Michelle Amorin
Waipahu High School
HI

Resources and Human Impact: Grades 9-12

Tue, Nov 08, 2011 9:02 PM
Great Resource

1. What are some key points from the SciGuide that made an impression upon you? The Resources and Human Impact: Grades 9-12 SciGuide is a great resource for teachers who want their students to learn more about how humans impact our ecosystem. It provided links for leaning about addressing resource use,the environment as a system, environmental degradation, and impact of technology on human population growth and the environment. Included in the SciGuide are lesson resources called "Where did all the water go?", "I Am Not Alone: A Look at Population Growth," "How Big Is My Footprint?", and "Clean Air Technologies." What really made an impact on me was the lesson on carbon footprinting. I found that this has the biggest connection to the students because they need to figure out their own footprint and how to reduce it. I also liked the clean air technologies lesson because it has them research various ways to reduce pollution. 2. How could you utilize this SciGuide in your teaching? I could use the SciGuide in my teaching because we are focusing on how our community's water ecosystem is affected by human activities like littering and fertilization. In extension, I would have my students research different alternative energies and present their findings to the class and apply it to the real world. 3. What are some suggestions for improvement in the SciGuide? What I would like to see in this SciGuide is maybe a link to how humans impact my community, which is Hawaii, or various local communities.

Coral Reef Ecosystems

Sun, Aug 21, 2011 7:24 PM
Review of Coral Ecosystems

1. What are some key points from the SciGuide that made an impression upon you? The Coral Reef Biology SciGuide is a great resource for teachers who want their students to learn more about the coral reef ecosystem. It provided links for leaning about the life cycle of corals, for different types of corals, for the distribution of corals. Included in the SciGuide are lesson resources called A Reef Of One's Own, in which there is a lesson plan, vignette, audio clip, a sample student work. I especially like the sample work because it shows what we should expect our students to produce. The additional media resources are great to show students movies or have them go through simulations where they use their what they learned to complete the tasks. 2. How could you utilize this SciGuide in your teaching? I could use the SciGuide in my teaching because I am focusing on abiotic factors in ecosystems and I am about to do a watershed project in which we are testing the water for various factors, such as pH and turbidity. I would like to show my students why we are testing for these factors and how they affect living things. Showing the simulations can help with this. 3. What are some suggestions for improvement in the SciGuide? What I would like to see in this SciGuide is section on links to the abiotic factors that affect coral reefs.