BACHELOR DEGREE OF ENGLISH AND BILINGUAL EDUCATION

LESSON PLAN
CONNECTING ECOSYSTEMS AND HUMAN HEALTH

Instructor’s name: Lizeth Reyes Ladino - Kelly Duran Piña Class Time: 1 hour 90 minutes Grade: 5th Date: 16th november 2021
A lesson plan module that gets students outdoors, online, and thinking about connections.
Students Learning Objectives: By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
1. Define, describe, and explain ecosystem services.
2. Describe characteristics of ecosystems, including local ecosystems on or near their school grounds (ecosystem type will vary based on outdoor
availability near the school, such as: forested area, creek, pond, meadow, field, etc.).
3. Describe the relationships of ecosystems in their local area and human health.
4. Support their explanations with scientific evidence.

ACTIVITY, TYPE, AND PROGRESSION DURATION TEXTBOOK/MATERIALS

Warm up:
Each student will receive an online notecard which will have a keyword for the
Key words: Vocabulary about the topic to develop the
development of the class, in order each of the students will share the notecard, class.
the other classmates have their backs to the class and will not be able to see the 15 min.
notecard the student is presenting, finally the rest of the class should ask yes or Online notecards with the keywords.
no questions, until they determine what was on the respective notecard.
Example:
Do I contain water?, Maybe
Do I contain trees?, Yes
 BACHELOR DEGREE OF ENGLISH AND BILINGUAL EDUCATION
LESSON PLAN
CONNECTING ECOSYSTEMS AND HUMAN HEALTH
ACTIVITY, TYPE, AND PROGRESSION DURATION
Mini-lecture topic #1:
Introduce ecosystem services (benefits that humans receive from nature).
Students should have a basic understanding of environmental concepts (what
an ecosystem is, etc.) and human health (knowledge of certain organ systems
would help, but is not necessary for the success of the lesson).
Students are prompted to consider the concept of ecosystem services by viewing
one to three videos and answering corresponding questions to help explain and
clarify the concept of ecosystem services.
TEXTBOOK/MATERIALS
Video #1: (2:14 minutes) EnviroAtlas: Connecting
People, Ecosystems, Health, and the Economy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMU8ZLsCmUM
Video #2: (3:52 minutes) Ecosystem Services 101 with
15 min. Hank.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=N2whWWYSh6M
Video #3: Ecosystem services (9:02 minutes).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCH1Gre3Mg0
Elementary Student Handout (pdf)
https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-
09/documents/ecohealth_lesson_elem_stu_handout.
pdf
 BACHELOR DEGREE OF ENGLISH AND BILINGUAL EDUCATION

LESSON PLAN
CONNECTING ECOSYSTEMS AND HUMAN HEALTH

ACTIVITY, TYPE, AND PROGRESSION DURATION TEXTBOOK/MATERIALS

Interactive activity #1: Eco-Health Relationship Browser Notecards
1. Set up supplies (print, cut and laminate [optional] notecards. Tie string to the Double-sided, Elementary
notecards.). https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-
2. Select which human health outcome cards that you’re going to use. 09/documents/ecohealth_notecards_elementary_fina
3. Write the ecosystem services, ecosystems, and/or human health outcomes l_9.9.pdf
that you’re going to use on the white board so that students know what their 25 min. Activity What Am I? - Example for Forests:
options are. • Do I have buildings? No.
4. Place the notecards around students’ necks so that the cards are on the • Do I help the environment? Yes.
students’ backs. Make sure that students can’t see which cards they have. Have • Do I contain water? Yes/Maybe.
students ask each other yes or no questions until they determine which cards • Do I contain trees? Yes.
they have on their backs. • Am I “Wetlands”? No.
Activity - What Am I?: Students wear the Eco-Health notecards hanging on • Do people hike and camp where I am? Yes.
their backs. Asking their classmates only yes or no questions, students try to • Am I “Forests”? Yes.
guess what the card is on their backs.
Mini-lecture topic #2: Elementary Student Handout (pdf)
Outdoors Lesson: Students walk to a spot on campus outdoors. Students are https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-
asked questions to explore the various interactions of the ecosystem and to 09/documents/ecohealth_lesson_elem_stu_handout.pdf
describe ecosystem services in their local community. 30 min. Student instruction for using the Eco-Health Relationship
Browser
Eco-Health Relationship Browser Lesson: Students investigate the connections https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-
between human health and the environment using a handout and the Eco- 09/documents/eco_health_lesson_student_activity_sheet.
Health Relationship Browser online. pdf
 BACHELOR DEGREE OF ENGLISH AND BILINGUAL EDUCATION

LESSON PLAN
CONNECTING ECOSYSTEMS AND HUMAN HEALTH

ACTIVITY, TYPE, AND PROGRESSION DURATION TEXTBOOK/MATERIALS

Interactive activity #2: Elementary Student Handout (pdf)
Outdoors Lesson: While outdoors, the teacher asks leading questions and the https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-
students discuss the local aspects of ecosystem services. Students evaluate and
09/documents/ecohealth_lesson_elem_stu_handout.
explain how the environment is the life-support system for humans, then
students answer questions on the handout. pdf
Eco-Health Relationship Browser Lesson: Students choose two human health Student instruction for using the Eco-Health
outcomes that are of interest to them from the listed human health outcomes on Relationship Browser
the Eco-Health Relationship Browser and present the details of the connections
https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-
between ecosystem services and human health to neighboring groups (pair- 25 min.
share). 09/documents/eco_health_lesson_student_activity_s
To take into account: heet.pdf
1. Let students explore the Eco-Health Relationship Browser using the Student
Instruction Sheet and their Student Handout.
2. Optional: Once students have finished filling in their charts, have students
(or student groups) present their human health impacts to the class. If
computers are available, students can make a quick PowerPoint presentation to
present.
 BACHELOR DEGREE OF ENGLISH AND BILINGUAL EDUCATION

LESSON PLAN
CONNECTING ECOSYSTEMS AND HUMAN HEALTH

ACTIVITY, TYPE, AND PROGRESSION DURATION TEXTBOOK/MATERIALS

Re-group to summarize: Eco-Health Relationship Browser Notecards Double-
String Lesson: Students use the provided human health notecards and physical sided, Elementary
pieces of string to visualize the relationships between ecosystems, ecosystem
services and human health. Students discuss associations. https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-
To take into account: 09/documents/ecohealth_notecards_elementary_fina
Have all of the students stand in a tight, shoulder-to-shoulder circle and wear l_9.9.pdf
their notecards.
2. Start with an ecosystem service (blue card). Give that student the ball of yarn.
For this example, we’ll use “Air Quality.” Have the student read or summarize Ball of yarn
their card to the group. Have the student describe what they know about how 40 min.
Air Quality is related to an ecosystem (such as Forests, for example).
Have that student start with the ball of yarn and pass the yarn to an ecosystem
(Forests, in this example) that is connected to their ecosystem service.
3. Then, after the student holding the ecosystem (Forests, in this example)
receives the ball of yarn, they hold on to the string and pass the ball of yarn to
someone with another ecosystem service that is connected to Forests (Recreation
& Physical Activity, for example [i.e. hiking, fishing, mountain biking, etc.]).
Encouragediscussion during the hand-offs.
4. Recreation & Physical Activity would then hold the string and pass the ball of
yarn to another ecosystem that is related, such as Wetlands.
5. Continue until all of the students have made a connection somehow, being
sure to make time for student discussion during the hand-offs.
 BACHELOR DEGREE OF ENGLISH AND BILINGUAL EDUCATION

LESSON PLAN
CONNECTING ECOSYSTEMS AND HUMAN HEALTH

ASSESSMENT:

The teacher will do evaluation questions. Prompting students to think more deeply about the connections between ecosystem services and human
health. Encouraging students to respond thoughtfully about the last question, piecing together their experiences outdoors and the connections they
learned about from the browser.

Students will have some minutes to share their answers in a page in padlet, this activity will be interview type the teacher will be the journalist, and
she will do the questions and through an audio the students will give the answer.

HOMEWORK:

Images and data of some ecosystem services, including why that type of ecosystem service is important for the environment.