School Tour Curriculum

Click here to download a PDF copy of the curriculum covered during School tours.

SCIENCE 9: Saskatchewan - The Environment

*Includes an in-school presentation prior to CLC visit

Foundational Objectives

·         Diversity of Eco-regions of Saskatchewan

·         Effects of Human Activity on the Land

·         Making Positive Contributions to Society

Key Questions

·         How does the conversion of natural areas to agricultural land affect the diversity of plant and animal life?

·         What are the positive aspects of the conversion of huge amounts of land in Saskatchewan from prairie to land for growing grain? What are the negative aspects? Where should we go from here?

Learning Objectives

·         1.1 Ecological regions of Saskatchewan

·         1.3 Past and current land use

·         1.5 Relationship between agricultural activities and physical characteristics of the region

·         2.1 Ways original landscape has been altered

·         2.3 Effects of agriculture on landscape

·         2.4 Effects of agriculture on soil quality

·         3.2 Effects of respectful behaviour on the biosphere

Resources

E-VEWW Saskatchewan Environments The impact of human activities on the environment of Saskatchewan are explored. This comprehensive site includes lesson plans, student activities and many interactive features. http://www.saskschools.ca/curr_content/modsaskevo/

Farming . . . A Prairie Business Agriculture is a complex business. To succeed, a farmer must make numerous decisions based on fact and speculation. In addition, their enterprise is often influenced by forces beyond their control. To make accurate choices, the farmer must use all the resources at their disposal and, at the same time, count on those factors out of their control to follow a recognizable pattern. As you move through this site, you will become aware of the choices a farmer must make and the resources available to ensure those choices will give them the best chance for success. http://www.saskschools.ca/curr_content/soilscience/HTML_files/index.html

Risks and Limits

Foundational Objectives

·         Association of Risks and Activities

·         Activities have Risks and Benefits

Key Question

·         How can human activity affect water quality?

·         What are aquatic macroinvertebrates? What role do these organisms play in assessing environmental health?

·         Determine the dissolved oxygen, pH and nitrate concentrations of water samples.

Learning Objectives

·         2.2 Significance of contaminants in the water supply

·         2.3 Estimating toxicity from experimental data

·         3.1 Conditions risking the environment

·         3.2 Taking various perspectives when assessing impact of activity

Resources

Lesson: There's more to organic farming than being pesticide-free Students will have the opportunity to look at all aspects of organic farming and gain an understanding of what the term really means. Notes for the teacher, assessment tools, enrichment strategies and links to other resources can be found here. www.statcan.ca/english/research/96-328-MIE/96-328-MIE2004018.html

Sustainability of Ecosystems

Foundational Objectives

·         Sustainability is a way of understanding and relating to the world.

·         Meeting current needs without compromising meeting future needs.

·         Cultural context of sustainability

·         Relationship between sustainability and ecosystems.

Key Questions

·         What are wetlands? How do they form? How can they be destroyed? What is their value? What are their disadvantages? What is the effect of the loss of wetlands on animal (especially waterfowl) populations? on agricultural producers' lives? on the climate of the areas where the wetlands were? on the groundwater in the area?

·         If it is know that there are factors that affect the sustainability of an ecosystem, what needs to be done to change/maintain those factors to preserve an ecosystem?

Learning Objectives

·         1. Define sustainability and ecosystems

·         2. Changes in scientific worldview of sustainability and human's responsibility to protect ecosystems

·         3. Selecting and integrating various sources of information

Resources

Canadian Terrestrial Ecozones In addition to providing information regarding the landforms, climate, flora and fauna of each Canadian ecozone, visitors to the site can also read about the kinds of human activity which impact on each ecozone. www.ec.gc.ca/soer-ree/English/vignettes/Terrestrial/terr.cfm

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*NEW! SCIENCE 9: Risks and Limits "To Fertilize Or Not To Fertilize: That Is The Question!"

An Illustration of Risks and Limits - A scenario of nutrient application designed to assist students through the process of critically thinking through a situation and the risk/benefits associated with their decisions.

Foundational Objectives

·         Understand that risks are associated with all activities

·         Recognize that activities have risks and benefits

·         Support students in coming to a better understanding of the personal, moral, social, and cultural aspects of the study of life

Key Questions

·         What limitations and environmental risks are associated with the removal of soil nutrients?

·         What risks does fertilizer use by producers pose to the natural environment?

·         Do the benefits of nutrient application to agricultural crops outweigh the environmental risks of their use?

·         How can these risks be assessed and minimized?

·         How does an individual gather information and access resources in order to make an adequate assessment and informed decisions about his/her situation?

·         What economic issues must be considered when determining input utilization (ie. cost-benefit analysis)?

Learning Objectives

·         1.2 Relate the concept of probability to the concept of risk.

·         1.3 Compare the risks of various voluntary and involuntary activities.

·         2.1 Consider how risk is assessed.

·         2.2 Assess significance of contaminants in water supplies.

·         2.4 Discuss how the value one places on an activity influences the amount of risk one is willing to accept.

·         3.1 Understand the natural environment and the conditions putting it at risk.

·         3.2 Understand the potential narrowness in adopting a single perspective in judging the impact or influence of objects, experiences or events.

·         3.3 Explore how moral values influence behaviour and assessment of risk and benefit.

·         3.4 Recognize the importance of fact-finding, prior experience, and open dialogue in the development of reasoned arguments.