Grade 7 Lesson plan
Quill Weir Fish Passage: Comparing Three Design Options
A grade 7 lesson in which students score three fish passage options at a fictional mill weir on percent of trout passing, cost per fish, and the town's water intake.
NGSS · Middle School (6–8)
MS-LS2-5 Evaluate design solutions for biodiversity and ecosystem services
Evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Clarification statement: Examples of ecosystem services could include water purification, nutrient recycling, and prevention of soil erosion. Examples of design solution constraints could include scientific, economic, and social considerations.
Why water teaches this standard well
Water purification is the clarification's very first example of an ecosystem service, so wetlands and forested watersheds are the obvious case study. Students can weigh natural solutions such as protecting a wetland against built treatment, comparing cost, reliability, and the biodiversity each approach supports.
Materials tagged with this code are written to the full standard , including its clarification statement , and each carries a written note explaining the alignment. See how we review materials.
7 materials aligned to MS-LS2-5
Lesson plans
Grade 8 Lesson plan
Driftwood Marsh's Wastewater Choice: Treatment Plant or Wetland
A 50-minute grade 8 lesson where students calculate BOD removal efficiency for a treatment plant and a constructed wetland, then compare both to a real standard.
Worksheets
Grade 8 Worksheet
Hartley Mills Wastewater: Basin or Constructed Wetland
A grade 8 worksheet solving a break-even cost equation for two wastewater treatment options and calculating BOD removal efficiency against a compliance standard.
Classroom activities
Grade 6 Classroom activity
The Bramwell Ridge Source Water Board: Forest or Filters
A 55-minute grade 6 activity in which teams score three source water plans for Bramwell against cost, habitat, storm reliability, and time to build.
Writing prompts
Grade 8 Writing prompt
Emberpine Ridge Forest or a New Filter Plant for Ruddock
A grade 8 science argument writing prompt asking students to advise a fictional water board on buying watershed forest or building a filtration plant.
Debate kits
Grade 7 Debate kit
Should the Ashkirk Mill Dam Come Out of the Elderbeck River?
A two-session grade 7 science debate comparing dam removal, a fish ladder, and repair at a fictional mill dam, with evidence on fish, sediment, safety, and town use.
Projects
Grade 6 Project
Greywater Biofilter Design for the Fernwood Community Garden
A grade 6 engineering project where teams design a small layered biofilter to clean handwashing greywater for garden irrigation, within a fixed budget and footprint.