Earth Systems

Today's Topic: Virtual Field Trip with Change is Simple!

Welcome to Change is Simple’s Online Learning Platform!

Overview: This is a virtual field trip with an ecosystem scavenger hunt to go along with it! This field trip will showcase a part of the North Shore that YOU can actually explore on your own! During this field trip, we will be participating in an Ecosystem Scavenger Hunt.

Grade Level: K-6

Theme: Earth Systems, Natural Resources, Climate Change

Supervision needed? Yes

Essential Questions: 

  • What are 4 different types of living things in an ecosystem?

  • What is important about sand dune grasses? What do they help protect?

  • What is one example of how we made some changes to help protect an animal on the beach?

  • Define commensalism.

  • How do microplastics impact the ocean ecosystem?

Materials Needed:

  • Pencil

  • Paper

  • Markers, Crayons or Colored Pencils

  • Camera (if desired)

Standards:

Ecosystem Scavenger Hunt

During the Ecosystem Scavenger Hunt, we will be searching for a few things in our Ecosystem:

There are 6 main aspects to an ecosystem: let’s try and find an example of each, take a picture or draw each one you find.

  • Plants: Try to find a unique plant or tree

  • Animals: See if you can spot a creature that live there. It can be a bird, fish, small mammal or big!

  • Nonliving: What is there an abundance (a lot) of in the area? Examples of non-living are, rocks, sand, water dirt.

  • Threatened/near threatened/endangered plant or an animal

  • Human impacts on the ecosystem: Look around, do you see anything that shows how humans have effected the area?

  • Ways we can help protect that ecosystem: What do you think you can do to protect the area that you are in?

This morning, head onto the beach with one of our lead educators. Skye will be exploring the coastal ecosystem of Good Harbor Beach, in Gloucester Massachusetts!

Did you enjoy today’s activity? Stay tuned for more, and in the meantime…

Send us a photo of yourself doing today's activity and if you would like, please share your name(s) and where you are from with cisonline@changeissimple.org