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Biome Survivor


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Keywords: Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Science Research
Subject(s): Science
Grades 5 through 7
NETS-S Standard:
  • Creativity and Innovation
  • Communication and Collaboration
  • Research and Information Fluency
  • Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
  • Digital Citizenship
  • Technology Operations and Concepts
View Full Text of Standards
School: Aurora Intermediate School, Aurora, MO
Planned By: Scott Brownlee
Original Author: Scott Brownlee, Aurora

BIOME SURVIVOR

You and your fellow scientists are traveling to attend the Annual Science Awards Show, when your plane’s engine fails. You brace for impact. Luckily, you land without injuries, but the radio is toast! You have no idea where you are, but thanks to your training you recognize your surroundings as one of the world’s biomes.

You manage to survive three years before you are rescued by a group of travelers who come across your shelter. National Geographic hears about your amazing survival skills and offers you $100,000 dollars to create a NatGeo special, educating the public on how to survive in that biome.

Process:
You and your team will work together to create this survival special. Each team member will become an expert in a particular aspect of the biome. You will keep a daily journal on what you did/learned. This will be kept in google docs and will be shared with me each week. Your main objective is to explain how life would be if you were to live in that biome.

Team Roles: Research what your occupation does and include this in your reports.
Botanist - You must write about photosynthesis and cellular respiration.
Zoologist: You must write about how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms.
Meteorologist: You must know how to describe the climate of the biome and create a map that will include temps, precipitation, seasons, etc.
Geographer: You must show landmarks, landforms and create a map to show physical features. You also will need to create a report that describes the land. You will need to include prevention of soil erosion. You will need to design a solution that will protect water, land, and species.

In addition to working on your individual task, the team must complete the following:
predicts the patterns of interactions among and between the biotic and abiotic factors in your ecosystem.
Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of your ecosystem.
Gather and synthesize information about the technologies that have changed the way humans influence the inheritance of desired traits in organisms.
Interpret graphical representations to support explanations of how natural selection may lead to increases and decreases of specific traits in populations over time.








Types of Biomes in the World
Tundra Biome
Desert Biome
Taiga Biome
Freshwater Biome
Tropical Rainforest Biome
Coral Reef Biome
Chaparral Biome
Grassland Biome
Savanna Biome
Ocean Biome
Temperate Deciduous Forest Biome
Wetland Biome

Comments
I am in the process of setting up a workspace for my students to be creative. I have a science lab attached to my classroom and would like the opportunity for them to have both technology and the space to create elaborate projects.
Cross-Curriculum Ideas
We do project based learning in my classroom. In addition to learning Science, they learn math skills by creating graphs and charts in their data. They use their art skills by designing worthwhile projects. They learn map skills by determining where their biome is located.
Follow-Up
Students are to keep a daily reflection on how they are surviving their biome. After they have completed their tasks, they are to present their information to the public.
Materials: Mobile Labs
Other Items: 15 Dell Chromebook/Console License, $238 each, total of $3570.00