Student will explore the idea of what ecosystem services are, focusing on the importance of plant’s root systems. A brief introduction to ecosystem services will be followed by an interactive demonstration illustrating a basic ecosystem service. Then students will have an opportunity to construct their own root systems and test out their designs to see how they fare in a heavy rain event. Finally, after conducting a month long experiment with different watering regimes, students will determine whether certain plants are more equipped to deal with drought and what makes them better. This is a highly interactive lesson that requires some preparation prior to implementation.
Objectives
At the conclusion of the lesson, students will be able to:
- Understand how healthy ecosystems provide valuable services
- Distinguish between four different categories of ecosystem services
- Understand the specific role of roots in providing services
- Understand the differences in root systems between many native and exotic plants
- Demonstrate the role of root systems in drought resistance
Length of Lesson
Introductory presentation: 15 minutes
Soil erosion demo: 10 minutes
Root building competition: 20 minutes
Drought experiment: 20 minutes
Grade Levels
Grades 6-12
Resources:
- Lesson Plan
- Powerpoint (pdf)
- Soil erosion demonstration instructions
- Build your own root system instructions
- Drought experiment instructions
- Data Entry and Graphing Worksheet (.xlsx)
Lesson Plan created by GK-12 Fellows Tyler Bassett, Dustin Kincaid, Jake Nalley, and Michael Kuczynski, 2013