Invasive Species Council of British Columbia

For Educators

Unit: Student Land Stewards – Activity 2: Invasive Species Trivia Challenge Relay

Grade: 7 to 9

Duration: 1.5 hours

Setting: Indoor/outdoor

Subjects: Physical and Health Education, Science

Physical Activity: Yes

Students learn about invasive species, their impacts, and how to prevent their spread from an “Invasive Species 101” slideshow. Then their knowledge is tested in a team challenge relay game.

This is the second activity in the Grade 7-9 Learning Resource, Student Land Stewards in Action. Please see the Overview for this resource for more information, including the lesson sequence.

This resource was created through the financial support of the Provincial Intermediate and Middle Years Teachers’ Association (myPITA).

Learning Objectives

By participating in this activity, students will:

  • Define and give examples of native, introduced, and invasive species in British Columbia.
  • Understand that invasive species cause harm to the environment, the economy, and communities.
  • Learn some simple actions that we can take to prevent the spread of invasive species.
Inquiry Questions
  • What are some invasive species in British Columbia, and how did they get here?
  • What can I do to help protect places that are special to me from invasive species?
BC Curriculum Links

Core Competency: Personal and Social- Contributing to Community and Caring for the Environment

Science Big Ideas and Content

  • Evolution by natural selection provides an explanation for the diversity and survival of living things (Grade 7)
  • The Earth and its climate have changed over geological time (Grade 7)
  • The biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere are interconnected, as matter cycles and energy flows through them (Grade 9)
  • Local First Peoples knowledge of changes in biodiversity over time (Grade 7, Content)
  • Characteristics of life (Grade 8, Content)
  • First Peoples knowledge of interconnectedness and sustainability (Grade 9, Content)
  • Sustainability of systems (Grade 9, Content)

Science Curricular Competencies

  • Contribute to care for self, others, community, and world through personal or collaborative approaches. (Grades 7-9)
  • Consider social, ethical, and environmental implications of the findings from their own and others’ investigations (Grades 7-9)
  • Express and reflect on a variety of experiences and perspectives (and worldviews) of place (Grades 7-8; 9)

Physical and Health Education Curricular Competencies

  • Participate in daily physical activity designed to enhance and maintain health components of fitness (Grades 7-9)
Materials
  • Computer, internet access, and a projector
  • Gym or a large outdoor space for the relay game
  • 4 cones to mark the team starting locations; Optional: 4 additional cones to designate trivia answer locations if landmarks, such as trees, poles, or boulders, are unavailable
  • Large labels/pieces of paper to attach to trivia answer locations: A, B, C, D
  • 3 tokens per team for “Risk it!” rounds. Tokens could be flagging tape, poker chips, popsicle sticks, rocks, etc.
  • Whiteboard, marker, and eraser for keeping track of team scores.

Documents to Download

Background Information

Invasive species in British Columbia are living organisms that are brought here, intentionally or accidentally, and that spread and take over, causing harm to the environment, the economy, or human health. Invasive species impacts can be significant; they are the second leading cause of biodiversity loss after habitat destruction. Invasive species affect everyone, and we can all play an important role in helping prevent their spread to help our community and local environment.

The slideshow that accompanies this lesson provides a solid background about invasive species in BC, some examples of their impacts, and what we can do to help prevent their spread.

Preparation
  • Download the Invasive Species 101 slideshow and review speakers’ notes. If you omit any slides, be sure to omit the corresponding Trivia Challenge questions too. Optional: adapt any slides to include species of interest from your region.
  • Print a copy of the Trivia Challenge Questions to read aloud.
Procedure

Part 1. Invasive Species 101

  1. Present the slideshow. See the speaker’s notes for supplemental information that can be shared for each slide.
  2. Debrief and discuss. What are some things that surprised you about invasive species? What do you wonder about, or what else would you like to learn about invasive species? Consider framing the discussion by having students create a concept map or by using the Think, Puzzle, Explore learning routine (Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education).

Part 2. Trivia Challenge Relay.

  1. After the slideshow, go to a large, open space such as the gym or the field.
  2. Divide the group into four teams. Each team should line up together at one end of the playing field, behind a cone.
  3. At the other end of the playing field, put large labels on four trees, cones, or other landmarks and identify them as A, B, C, and D.
  4. Give each team three “Risk It” tokens. These are optional to use for the challenging trivia questions and teams may potentially gain more points if answered correctly. (See the Risk It Section.)
  5. Explain the rules and procedure.
  6. This is a relay game that tests what you’ve learned about invasive species. You will be divided into four teams. On each round of the game (for each question posed), only one person per team runs. But everyone on the team collaborates to help decide what they think is the correct answer to the question.
  7. A question will be read aloud. There will be only one correct answer to a question: A, B, C, or D. Show students that on the opposite end of the playing field there are four answer locations marked A, B, C, and D.
  8. After the question is read, each team will have some time (choose what works for your group, e.g., 30 seconds to 2 minutes) to quietly discuss what they think the answer is. Then, based on team collaboration, the runner for that team will run to the answer spot corresponding to the correct answer to the question.
  9. Once the runners are at their chosen answer spots, the correct answer is read aloud. (Note that the correct answers are in bold on the Trivia Challenge Question Sheet.) Runners return to their team, and the next person in line becomes the runner for the next question.
  10. “Risk it!” Option
  11. Some of the trivia questions are extra difficult and are highlighted on the Trivia Challenge Question sheet. There is the option for students to “Risk it!” with these questions (or any questions that you deem extra hard for your group).
  12. After reading the difficult question, let students know they have the option to Risk It. If they want to Risk It, they give you one of their three Risk It tokens. They only have three opportunities to Risk It—once per token. Using the Risk It tokens is optional.
  13. If a team decides to Risk It and they get the correct answer, the team scores double. But if they get the answer wrong, they lose a point. See below for scoring.

Scoring

  • One point for going to the correct answer spot. Two points are awarded if a Risk It token is played.
  • One extra point for a total of two points is awarded to the team who is the first to arrive at the correct answer spot. Four points are awarded if a Risk It token is played.
  • Zero points are awarded if the incorrect answer spot is selected.
  • If a Risk It token was played and the incorrect answer was selected, subtract one point.

Game End

  • Keep playing until everyone on the team has had a turn to run and/or you run out of questions. Add up the scores and announce the Trivia Challenge winners!
Reflections and Assessment
  • What questions were the most difficult or surprised you the most?
  • What are three things that you learned about invasive species from this activity?
  • What would you like to do or learn next about invasive species in our region?
  • What actions would you like to do at home, in our schoolyard, or community to help prevent the spread of invasive species?
  • Optional: Use the trivia challenge questions as an assessment tool when back in the classroom.
Accessibility and Adaptations
  • Helper roles for those who do not want to run could be scorekeepers, question readers, timekeepers, or answer-tellers.
  • Teachers could share the Background to Invasive Species document, instead of, or in addition to, the slideshow.
  • Instead of playing this as an active physical game, you could have the trivia challenge as a multiple-choice written quiz or turn it into a Kahoot.
  • You can play this game multiple times and incorporate new trivia and learning. Make up your own questions or have students create their own trivia questions to challenge each other.
Extensions
  • Go outdoors! See if you can find any of the invasive species from the slide show in your area.
  • Try the Vectors of Spread activity or Don’t Pick Up Hitchhikers for hands-on activities to explore how invasive species can hitch a ride and how to prevent them from doing so.
  • Learn more about invasive species in your area. Start by visiting the Regional Invasive Species Map and find your regional invasive species contacts.
Connections to First Peoples’ Perspectives

Invasive species pose a threat to ecosystems, species at risk, and Indigenous cultural practices, including harvesting and hunting.

“Sometimes I walk through the forest, and I see something I’ve never seen before. My first instinct is to doubt myself and believe it is something I’ve just never encountered. But as time goes on, I realize that what I’m seeing are species that are non-Indigenous. It is complicated because on the flip side, I also don’t see species that I used to see in abundance. Harlequin ducks, jumping spiders, and limpets have all but disappeared where they were once abundant.”

– Carrie Reid (Xwantumaat), member of the Qualicum First Nation.

Read more at Stories of Resilience- Indigenous Approaches to Invasive Species (ISCBC article).

Additional Resources