CNN StudentNews
Daniel Santos Sixth Sense?
Overview
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CNN's John Zarrella visits the Florida Everglades to investigate why some nesting turtles are building unusually high nests.
Objective
Students will learn about the Everglades ecosystem, why it is in danger and what is being done to restore it.
Procedure
What kind of plant and animal life can be found in the Everglades? Refer student groups to library and online resources to learn about the Everglades ecosystem, why it is in danger and what is being done to restore it. After groups prepare and deliver multimedia presentations on different aspects of the Everglades ecosystem, discuss the state of the Everglades. Pose the following questions for group discussion:
- Why is water management one of the most critical environmental issues facing Everglades National Park?
- What factors threaten the water quality?
- Why is reduced water quality a problem for the ecosystem?
- What problems has the introduction of exotic animals and plants caused for the Everglades ecosystem?
- What problems have been caused by the loss of habitat and altered water flow?
- How has the development of South Florida impacted the Everglades?
- Do you think that it is possible to balance human needs with those of the Everglades natural ecosystem? Why or why not?
EXTENSION: Challenge each student to use what he or she has learned to write a poem, a short story or an essay that captures the uniqueness and beauty of the Everglades.
Correlated Standards
Science
Standard 6. Understands relationships among organisms and their physical environment
Level III [Grade: 6-8]
Benchmark 1. Knows that all individuals of a species that exist together at a given place and time make up a population, and all populations living together and the physical factors with which they interact compose an ecosystem
Benchmark 2. Knows factors that affect the number and types of organisms an ecosystem can support (e.g., available resources; abiotic factors such as quantity of light and water, range of temperatures, and soil composition; disease; competition from other organisms within the ecosystem; predation)
Benchmark 3. Knows ways in which organisms interact and depend on one another through food chains and food webs in an ecosystem (e.g., producer/consumer, predator/prey, parasite/host, relationships that are mutually beneficial or competitive)
Level IV [Grade: 9-12]
Benchmark 1. Knows how the interrelationships and interdependencies among organisms generate stable ecosystems that fluctuate around a state of rough equilibrium for hundreds or thousands of years (e.g., growth of a population is held in check by environmental factors such as depletion of food or nesting sites, increased loss due to larger numbers of predators or parasites)
Benchmark 5. Knows ways in which humans can alter the equilibrium of ecosystems, causing potentially irreversible effects (e.g., human population growth, technology, and consumption; human destruction of habitats through direct harvesting, pollution, and atmospheric changes)
McREL: Content Knowledge: A Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K-12 Education (Copyright 2000 McREL) is published online by Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) (), 2550 S. Parker Road, Suite 500, Aurora, CO 80014
Suggested Online Resources
Loxahatchee Everglades Tours ()
Keywords
Florida, Everglades, ecological, levee, nesting turtles, instinct, animal premonition, sixth sense, "survival of the fittest," ecosystem
