Young scientists discover how sea otters' habitats have changed due to human impact. Through conversation, video observation, and story reading, scholars identify how human interactions change a specific ecosystem in both positive and negative ways. 

Concepts

ecosystems, sea otters, human impact on the environment, food webs

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Direct pupils to support one another during the reading portion of the lesson
• Allow learners to work in heterogeneous groups based on reading levels 
• Brainstorm ways the class can help balance the ecosystem and plan a field trip, such as a beach clean-up, so they can actively do their part to keep animals and their homes safe
• Encourage class members to visit the school library or search the Internet for additional information about sea otters 

Classroom Considerations

• Part of a 17-item unit designed to inform learners about ecosystems 
• Specific locations related to the California coast are mentioned 

Pros

• Provides notes to make lesson administration easier 
• Includes sentence frames 

Cons