"Living the Lesson: How Fourth Graders Stepped Into the Ecosystem"

Fourth graders at Hohenfels Elementary School have been learning about ecosystems and environmental factors in science. More specifically, how environmental factors interact with each other and the effects they have on their environment. For this learning activity, Ms. Pfeiffer's class conducted a population simulation involving deer. Each student represented a deer in their home range and each 30 second round represented 1 year. Students (deer) had to scavenge for food (counters) to survive the year. Remaining deer reproduced, causing an increase in population for the following year. Throughout the simulation, students noticed that as the population increased, food decreased, causing the population to decrease the following year. During high population years, the plants that provided food became overrun, causing their home range to no longer be suitable for the needs of their population. The simulation lasted 5 years with drastic population changes, and students inferred why these changes happened and how deer in the real world might respond or adapt in order to survive.