Activities Summary

In this activity, students will:

• Visit a local pet or aquarium store
• Create a closed ecosystem called an Ecojar
• Complete an Essential Skills Ranking Worksheet
• Complete a self-assessment

Prior Knowledge

• Essential Skills
• Understanding of the following cycles: water, nitrogen and carbon
• Definitions of the following terms: producers, consumers, decomposers, abiotic and biotic factors

Teaching Planning Notes

• Review assignment including prior knowledge
  required and assessment and evaluation tools
• Read over the activities with the students and provide instructions for measuring temperature, nitrates, nitrites, total hardness, total alkalinity, and pH
• Purchase any submerged aquatic plant (e.g. hornwort or fanwort)
• Order snails ahead of time
• Purchase Mardel 5 in 1 Test Strips - pH, Hardness, Alkalinity, Nitrite and Nitrate (check the expiry date before you purchase this)
• Purchase an Ammonia Test Kit and Stress Coat
• Prepare a project folder for each group that contains the assignment.
  (Tip: colour code handouts as an organizational strategy)
• Offer rewards to the most creative name and logo for the group (optional)
• Observe the ecosystem once a week for several months

Note 1: There is potential to plan a field trip to a pet store or specialty aquarium store.

Assessment and Evaluation of Student Achievement

Activities and Evaluation Materials

• Getting Hooked on Ecojars Assignment Sheet
• Gone Fishing Activity Sheet
• Steps For Success Ecojar Checklist (Table 1)
• Making an Ecojar Attendance and Role Log Sheet (Table 2)
• Building an Ecojar Instruction Sheet
• Chemical and Biological Analysis of the Ecojar (Tables 3 and 4)
• Conclusions and Analysis of the Ecojar (Table 5)
• Applying Your Knowledge Questions and Answer Key
• Self-Assessment Tool For the Setup, Data Collection and Dismantling of the Ecojar
• This is the Last Catch! Ranking the Essential Skills Used Worksheet