Students will develop an understanding of some of the costs and benefits of using pesticides and of how those products affect biodiversity. They will research pesticides and learn about alternatives to the reliance on pesticides for growing potatoes.
This is one of 3 activities that can be found in PLT’s Exploring Environmental Issues: Biodiversity module. To get the activity, attend a training or purchase the module now from shop.plt.org. Below are some supporting resources for this activity.
Download the copyright-free student pages that are included with this activity:
The following tools and resources may be used to enhance the activity.
At BioInteractive, you can find hundreds of free multimedia resources for science education targeted to a high school and undergraduate audience. Topics range from evolution to ecology, to diversity of organisms and earth and environment, to biotechnology and the scientific process. The resources include apps, animations, videos, interactive tutorials, and virtual labs to help engage students and explain difficult scientific concepts. Videos range from short clips to short films (15 to 30 minutes long) to full-length lectures on a specific topic given by top scientists working at the cutting edge of scientific research—all supplemented by teacher guides and classroom activities.
Introduce yourself to one of North America’s most common groups of songbirds, the Juncos. Readily observed in backyards, city parks, and forests alike, these little gray birds—sometimes called “Snowbirds”—can be easily overlooked. But for scientists who study animal behavior, ecology, and evolutionary biology, the Junco is a rockstar. Use these video shorts from The Junco Project and a pair of binoculars to get outside and make some Junco friends!
A free app that can be downloaded onto any Apple device (try iBird Lite for Android). Use WildLab Bird to learn the basics of bird identification. This application uses audio, photographs, maps, and the process of elimination to help identify over 200 bird species. Sightings can also be entered into a national bird watching database for comparison.
Biointeractive’s Holiday Lectures on Science series brings current research into the classroom, bridging the gap between textbook science and real life science. The Biodiversity in the Age of Humans series asks powerful questions, such as: Are we witnessing a sixth mass extinction? What factors threaten ecosystems on land and in the sea? What are researchers doing to conserve biodiversity and ecosystems around the world? What tools do we have to avoid a global catastrophe? In six half-hour lectures, three leading scientists describe the state of biodiversity on our planet and how to face the great challenges that lie ahead.
Blue Raster and Bear Trust International’s interactive world map shows students and educators in grades 9-12 where eight different species of wild bears live. The map includes photos and facts on American and Asiatic black bears, brown bears, giant pandas, polar bears, sloth bears, and sun bears.
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