This lesson takes the student from understanding the meaning of biodiversity to understanding how important it is in real ecosystems. Using the insects captured during the BEST Plots Invertebrate Diversity Protocol, students play Bug Bingo and have fun while recognizing differences in diversity from place to place. Then, students play the Biodiversity Stock Market, to demonstrate the importance of biodiversity and the consequences of eliminating diversity. Additionally, the game will demonstrate the many economic benefits provided by high levels of biodiversity through valuable ecosystem services.
At the conclusion of the lesson, students will be able to:
- Understand what biodiversity means in the scientific community
- Recognize several insects to order
- Understand that diversity differs from place to place, and is declining.
- Understand that biodiversity has economic and social benefits
- Understand that high levels of biodiversity improve ecosystem productivity and stability
- Recognize that healthy ecosystems provide people with a variety of services that have a substantial economic value.
Resources:
- Lesson plan
- Dividends from Diversity powerpoint
- Invertebrate identification powerpoint
- Invertebrate biodiversity protocol
- Invertebrate Bingo rules
- Invertebrate Bingo (card only) (pdf)
- Biodiversity Stock Market
Lesson written and created by GK-12 fellows Tyler Bassett and Michael Kuczynski, 2011