Puzzling Wisconsin's Biological Communities

Notes from our reviewers

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• Teaching Tips
  If you do not live in Wisconsin, consider this activity as a template to create an activity similar to this for your state. The authors mention this activity is to be completed over 4 lesson periods but does not provide break points to ensure coherence from one day to the next so teachers will need to determine breakpoints for themselves.
• About the Science
  This lesson focuses on food chains, energy, climate, biology, and habitats in Wisconsin, USA. Students learn about the attributes of different ecosystems in Wisconsin, and where these ecosystems are located within the state. Students learn about energy flows through ecosystems and compile a list of ways that energy, such as wind, fires, glaciers, and gravity flow through Wisconsin ecosystems. A series of maps shows how the distribution of ecosystems has changed due to agriculture and urbanization; these changes are described in the 'background' section of the document. Passed initial science review - expert science review pending.
• About the Pedagogy
  The activity provides strong science background for the educator, and will likely require some classroom time to develop these concepts with students. The activity is formatted as a highly interactive puzzle game. The summative assessments offer particularly interesting ways for students to integrate what they learned.
• Technical Details/Ease of Use
  It is not always clear how certain parts of the lesson integrate with the rest of it (eg. how to use clue cards and the maps together). Although the lesson suggests using plastic eggs in one part of the lesson, it might make more sense to use a renewable material when teaching about ecosystem management.