Ask A Scientist© Environmental Science Archive

Author:      catherine m myers
How would you teach your field to K-6 students?

Response #:  1 of 1
Author:      stacie m clark
I would teach the basics.  First I would teach the idea of balance and 
diversity in an ecosystem.  This would include the idea of successional 
communities during the year (from season to season).  Then I would teach the 
idea of absorbing a change.  Such as:  how would a community change if I  a) 
built a road.  b) built a dam.  c) added hot or contaminated water to a river.  
d) added a pollutant to the air.  A good game for this is called the food web 
game.  Everyone is some part of the food web, and each holds a string that 
connects him (her) to the organisms that depend on him (her) for food.  You 
can also include other factors like light, warmth, or clean water.  Anyway, if 
one organism dies (or factor changes) the kids can see how it affects the 
other organisms, because each organism that is affected, itself than affects 
other organisms all the way up the food chain.  It can be a little shocking.  
Then I would look at communities that had been damaged and identify what
damaged it, how it happened, how could it be fixed, and how could future 
damage be avoided.  It is important to stress SOLUTIONS because invariably the 
problem is caused by man trying to make money, and without a SOLUTION someone 
looses a livelihood.  The little guys can be taught simple things like balance 
versus change.  Change versus irreparable damage. This is a great subject for 
developing critical thinking skills.