Maine State Standards:

B. Ecology
Students will understand how living things depend on one another and on non-living aspects of the environment. Students will be able to:

• Identify ways that organisms depend upon their environment.
• Describe a food web and the relationships within a given ecosystem.
• Explain the differences between producers, consumers, and decomposers*.
• Describe in general terms the chemical process of photosynthesis.
• Generate examples of the variety of ways that organisms interact.

L. Communication
Students will communicate effectively in the application of science and technology. Students will be able to:

• Access information at remote sites using telecommunications.
• Identify and perform roles necessary to accomplish group tasks.

M. Implications of Science and Technology
Students will understand the historical, social, economic, environmental, and ethical implications of science and technology. Students will be able to:

• Give examples of actions which may have expected or unexpected consequences that may be positive, negative, or both.

 

* The nature of this project makes it difficult for middle grade students to research specific decomposers of the Amazon. This component should be taught, reinforced, and assessed independent of this project.