Grade Levels:
6-8 9-12
Use Cases:
Authors / Developers
HJ Andrews Experimental Forest LTER
Time Required
One, 50-min class period
Teaching Tips
Students might also benefit from researching animals that make up other ecosystems and making another set of cards to compare to this forest ecosystem. Really only applicable to this particular ecosystem but the idea easily adaptable to other ecosystems.
About The Science
Elementary level exercise that familiarizes students with some of the organisms in a Pacific Northwests old growth forest along with how they interact with each other. Lesson provides exercise potential connections to other unit topics such as trophic levels, nutrient cycling and symbiotic relationships. Science content is at the introductory level on the note cards - that include a couple of sentences about the organism and a photo of each organism. Educator might need to augment the information. Simple networking activity to learn about interconnections among organisms in an ecosystem. Only 15 organisms are profiled - might be useful to provide a list of additional organisms that teachers could investigate and add to the cards if needed for larger classes.
Pedagogy Annotation
Relatively simple, straight forward exercise encouraging students to communicate their findings to each other as scientists do in the field of research. Species cards are supplied with worksheet and suggestions for assessment. No additional background information provided for educator.
Technical Details/Ease of Use
N/A