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• Students investigate the interactions of living things in an outdoor area near their school in this Biodiversity Counts activity. The printable four-page PDF handout includes:

  • a series of inquiry-based questions to help students identify what they already know about how organisms are connected and depend on one another,
  • step-by-step activity directions that emphasize safe behavior, and
  • a worksheet that asks students to record their observations and calculate the area's biodiversity index.

• Completion Time

  Approximately 1 period

• Topic

  Biology

• Subtopic

  Biodiversity

• Subtopic

  National Science Education Standards
  Science as Inquiry CONTENT STANDARD A:

  • abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry• understanding about scientific inquiry

  Life Science CONTENT STANDARD C:

  • populations and ecosystems• diversity and adaptations of organisms

  Science in Personal and Social Perspectives CONTENT STANDARD F:

  • populations, resources, and environments

  History and Nature of Science CONTENT STANDARD G:

  • science as a human endeavor• nature of science

  Grades 9-12:
  Science as Inquiry CONTENT STANDARD A:

  • abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry• understanding about scientific inquiry

  Life Science CONTENT STANDARD C:

  • interdependence of organisms• matter, energy, and organization in living systems

  Science in Personal and Social Perspectives CONTENT STANDARD F:

  • environmental quality

  History and Nature of Science CONTENT STANDARD G:

  • science as a human endeavor• nature of scientific knowledge

• Learning Standard

  National Science Education Standards
  Science as Inquiry CONTENT STANDARD A:

  • abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry• understanding about scientific inquiry

  Life Science CONTENT STANDARD C:

  • populations and ecosystems• diversity and adaptations of organisms

  Science in Personal and Social Perspectives CONTENT STANDARD F:

  • populations, resources, and environments

  History and Nature of Science CONTENT STANDARD G:

  • science as a human endeavor• nature of science

  Grades 9-12:
  Science as Inquiry CONTENT STANDARD A:

  • abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry• understanding about scientific inquiry

  Life Science CONTENT STANDARD C:

  • interdependence of organisms• matter, energy, and organization in living systems

  Science in Personal and Social Perspectives CONTENT STANDARD F:

  • environmental quality

  History and Nature of Science CONTENT STANDARD G:

  • science as a human endeavor• nature of scientific knowledge