Synopsis

In this series of lessons, students will learn about changes in the ecology of a particular place through interviewing long-term residents and uploading those interviews to Land Talk. The first module of the series helps familiarize students with the concept of changes in the ecology of a particular place. Depending on class context, teachers may choose to do the first lesson, in which students engage with examples of repeat photography to consider landscape change. Or, teachers may opt to skip this introductory lesson and instead go into more depth with the pollen diagram analysis lessons. These modules help students learn about changes in ecology through analysis and interpretation of paleoclimate data from pollen cores. In the later modules, students learn about the Land Talk website, participate in a number of exercises to get comfortable with the interview process, conduct their own Land Talk interview to share on the website, and discuss what they have learned with the rest of the class. All supporting documents, appendices, and student worksheets can be found in the attached document.

Learning Objectives and Curriculum Standards

By the end of this lesson series, students should understand that changing environmental conditions can affect the numbers and species of organisms, thereby resulting in a new ecological community. They should also understand that many of these changes are brought about by human activity. Specific learning objectives for each module can be found in the following pages. Additionally, this lesson series aims to move students towards the following NGSS Performance Expectations:

HS-LS2-6 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics: Evaluate the claims, evidence, and reasoning that the complex interactions in ecosystems maintain relatively consistent numbers and types of organisms in stable conditions, but changing conditions may result in a new ecosystem.

HS-ESS3-6 Earth and Human Activity: Use a computational representation to illustrate the relationships among Earth systems and how those relationships are being modified due to human activity.

Explore conversations related to changes in ecology here: