Lesson Plan: Human Impacts on Biodiversity
This lesson plan includes the objectives, prerequisites, and exclusions of the lesson teaching students how to define biodiversity and describe the impact that human activity can have on biodiversity.
Objectives
Students will be able to
- define biodiversity as the variety of organisms within an ecosystem,
- name efforts to maintain biodiversity including reforestation and conservation of animal species as positive human impacts on biodiversity,
- use examples of fish farming, introduction of invasive species, and hunting as negative human impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity,
- explain why biodiversity is important and should be preserved locally and globally.
Prerequisites
Students should already be familiar with
- the fact that Earth is more than 4.5 billion years old,
- the concept of ecosystems.
Exclusions
Students will not cover
- details about human pollution,
- details about the impact of deforestation,
- details about the impact of maintaining biodiversity,
- the processes of evolution.