Daily PBL Plans

Ecosystems

Week # 1

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Pre-Assess
Using context clues
and knowledge of
prefixes, students will
answer the following
questions: What is an
ecosystem? What is a
biome? How are they
different?

Entry Event
Video on ecosystems
https://www.youtube.com/watch
?v=iRhdDs91aas

Investigate
Continue research of
ecosystems and biomes

Investigate
Students will use computers to
research and discover what an
ecosystem is and how it differs
from a biome.

Assess
Students will write about
ecosystems and biomes. This
will include a description of the
ecosystem of their choice.

Dates ___________________________
Thursday
Assess
Quiz on ecosystems.
Grouping
Teacher will pair up students
based on the ecosystem they
wrote about yesterday.
Create
Students will construct a
diorama of a ecosystem of
their choice

Journaling
The difference between
ecosystems and biomes

EL Strategies:
Work with a partner to
complete these tasks

EL Strategies:
Students can talk at their table
groups about their ideas before
they begin writing

EL Strategies:
Strategic pairing of students
Intervention:
Teacher will use quiz scores
and writing from yesterday to
determine comprehension of
ecosystems and biomes.
Reteach small groups as
needed.

Friday
Create
Continue working on
diorama
Journaling
Write about process of
constructing diorama.

Daily PBL Plans

Monday
Presentation
Students will present
their dioramas.

Ecosystems

Week # 2

Tuesday

Wednesday

Investigation
Food chain video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=CDO_B1Bbjl8

Create
Students will create a food chain
for the organisms that live in their
ecosystem (the one in their
diorama).

Food chain activity to help

understand the transfer of energy
within an ecosystem.
http://www.ecokids.ca/pub/eco_inf
o/topics/frogs/chain_reaction/play
_chainreaction.cfm

Intervention:
Presentations will give
opportunity to reteach
concepts of biomes
and ecosystems.
Students can have the
opportunity to teach
their peers which
sometimes works
better than the teacher
reteaching

Dates ___________________________
Thursday

Friday

Presentation
Students will present their
food chains. All the food
chains will be displayed
together as a food web.

Investigation
Watch video on
decomposers.
https://www.youtube.co
m/watch?
v=uB61rfeeAsM

Assess
Quiz on food chains what
they are and how they
work.

Teacher will put a piece

of bread in a Ziploc
bag and leave it for a
week or so. Students
will chart the mold
growth.
Discussion
Class discussion about
decomposers.

Journaling What is a food

chain? What happens when you
take one part out of the food
chain?

Journaling
Where do
decomposers fit in the
food chain? Why are
they important?
EL Strategies:
Work with a partner

EL Strategies:
Work in partners.

Daily PBL Plans

Ecosystems

Week # 3

Monday

Tuesday

Whole class discussion

Producers, consumers, and
decomposers and each of their
roles in the ecosystem.

Investigate
Take a nature walk around the
school campus to find
evidence of decomposition.

Assess
Quiz on producers,
consumers, and
decomposers.

Journaling
Sketch and describe at least 3
different forms of
decomposition found on the
nature walk.

Research
Conduct research with a
partner about human impact
on ecosystems.

Data
Chart the progress of mold
growth

Journaling
Keep notes on research
findings.

Practice
Play the game
http://www.neok12.com/quiz/E
COSYS01
Data
Chart the progress of mold
growth

Wednesday

Data
Chart the progress of mold
growth

EL Strategies:
Create a T-chart or Venn
Diagram to keep track of the
different roles in the
ecosystem.

EL Strategies:
Work and discuss with a
partner. Tell partner what they
are going to write before they
write.

Dates ___________________________
Thursday
Research contd
Complete research

Presentation
Present findings to the
class.
Teacher will keep a
running list of what the
students present.
Journaling
What impacts can
humans have on their
ecosystems?

Friday
Investigate
Humans effect on
ecosystems
Material for each group:
Paper
Plastic animals
Blocks (for houses)
The paper represents the
ecosystem. Each group
will put ALL of the
animals on the paper.
They will then put ALL of
the blocks on the paper.
Journaling
Record observations of
the investigation

Data
Chart the progress of
mold growth

Data
Chart the progress of
mold growth

Daily PBL Plans

Monday
Graphing
Given local data of a native
species and how it has
declined due to human
activity, students will create
a graph of this decline.

Ecosystems
Tuesday
Research
Using the diorama created
in Week One, research the
human impact to that
particular ecosystem.

Wednesday
Create
Add the human impact to
the original diorama

Dates ___________________________
Thursday

Create contd
Complete the additions to
the diorama.
Practice the presentation.

Friday
Final Presentations
Present the new diorama
to the class
Assessment
Test on ecosystems and the
processes involved in it.
This will include multiple
choice, fill-in, and a written
portion.

Journaling
Record observations of the
graph

Data
Chart the progress of mold
growth

EL Strategies:
Work with a partner to
create the graph.

Week # 4

EL Strategies:
Work with a partner, but
give specific tasks to focus
on.