Living Earth · Week 32 · Ecosystem Stability and Human Impact
Humans and Biodiversity
Designing and evaluating a solution that reduces human impact on a desert habitat and advocating for it honestly.
- Students will
- Students design and evaluate a solution that reduces the impact of new housing on desert wildlife and biodiversity, using criteria and tradeoffs.
- SEL skill
- Advocate honestly by naming a limit and avoiding exaggeration
- What it looks like
- Students practice advocating for a solution honestly and without exaggeration.
- Content focus
- Designing for wildlife
- Format
- Small group problem-solving
Responsible decision-making
Responsible decision-making means using evidence and care to make choices that are safe, ethical, and constructive. More responsible decision-making activities
What you get
A teacher guide with what to say, step by step, plus student pages and a supports page for students with diverse learning needs, including those with IEPs. Print or Project it, or assign it in Google Forms and Google Docs for Google Classroom. Your first 10 activities are free.
Standards
- HS-LS2-7: High School Life Science performance expectation
- Science and engineering practice: SEP6 Constructing explanations and designing solutions
- Crosscutting concept: CCC2 Cause and effect
- CA Environmental Principles and Concepts: Principle II: People influence natural systems
- Literacy in science: RST.9-10.9 Compare and contrast findings in a text to those from other sources.
- Traditional course: Biology
Fits these textbook chapters
- California HMH Science Dimensions: The Living Earth, Unit 1: Living Systems
- California HMH Science Dimensions: The Living Earth, Unit 8: Ecosystem Stability and the Response to Climate Change
Textbook names are used only to help you find activities that fit what you teach. RoseThread Connect is not affiliated with these publishers.
More responsible decision-making activities for Living Earth
- Counting Life Fairly Responsible decision-makingStudents compare biodiversity counts from two sampling methods and practice noticing when excitement or doubt shapes a conclusion.
- Energy Pyramids and Waste Responsible decision-makingCalculating energy loss up a food pyramid and weighing food choices with care rather than guilt.
- Natural Selection by the Numbers Responsible decision-makingAnalyzing trait frequency data across generations and separating evidence from assumption when making decisions.
- Sources of Variation Responsible decision-makingArguing whether meiosis, replication errors, or environmentally caused mutations best explain inherited variation, and pausing on strong feelings before choosing a claim.
Previous: When Ecosystems Change · Next: Invasive Species
RoseThread Connect activities are drafted with the help of AI and shaped by educators. Students never have to share anything personal. Our five SEL skills are informed by CASEL's SEL Framework; RoseThread Learning is not affiliated with or endorsed by CASEL.