SC.912.L.17.5

Type: Lesson Plan

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson plan uses multicolor paper dots to model how events change a bird population over time. 

"You are a scientist observing a community of birds in the forest. Periodically, different events occur and have an effect on the populations of different birds. As a dedicated scientist and observer, you record all of these changes and watch how the community changes over time."

Type: Lesson Plan

Students explore the world of population biology using the sea otter as a case study. The lesson involves reading technical reports from the US Fish and Wildlife Service as well as reading information about the sea otter from non-governmental organizations. Students are introduced to a specialized wildlife capture technique and monitoring of the endangered population through annual census data. Using that data students explore the limiting factors affecting sea otter growth and apply mathematical knowledge to analyze population growth curves. Students also produce an argument on whether the sea otter has met criteria and should be removed from the endangered species list.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lab students will have a chance to explore the effects of limiting factors on a pair of ducks. Students will then examine why the limiting factors influences the carrying capacity of a population. Students will collect data and analyze it before drawing a conclusion about limiting factors and carrying capacity.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson addresses the different factors responsible for the size and dynamics of populations. Growth and decline in population numbers are both addressed through presentation, discussions and a plant growth experiment extension.

Type: Lesson Plan

"To The Limit" MEA has students identify several factors that can affect a population’s growth. Students will examine photos to list limiting factors and discuss their impact on populations. As a group they will develop a solution to minimize the impact of pollution on fish population.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

This 7E lesson plan is broken down into 3 lessons used to teach high school students in grades 9-12 about the characteristics used to describe populations. There are inquiry based and project based inquiry activities incorporated within the lesson. Students will also learn the difference between exponential and logistic growth by doing hands -on activities. A Power Point is used to guide the activities, and learning.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will explore and assess the implications various human and environmental factors are having on the yellow-legged frog population in California. Students will use knowledge of percentages to calculate population size and will complete research to explore the affects of human impact on the environment and the process of adaptation through natural and artificial selection.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

Examine migration and factors affecting both population sizes and distributions of key species in the Kenyan savannah with this interactive tutorial. 

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Explore population interactions and how those interactions can affect population size in this interactive tutorial. You'll also learn about competition, predation and symbiosis.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Patrick Milligan discusses the impetus for organisms to migrate in the Kenyan savannah.

Download the CPALMS Perspectives video student note taking guide.

Type: Perspectives Video: Expert

Watch as Dr. Stephen E. Davis, III explains how excess phosphorous pollution is impacting the Everglades.

Download the CPALMS Perspectives video student note taking guide.

Type: Perspectives Video: Expert

Dr. Erinn Muller describes limiting factors affecting coral health.

Download the CPALMS Perspectives video student note taking guide.

Type: Perspectives Video: Expert

Students will be able to use a world map or globe to locate the distribution of at least 10 endangered species and describe the current threats and conservation efforts concerning one endangered species of animal or plant.

Type: Teaching Idea

Students will be able to show four or more West Indian manatee habitats on a map and describe and/or illustrate yearly movements of manatees along the Florida coastline. Students will be able to describe the top three threats to manatees and create an educational campaign to target the causes of the threats.

Type: Teaching Idea

Students will use the Internet to determine the population status of the Florida manatee and will use the information to debate the extinction or recovery of the manatee.

Type: Teaching Idea

Given a current environmental situation, the student will be able to gather information, organize, analyze, and present data. They will participate in a decision-making process.

Type: Teaching Idea

Students will identify threats to raptor populations and conceptually model situations related to population dynamics.

Type: Teaching Idea

Students will calculate population size, carrying capacity, annual change in population size, and maximum rate of population increase of different raptor species.

Type: Teaching Idea

This informational text resource is intended to support reading in the content area. When corals are stressed, they release their algal partners and turn white, a phenomenon called coral bleaching. This occurs when they are under stress from warming waters or other environmental factors. Researchers monitored reefs in the Seychelles during and after coral bleaching events, and found that several factors, including depth of growth, branching shape, nutrient levels, and amount of fish grazing accurately predicted whether reefs were likely to recover from these events. Human impacts such as sediment or nutrient run-off also affect the corals' resiliency.

Type: Text Resource

Ecologist Daniel Janzen of the University of Pennsylvania describes how this plant's strategy came about and what's in it—both good and bad—for the bamboo, the rats and other predators, and anyone living nearby.

Type: Text Resource

Click "View Site" to open a full-screen version. This tutorial is designed to help secondary science teachers learn how to integrate literacy skills within their science curriculum. This tutorial focuses on using specific textual evidence to support students' responses as they analyze science texts. The focus on literacy across content areas is designed to help students independently build knowledge in different disciplines through reading and writing.

Type: Tutorial

In this interactive, explore one of the most well-understood mass seedings—that of oak-tree acorn crops—and its widespread effects on various animals in the ecosystem as well as on nearby human populations.

Type: Tutorial

In this software simulation, students take on the role of bees and experiment with different foraging patterns in a field of flowers to maximize net energy input. Students generate quantitative data that can be analyzed and graphed.

Type: Virtual Manipulative