| Lesson Number |
At-Home Activity
(Parental involvement and/or supervision are essential while
students carry out these activities.) |
| Getting
Started: Environmental Issues |
Collect several soil samples from your
yard, flower beds or potted house plants. Weigh an equal amount
of each sample, then allow the samples to dry out. Weigh the samples
again. Which soil sample lost the most mass as the water was removed? |
5.1
Bear Necessities |
List ways in which your habitat and that
of wildlife in your community have overlapped. Develop a plan to
improve the habitat of the wildlife in your immediate environment.
(For example, what plants could be included in gardens in your area
to attract various kinds of animals?) |
5.2
The Organization of Life |
Prepare a quiz for yourself on the
new terms presented in this lesson. Write out the definition of
each new term on a small flashcard, then have a family member
quiz you. Separate the answers you know well from those that you
do not know as well. Focus your study on the terms that you do
not know well. This process of elimination helps to focus your
study efforts where they are most needed.
|
5.3
Case Study: Adaptations for Survival |
Observe an organism that lives in or
around your home. Report on the adaptations you have observed in
this organism. (For example, dandelions have leaves that stay close
to the ground so they are not easily cut down by lawnmowers. The
leaves are large and dark green, which helps them collect sunlight
efficiently. The flower stem grows quickly and the seeds ripen rapidly.
Flowers produced continuously, so it is unlikely that you will destroy
all the flowers by mowing weekly.) |
5.4
A Landfill Ecosystem |
Keep a journal of what your family puts
into the garbage over a two-week period. Discuss with your family
some ways to reduce the amount of refuse you generate. |
5.5
Inquiry Investigation: What Belongs in a Landfill? |
Try to duplicate this classroom investigation in
your home composter or a small corner of a garden or flower bed.
Compare the results. |
5.6
Cycling of Matter |
- Draw a design for a home composter. Be sure to allow for air
movement as composting requires living organisms (bacteria)
to recycle our food wastes.
- Explain why a composter may become an important piece of equipment
on a space lab or intergalactic missions.
|
5.7
Microbes in Ecosystems |
Make a list of microbes found in your
kitchen. |
5.8
Inquiry Investigation: Nutrient Recycling and Plant Growth |
Consult a local supplier of fertilizer
to find out what the remainder of the mass of fertilizer represents.
(For example, in a 12-8-8 fertilizer, the remaining 72% of the mass
is a filler such as sand.) Why is it necessary to add filler to
the fertilizer? |
5.9
Career Profile: Field Biologist |
Discuss with family members the effects
of north-facing and south-facing slopes. For example:
- where apple trees grow well
- how to position a house to get the most benefit from solar
radiation during the winter
- which ski hills keep their snow the longest and what type
of vegetation is found along the runs
- what type of flowers bloom best along each wall or fence around
the home
|
5.10
Ecological Pyramids |
Examine containers of various insect
repellents used by your family. Record the contents of the repellents. |
5.11
Case Study: Pesticides: Poisons in the Food Chain |
- Discuss with family members the pros and cons of using pesticides
to control disease-carrying or crop-destroying insects.
- Examine the labels of various pesticides used around the home
to eliminate unwanted insects, moulds and weeds. Make a list
of each one and what it is designed to control. Be sure to read
the warning labels, too.
|
5.12
The Water Cycle |
Make a list of items that you put
into the garbage on one specific day. For each item, list soluble
material that could be leached into the ground water in a landfill
site.
|
5.13
Case Study: Choosing a Waste Disposal Site |
Discuss the Reflecting question
(no. 4) in this lesson with your family. Should the cost of disposing
hazardous wastes be borne by the consumers of the product? |
5.14
Rethinking Before Recycling |
For one week, keep all packaging materials
separate from other garbage in your household. At the end of the
week find the mass and volume of the packaging and that of the garbage.
How do they compare? Decide as a family how you can change your
purchasing habits to reduce the amount of packaging materials discarded. |
5.15
Explore an Issue: Garbage and the Community |
Discuss the Cosmos Conundrum scenario
with your family and listen for suggestions that you can incorporate
into your group's class presentation. |
5.16
Acid in the Water Cycle |
After you have designed the experiment
to determine which plants do best in an acid soil (Exploring
question no. 5), carry out the experiment at home, following the
procedures you have planned.
|
5.17
Inquiry Investigation: Environmental Models |
Keep your ecocolumn at home to make long-term
observations. |
5.18
The Carbon Cycle |
If you have not already done so in class,
carry out the Try This activity for this lesson (Greenhouse
Simulation) at home. |
5.19
Case Study: Solutions for Global Warming |
Discuss possible solutions for global
warming with family members.
|
5.20
Case Study: Succession |
Observe the pattern of tree seedling
growth in lawns, gardens or parklands to determine how it relates
to distance from the tree. How did the seeds get to where they grow? |
5.21
Logging Old Growth Forest |
Research one Canadian endangered species
and prepare a brief presentation for classmates or family members. |
| Design
Challenge |
Note to parents: Since the Design
Challenge may be used by teachers as a performance assessment
opportunity, parents should consult with the teacher to determine
the appropriate degree of parental involvement in their child's
completion of the Design Challenge.
|
| Unit
Summary |
The Unit Summary in your textbook
lists all the learning expectations you have covered in the unit
and identifies the specific lessons in which the knowledge and
skills have been developed.
You can use the Unit Summary to help you create a personal study
guide in preparation for an end-of-unit test:
- Copy down the list of learning expectations from your textbook.
These are grouped under three headings: Understanding Concepts,
Applying Skills, Making Connections.
- For each learning expectation, locate the appropriate lesson(s)
in the unit where the expectation was covered. These are listed
at the end of each expectation (e.g., 2.1).
- Flip to the appropriate lesson(s) for each expectation and
make study notes of the key ideas or skills you learned.
|
