A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words

Download This Lesson: A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words

Brief Description:  The student’s goal in this lesson is to define biodiversity. They will do so by gathering, organizing, and analyzing information and creating a visual aid to help them better understand the meaning.

 Focus Areas: Biodiversity; Science, Language Arts, Art

Focus Skills: Gathering, organizing and analyzing information, creating a visual aid, understanding and synthesizing information, graphing statistical data

Level of Involvement: AVERAGE

Objectives

•  To define biodiversity
•  To aid understanding of biodiversity through the creation of a visual aid

Essential Question

What is biodiversity?

Essential Understanding

Biodiversity is a term used to describe the variety of life forms on earth. Biodiversity is based on ecosystems, classification of species and variations in genetic structure.

Background

In a mere handful of earth s soil more living things exist than are known on all other planets combined! To date we have classified 1.4 million species. The largest group, 751,000, is insects. This number is followed by higher plants with 250,000 representatives, then 19,000 fish, 10,000 amphibians and reptiles, and 4,000 mammals. The remaining numbers include species of worms, mollusks, spiders, fungi, molds and microorganisms. The list continues to grow, and scientists now believe unclassified species rank in the millions.

This incredible variety gave rise to the term biodiversity, and involves three levels of classification. In addition to the most familiar, i.e. classification by species, scientists also group life forms in a broader spectrum based on ecosystems and also the most narrow category, genetic, which encompasses the variety of behaviors and characteristics within a species based on DNA mapping.

Vocabulary

biodiversity – the variability among living organisms on the earth, including the variability within and between species and within and between ecosystems

ecosystem – an interactive community of plants, animals and microorganisms linked by energy and nutrient flow

genetic – referring to characteristics and behaviors transmitted from one generation to the next at a cellular level

species – the most specific subdivision of the classification system for plants and animals

Challenge:  Create a visual aid to illustrate biodiversity

Logistics

Time: 45 to 60 minutes

Group size: 2 to 30

Space: seating room and table/desk area for each participant

Materials

• video:WWF Exploring the Web of Life
• TV/VCR
• Handout l Key *
• arts and craft supplies to accommodate group size
• National Geographic and/or other nature oriented magazines (optional)
• K-W-L chart *

* single copy provided

Preparation

1. Set up VCR, TV and video
2. Procure arts and crafts supplies

Correlations to State of Maine Learning Results: Parameters for Essential Instruction

ELA = English Language Arts,   HE/PE = Health Education and Physical Education,    MA = Mathematics,    SCI = Science,   SS = Social Studies,   VPA = Visual and Performing Arts

** Alignment possible only if lesson extension is done