Christina Bowman

ED 312
Unit Map: Ecological Succession

Unit theme: Ecological succession

Essential Question(s):
 What is ecological succession?
 How does life recover after a disaster?
 How do we see ecological succession in our daily lives?

Explanation:

Do you ever wonder how life recovers after a disaster or how plants grow on literal rock? How
about how trees regrow after a major forest fire? In this four-week unit, we will dive into the
topic of ecological succession. Ecological succession is the process of the change in the species
structure of an ecological community over time, especially after a disturbance. This time scale
can vary between decades, or even millions of years. Ever wondered how life repopulated after
the asteroid struck the earth 66 million years ago taking out the dinosaurs? Succession is the
likely answer! In this unit, we will begin by investigating what succession is. We will continue
by looking at succession graphs and see how the ecology of succession changes over time.
Interestingly, we see succession in many ways in our everyday lives, we just may not notice it.
Think about it this way, have you ever opened a gallon of milk from the fridge and noticed that it
was smelling putrid? This is ecological succession of bacteria in the milk! We will investigate
this further near the end of the unit!

Throughout the unit we will be immersed in a variety of texts, but as we know, texts are not
always articles and books. Instead, they are a mix of videos, articles, experiements, images,
graphs, and much more. We often think of science as being far from literacy, but scientists must
be extremely literate in the field of science and many other things. You may notice that some of
the unit is cross-disciplinary with your ELA course, this is on purpose! Throughout the unit, we
must think as scientists, in order to do this, we must practice scientific literacy. I look forward to
learning about ecologic succession with you all!

Grade Level/Subject: 11th/12th grade Environmental Science

Standards Addressed:
HS-LS2-6 Evaluate claims, evidence, and reasoning that the complex interactions in ecosystems
maintain relatively consistent numbers and types of organisms in stable conditions but
changing conditions may result in a new ecosystem.

HS-LS2-7 Design, evaluate, and refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on
the environment and biodiversity.
 Maine Read various texts closely to determine what each text explicitly says and to make
Learning logical inferences; cite specific textual evidence to support conclusions drawn from the
Results texts.
Standard 4 a. Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of various
texts in ways that demonstrate what the text(s) says explicitly and
(Reading)
implicitly, including attending to moments of textual inconsistency or
ambiguity.

Maine Analyze and evaluate content presented in various texts (e.g. literary, historical, visual,
Learning artistic, quantitative, and technological).
Results a. Evaluate and synthesize multiple sources of information and various texts
Standard 11 (e.g., literary, visual, artistic, and quantitative) in order to achieve a
specific purpose or to answer a question.
(Reading)
b. Analyze how various authors or texts address similar themes or topics in
order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.
c. Synthesize information from a range of sources (e.g., texts, experiments,
simulations) into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting
discrepancies among perspectives.

Unit Schedule
*Unit designed to last 4 weeks, each day class periods are about 50 minutes long.
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5

Introduction- As a post- During Pre-reading: During reading:

What is reading reading: Students will Students in pairs
ecological assignment: Students will create an will use their
succession? Students will use the graphs individual devices to create
participate in an and their prior knowledge map a PowerPoint
First, The teacher individual quick knowledge to on the presentation of
will ask students write (prompt: create a information images of
what happens to what happens to drawing and from succession succession to
the ecology of an the ecology of an explanation of they have share with the
area after a big area after a the graph on learned thus far class.
disturbance like a disturbance?) large paper and with the
fire. explain it to the significant (ex): the kinds of
Students will class. associations plants that
Then YouTube share out their they can repopulate
video & quick writes Students will remember about during primary
discussion with work in groups the topic. succession.
peers and class: Students will of 4.
https://www.yout spend the last Preparation for
ube.com/ few minutes of Post-reading a succession
watch? class looking at will be the photo journal.
v=jZKIHe2LDP8 primary and sharing of the
 secondary “posters”
Pre-reading succession
providing graphs and This poster will
background on discuss with be a formative
the subject peers as a pre- assessment.
During reading: reading
Cornell experience.
Notetaking

Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9 Day 10

Post-reading: Pre-reading: Post-reading: During During reading:

The pairs of Students will Students will reading: Individually,
students will watch another generate their Students will students will
share their photo video as a own questions receive the collect
journal reports refresher based on the procedure for information on
verbally. There (https://www.kha key vocabulary the pasteurized how milk goes
should be no nacademy.org/sc and quiz each milk lab and “bad” by reading
words in their ience/high- other on the prepare their articles such as:
report. school- terms. petri dishes for https://www.nati
biology/hs- observations. onalgeographic.c
This photo- ecology/hs- Pre-reading: om/culture/articl
journal share community- The teacher will Students will e/when-good-
will be a ecology/v/ecolog explain to need to read the milk-goes-bad?
formative ical-succession? students that we procedure and loggedin=true
assessment. modal=1) will be follow the
observing instructions to Students will
During reading: ecological carry out the continue
Students will use succession in expectations. observations of
this article pasteurized (groups of 2) temp, pH, odor,
(https://www.kha milk through color, and
nacademy.org/sc the form of Students will bacteria.
ience/biology/ec bacteria. The begin
ology/communit teacher and observations of
y-structure-and- students will temp, pH, odor,
diversity/a/ecolo discuss how color, and
gical-succession) bacterial bacteria. (This
to create an succession and will run 10 days
alphabet traditional plant to notice a
brainstorming succession are difference –
chart with their similar and weekends
table mates different. (direct included)
(group of 4) as a instruction and
way to create whole group) After their first
 associations with observation,
the vocabulary. students will (in
their group of 2)
write a
hypothesis, this
will be their exit
slip (formative
assessment)
Day 11 Day 12 Day 13 Day 14 Day 15

Post reading: During reading: During Post-reading: Formative

Students will Students will reading: Students will assessment:
participate in a continue Students will read Individual quick
quick write and observations of have an active individually write on how
share how milk temp, pH, odor, discussion with https://www.usd cheese making is
goes bad. color, and one another airy.com/news- similar to what is
(individual) bacteria. about what articles/how-is- happening with
they’re noticing cheese-made our milk dishes.
During reading: Today, students in their dish and and turn and
Students will will look at their use pictures of talk with their During reading:
continue dishes under the their dishes to peers. Students will
observations of microscope and describe what continue
temp, pH, odor, do a gallery walk stage of Then as a class observations of
color, and of other people’s succession we will watch temp, pH, odor,
bacteria. dishes. they’re at. (table the video on color, and
group and how cheese is bacteria
whole group) made.

Students will During

continue reading:
observations of Students will
temp, pH, odor, continue
color, and observations of
bacteria. temp, pH, odor,
color, and
bacteria.
Day 16 Day 17 Day 18 Day 19 Day 20

During reading: Post reading: Post reading: Post reading: Post reading:
Students will do Work on final Work on final Get all parts of Final poster
their last report poster report poster the report on the presentations
observations of (gathering (gathering poster and and gallery walk.
temp, pH, odor, research) research and practice
color, and writing) presentations. (Project to be
bacteria. (Project to be done in groups
done in groups (Project to be (Project to be of 2—same as
 Students will of 2—same as done in groups done in groups the experiement)
clean up all the the experiement) of 2—same as of 2—same as
materials and the the Summative
dispose of the Be sure to experiement) experiement) assessment will
spoiled milk explain how be this
project. MAKE succession Be sure to Be sure to presentation
SURE TO TAKE occurs in the explain how explain how and poster.
PHOTOS. milk. succession succession
occurs in the occurs in the
The teacher will milk. milk.
explain that as a
post reading
activity, students
will be having a
summative
assessment of a
poster report on
their experiement.