Abiotic and Biotic Scavenger Hunt with Anna

“There is a deep interconnectedness of all life on earth, from the tiniest organisms, to the largest ecosystems, and absolutely between each person.” ― Bryant McGill, Voice of Reason

Grade Level:  Elementary

Objective:  Students will learn what makes an organism biotic and be able to identify biotic and abiotic elements in the ecosystem

 Today we...
-got to work with Anna K., an environmental educator from New Mexico
-learned characteristics that make an animal "living" or "biotic"
(cells, using energy, responding to an environment, growing, reproducing)
-went on an abiotic and biotic scavenger hunt
-discussed our findings

Washington State Content Areas Covered:

EARL 1: System

Big Idea: Systems
Core Content: Role of Each Part in a System
Students know that:
-A system is a group of interacting parts that form a whole. Give examples of simple living and physical systems (e.g., a whole animal or plant, a car, a doll, a table and chair set).
-A whole object, plant, or animal may not continue to function the same way if some of its parts are missing. Predict what may happen to an object, plant, or animal if one or more of its parts are removed (e.g., a tricycle cannot be ridden if its wheels are removed).*
-A whole object, plant, or animal can do things that none of its parts can do by themselves.
-Some objects need to have their parts connected in a certain way if they are to function as a whole.
-Similar parts may play different roles in different objects, plants, or animals.
Students are expected to:
-Explain how the parts of a system depend on one another for the system to function.
-Contrast the function of a whole object, plant, or animal with the function of one of its parts (e.g., an airplane can fly, but wings and propeller alone cannot; plants can grow, but stems and flowers alone cannot).
-Explain why the parts in a system need to be connected in a specific way for the system to function as a whole (e.g., batteries must be inserted correctly in a flashlight if it is to produce light). -Identify ways that similar parts can play different roles in different systems (e.g., birds may use their beaks to crack seeds while other birds use their beaks to catch fish).