Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

15 minutes – Part A: Important Jobs In An Ecosystem
20 minutes – Part B: Employee Of The Week Research
30 minutes – Part C: Employee Of The Week Presentation
5 minutes – Reflection

Preparation:

Print out one copy of the Ecosystem Interaction Matching Activity (either for the whole class, or one copy for each small group of 3-5) and cut out each individual word and definition. Place these in a tub or envelope for use in Part A, Step 6; where students will need to match the words with the definitions.

Part A: Important Jobs In An Ecosystem

Step 1.

Begin the lesson by inviting the class to form pairs and discuss the following questions (also available on the Student Worksheet):

What happens when everyone wants the same resource? For example, if everyone in your city only ate oranges, and there wasn’t enough for everyone, what would happen?
Suggested answers: We would fight (compete) over them/war and some people would starve; all oranges would be eaten and then everyone would starve.
Building from that, what do you think would happen if all animals ate the same thing?
Suggested answers: They would fight/compete; they would eat all of it and then all die.

Ask for pairs to share their responses to the questions, using the suggested answers above to guide a discussion and clarify student thoughts.

Through this process explain that when plants and animals want the same resource, they compete. This is called competition. If every animal competes for the same resource (eg. food) it will significantly affect the availability of that resource and disrupt the ecosystem. This competition explains why different species have evolved to require different resources (e.g. food sources).

Step 2.

Now invite students to continue working in their pairs and to look at the Student Worksheet and choose one event from history where there was too much competition for a resource:

East Africa locust swarm 2020
Australian mouse plague 1993

They will then research the event and respond to the following (also available on the Student Worksheet):

Describe the animal involved and the resource for which they were competing
Explain what happened to the resource during this competition
Find evidence for, or predict, what happened to the ecosystem over time due to this event.

Once complete, allow students some time to share their research, either with another pair or with the class.

Step 3.

Explain that each species has a different role or job in an ecosystem so they don’t compete as much for resources. Share the following clip:

Ecological Relationships (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNjPI84sApQ&feature=youtu.be)

Once complete, invite students to reflect on this clip using the following question:

How does this clip help me understand competition within an ecosystem?

Step 4.

Now explain to students that they will be looking at all the different types of interactions that occur within an ecosystem.

If you are doing this activity as a whole class, provide each student with a cut-out word or definition from the Ecosystem Interaction Matching Activity. Explain they must find their match by interacting with other students in the class. If you have small numbers of students in your class, you could get them to solve all the matches in small groups, in which case each group will need a full set of cut-out words and definitions.

Answers are in the following table:

Predator	An animal that kills and eats another animal
Prey	An animal that is killed and eaten
Detritivore (decomposer)	An animal that feeds on dead or decaying organic matter
Pollinator	An animal that moves pollen from one plant to another
Parasite	An animal that lives on or in a host, causing it harm
Carnivore	An animal that only consumes meat
Herbivore	An animal that only consumes plants
Omnivore	An animal that consumes both plants and animals
Producer (autotroph)	An organism that obtains energy from the sun
Primary consumer	An animal that consumes plants
Secondary consumer	An animal that consumes other animals
Abiotic	The non-living parts of an ecosystem eg. sunlight
Biotic	The living parts of an ecosystem

Once students have found their match, invite students to call out their words and definitions. Invite them to share any thoughts or questions they have after completing this activity.

Part B: Employee Of The Week Research

Step 1.

Now read the following scenario to the class:

You are a scientist working at a zoo. You and your colleagues are very competitive and each wants their own favourite animal to be recognised as having the most important job in an ecosystem. The zoo has decided to host a regular award to raise awareness of the contribution of the animals. The winner will have their animal’s information displayed at the zoo as the ‘Employee of the Week’.

Step 2.

Arrange students in pairs or groups of three. Explain that they will research, in their groups, a zoo animal and then convince the rest of the class to crown their animal ‘Employee of the Week’.

Give each group an animal profile from the Bush Blitz Information Sheet.

Step 3.

Instruct students to read the presentation requirements on the Student Worksheet and start work.
Each group will have three minutes to present their animal. Presentations need to include the following information:

A picture of the animal
What roles do they have? (e.g. predator, prey, detritivore, pollinator, carnivore, herbivore.) They could have multiple roles in the ecosystem. Explain what those roles mean.
What do they eat? What eats them?
What makes them best at their job? (i.e. how do they find food, do they have any special skills or adaptations that help them find food?)
Why is their job important? What would happen if they weren’t doing their job? (Think about food webs and the impact on the ecosystem from removing one organism)
At least three interesting facts about your animal that makes them unique.

Part C: Employee Of The Week Presentation

Step 1.

Invite each group to deliver their three-minute presentation.

While listening, students will evaluate their peers on the following categories and give them a score out of three for each category (1-Needs Improvement, 2-Satisfactory, 3-Exceeds Expectation).

Presentation: Clear voice, easy to understand, structured arguments
Quality of Information: Provided detailed, engaging information, provided all of the required information to address the six questions posed for the task
Effort: Takes it seriously, takes pride in the work
Group work: Each group member contributes equally to the presentation.

Step 2.

After the final presentation, assist the students to collate their evaluation points on the board. The Employee of the Week winner will go to the group that achieved the highest marks. If there is a draw, the final say goes to the teacher.

Reflection

Invite students to work independently to complete the following reflection questions (also available on the Student Worksheet):

What is one thing you could have improved on in your research or presentation?
What is something you found interesting or surprising about the roles animals have in ecosystems?
What is one thing you would like to learn more about? How would you go about learning it?

Differentiated Learning

Extension -

Students requiring extension could write a report about what might be likely to happen to the ecosystem if the animal they researched either went extinct or was highly overpopulated (like in the plague or swarm in Part A).

Provisions for Learning Support –

Students who find it difficult to speak in front of others could record a video, instead of presenting in front of the class.
Consider carefully selecting group members for the presentation task to ensure there is a mix of confidence and abilities within each group and so groups aren’t unfairly advantaged or disadvantaged.

Teacher Reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:

What did you learn about your teaching practice today?
What worked well?
What didn't work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

Backyard Bush Blitz - Important Roles in an Ecosystem

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