| Grade 7: Life Systems: Interactions Within Ecosystems |
Achievement
Level
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Overall Expectations
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1
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2
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3
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4
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| •demonstrate an understanding of the interactions of
plants, animals, fungi, and micro- organisms in an ecosystem; |
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| •investigate the interactions in an ecosystem, and identify
factors that affect the balance among the components of an ecosystem (e.g.,
forest fires, parasites); |
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| •demonstrate an understanding of the effects of human
activities and technological innovations, as well as the effects of changes
that take place naturally, on the sustainability of ecosystems. |
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Specific Expectations
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| Understanding Basic Concepts |
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| •identify living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) elements
in an ecosystem; |
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| •identify populations of organisms within an ecosystem
and the factors that contribute to their survival in that ecosystem; |
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| •identify and explain the roles of producers, consumers,
and decomposers in food chains and their effects on the environment (e.g.,
plants as producers in ponds); |
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| •explain the importance of microorganisms in recycling
organic matter (e.g., as decomposers); |
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| •identify micro-organisms as beneficial (e.g., yeast)
and/or harmful (e.g., bacteria or viruses that cause disease); |
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| •interpret food webs that show the transfer of energy
among several food chains, and evaluate the effects of the elimination
or weakening of any part of the food web; |
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| •describe the process of cycling carbon and water in
the biosphere; |
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| •investigate ways in which natural communities within
ecosystems can change, and explain how such changes can affect animal and
plant populations (e.g., changes affecting their life span, their gestation
periods, or their ability to compete successfully); |
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| •identify signs of ecological succession in a local ecosystem
(e.g., the presence of blueberries in an area recently devastated by fire;
the presence of pioneer organisms that start the process of succession
in sand dunes). |
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| Developing Skills of Inquiry, Design, and Communication |
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| •formulate questions about and identify the needs of
various living things in an ecosystem, and explore possible answers to
these questions and ways of meeting these needs (e.g., research the population
levels of a species over time and predict its future levels on the basis
of past trends and present conditions; determine how the structure of specific
plants helps them withstand high winds, live on the surface of water, or
compete for sunlight); |
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| •plan investigations for some of these answers and solutions,
identifying variables that need to be held constant to ensure a fair test
and identifying criteria for assessing solutions; |
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| •use appropriate vocabulary, including correct science
and technology terminology, to communicate ideas, procedures, and results
(e.g., use scientific terms such as biosphere, biome, ecosystem, species); |
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| •compile qualitative and quantitative data gathered through
investigation in order to record and present results, using diagrams, flow
charts, frequency tables, bar graphs, line graphs, and stem-and-leaf plots
produced by hand or with a computer (e.g., use a chart to record the number
of producers and consumers in a particular habitat); |
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| •communicate the procedures and results of investigations
for specific purposes and to specific audiences, using media works, oral
presentations, written notes and descriptions, charts, graphs, and drawings
(e.g., design a multimedia presentation explaining the interrelationships
of biotic and abiotic elements in a specific ecosystem). |
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| Relating Science and Technology to the World Outside
the School |
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| •investigate the impact of the use of technology on the
environment (e.g., the “greenhouse effect”; redirection of water flow for
human needs; use of pesticides); |
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| •investigate the bio-economical costs and benefits of
the recycling and waste- disposal industries; |
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| •explain the importance of plants as sources of energy
(e.g., food, fossil fuels), as producers of carbohydrates and oxygen (e.g.,
phytoplankton), and as habitats for wildlife; |
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| •describe the conditions in an ecosystem that are essential
to the growth and reproduction of plants and micro-organisms, and show
the connection between these conditions and various aspects of the food
supply for humans; |
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| •identify the importance of plants in the Canadian economy
(e.g., in farming, forestry, drug manufacturing, the nursery industry)
and describe the impact of the industrial use of plants on the environment; |
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| •explain the long-term effects of the loss of natural
habitats and the extinction of species (e.g., loss of diversity of genetic
material, both plant and animal); |
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| •identify and explain economic, environmental and social
factors that should be considered in the management and preservation of
habitats (e.g., the need for recycling; the need for people to have employment). |
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| Student Name: |
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