Let's create continuous conversations about climate change education: Spreading the Sediment of Science!
Invasive Species Learning Lab Lessons
Provided by: The Climate Initiative
Lesson Plans Grades 9-12
Synopsis
- In this 6-lesson unit, students will explore invasive species and their impacts on the local environment.
- Students will learn to differentiate between invasive and non-native species, read about the impact of invasive species on people, the economy, and nature, explore examples of invasive species in case studies, write their own case study about local invasive species, analyze data to understand the increase of invasive species, participate in fieldwork to explore invasive species in their town, interview community members, and design a community action project to raise awareness in their communities.
- This is a companion resource for the student lab.
Subjects: Biology
Authors: The Climate Initiative
Region: Maine
Languages: English
Teaching Materials
Positives
- The provided graphic organizers break otherwise daunting writing projects into manageable parts.
- Students will love getting to do fieldwork to connect their learning to real-world examples.
Prerequisites
- Some of the content is still in the Student Lab but not advised in the student guide for exploring the lab. If you are not using the student guide, make sure your students avoid this content.
- Students should know how to cite evidence from a text.
- The links for the Example Citations for Lesson 2 and the first two example case studies are broken.
- Teachers will need an ArcGIS account.
Differentiation and Implementation
- Teachers can use the case study research as a way to talk about source credibility and how to select credible sources.
- Using the video in Lesson 3 as a guide, students can measure the biodiversity in areas near them and track the expansion of invasive species.
- Some students may not be able to produce a case study independently and would benefit from working with a partner or small group.
- Students can expand their fieldwork by participating in one of the Maine Classroom Citizen Science Projects.
Scientist Notes
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
About the Partner Provider
The Climate Initiative
The Climate Initiative is a nonpartisan, science-based climate change organization based in Kennebunkport, Maine whose mission is to empower youth voices for climate action. Through national education and empowerment initiatives, youth are learning about climate solutions and becoming agents of change in their communities and beyond. Learn more about TCI by connecting with us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
All resources can be used for your educational purposes with proper attribution to the content provider.
