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Description
This game-style activity teaches students about the invasive Red-eared slider and its effects on native turtle populations. Students will also learn how releasing a pet into the wild can harm other species and how to be a responsible pet owner.
Students are assigned the role of either a habitat component or a turtle. To begin the game the turtles will seek out something in their habitat. After a few rounds, the Red-eared slider turtles are introduced and the students will begin to see the effects. In between each round, tallies are kept on the numbers of each type of turtle and habitat components. This information is then used to create a graph of the population over time. Students will also participate in a discussion prompted by questions from the resource.
This activity is part of a larger lesson called "A Beginner's Guide to Invasive Species" and includes a list of related activities as well as a number of resources and extension ideas.
General Assessment
Recommendation of how and where to use it
"Turtle Trouble" fits very well into the Science curriculum for grades 4 to 7 and those outcomes that deal with habitats, living things and biodiversity. The resource would be most beneficial in a lesson in which the students have prior knowledge of native, invasive and non-native species. The game format provides a hands-on kinesthetic activity to help solidify student learning.
Relevant Curriculum Units
The following tool will allow you to explore the relevant curriculum matches for this resource. To start, select a province listed below.
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- Alberta
- Step 2Select a grade level
- Grade 4
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- Math
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Statistics: The science of collecting, analyzing, visualizing, and interpreting data can inform understanding and decision making.
- Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Earth Systems: Understandings of the living world, Earth, and space are deepened through investigating natural systems and their interactions.
- Exploring connections strengthens our understandings of relationships to help us make meaning of the world.
- Investigating change and the diversity of Earth’s systems helps us to develop understandings of the conditions necessary to sustain life.
- Investigating matter and energy facilitates understandings of natural phenomena and can inspire discovery and innovation.
- Grade 5
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- Math
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Patterns: Awareness of patterns supports problem solving in various situations
- Statistics: The science of collecting, analyzing, visualizing, and interpreting data can inform understanding and decision making.
- Science
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- Living Systems: Understandings of the living world, Earth, and space are deepened through investigating natural systems and their interactions
- Wetland Ecosystems
- Grade 6
- Step 3Select a subject
- Math
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Patterns: Awareness of patterns supports problem solving in various situations.
- Statistics: The science of collecting, analyzing, visualizing, and interpreting data can inform understanding and decision making.
- Science
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- Living Systems: Understandings of the living world, Earth, and space are deepened through investigating natural systems and their interactions
- Grade 7
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- Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Interactions and Ecosystems
- British Columbia
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- Grade 4
- Grade 5
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- Math
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- Data represented in graphs can be used to show many-to-one correspondence
- Identified regularities in number patterns can be expressed in tables
- Science
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- Science 5: Multicellular organisms have organ systems that enable them to survive and interact within their environment.
- Grade 6
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- Math
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Data from the results of an experiment can be used to predict the theoretical probability of an event and to compare and interpret
- Linear relations can be identified and represented using expressions with variables and line graphs and can be used to form generalizations
- Science
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- Science 6: Multicellular organisms rely on internal systems to survive, reproduce, and interact with their environment.
- Grade 7
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- Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Science 7: Evolution by natural selection provides an explanation for the diversity and survival of living things.
- Manitoba
- New Brunswick
- Newfoundland & Labrador
- Northwest Territories
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- Grade 4
- Grade 5
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- Math
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Data represented in graphs can be used to show many-to-one correspondence
- Identified regularities in number patterns can be expressed in tables
- Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Science 5: Multicellular organisms have organ systems that enable them to survive and interact within their environment.
- Grade 6
- Step 3Select a subject
- Math
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Data from the results of an experiment can be used to predict the theoretical probability of an event and to compare and interpret
- Linear relations can be identified and represented using expressions with variables and line graphs and can be used to form generalizations
- Statistics and Probability
- Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Science 6: Multicellular organisms rely on internal systems to survive, reproduce, and interact with their environment.
- Nova Scotia
- Nunavut
- Ontario
- Step 2Select a grade level
- Grade 4
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- Math
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Data
- Science & Technology
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- Life Systems: Habitats and Communities
- Grade 5
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- Math
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- Data
- Grade 6
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- Math
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- Data
- Science & Technology
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- Life Systems: Biodiversity
- Grade 7
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- Life Systems: Interactions in the Environment
- Prince Edward Island
- Quebec
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- Grade 4
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- Science & Technology
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- Living Things
- Grade 5
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- Science & Technology
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- Living Things
- Grade 6
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- Math
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- Statistics and Probability
- Science & Technology
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- Living Things
- Grade 7
- Step 3Select a subject
- Science & Technology
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- The Living World
- Saskatchewan
- Yukon Territory
- Step 2Select a grade level
- Grade 4
- Step 3Select a subject
- Math
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Analyzing and interpreting experiments in data probability develops an understanding of chance
- Regular changes in patterns can be identified and represented using tools and tables
- Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Science 4: All living things sense and respond to their environment
- Grade 5
- Grade 6
- Step 3Select a subject
- Math
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Data from the results of an experiment can be used to predict the theoretical probability of an event and to compare and interpret
- Linear relations can be identified and represented using expressions with variables and line graphs and can be used to form generalizations
- Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Science 6: Multicellular organisms rely on internal systems to survive, reproduce, and interact with their environment.
- Grade 7
- Step 3Select a subject
- Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Science 7: Evolution by natural selection provides an explanation for the diversity and survival of living things.
Themes Addressed
Ecosystems (4)
- Appreciating the Natural World
- Biodiversity
- Endangered Species
- Invasive Species
Land Use & Natural Resources (2)
- Forests
- Planting Native Species
Water (1)
- Marine Environments
