This resource from Khan Academy discusses different ways that human activities impact the environment and can disrupt entire ecosystems.
Students will be introduced to five dimensions including habitat destruction, pollution, invasive species, over-exploitation, and climate change.
It includes a video, transcript, key terms and concepts, and an interactive quiz.
Teaching Tips
Positives
It is easy to understand and is recommended for introducing any of the key concepts.
The video clearly connects human activities that change the environment to changes in ecosystems that affect many species.
Additional Prerequisites
Students can access the video and related resources without an account, but setting up a class with a free Khan Academy account will provide the teacher with more options to track student progress.
Differentiation
This video could be used in a Biology class to discuss different ways various species might need to adapt to their disrupted ecosystems.
Biology and science classes can use the acronym HIPPOC or CHIPPO to remember the different reasons species go extinct: habitat loss, invasive species, population pressures, pollution, overhunting/overfishing/overexploitation, and climate change.
The transcript can be printed for students who need support following along.
This 6-minute video presents a simple and brief overview of human impacts on ecosystems, including deforestation, pollution, overfishing, and anthropogenic climate change. This resource does not go into great detail, but is a good introductory overview for beginners. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Standards
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
MS-ESS3-3 Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.
LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
HS-LS2-2 Use mathematical representations to support and revise explanations based on evidence about factors affecting biodiversity and populations in ecosystems of different scales.
HS-LS2-7 Design, evaluate, and refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment and biodiversity.
