The Way Iowa Was;  

Our Land in the 1800's 

Introduction:

When Iowa was opened to Euro-American settlement in 1833, it was covered by a wonderful combination of ecosystems.  Prairies covered approximately 74%, Woodlands covered 15%, and Wetlands covered the final 11% of the state.  A large variety of wildlife lived in Iowa's prairies, woodlands, wetlands, and waterways.  But Iowa has undergone drastic changes in the past 160 years.  Farms, towns, industries, and roads have largely replaced the natural biological communities.  Our prairies and wetlands are nearly all gone.  Our waterways have been greatly changed to meet human demands.  Less than a third of our woodlands remain.  We will explore our ecological heritage by visiting some of the remaining wetlands, woodlands, and reclaimed prairies.

National Standard Addressed:

The life science standard of populations and ecosystems is covered by the lesson as it talks about the native ecosystems of Iowa.  Students will become more familiar with the way the state used to look and they will hopefully become more interested in helping restore Iowa's natural ecosystems.

The earth science standard of earth's history is also given some time by talking about how Iowa used to look when it was first settled.  For students who don't like history this is a good way to show them that it can be interesting in a subject area that is of interest to them.

The teaching standard of Promotion of Inquiry is also addressed because much of this activity is centered on student's natural curiosity of the way their world used to be. 

Objectives and Benchmarks:

These labs are designed to showcase the natural ecosystems that existed in our state prior to their conversion to agricultural systems.  Students will identify plants and animals as well as the abiotic characteristics of prairies, woodlands, and wetlands.

Materials:

Identification books             Appropriate Clothes for hiking in the woods               Data Sheets in Appendix

Advance Preparation:

Obtain Identification Books and locate a suitable area for the field trip.

Procedure:

Select and area outside that is suitable for a field trip and represents a fairly natural ecosystem.  It should be either near your school or close enough for a practical field trip.  Make sure the students dress for hiking and possible inclement weather.  Have them wear old or waterproof shoes and take a raincoat if it looks wet.  Tell the students to enjoy the trip, but tune in their observation skills and take notes on the data sheets. 

Walk around the selected area and be sure they list the different plants and animals they see.  Also, they will need to make note of the weather and ground conditions.

Things to consider:

In each case, think about how the abiotic factors determine what biotic factors are present.

Identify species of plants and animals that might have been present in each of these ecosystems when the early settlers first visited them.

Possible Integration:

One possible way to integrate this lesson is by emphasizing the history of your local region.  The lesson talks about the land in the 1800.s and it could be used in conjunction with a history lesson.

Critical Concepts: