Life Science

Unit 2: From Bacteria to Plants

Nitrogen cycle review game

Project Type: Model
Construct a review game demonstrating knowledge of the nitrogen and oxygen cycles. The game and instructions should be assembled in an eco-friendly box.

Task
Pairs of students will design a review game with cards or a game board that demonstrates the nitrogen and oxygen cycles, and how all life is interdependent. All game parts should be assembled in an environmentally friendly, student-made box with complete directions and user recommendations. Each student or group of students will present their work and then rotate through different stations as an end-of-unit review.

Ideas: cards/game board type
These are only suggestion be creative, use one or more of these ideas, or come up with a completely different idea.
Cards type:

• Memory/matching: one card is a term and the second is a definition or description
• Go fish: 2-4 students, each student is dealt 5-7 cards and is looking for the matching card where one card is a term and the second is a definition or description

• Move around a board to different squares to answer questions about the topic (i.e. plant, animals, bacteria, nitrogen in the atmosphere, fixed nitrogen, etc.). The Nitrogen cycle resource site has an image that could be used as a game board starting point
• Create a checker board style game board. Use square pieces of paper or cardboard to create the game pieces, which consist of a single letter written on each piece of paper. Spell out a word that pertains to the Nitrogen cycle, with particular spaces and letters being worth more points.

Time:
1 class period to brainstorm ideas, 1 week to work on the game at home 1-3 days at the end of the chapter/unit to rotate through the different game/stations

Resources:
Visit the following web sites for information that will help you complete this project.

Nitrogen Cycle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen_cycle

Encyclopedia
Type in "nitrogen cycle"
http://www.encyclopedia.com

Oxygen cycle
http://paos.colorado.edu/~fasullo/pjw_class/oxygencycle.html
http://telstar.ote.cmu.edu/environ/m3/s4/cycleOxygen.shtml