MS-LS2-4 lessons
Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations. (Students argue from the Isle Royale and Yellowstone evidence; they do not build a full written argument for every case.)
The Next Generation Science Standards code MS-LS2-4 asks students to: “Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations. (Students argue from the Isle Royale and Yellowstone evidence; they do not build a full written argument for every case.)” These Fieldbook lessons teach it hands-on, with everyday materials, a printable teacher guide and a student sheet.
Ecosystems and Biomes: Who Depends on Whom Grades 6–8 · partly supports this standard
- What happens to a population when food runs out? 50–60 min
Teams graph twelve years of real wolf and moose counts from Isle Royale, an island in Lake Superior, then rotate through evidence stations to explain why the moose boomed to about 2,400 and crashed to about 500. They finish by predicting what happens to any population when its food runs short.
- How can we protect an ecosystem's services? 55–60 min
Teams weigh the real, still-debated evidence from Yellowstone's wolves to see how one change spreads through an ecosystem. Then they act as a town's planning team and score three ways to protect a flooding coast, a sea wall, a restored salt marsh and a mix of both, for protection, cost and the services nature gives for free.
NGSS is used as written in Alaska, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wyoming, so the code MS-LS2-4 matches there. Other states word and number their own versions: see curriculum alignment for your state's codes.
More NGSS standards for middle school
All standards we teach · Curriculum alignment by state and province
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