LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE

Your Name: Kelsey Johnson

Title of Lesson: What are the Ecosystem Services of Phoenix?
Grade: 6th

STANDARDS (Next Generation Science)
Students who demonstrate understanding can:
MS-LS2-
2.
Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple
ecosystems.[Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on predicting consistent patterns of interactions in
different ecosystems in terms of the relationships among and between organisms and abiotic components of
ecosystems. Examples of types of interactions could include competitive, predatory, and mutually beneficial.]
MS-LS2-
5.
Evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem
services.* [Clarification Statement: Examples of ecosystem services could include water purification, nutrient
recycling, and prevention of soil erosion. Examples of design solution constraints could include scientific,
economic, and social considerations.]

LESSON SUMMARY/OVERVIEW
Provide an overview/synopsis of the lesson and the topics that it will cover. Mention the sustainability connection/lens
associated with this lesson plan you are creating.

Well start out the lesson with a discussion: What are ecosystem services we receive from living in Phoenix? Phoenix
provides us with water purification, recycling, solar power, shelter, entertainment, and so much more. Think about the three
different types of ecosystem services, what are some other services Phoenix provides us in each of those categories? What are
some ways the people of Phoenix take advantage of our ecosystem services and the ecosystems around us? How can we make a
difference in helping our ecosystem and the ecosystems around us?

Then my students will split up into groups of three or four and pick a focus. They will know what ecosystems are, they will
know what ecosystem services are. This lesson gets my students to think about this topic in the sense of real life. Ecosystem
services are a real world thing, not just something we learn in science. The students will then go to the computers and
research their focus. They can pick service to research, or they can pick a service that is being taken advantage of. That
includes the other ecosystems and their services around us. They will compile their research for a poster. They have today to
start on it, tomorrow to finish it and present it. We will then hang up the posters around the school so others can enjoy them
and learn about ecosystem services. I will take pictures and post them to the website.


OBJECTIVES
Describe what you want students to know/be able to do as a result of the lesson.
For example, Students will be able to

SWBAT evaluate the ecosystem services provided by our ecosystem of Phoenix and consider and discuss ways that we can take
better care of our ecosystem and the ecosystems around us.


ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION
What measures will you use to know if you students met the objectives?

100% of all student groups will turn in a poster that shows they have evaluated the ecosystem services of Phoenix or have
provided a solution to help protect our ecosystem or the ecosystem around us.


PREREQUISITE KNOWLEDGE
What will students need to know prior to completing this lesson and how will you access their prior knowledge?

They will need to know about ecosystems and ecosystem services. They will also need to know the three different kinds of
ecosystem services. They will have learned about this in the three days prior to the end of this unit. I will assess as I go
through the first three days. We will also start todays lesson with a discussion where I can address any misconceptions and
ask questions that require them to use their prior knowledge.




MATERIALS
List of required materials.

Computers (one or two per group)
Posters (one per group)
Markers, glue, pencils, paper, scissors and anything else you would need to make a poster

VOCABULARY/KEY WORDS
List of key vocabulary terms.
Ecosystem
Ecosystem services
Provisioning services
Regulating services
Cultural services
Soil erosion
Recycling
Water treatment
Renewable energy and nonrenewable energy


TEACHING PROCEDURES
Procedural Steps (Step by step instructions for teaching the lesson):

1. Teacher will call class to attention.
2. We will have a class discussion to activate prior knowledge and get students thinking about the real world application of
what we have been learning the past few days. What are ecosystem services we receive from living in Phoenix? Phoenix
provides us with water purification, recycling, solar power, shelter, entertainment, and so much more. What are some other
services Phoenix provides us? What are some ways the people of Phoenix take advantage of our ecosystem services and the
ecosystems around us? How can we make a difference in helping our ecosystem and the ecosystems around us? How can the
choices we make today affect the future negatively or positively?
3. Students will actively participate in discussion.
4. I will then explain the project to the class: You will each get into groups of three or four. I want you all to research an
ecosystem service of Phoenix or a service of another ecosystem that we use. You can either talk about the services they
provide and/or talk about how we need to be careful that we do not overuse or take advantage of the services provided. Think
about the future, will these services be able to continue if we continue to behave/use them like we do? You will research using
our class computer set. Then you will present your information or idea on a poster and share will the class tomorrow. We will
also hang these posters up in the hallway so everyone can benefit. If you are having a hard time finding information, go to the
City of Phoenix Website (Welcome to the City of Phoenix, 2014). It is an awesome place to get started with a lot of
information.
5. I will then ask for questions.
6. Students will form their groups and I will pass out a worksheet to each group.
7. Students will take out one or two computers per group and start compiling information.
8. Teacher will walk around the classroom and help students as needed and oversee that work is getting done.
9. Students may start working on their poster once they feel they have found enough information. Their posters will be
finished and presented tomorrow. They will also be hung up tomorrow.


RESOURCES
List any references you used to create this lesson. If you borrowed ideas from any lesson plans please note them here. Use APA
format.

This is the resources I handed out to my students:
Welcome to the City of Phoenix. (2014). City of Phoenix. Retrieved from: http://phoenix.gov/

This website is AWESOME! They have a link to sustainability and are very kid friendly. Everything my students need to
know for their project can be found on this site. It is very easy to use and has very helpful information.

WAYS OF THINKING CONNECTION
Provide a complete explanation of how your lesson plan connects to futures, system, strategic, or values thinking. Define the
way of thinking you selected and used in this lesson plan. Remember, this should be included meaningfully in the lesson plan.

My lesson plan uses futures and systems thinking. Students have to think how systems are connected through ecosystem
services. They also have to think about the future. During the discussion we talk about what will happen to our ecosystems in
the future if we continue making the choices we make. Students have to evaluate their choices and how they affect the future.
When researching for their poster, they have to think about the services our ecosystem provides and what would happen if we
take advantage of it or what would happen if we suddenly went without it.