“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”
-Charles Darwin
Essential Question
How do local plants and ecosystems adapt to change? What do native plants have in common?
Project Overview
In partnership with Cabrillo National Monument, students will investigate local plants and examine evidence of plant adaptations occurring as a result of climate change. Students will visit Cabrillo National Monument to learn about local plants and collect data about plants observed in the wild. Students will conduct additional field work at Cabrillo, Mission Trails Regional Park, Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, and a Bio Blitz around Liberty Station to collect data on plants found in the local community. Throughout their fieldwork, students will collect notes and photographs of their observations to use in creating an art piece portraying information about a particular plant and its adaptations to be displayed at Cabrillo National Monument. Students will also contribute pages to a coloring book used by visitors to Cabrillo featuring particular plants found in local ecosystems.
Products
* A multimedia piece to be displayed at Cabrillo National Monument Visitor’s Center
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* Plant Adaptations Coloring Book
Project Skills
Science:
Students analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem; Students construct arguments supported by evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations; Students use mathematical representations to support explanations of how natural selection may lead to increases and decreases of specific traits in populations over time; Students ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that have caused the rise in global temperatures over the past century.
Math:
Students can find and use the measures of center (mean, median, mode, & range) to describe a data sets’ center, spread, and overall shape; Students can display numerical data in plots on a number line, including dot plots, histograms, and boxplots; Students can persevere in solving problems by trying different strategies and seeking help from peers and teachers.
Social/Emotional:
Students can use their class and home times well so that they complete quality work on time; Students use strategies like participating in class, emailing teachers, and attending morning tutoring so that they are responsible for their own learning.
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6th Grade Exhibition
Thursday, December 15th from 12-3pm @ Cabrillo National Monument Visitor Center
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