend on each other, and that they must be able to cope with conditions within the environment. It relates to the importance of maintaining the earth's biodiversity in that it emphasizes how organisms, including human beings,  interact with and benefit greatly from the ecosystems around them. An eworksheet and a link to a reading are included in the lesson.   Students learn about real-life examples of biodiversity as they play a Connect the Dots game to identify links between a forest, marshy clearing, and river. Throughout the lesson are questions to guide class discussion.   

Weblink address (URL): 
Introducing Biodiversity

Standards & Objectives

Learning objectives: 

Purpose:
To introduce students to the amazing variety of life around them.

Lesson Variations

Blooms taxonomy level: 
Understanding
Extension suggestions: 

Extensions:
For related Science NetLinks lessons see:

  • Animal Adaptations
  • How a Blue Crab Changes as It Grows

Helpful Hints

Materials:

  • Poster paper
  • Crayons
  • Markers

 

References

Contributors: 
Diane Vaughn
Originator: 
Ayers Institute for Learning & Innovation