Overview & Lesson Sequence

Focus on Standards & Assessment

Materials Needed, Preparation & Planning, Management Strategies

Background Info

Intro Activity
Why Study Predator - Prey interactions?

Activity 1
Observation of a predator-prey interaction

Activity 2
What makes a predator successful?

Research Project
Designing a predator - prey experiment

Optional Activity
Biological Control vs. Pesticides

Case Study
Rabbits in Australia

References

Glossary

Suppliers

Resource Sheets

Enforcers Home

CISEO Home

Focus on Standards & Assessment

Benchmarks for Science Literacy
Benchmark 1B, Scientific Inquiry. Investigations are conducted for different reasons, including to explore new phenomena, to check on previous results, to test how well a theory predicts, and to compare different theories.

Hypotheses are widely used in science for choosing what data to pay attention to and what additional data to seek, and for guiding the interpretation of the data.

Sometimes, scientists can control conditions in order to obtain evidence.  When that is not possible for practical or ethical reasons, they try to observe as wide a range of natural occurrences as possible to be able to discern patterns.

Benchmark 2B, Mathematics, Science and Technology.  Mathematics provides a precise language for science and technology – to describe objects and events, to characterize relationships between variables, and to argue logically.

Benchmark 3C, Issues in Technology.  In deciding on proposals to introduce new technologies or to curtail existing ones, some key questions arise concerning alternatives, risk, costs, and benefits.  What alternative ways are there to achieve the same ends, and how do the alternatives compare to the plan being put forward?  What are the financial and social costs? What are the risks associated with using (or not using) the new technology?

The human species has a major impact on other species in many ways: reducing the amount of the earth’s surface available to those other species, interfering with their food sources, changing the temperature and chemical composition of their habitats, introducing foreign species into their ecosystems, and altering organisms directly through selective breeding and genetic engineering.

Benchmark 5A, Diversity of Life.  The variation of organisms within a species increases the likelihood that at least some members of the species will survive under changed environmental conditions, and a great diversity of species increases the chance that at least some living things will survive in the face of large changes in the environment.

Benchmark 5D, Interdependence of Life.  Ecosystems can be reasonably stable over hundreds or thousands of years.  As any population of organisms grows, it is held in check by one or more environmental factors: depletion of food or nesting sites, increased loss to increased numbers of predators or parasites.

Benchmark 8A, Agriculture. Agricultural technology requires trade-offs between increased production and environmental harm and between efficient production and social values.

National Science Education Standards (9-12)
Content Standard A, Science as inquiry.  As a result of activities in grades 9-12, all students should develop understandings and abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry, i.e.,

• identify questions and concepts that guide scientific investigations;
• design and conduct a scientific investigations;
• use technology and mathematics to improve investigations and communications;
• formulate and revise scientific explanations and models using logic and evidence;
• recognize and analyze alternative explanations and models;
• communicate and defend a scientific argument.

Content Standard C, Life Science.  As a result of activities in grades 9-12, all students should develop an understanding of … biological evolution, the interdependence of organisms, … and the behavior of organisms. 

Content Standard F, Science in Personal and Social Perspectives.  As a result of activities in grades 9-12, all students should develop an understanding of … population growth, natural resources, environmental quality, natural and human-induced hazards, and science and technology in local, national, and global challenges.

Assessment
In order to gather information about what your students know and can do, we encourage you to use a variety of assessment tools such as: observe students while they are engaged in the activities, keep portfolios of each student’s work, and evaluate their performance while completing new tasks such as drawing a concept map or engaging in a problem solving activity.  You may want to use a checklist to help score their performance (see Observation Checklist) or create a rubric to help score their performance (see Rubric for Group Presentations).  For more ideas and strategies for assessing your students see Authentic Assessment: A Handbook for Educators listed in the references at the end of this lesson.