Objectives:
- Learn about 18 species featured in the iBiome-Ocean game for tide pool ecosystem
- Better understand how species are connected through food webs.
Time:
- During-activity: 30 mins for students
- Post-activity: 15 mins for students and teachers
During activity:
1. Guide students to login to the League for Green Leaders program, click on today’s tile, find this activity, and click on this “Start This Task Now” button before launch the iBiome-Ocean game.
2. Go through the opening story.
3. Once the story finishes, on the “Map” screen. Tell students to select “Tide Pool” habitat to start playing.
4. After students unlock the “Add Species to Dome” function, ask students to try it and see whether they can make some species level up. As a reward, students can win some badges if they understand better how food-web works.
5. When students get a badge, ask them to write down what they changed, and what happened to the ecosystem after they made the change. Reflect on the cause-effect and understand deeper on how nature balances changes.
Reflection after activity:
1. Print two copies of following species sheet, cut alone the lines to make cards with one species on one cards. Assign one specie to one student. Make sure your print is nice and big for each of the species.
2. Ask students who won badges in the iBiome-Ocean game to demo how species are connected with each other. Give this student some strings. Ask her / him to find the students who hold the cards with the species that have food chain relationship with her / his species. Ask the students with the related specie cards in the food web to hold the strings. Use as many strings as possible.
3. Ask this student the question: what happens if the amount of the species she / he holds increase. Invite the entire class to participate.
4. If one connected specie increases its population because of this change, ask another student to hold the same card and stand with the student who gets the same card.
If one connected specie decrease its population, ask the student who hold the card of this specie to squat down.
5. Ask students the question: what happens if one specie in this web extinct. Ask students to react in the same way: add another student with the same card if increase population, and squat down if reduce population, or remove the student if another species extinct as well.
Track Your CO2
Objective:
- Allow students to practice sustainable decisions they can make every single day, and help them understand they can help with climate change
Time:
- Pre-activity: 10 min for teachers ( only the first time when you do this activity )
- During-activity: 5 min for students
Materials:
- Access to internet and computers
Teachers’ Guide:
- Pre-activity ( first time when you do this activity )
1. Explain to students why measuring CO2 is important. This is a good opportunity to show students why Math is important. Questions for the class: how can you tell that you grow taller? The answer is you need to measure your height in order to know whether you grow taller. The League program can measure the CO2 savings we can make from our daily choices. You can write down the CO2 you save every time you track it. Then add them together by yourself as the total CO2 you saved. Does your number match with the League program?
2. Explain the activity rules
a) You can track CO2 twice per day after your meals
b) You need to answer the questions honestly
c) You can record your savings for the previous day if you missed it. But it can only be one day before the current date.
d) You earn a badge for continuous tracking streak
e) For the first time, you answer a few questions. The program will take it as you current lifestyle. Just like your current height. You need to click on “Track your CO2” button again to let the program calculate how much CO2 you save based on the decisions you made today.
- During the activity: Instruct student to login to the League for Green Leaders program, click the “Track your CO2“ activity for current day or the day before that.
Make a Solar Oven
Objective:
- Master concepts about clean energy and traditional energy sources
- Understand the importance of using clean energy to combat global warming
- Reduce carbon footprint: recycle and reuse
Time:
- Pre-activity: 1 hour
- During activity: 30 minutes
Materials:
- Cardboard pizza box(the kind delivered pizza comes in)
- Box knife or scissors
- Aluminum foil
- Clear tape
- Plastic wrap (heavy-duty or freezer ziploc bag will also work)
- Black construction paper
- Newspapers
- Ruler or wooden spoon
During activities:
1. Follow the procedures step by step to build the solar oven.
Step 1: Use a box knife or sharp scissors to cut a flap in the lid of the pizza box. Cut along three sides, leaving about an inch between the sides of the flap and the edges of the lid. Fold this flap out so that it stands up when the box is closed.
Step 2: Cover the inner side of the flap with aluminum foil so that it will reflect rays from the sun. Todo this tightly wrap foil around the flap. Then tape it to the back, or outer side of the flap.
Step 3: Use clear plastic wrap to create an airtight window for sunlight to enter into the box. Do this by opening the box and taping a double layer of plastic wrap over the opening you made when you cut the flap in the lid. Leave about an inch of plastic overlap around the sides and tape each side down securely, sealing out air. If you use a plastic bag, cut out a square big enough to cover the opening, and tape one layer over the opening.
Step 4: Line the bottom of the box with black construction paper—black absorbs heat. The black surface is where your food will be placed to cook. How much you need will depend on the size of the pizza box you're using to make your solar oven.
Step 5: To insulate your oven so it holds in more heat, roll up sheets of newspaper and place them on the bottom of the box. Tape them down so that they form a border around the cooking area. It may be helpful to also tape the rolls closed first. The newspaper rolls should make it so that the lid can still close, but there is a seal inside of the box, so air cannot escape.
Step 6: The best hours to set up your solar oven are when the sun is high overhead — from 11 am to 3 pm. Take it outside to a sunny spot and adjust the flap until the most sunlight possible is reflecting off the aluminum foil and onto the plastic-covered window. Use a ruler to prop the flap at the right angle. You may want to angle the entire box by using a rolled up towel.
Step 7: You can make toast by buttering a slice of bread then letting the sun do the rest. Cooking a hot dog or making nachos with chips and cheese are also fun treats to make in your solar oven! It would also work great to heat up leftovers. To prevent the paper at the bottom from becoming dirty, put what you would like to cook on a clear plastic or glass plate. A pie plate would work well. Place the thermometer inside your oven before you close it, so you can check the temperature.
2. Take notes for the observations and answer questions at each step.
3. Clean up all materials.
