HS-LS2 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
- Science & Society
News Stories Give Spiders a Bum Rap
Are your students creeped out by spiders? They aren’t alone. In this guide, students will learn about how inaccurate news coverage has promoted common misconceptions about the largely harmless critters. Students can also discuss misinformation, thinking about where they’ve encountered it before, its impacts and ways to correct it.
- Science & Society
Spinning tales about spiders
Students will answer questions about the online Science News article “News stories have caught spiders in a web of misinformation,” which describes new research looking at how spiders are portrayed by the media. A version of the article, “News stories give spiders a bum rap” appears in the September 24, 2022 issue of Science News.
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- Paleontology
Dating dino doomsday
Students will answer claim, evidence and reasoning questions about the online Science News article “The Age of Dinosaurs may have ended in springtime.” The article describes how scientists used fossilized fish to determine what season it was when an asteroid wiped out nonavian dinosaurs. A version of the article, “Dinosaur killer may have hit in spring,” appears in the March 26, 2022 issue of Science News.
- Humans
Dig into bones
Students will discuss the physical properties of human bones and how bones can offer evidence to support scientific claims. Then students can search Science News for examples of how bones have been used as evidence.
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- Ecosystems
Mapping biodiversity
Students will look at data from a primary research article to explore how tree biodiversity differs across continents and biomes.
- Plants
Counting Earth’s tree species
Students will answer questions about the online Science News article “Earth may have 9,200 more tree species than previously thought,” which describes researchers’ efforts to estimate the number of tree species on Earth. A version of the article, “Earth may be hiding thousands of tree species,” appears in the March 12, 2022 issue of Science News
- Science & Society
Look to the Outliers
In this guide, students will learn about outliers and why some social scientists study them in an effort to improve people’s lives.
- Science & Society
Defying expectations
Students will answer questions about the online Science News article “Why do some people succeed when others fail? Outliers provide clues,” which describes how research into communities that defy expectations can reveal ways to help others.
- Science & Society
All about outliers
Students will define what an outlier is and discuss why outliers occur, how to identify them and how they can be useful for science and society.
- Life
Whales Eat More Than We Thought
In this guide, students will learn how scientists estimated the food intake of certain whale species and discuss nutrient cycling and conservation of matter within ecosystems.
