Tackling ToxinsChanging the EnvironmentGrades K-1
Storyline
Phenomenon
Toxins in the environment have an effect on living things.
Science and Engineering Practices
Asking Questions and Defining Problems
The mission involves identifying the problem (contamination) and questioning its impacts on the local ecosystem.
Analyzing and Interpreting Data
The mission requires learners to analyze and interpret visual data (before and after footage along with graphs and info texts) to understand the impact of contamination.
Constructing Explanations and Designing Solution
The mission calls for designing and implementing a solution (hybrid water cleaner) to the problem of contamination.
Crosscutting Concepts
Cause and Effect
The mission involves understanding the effects of the contamination on living organisms (cause) and their subsequent changes in behavior (effect).
Systems and System Models
The mission requires the learners to think of the ecosystem as a system, with all living and non-living elements interconnected.
Structure and Function
In trying to understand the changes in plant and animal behavior due to the contamination, learners are exploring the relationship between the structure of living organisms and their function in terms of survival.
Disciplinary Core Ideas
LS1.C: Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms
All animals need food in order to live and grow. They obtain their food from plants or from other animals. Plants need water and light to live and grow.
ESS3.A: Natural Resources
Living things need water, air, and resources from the land, and they live in places that have the things they need. Humans use natural resources for everything they do.