Biodome Outline

Learning sequence and outline of lesson(s):
This is a 7 part unit. Below is the basic outline of each lesson. Each lesson would take place on a different day.

Part 1: Designing Your Biodome
1. Create engineering teams of 4 students
2. Give each student an engineering workbook
3. Instruct students to create a name for their engineering design team and record it on the first page in their workbook
4. As a class go over what a biodome might have for a particular environment
5. Present a list of different enviroments for which students could create a biodome for
6. Engineering teams will select one environment and set to work on designing their own biodome. They will record their ideas in their workbook

Part 2: Building Your Biodome Structure

Students must also answer questions in their workbook: What challenged did you have when building your biodome? -and- What could you do to improve the structure for next time?

Part 3: Energy Flow in Your Biodome
1. Students gather with the members of their engineering teams
2. In their workbooks, have students describe the biodome environment they have constructed and the possible plants and animals that they might be able to find in it if their biodome was built on a larger scale.
3. Students will now create one or more food chains/webs to show the flow of energy through their biodome environment. This will be a time for students to consider the relationships of the food and whats eating the food within their biodome environment,
4. When finished, have different groups share what they came up with for their food chains/webs.
5. Class discussion on students individual biodomes: What is the energy source to sustain their biodomes? (the sun) How have students ensured that sunlight will get into their biodomes? In addition to sun, where are the air and water sources for their

Tell students that today is the day they will be adding animals to their biodomes. Because we have limited resources at school, these animals will be insects. Inform them that they may not choose worms because worms will be used later in our unit as decomposers. Create a list on the board of possible insects they may find and use. Inform students that they must come up with a list of insects that would fit their ecosystem before they step outside to begin looking. Whichever insect they choose must go along with the system they have constructed inside their biodome, this is essential.
5. Discussion time: Discussion takes place on the importance of choosing the correct animals for a biodome. You would never want to choose animals that would eat each other to be placed in a biodome because then all the animals would die once their food source was gone. Inform students that the limitations they experience with the choices they have for “animals” is an example of how engineers are limited by constraints.
6. Go over rules on how to behave outside class while searching for animals. Give time for students to collect their insects.
7. After returning to class, students place their animals in their