#keystage3

SKETCHBOOK 2 PAGES 22-27

Here’s a list of what I’m going to put in the info box. As I’ve previously mentioned most of the key words and vocabulary used will include key words from most key stage 3 curriculums. The text in the info box will change based on what happens in the game screen. This is all the possible different things the info box will say.

If the Wolves and the trees are increasing but the Elk are decreasing it’ll say: 

“The Wolf (Apex Predator) population is increasing because there’s enough Elk (Primary Consumer) to support their carnivorous diet. The decrease in the Elk population has allowed more Plants (Producer) to grow resulting in an increase in the tree population”

If the wolves and trees are decreasing but the elk are increasing:

“The Wolf (TERTIARY CONSUMER) population is decreasing meaning that they cant regulate how much the Elk (PREY) breed, resulting in a rise in the Elk population. The increase in the Elk’s population means that more plants (PRODUCER) need to be consumed to support their Herbivorous diet”

If the wolves, Elk and plants are decreasing:

“The wolf (APEX PREDATOR) population is decreasing, this could be because they couldn’t hunt enough Elk or other primary or secondary consumers this year or it could be because of disease or a virus. The Elk (PRIMARY CONSUMER) population is decreasing even though the Wolves haven’t been hunting them, the reason for this drop could be because they’ve been hunted by Coyotes (SECONDARY CONSUMER) because there’s less wolves to stop them trespassing on their hunting ground. The plant (PRODUCER) population is declining this could be due to animals like Beavers (PRIMARY CONSUMER) eating the vegetation.”

If the wolves and Elk increase but the Plant level decreases:

“The wolf (TERTIARY CONSUMER) population is increasing so are the Elk (PRIMARY CONSUMER) this means that the Wolves are sustaining their Carnivorous diet with different animals like Beavers (PRIMARY CONSUMER) for example. The Plant (PRODUCER) population is decreasing due to the increase in the Elk Population.”

If the wolves, Elk and Plant level is increasing

“The Wolf Population (TERTIARY CONSUMER) is increasing along with the Elk population (PRIMARY CONSUMER). The Plant (PRODUCER) population is also increasing due to getting their energy through the process of Photosynthesis”

If the wolf population is declining but the elk and plant level is increasing 

“The wolf (TERTIARY CONSUMER) population is decreasing, giving the Elk (PRIMARY CONSUMER) a chance to increase. There was enough plants(PRODUCER) to support the Elk’s herbivorous diet whilst the plant population is still increasing.”

If the wolf and elk population decline and the plant level increases

“The wolf (TERTIARY CONSUMER) population is decreasing along with the elk (PRIMARY CONSUMER) population, this could be due to disease. The decline in the elk population has allowed more plants (PRODUCER) to grow.”

If the wolves are increasing and the elk and plants are decreasing:

SKETCHBOOK 2 PAGE 22

When researching Key Stage 3 lesson plans, I found that at the end of class the teacher quizzes the students in some way to give them a chance to put what they’ve learnt into practise in the form of a word search or a food web. So I decided that we should make a minigame for the users to play, it’ll be a simple food web puzzle where the user will have to drag and drop parts of a food web using hints from the info box in the main game scene. The Key words I’ll use in the minigame will match what’s used in the classroom. I’m going to label the animals mentioned with the keywords, that will make it easier for the user to transfer them from the info box to the food web. Key Words Producer – I’ll use when mentioning plants or trees Primary Consumer – Elk or beavers Secondary Consumer – Coyotes or Bears Tertiary Consumer/Apex Predator = Wolf

(SKETCHBOOK 2 PAGES 10-13)

In my folder you’ll be able to find my research on KS3 curriculum and lesson plans regarding the topic of food chains and ecosystems if you want to see specifics of what I found. I think going over the main points I’ve found through my research would be more productive to put on my blog instead of boring you with a load of waffle on everything single thing I’ve found as I think you wouldn’t read this post properly and this is a very integral part of our app. When talking to Adam about our target audience initially he said that our target age was too broad and suggested we targeted a certain Key Stage group, so we decided to target Key Stage 3, which is ages 11-14 because we feel that these ages are when one starts to understand the concept of trophic cascades and food chains. This age group is when people start to understand the concept of taking responsibility for your actions  which is where the idea of the app stemmed from, because when we brainstormed what made us angry in the first semester global warming is something that came up which clicked with Cameron, so he wanted to make something that informs the user the importance of not messing with nature even though this isn’t completely linked to global warming, the story of the trophic cascade in Yellowstone National Park shows the importance of not messing with the natural course of an ecosystem so hopefully this can translate to the students doing what they can to not do anything that can mess with their environment. When we knew the age group I then searched up a load of teaching lesson plans and curriculums to find terms and main objectives when teaching this subject. The whole reason for this app is to be used along side the teacher in the class room so if the mechanics and information is modelled after how and what they teach in Biology and Geography. The main objectives of most lesson plan I’ve looked at is: ⦁ To Spot chains within a food web ⦁ to be able to construct their own food webs and chains ⦁ understand energy transfer and loss within a food web ⦁ explore different habitats’ food webs