Integrating Ecology into Other Subject Areas

Are you looking for ways to integrate ecology concepts into other subject areas? Whether you're a gifted teacher, homeschooling parent or a general education teacher, turning science into an interdisciplinary subject not only provides excitement for the children, but gives them a deeper understanding of how the science application can relate to their life. But beyond writing a poem about plants, and assigning dull research papers, coming up with ideas can be challening. For a starting list of ideas, try some of these.

Math: graphing

Because ecologists use graphs to determine trends over time, make sure the students are comfortable with graphs and graphing. Have them collect graphs from print resources, and sort them according to the information the graph is conveying. Then, begin having the students graph simple things from their life, such as what percentage of the class is buying lunch, which reading group book gets the most votes, or the temperature outside over the last week. Then, progress to more real world applications of graphs. The book "Picking Berries: Connections Between Data Collection, Graphing, and Measuring (Math in a Cultural context: Lessons Learned from Yup'ik Eskimo Elders)" has students use the concepts of measuring data and representing it in activities that connect to everyday life. In this book, the students use berry growth to connect student experiences to mathematical concepts.

Social Studies - Africa

Have students explore the continent of Africa. Remind students that Africa is not a country, but a diverse collection of countries. Create a unit around the people, geography, animals, climate, languages, and cultures of Africa. Have students research common animals found in Africa and make masks to represent their research, create posters about the savanna, desert, river, and jungle habitats, learn about Egyptian hieroglyphics, create kente cloth weavings out of paper and kufi caps, make art work out of adinkra symbols, and learn about different groups of people such as the Wodaabe, Zulu, Masai, Ndebele, and Khoikhoi. You can finish the cultural celebration with music and food from around Africa.

Art - Patterns

Mussel shells have been prized for their beautiful patterns. In the United States, Native Americans used the shells for decoration on their clothing, tools, and for jewelry. Before the advent of plastic, the mother-of-pearl interior called nacre was used for buttons. Have students create a work of art that celebrates the artistic value of mussels. Some ideas are collages of the various shell patterns, designs that could embellish articles of clothing using shells, or examples of jewelry or useful tools that could be created using the shells.

Math - Ecosystems

Ecologists must have a strong understanding of math concepts. When studying ecosystems, they have to model and predict consequences of changes that may occur. Additionally, because some of the ecosystems have very few organisms over a large area, and some have many organisms in a small area, they have to use sampling techniques to count the number of organisms in a given area. They also need to look at temperature patterns over time in order to describe any changes they may be seeing. Have your students practice using the math tools an ecologist uses by graphing the daily current weather conditions. Do they notice any changes over time, or any trends? Then, have the students devise a method of counting organisms outside and practice recording the number of types of organisms they see.

Social Studies- History of Antarctica

The first search for the southern continent we know as Antarctica didn't happen until Sir Edmond Halley set out in 1699, looking for the fabled continent that was thought to be a hospitable paradise. Captain James Cook completed the first circumnavigation of Antarctica in 1775, proving that a southern continent did exist, but that it wasn't as habitable as previously thought. Have your students research some of the early explorers of Antarctica to discover some of the challenges that kept them from reaching their goal. They can present their findings in many ways, such as a timeline, a picture book format, or a skit.

Music: Photosynthesis/chemosynthesis

Have your students make and perform a song to describe the process of photosynthesis or chemosynthesis. There are several examples of photosynthesis songs at www.youtube.com (search for photosynthesis - a great example - though very sophisticated - is "photosynthesis: bio AP"). You can make this activity as complex or simple as your students can handle by giving them a specific list of concepts they must include in their song and the additional challenge of requiring the students to record a video of their performance.

Math: Percent to Fraction Conversions

Help students understand the conversion between fractions and percents. Using 1 inch graph paper, have students cut out a square that is ten blocks tall, and ten blocks wide. Then, they should color in the squares to make a pattern with a crayon or marker (begin with only one color). On the back of the quilt square, they can write the number of squares colored (numerator) over the total number of squares (100). Have them see the relationship between this fraction, and the percentage colored. Then, to add complexity, have students create another quilt block with more than one color, and write the fractions and percents on the back. This could be extended to include a discussion of simplifying fractions. Make sure to post all of the quilt blocks together into one big class quilt!

Theatre - Extinction/Fossils

Have students create and perform a Reader's Theatre about fossils or extinction. They can either start with a picture book from the library, or write one based on their own research. Have each child talk from the point of view of either a prehistoric creature, or people encountering fossils. A good book to start with is "Raptors, Fossils, Fins and Fangs" by Ray Troll and Brad Matsen.

Math - Measurement (metrics)

Measurement in metric units is an extremely important concept for the children to understand. There are many creative ways of teaching metric measurement in hands-on ways. An interesting idea that comes from the October 2001 edition of Science and Children has students create a Monster Fashion Show. The students begin with cut-outs of monsters and the direction to measure a part of the monster (head, body, arm, feet, etc) to create an appropriately-sized article of clothing that could be worn by that monster. They were not allowed to trace the monster, but had to create the articles of clothing based on their measurements. They then could embellish the clothing (made out of construction paper) with glitter, feathers, sequins, or other objects. Grading is based on accuracy of the measurements, as determined by the fit of the clothing on the designated monster.

Social Studies - Geography/Great LakesDo your students know how the Great Lakes were formed? Help students learn about the geography of the Great Lakes. In the computer lab, have them explore information about how the Great Lakes were formed by glaciers in the "For Kids" section at www.on.ec.gc.ca/greatlakes. There is a short flash animation that shows a glacier receding to form the lakes. Then, have the students use the information to create a picture book explaining how the Great Lakes were formed. Challenge them to find out more about glaciers and how they have changed other features on Earth. Also, there is a great short video that can be found at www.nationalgeographic.com (search for Great Lakes).