Laney Lee

The Mars Colonization Experiment – Reading Activity

Description

Looking for an extension activity for your ecology unit with connections to engineering and sustainability? Do you need a straightforward activity that students can complete without too much teacher assistance? This case study of the Phoenix Biosphere Mars Colonization experiment is the perfect reading activity for you!

 

 

Who is this resource for?

This resource can be used by classroom teachers, tutors, and parents of students in grades 6-9. It comprehensively covers the topics mentioned, and provides opportunities for student responses which can be implemented in a whole group lesson or assigned for homework. Ideal for classrooms with internet access and student devices.

 

Product requires access to this article by The Independent

 

How Can I Use this Resource?

  • Emergency Sub Plans
  • An independent work station in a set of stations
  • Flipped Classroom pre-reading
  • Whole or small group opportunity to model and teach Close Reading strategies and annotation
  • Differentiation – Assign this reading as reteaching for students who have yet to show mastery.
  • Homework
  • Creation of Independent Work Packet for students who are not able to be present for direct instruction.
  • Extension activity for early finishers or for students who show a special interest in the topic
  • Use as a square on a Choice Board
  • Interactive Notebooks: Print 2 pages in one and cut apart. Glue mini pages into notebooks with room for annotations on the side
  • Interactive Notebooks: Print entire PDF as a mini booklet and add to notebooks using thesesimple instructions.

 

What’s Included?

Purchase includes a printable PDF file in color. On page 2 of this resource you will find a link to a student friendly Google Doc version of this file. You will be able to copy this file and use it with Google Classroom or any other paperless initiative.

 

Please take a look at the preview file to see more of this resource.

 

More questions?

Email me at laneyleeteaches@gmail.com.

 

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NGSS Standards covered by this Mars Colonization Reading:

NGSS MS-LS2-1
Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem. Emphasis is on cause and effect relationships between resources and growth of individual organisms and the numbers of organisms in ecosystems during periods of abundant and scarce resources.
NGSS MS-LS2-4
Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations. Emphasis is on recognizing patterns in data and making warranted inferences about changes in populations, and on evaluating empirical evidence supporting arguments about changes to ecosystems.
NGSS MS-LS2-5
Evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services. Examples of ecosystem services could include water purification, nutrient recycling, and prevention of soil erosion. Examples of design solution constraints could include scientific, economic, and social considerations.
NGSS MS-LS2-3
Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem. Emphasis is on describing the conservation of matter and flow of energy into and out of various ecosystems, and on defining the boundaries of the system. Assessment does not include the use of chemical reactions to describe the processes.
NGSS MS-LS2-2
Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems. Emphasis is on predicting consistent patterns of interactions in different ecosystems in terms of the relationships among and between organisms and abiotic components of ecosystems. Examples of types of interactions could include competitive, predatory, and mutually beneficial.

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