Organization in an Ecosystem Inquiry Lab - MS 6-8 Science TEKS

In this lab, students will use the levels of organization as they make plans for a freshwater aquarium. They will choose an organism, decide how large a population of that species they want, choose compatible community members, and add abiotic factors to the ecosystem. They will “test” the success of their ecosystem and compare their results with other groups. Throughout the lab they will learn the terms organism, population, community and ecosystem.

This product contains three complete, TEKS-aligned labs that are differentiated for all of your students. All labs have comprehension questions, Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (C.E.R.) prompts, and a reflection section.

What's Included?

• Teacher resource pages, including prep time, standards/objectives, teacher directions, materials, and additional resources
• Answer keys - suggested answer keys for the labs
• CER conclusion and reflection questions - Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning statements along with 3 reflection questions per lab
• Fully editable files
• TEKS-aligned materials

3 Differentiated Labs:

• Dependent Student Lab - A complete lab. This level is written with a combination of procedural instructions and inquiry questions. They are moderately student-centered with guided inquiry questions throughout the lab. Suggested for on-level learners.
• Modified Student Lab - A complete lab. This level provides the most structured lab experience. The lessons may eliminate parts of the lab and change the questioning to include sentence stems or multiple choice questions. Suggested for learners who may benefit from modifications.
• Independent Student Lab - A complete lab. This level is the most student-centered experience. Suggestions are made for the students to get started, but most of the decisions will be student-generated. The students will be responsible for most aspects of the lab and will have the least guidance. Suggested for advanced learners.

Materials Needed Per Group:

• Four “Ecosystem Resources” pages:
• Page 1: Outstanding Organism and Preferred Population Size
• Pages 2 and 3: Common Community
• Page 4: Ecosystem: Everything
• Colored pencils
• Ecosystem Success Test (kept by teacher until needed)
• Paper to draw aquarium design if time allows

Save Time and Buy Now!

Save precious prep time and get back to teaching. All of the hard work has been done for you. Go have some fun with those students!

This is a finished product; it will be updated with formatting or corrections as needed. Future improvements and new features will be sold as a separate product.