BIOWILD!
Activity Sheet
5992 Quince Road Memphis, TN 38119 901-636-2221
Presentation
2 hours
Grades 5 - 12
Vocabulary
Abiotic
Adaptations
Benthic
Biotic
Calibrated
Classification
Systems
Climax Community
Dichotomous Key
Ecological
Interaction
Ecosystem
Macro-Invertebrates
Program Summary
Students discover what lives in a drop of pond water and
the diverse community of the forest. They also investigate
how organisms interact with each other and their
environment.
Supports Curriculum Standards Related To:
Tennessee
Science: I, E/T, 1, 2, 3, 5
Mississippi
Science: 1a/b, 1c, 1d, 3a, 3b, 3c, 3e
Arkansas
Science: 1, 2, 4
Objectives

Microorganisms
Plankton

Secchi Disk
Substrate
Succession
Turbidity
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Identify and classify trees using a dichotomous key and
field guide
Collect, observe and identify microorganisms and macroinvertebrates living in pond water
Observe the dynamics of lake and forest ecosystems.
Point out evidence of biotic and abiotic factors in each
system
Observe multiple water sampling techniques and check
out water sampling equipment.
Lichterman
Nature
Center
5992 Quince Road
Memphis, TN 38119
Reservations:
901-636-2221
Nature.Reservations@
memphistn.org
We’re on the Web!
See us at:
memphismuseums.org
Lively Learning
for all!!
Fun Fact:
Did you know this
65-acre wildlife
observation area
once contained an
18-hole golf course,
a working dairy
farm, and even an
enormous swimming
pool?
BIOWILD!
Page 2
Pre-Visit Activities
1. Discuss how living and non-living components affect wildlife in and
around a pond or lake.
2. Review factors affecting water quality, how it can impact living
organisms and the biological indicators of a healthy pond or lake.
3. Brainstorm ideas for collecting organisms from lake’s substrate - the
shore where it is shallow as well as the deepest part.
4. Research ecological succession and the difference between primary
and secondary succession.
5. Talk about the parts of trees and how each helps the tree eat, drink,
grow and reproduce.
6. Ask students to think about how to identify a tree.
Post-Visit Activities
1. Have students write about what they saw under the microscope and
whether it indicates healthy or polluted water.
2. Ask students to describe the succession of a lake and what
Lichterman’s lake might look like in 100 years if left undisturbed.
3. Have students draw the layers of the forest and the life you might
find at each layer.
4. Ask students to write about one specific tree, the conditions it would
need to grow, how it can be identified and where it might be found.
Resources

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U. W. Fish and Wildlife Service — www.fws.gov/refuges/
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency — www.state.tn.us/twra/infoed.html
Tennessee Valley Authority — www.tva.gov/environment/land/habitat.htm
University of Tennessee Extension — http://utextension.tennessee.edu
Tennessee Native Plant Society — www.tnps.org/
Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation — http://www.state.tn.us/
environment/tn_consv/
Related Exhibits and Features:
After your program visit the live animals in the Backyard Wildlife Center
building, and experience special exhibit features like the forest view from
two stories up and a fish-eye view into a 12,000 gallon aquarium.