- assess the impacts of human activities and technologies on the environment, and evaluate ways of controlling these impacts;
- investigate interactions within the environment, and identify factors that affect the balance between different components of an ecosystem;
- demonstrate an understanding of interactions between and among biotic and abiotic elements in the environment
During construction of schools or other buildings, the landscape is commonly manipulated. Trees are removed, low and wet areas are filled in, hills are leveled, and streams are piped; but there are always clues as to what the land looked like before the building existed.
Depending on where you are located, the local town or county planning office may have maps and aerial photos for you to use. Topographic maps are helpful and often you can find maps that were drawn before the school was built. These maps are a primary, accurate source of historical information for your landscape. Aerial photos are also informative. Further directions on how to obtain this information are included in the preparation section. In addition to modifications to the physical environment during school construction, once the school is there, the building can affect temperature and movement of water and microclimates, creating new habitat conditions.
Teacher Preparations
For the first activity, obtain aerial photographs and topographic maps using one of the methods described below.
1.If your school was built after 1993, Google Earth may have the historic aerial photos that you need.
2. If your school is in the US, for recent aerials and historic topographic maps, go to store.usgs.gov
- Go to Map locator and Downloader.
- Follow directions to download topo map/aerials.
- Put name of your school in the search box, include town and state.
- An orange bubble should appear on the map over your school.
- Click on the orange bubble to see what maps are available.
- Download the newest files, which will contain both aerials and a topographic map of what the area looks like now.
- Download the older file option to see topographic maps from years past.
- Choose the download options and save to your computer.
- Open topographic map and zoom into your school.
- Go to Edit, take a snapshot and select the area of the map that contains the land area of your school.
- Paste the snapshot into a word document.
3. You can also contact the town or county GIS office. Tell them you are looking for historical aerial photographs of the area where your school now sits in order to see what was there before the school was built. It is helpful to know when your school was built so the GIS professional can find aerials before that time.
4. For the second half of ACTIVITY 2, prepare for chaperones to go outside with you, one for each group. Make the chaperones aware of what students will be responsible for during that at-school field trip.
ACTIVITY 1: Understanding the Natural Landscape of Your School Grounds
Time: 60 minutes plus time to write essay
1. Review the concept of ecosystem with students. An ecosystem is the interaction between a community of living (biotic) things and the nonliving (abiotic) environment. Ecosystems can be small or very large.
2. Using their map, ask your students to determine the ecoregion in which your school is located. An ecoregion is a region that contains similar soils and landforms where similar types of ecosystems can be found. Ecoregion boundaries follow the original extent of ecosystems before major changes of the land.
3. Next, tell the students they will learn about the native trees that existed on your school property prior to the school being built. Ask students to name those trees and use a tree identification book or online sources to see what they look like.
4. Use the handout, Maps Can Tell You Where The Water Is* with your students to gain a basic understanding of topographic maps so they can use one to look for streams, buildings, ponds and hills. Ask your students to determine if the natural landscape of the school was hilly or flat. The class can observe a natural area nearby to make this determination, or use topographic maps to see if the contour lines are close together (hilly) or far apart (flat).
5. Have your students examine old aerial photo or topographic maps to find out what was on the land before the school was built. Can they see any streams or wetlands? Was it forested or farmland?
6. Essay or Art Work: Using the information they have gathered (depending on where you live and what studies have been done in your area, more information will be available in some areas than others), ask the students to write an essay or make an art work describing what they imagine that the area of the school building and parking lot looked like before anything was built. They should describe the trees, the topography (whether it was hilly or flat), and the animals. (Students do not have to know specific species names.) Ask them to also include water sources (river, streams, wetlands) and describe them.
7. Now ask a few students to present their essays or art and, as a class, discuss what evidence they used to inform their description of the landscape. What additional information would they like to have to get a better idea of what was here before the school?
ACTIVITY 2: Making Observations and Drawing Conclusions
Time: 90 minutes
1. Tell the students that in Activity 1 they did what an ecologist does before going out to do research. The ecologist studies available resources at his or her desk before going out to “the field.” Now it is time for the students to go out and make their own observations and collect field data.
2. Before going outside, tell the students that they are going to make observations about the school building and the physical environment closest to the school building. Discuss with students what they may observe and the kind of data they may collect, using the following questions:
- On which part of the school building does the sun shine during the hottest part of the day? (The walls of the building can absorb sunlight depending on what it is made of, and what color it is.)
- From which direction is the wind coming? What part of the building does the wind hit?
- Observing the vegetation around the school building, is it the same now as it was before the school was built?
- Do you expect to see animals? What kind?
4. Once they’ve made observations and filled out the worksheet, find a place to gather outside. If necessary you can do the next section in the classroom.
5. Use the following questions to guide discussion of their observations and draw conclusions:
- Did you expect the building to feel warmer where the sun was hitting it?
- What do you call the type of heat transfer when you touch the building? (Conduction)
- Did the temperature feel warmer standing near the building? (Convection)
- What organisms might prefer the sunny side of the building versus the shady side?
- What observations did you make to support your answers?
- Which side of the building would you prefer?
- Which side of the building was the wind hitting?
- On a windy, rainy day, on which side of the building would you prefer to stand?
- How would the side of the building you chose be different than the other side?
- Do you think other living organisms would make the same decision? Why?
- How would you describe the changes in ecosystem from before the school was built to now?
- Would you say the changes in the physical environment have been positive or negative? What reasons can you give for your answer?
ACTIVITY 3 Measuring and Recording Data
Time: Two 60 minute sessions
This activity adds more depth and requires measurements, data recording and graphing. These data the students collect may be used to support or disprove some of their conclusions from Activity 2. They should use a notebook to collect data and record observations. They should place a date and time at the top of the page each time they collect data. Various nature journaling activities can be incorporated into this activity as well as weekly data collection. You can also do this activity just once, as written.
Temperature
1. During the same time of day that they went out to make observations in Activity 2, have the students measure the surface temperature using an infrared thermometer in the following locations:
- On the side of the building where the sun is shining•On th e ground next to the building
- On the grass
- On other surface features
3. Have the students plot the temperatures against the surface types for each side of the building.
- Why are the temperatures different between the building surface and the grass?
- How does this ability of the building to “hold” heat affect the local ecosystem?
1. Keep a daily log of wind speed and direction. Use a wind vane or the flag to identify the direction (north, south, east, west) the wind is blowing. You can also look up the local weather for wind direction and speed. At the same time, record air temperature and precipitation.
2. Over time, ask students if they can identify any pattern among wind direction, temperature and precipitation. Once they have more data than they did in activity 2 ask: What side of the building would living organisms prefer to live, if they couldn’t move every time the wind switched direction?
3. If there is a prevailing wind – have these winds affected the type of vegetation that grows on the windy side of the building vs. the protected side.
Evaporation
1. After a rain, on which side of the building do the students expect the water to evaporate more quickly? To test their hypotheses, have the students place paper cups with measured amounts of water in them on the sunny and shady sides of the building. Place a cup next to the building and then every meter further away from the building. Measure and record the change in the amount of water in each cup after 24 hours. 2. Ask students to graph their results.
- Did their results support the student’s assumptions? If not, what are some reasons for the difference?
- How does this information explain the distribution of plants and animals around the building?
Assesment
Now that students have considered the landscape and organisms before and after the school was built, ask them to reflect on the following questions either through discussion or in writing.
- How did changes in the ecosystem where the school is located affect organisms that live there?
- How did these changes affect people?
- How did the animal population change or adapt?
- How are these changes or adaptations related to the change in plants and trees?
*Lesson found in the freely available online resource The MINTS Book, by the Virginia Tech Museum of Natural History. Please find here a printable PDF copy of the lesson, including the student handouts.
** For another lesson from The MINTS Book, about exploring the school ground, please click here. Page 15ff are specifically about the human impacts of parking lots.
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