Starter (10 mins)
What Lives Here?
Show students an image of a familiar New Zealand environment, like a forest, a beach, or a river. In pairs, students list as many living and non-living things as they can see in the image. Introduce the terms "biotic" (living) and "abiotic" (non-living).
Main Activity (25 mins)
Schoolyard Ecosystem Audit
Take students outside to a part of the school grounds (a field, a garden, under a tree). Using the "Ecosystem Audit" handout, students identify and record the biotic and abiotic factors in their small, designated area. They should also look for interactions between them (e.g., a worm aerating the soil).
Connection to Te Ao Māori: Discuss the concept of "mauri" – the life force present in all things, both living and non-living, and how this idea connects to the interdependence of an ecosystem.
View HandoutPlenary (15 mins)
Defining an Ecosystem
Back in the classroom, collate the findings from the audit. As a class, come up with a definition for an "ecosystem". Guide them to the understanding that it is a community of living organisms interacting with their non-living environment. Introduce kaitiakitanga: the practice of caring for a place and being accountable for its wellbeing. Kaitiakitanga is a role someone takes up through the work, with the standing to do so — it is not a label the class gives itself. Ask what caring for the patch they just audited would actually require of somebody.
Resources Needed
- "Ecosystem Audit" Handout
- Magnifying glasses
- Clipboards
Media Anchor: What is an Ecosystem? (Dr. Binocs Show)
Watch and capture evidence before moving into the lesson tasks.
- The clip explains what an ecosystem is, but says nothing about the people who live with one. What would you add? Hold that thought — kaitiakitanga is taken up properly in Lesson 5 and Lesson 6.
- Record one idea that strengthens your definition of an ecosystem.
Curriculum alignment
- Ecosystems — Knowledge: Biotic and abiotic factors in ecosystems can affect the distribution and abundance of organisms; changes in one part can affect the balance and wellbeing of the whole system (…
- Ecosystems — Knowledge: Carbon, nitrogen, and water cycle through living and non-living parts of ecosystems (see Year 9, Earth Systems):forests and oceans store carbon and help cycle itthe carbon and…
- Earth Systems — Knowledge: Carbon dioxide from the atmosphere becomes part of living organisms (the biosphere) through photosynthesis.
- Organism Diversity — Knowledge: the microbiome is a community of microorganisms living inside or on the body, which is shaped by genes and the environment
- Motion and Forces — Knowledge: the relationship between force, mass, and acceleration is given by F = ma