Brenham ISD Unit Plan
Unit 4: Flow of Energy (14 Days) | 7th Grade Science | |
What do we want students to know and be able to do? Step 1: Identify the essential standards for the unit. | ||
Essential Standards | Supporting Standards | |
7.12A diagram the flow of energy within trophic levels and describe how the available energy decreases in successive trophic levels in energy pyramids 7.12B describe how ecosystems are sustained by the continuous flow of energy and the recycling of matter and nutrients within the biosphere. 7.13D describe and give examples of how natural and artificial selection change the occurrence of traits in a population over generations. | ||
What are the specific learning targets (bite-sized pieces of learning) that lead to students being able to accomplish the unit goals? Step 2: Unwrap the essential standards | ||
Learning Targets (Student Objectives) | ||
What should students know and be able to do? (Information, processes, concepts, main ideas that students must know or understand) (Performance, skills, or actions students must do or demonstrate) | Big Ideas: Students will know and be able to do:
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What academic language / vocabulary should students acquire and use? (Include the term and definition) | Autotrophic - organisms able to create their own energy (food) Carnivores - consumer who eats only meat Chemical energy - energy which is stored in the bonds that hold molecules together Compound - a substance made of two or more elements that are chemically combined , such as sodium chloride (salt) Consumer - organism that get its energy by eating other organisms Decomposer - organism that breaks down dead or decaying organisms (both plants and animals) and returns nutrients to the ecosystem. Ecosystem* - a system that includes all living organisms (biotic factors) in an area as well as its physical environment (abiotic factors) functioning together Energy loss - when energy is converted to a different form, some of the input energy is turned into a different form of energy, like heat. Energy pyramid* - diagram showing the flow of energy at each trophic level of an ecosystem Flow of energy* - the movement of energy around an ecosystem by biotic and abiotic means. Food chain* - a simple diagram showing how energy is passed from one organism to another Food web* - a complex diagram showing the many overlapping food chains in an ecosystem Herbivores - consumer who eats only producers (plants or algae) Heterotrophic - organisms that must get their energy from consuming other organisms (food) Living system - is used to distinguish beings that are alive from abiotic matter Molecule - made up of two or more atoms of the same element or different elements. Niche - the role an organism plays in a community Omnivores - consumer who eats both meat and plants Photosynthesis - the process of creating sugar and oxygen from carbon dioxide, water and sunlight Predators - consumer who hunts, kills and eats other organisms Prey - consumer who is hunted or eaten by a predator Producer - organism that makes its own food Radiant energy - The sun’s light is energy Scavengers - consumer who eats dead and decaying plants or animals Transform - the act, state or process of changing, such as in form or structure; the conversion from one form to another Trophic level - the group organisms within an ecosystem which occupy the same level in a food chain or web. | |
How will we know if they have learned it? (common summative assessment) Step 3: Discuss evidence of the end in mind - How will you know if students achieved these standards? What type of task could they perform or complete by the end of the unit? With what level of proficiency? With what type of problem or text (stimulus)? Could include exemplars or a rubric. | ||
Where in the unit does it make sense to see if our students are learning what we are teaching? What evidence will we collect along the way? (common formative assessment) Step 4: Plan the timing for common formative assessments - As the team designs the plan, include the quality instructional practices that support high levels of student learning. | ||
Sequential Plan for Unit Instruction and Monitoring Learning | ||
Days Into Instruction | Common Formative Assessment (What are the formative checkpoints?) | |
5-6 | Food web practice | |
7 | Energy pyramid foldable | |
8 | Energy flow skills lab | |
12-13 | Review | |
14 | Summative | |