Weeks 1–2: Ecosystems and Field Observation

Week 1 Lesson: Ecosystems and Energy Flow

This module gives Nina a way to describe the fictional Brookside stream without treating every nearby organism or puddle as an isolated fact. In week 1 she studies relationships among living things and their physical surroundings. In week 2 she follows how water moves across the local watershed and practices recording observations that another person could repeat.

What to learn

Week 1: Identify an ecosystem's living and nonliving components; distinguish an energy-flow arrow from a claim that energy cycles; sketch a simple food web with more than one path. The Week 1 Lesson: Ecosystems and Energy Flow file provides the example and a short self-check.

Week 2: Trace rainfall from a paved street, a planted bank, and a drain toward Brookside. Compare two observations from the same safe public viewpoint while recording time and recent weather. The stream practice file will specify the observation protocol; it will not ask Nina to enter the water or infer water quality from appearance alone.

Evidence and review

• Draw a Brookside food web and label where the example relies on an assumption rather than a confirmed sighting.
• Mark the stream's likely catchment on a simple sketch, separating observed drainage features from guessed connections.
• Complete two viewpoint visits on different days if conditions are safe; record date, time, weather, and what could not be seen.
• Use the midpoint revision file to explain how a change in runoff might affect a habitat without claiming one observation proves the effect.

A useful result is a labeled sketch plus a paragraph that says what Nina knows, what she inferred, and what she would need to check next. The weeks 3–4 module will build on that distinction when she interprets climate evidence and evaluates responses.

Week 2 Practice: Brookside Stream Observation

Weeks 1–2 Revision: Ecosystems and Water