The study of the relationships between one organism and its environment
builds knowledge of all organisms. With this knowledge comes an awareness
of limits. Such knowledge is important because humans can change environments.
To do so without awareness of possible consequences can lead to disasters
because all living things depend on the conditions in their environment.
The Environments Module consists of five investigations that focus on
the concepts that all organisms need energy and matter to live and grow
and living organisms depend on one another and on their environment for
their survival.
Students will
|
• |
Develop an attitude of respect and understanding for
life. |
| |
• |
Gain experience with the major environmental components
(living and nonliving) in terrestrial and aquatic systems. |
| |
• |
Conduct experiments with plants to determine ranges
of tolerance. |
| |
• |
Determine an organism’s optimum conditions and environmental
preferences. |
| |
• |
Organize and analyze data from experiments and investigations
with plants and animals. |
| |
• |
Observe and describe changes in complex systems over
time and interpret those observations. |
| |
• |
Relate laboratory studies to natural systems where
in any particular environment some kinds of plants and animals survive
well and others survive less well or not at all. |
| |
• |
Explain the feeding relationships in a number of ecosystems
through food chains and food webs describing the roles of producers
and consumers (herbivores, carnivores, and decomposers). |
| |
• |
Describe how organisms can compete for resources in
an ecosystem. |
| |
• |
Apply measurement in the context of science investigations. |
| |
• |
Develop questions and perform scientific investigations
to test predictions and draw conclusions. |
Storyline
This graphic is intended to help teachers focus on the big idea of the unit,
and the concepts that help students understand the big idea. Note that each
lesson is matched with the concept it develops. Environments Storyline 
Kit
Replacement Items
Order Form
Live Animals
PAUSD teachers may order live animals for the Environments Unit from the Science
Resource Center.
FOSS Website
Environments Resources |
