Students will be able to independently use their learning to…

• Understand an organism using a systems perspective
• Compare and contrast how a variety organisms rely on internal systems to survive, reproduce, and interact with their environment
• Use systems thinking to understand the interconnectedness of all living things
• Connect to place and understand their role and responsibility as stewards of the environment
• Develop a plan of action to address a selected problem or issue

UNIT UNDERSTANDINGS:

Students will understand that…

• A living organism is made up of many interdependent body systems that interact to sustain life.
• All organisms require food, water, and shelter for survival.
• All organisms also need energy, which can be traced back through food chains to plants and sun.
• All organisms have predictable life cycles.
• Organisms reproduce in a variety of ways including: sexual and asexual reproduction.
• Organisms have adaptations to help them survive in particular habitats.
• Adaptations can be visible, invisible (physiological), or behavioural.
• Organisms interact with each other in a variety of ways including: competition, predator-prey, symbiotic, and parasitic relationships.
• Organisms also interact with the surrounding environment (abiotic factors) including: energy, water, air and soil.
• All organisms are connected, including us.
• My actions (both positive and negative) impact the organism’s ability to survive.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:

Students will keep considering…

• What is a living organism?

• What do all organisms need for survival?

• What adaptations help the organism survive in its environment?

• What interactions do you observe –between organisms, and between the organism and environment?

• How am I connected to the organism(s) I’ve experienced during field studies?

• What does it mean to be a steward of the environment?

• What is a system?

• What does it mean to think using a systems approach?

• How have I experienced ‘Systems’ at ODS? (e.g. in what ways is a disappearing log a living system?)

• How am I connected to ‘Systems’ in my everyday life?

> Click here to learn more about Essential Questions

CURRICULAR COMPETENCIES

Students will be skilled at…

• Demonstrate curiosity about a scientific  topic or problem (Science 6)

• Make observations in familiar and unfamiliar contexts

• Experience and interpret the local environment (Science 6)

• Develop a plan of action to address a selected problem or issue (SS 6)

• Identify First Peoples’ perspectives and knowledge as sources of information (Science 6)

• Express and reflect on personal, shared, others’ experience of place (Science 6)

CONTENT

Students will know…

• Decomposers (fungi, bacteria and invertebrates) are organisms feed on dead or decaying matter. 

• Decomposition is the process of plants and animals breaking down into smaller and simpler parts.

• Plants use the nutrients from the soil, not as food, but as vitamins that help run their body systems. Fallen logs & nurse stumps provide a nutrient-rich habitat for growing plants & young trees.

• Decomposers are important to ecosystems, because they make matter available to plants, which is an important part of matter cycling through ecosystems.

• Humans harvest forests for wood, which is used for a variety of purposes.

CORE COMPETENCIES

Which Core Competencies will be integrated into the unit? 

Positive Personal & Cultural Identity

• Students will explore human impacts, and how they can contribute to caring for the temperate rainforest ecosystem

Communication

• Students will use scientific language to exchange ideas with peers

Critical Thinking

• Students will use observation and reasoning to make explanations, including a possible sequence of events

The unit will make connections with:

How does the field study reflect Cheakamus Centre Principles (Place, Community, Inquiry, Personal Connections, and First Peoples’ Perspectives)?

Place: Students will explore and make observations in & of the temperate rainforest ecosystem.

Inquiry: Students will explore fallen logs and find evidence for various impacts upon them.

FPP: Students will use observation and reasoning to make explanations about what happened to a culturally modified tree (CMT), and compare & contrast with examples of other ‘disappearing logs’ (e.g. forestry practices, and other signs of disturbance including: lightning, fire,  wind  fall).