Unit Summary
In this unit, students will be introduced to the importance of wetlands, coral reefs, and mangrove ecosystems. Key aspects will include the value of biodiversity in functional habitats, human impacts and solutions we can incorporate into our daily lives to Save Our Seas.
Subject: Marine Science
Unit of Study: Coastal Ecosystems - Wetlands, Coral Reefs, Mangroves
Grades: 3 - 5
Next Generation Science Standards:
- LS1.C: Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms
- PS3.D: Energy in Chemical Processes and Everyday Life
- LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
- LS2.B: Cycles of Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems
- LS.2.C: Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience
- ESS3.C: Human Impacts on Earth Systems
- ESS3.D: Global Climate Change
Learning Objectives:
- Students will be able to construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems
- Students will be able to construct an argument supported by evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations
- Students will be able to develop a model to describe how food is rearranged through chemical reactions forming new molecules that support growth and/or release energy as this matter moves through an organism