Lesson Plan in Science 8

May 3 – 7, 2021

I. Objectives:

At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

a. identify the effects declining biodiversity;

b. create a graphic organizer about the impact of human activities to the

biodiversity; and

c. explain the effects of human activities to the biodiversity.

II. Subject Matter:

Topic: Biodiversity and Human Impact

References:

a. Breaking Through Science 8 by Baguio, Mañosa & Santisteban-Cook; pp.

545-552

b. https://on.natgeo.com/3xOQdSL

c. https://bit.ly/3nCH2ju

III. Materials:

a. Powerpoint
b. Pictures
c. Google Form
IV. Procedures:
A. Motivation:

The teacher will show pictures of different human activities that affect the

biodiversity.

The teacher will ask the following questions:

a. What are these different human activities?

b. What can you say about the pictures?

c. How do these activities affect the biodiversity?

B. Presentation:

The teacher will start presenting the lesson using the powerpoint presentation.

C. Discussion:

The teacher will start the discussion on Biodiversity and Human Impact.

The term Biodiversity refers to the variety of organisms that occupy a given

region. This includes all organisms, both microscopic and macroscopic, that live

in the region.

The Philippines is home to one of the most diverse ecosystems on Earth. The

Philippines is one of 18 mega-biodiverse countries of the world, containing two-

thirds of the earth’s biodiversity and between 70% and 80% of the world’s plant

and animal species. The Philippines ranks fifth in the number of plant species

and maintains 5% of the world’s flora.

extinction. Some of the endangered animals in the Philippines are the Philippine

Tamaraw, Philippine Crocodile, Philippine Mouse Deer, Tarsier and Philippine

forest turtle.

Critically Endangered Species are species facing an extremely high risk of

extinction in the wild. A species is classified as critically endangered when its

population has declined at least 90 percent and the cause of the decline is

known. Examples of critically endangered species are the Philippine eagle,

Sumatran rhino and Sunda tiger.

Extinction is a process that happens when an entire species permanently

disappears from the biosphere due to the death of the species’ last member.
Examples of extinct species are the Cebu tamaraw, Philippine rhinoceros, and

Indian cheetah.

Human Activities That Threatens The Biodiversity

Illegal logging is the cutting down of trees, transporting them, or using their

products such as timber for economic

gains against the prohibition by law. It

involves the use of corrupt ways to reach

the forests or protected areas, the

harvesting or cutting down of the trees without approval and selling them

elsewhere or in black markets as timber.

The excessive extraction of timber beyond the stipulated limits is equally

pronounced as illegal logging. As global demand for commodities such as paper,

wood, and palm oil soars, companies and people continue to encroach even

deeper into forests, aggravating the illegal logging problem.

Forest loss because of illegal logging is a threat to biodiversity in forest habitats.

More and more species are unable to survive as the practice denies the habitat

the crucial natural interconnectedness. The extensive fragmentation and

degradation of the forest have put more animal and plant species on the verge

of extinction.

Slash and burn farming is a form of shifting agriculture where the natural

vegetation is cut down and burned as a method

farmer moves to a new fresh plot and does the same again. This process is

repeated over and over.

There are many problems that result from this method of growing crops,

including deforestation, a direct consequence of cutting down forests for crop

land; loss of habitat and species; an increase in air pollution and the release of

carbon into the atmosphere—which contributes to global climate change; and an

increase in accidental fires. Slash and burn agriculture also result in significant

soil erosion and accompanying landslides, water contamination, and/or dust

clouds, as without trees and vegetation and their root systems, soil washes away

during heavy rains and blows away during droughts.

Urbanization is the process through which cities grow, and higher percentages

of the population comes to live in the city. The

growth of cities may cause biodiversity to

decline by fragmenting or destroying large areas

of natural habitat on which many species depend. The rising human population is

driving the expansion of urban areas and increasing the demand for natural

resources such as timber and fossil fuels.

Poaching is the illegal taking of wildlife, in violation of local, state, federal, or

international law. Poaching has

devastating consequences for

wildlife. In some instances, it’s the

African elephant, more than 100,000 of which were killed between 2014 and

2017 for ivory. One of the most dangerous and lasting effects of poaching is the

decimation of native animal populations. When a certain animal, such as the

African elephant, is targeted by poachers, it can take decades for the animal's

population to recover. This, in turn, affects the ecosystem to which the animal

belongs.

Plant poaching, or the uprooting of threatened plants from their natural

habitat, has become a growing problem in the

Philippines, with illegal sellers offering rare species

to those willing to pay exorbitant rates for them.

Among those that are being poached are “’vulnerable’ and ‘endangered’ species

such as Alocasia zebrina and Alocasia sanderiana,’” as well as batingue trees and

pitcher plants.

How does plant poaching affect the environment?

Aside from shocking and possibly killing rare plants by taking them from their

natural environment, poaching disrupts the ecosystem by removing habitats and

sources of food for small insects and wild animals. As these rare plants even

become rarer, prices rise, which encourage more poaching until an entire species

is wiped out.
Overhunting is an activity that results in a serious reduction of species

population or harm to wildlife. It is otherwise defined as the relentless chase for

wild or game animals to kill or catch them for economic or personal gains or

food. Overhunting not only affects the animals but also affects the entire

biosphere. Consequently, it affects the interconnectedness of the ecosystem

since the living organisms need each other together with their natural habitat to

survive. In other words, hunting disturbs the natural order, and since every

ecosystem is unique and different, the removal of a living creature from their

natural environment results in an unbalanced ecosystem.

All forms of pollution (air, water, soil, noise) pose a serious threat to biodiversity.

Some of the effects of pollution or environmental contamination are:

1. Pollution from burning fossil fuels such as oil, coal and gas can remain in the

air as particle pollutants or fall to the ground as acid rain. Acid rain, which is

primarily composed of sulfuric and nitric acid, causes acidification of lakes,

streams, and sensitive forest soils, and contributes to slower forest growth

and tree damage at high elevations.

2. Excessive ultraviolet radiation coming from the sun through the ozone layer in

the upper atmosphere, which is eroded by some air pollutants, may cause

skin cancer in wildlife

3. Chemical pollutants such as pesticides and herbicides leach into soils and

groundwater and causes groundwater depletion. Oil pollution (as part of

organisms.

4. Terrestrial and aquatic plants may absorb pollutants from water (as their

main nutrient source) and pass them up the food chain to consumer animals

and humans.

The solution to these problems must start with the global realization of the

importance of conservation.

Ways To Save And Maintain Our Biodiversity

1. Create and manage large protected areas where biodiversity exists.

2. Some animal species may need to be helped by maintaining them in captivity.

3. Seed bank may need to be created for plants species.

4. Habitats that have been destroyed by calamities or human activities must be

restored by reforestation or repair.

Humans must change their role from consumer of the natural world to

cohabitator of it – Aldo Leopold, Father of Environmental Ethics in the

United States.

D. Application:
Direction: The teacher will ask the students to unscramble the letters to guess the

correct answer to the questions.

1. It is a form of shifting agriculture where the natural vegetation is cut down and

burned as a method of clearing the land for cultivation, and then, when the plot

becomes infertile, the farmer moves to a new fresh plot and does the same

again.

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2. It is a genetically distinctive population that share a common gene pool and

capable of interbreeding and producing offspring.

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3. These are species facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

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5. It is otherwise defined as the relentless chase for wild or game animals to kill or

catch them for economic or personal gains or food.

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6. It is the process through which cities grow, and higher and higher percentages of
the population comes to live in the city.

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7. It is the cutting down of trees, transporting them, or using their products such as

timber for economic gains against the prohibition by law.

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8. It is the illegal taking of wildlife, in violation of local, state, federal, or

international law.

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9. It is an animal or plant that's considered at risk of extinction.

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10. It is a process that happens when an entire species permanently disappears from

the biosphere due to the death of the species’ last member.

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 Answer key:
1. slash and burn 6. urbanization
2. species 7. illegal logging
3. critically endangered species 8. poaching
4. plant poaching 9. endangered species
5. overhunting 10. extinction

E. Generalization:

a. What are the causes of declining biodiversity?

b. What are the effects of declining biodiversity?

IV. Skills, Values, and Attitudes:

a. What is the importance of knowing the causes and effects of declining

biodiversity?

V. Evaluation:

Google form will be used for the quiz.

Direction: Write the word True if the statement is correct, if it is false, replace
the underlined word(s) to make the statement correct.

______ 1. Endangered species are species facing an extremely high risk of

extinction in the wild.

______ 2. Overhunting is an activity that results in a serious reduction of species

population or harm to wildlife.

______ 3. Poaching is the process through which cities grow, and higher and

higher percentages of the population comes to live in the city.

vegetation is cut down and burned as a method of clearing the land for

cultivation, and then, when the plot becomes infertile, the farmer moves to a

new fresh plot and does the same again.

______ 5. Extinction is a process that happens when an entire species

permanently disappears from the biosphere due to the death of the species’ last

member.

Answer key:
1. Critically endangered species
2. True
3. Urbanization
4. Slash and burn farming
5. True

VII. Assignment:
Make a graphic organizer about the impact of human activities to the biodiversity.
(20pts)
Example of graphic organizer:
Prepared by: May 2, 2021
Maricris R. Ranara
Student Teacher

Checked by:

Ms. Hazel Mae Cabalida