In the three associated activities, students will explore the human impact in a river, grassland and prairie ecosystem and how the effects of the reintroduction of species affect ecosystems. By exploring these cause and effect relationships, students will expand their understanding of the impact of human activities on the environment and how taking steps to reverse those effects allows nature to recover.

Students will watch three documentary clips from PBS’ The Age of Nature, identifying central ideas and key details and, and ask clarifying questions. Students will complete a brief analysis of information presented in graphs and images. As a final activity, students will craft a complete scientific explanation using the Claim-Evidence-Reasoning framework and hold an academic discussion that compares and contrasts their claims identifying similarities and differences.

About the Author: 

Mariana Garcia Serrato is a STEM teacher at AdVENTURE, a STEM program from the Oak Grove School District in San Jose, California. She currently teaches Science and Engineering in grades five through eight. She is a certified PBS Media Literacy Educator, Google Certified Educator, KQED Media Literacy Innovator, and SCCOE/TI STEM Teacher of the Year (2014). Her goal of making STEM relevant to her students has inspired her to create a fully gamified PBL classroom and can often be found hiking in the Santa Cruz Mountains.