Lesson Overview

In this lesson students will develop their understanding of how humans present direct threats to biodiversity, and how to write a logical explanation. This idea is then developed further in the next lesson. The context of the lesson is how the villagers of Com could be harming their reef by using it.

Learning outcomes

• Describe the importance of all animals within the coral reef ecosystem.
• Describe threats to the reef.
• Define and use the terms ‘overfishing’, ‘destructive fishing’, and ‘trophic cascade’ correctly
• Explain how a range of human activities can directly impact a reef.

Lesson steps

1. The Story so far (15 mins)
   Students set themselves targets based on the learning criteria of the lesson. Using the Species card sort Student Sheet, students produce a food chain, and identify producers, herbivores, carnivores, trophic levels and the direction of flow of energy.
2. Uses and direct threats (20 mins)
   Students are to consider the different uses of the reef and how they are used by different stakeholders. Students visit the information stations placed around the room to learn about different threats to the reef, their causes and their impacts.
3. Explaining direct threats (15 mins)
   Students rewrite an explanation about threats to reefs, correcting scientific and literacy errors.
4. Tweeting (5 mins)
   Students demonstrate their understanding by composing a tweet about what they have learned.
5. Self-reflection (5 mins)
   Students decide if they have met their targets set at the beginning of the lesson, they reflect on the lesson’s importance in the context of the unit of work and answer the questions.

England

GCSE Science

AQA Trilogy

• 4.7.1.1 – Describe different levels of organisation in an ecosystem from individual organisms to the whole ecosystem and the importance of interdependence and competition in a community
• 4.7.3.6 - Describe both positive and negative human interactions in an ecosystem and explain their impact on biodiversity

AQA Combined Science: Synergy

• 4.4.2.1 – Describe different levels of organisation in an ecosystem from individual organisms to the whole ecosystem
• 4.4.2.2 – Describe the importance of interdependence and competition in a community
• 4.4.2.6 – Describe negative human interactions within ecosystems and explain their impact on biodiversity

OCR Twenty-first Century Science

• 3.3 – Explain the importance of interdependence and competition in a community
• 6.3 – Describe both positive and negative human interactions within ecosystems and explain their impact on biodiversity

OCR Gateway Science

• 4.1f – Describe the importance of interdependence and competition in a community
• 6.1b – Describe both positive and negative human interactions within ecosystems and explain their impact on biodiversity

Edexcel

• 9.3 – Describe the importance of interdependence and competition in a community
• 9.9 – Explain the positive and negative human interactions within ecosystems and their impacts on biodiversity.