7TH GRADE ECOLOGY UNIT

2016-2017 BSWP

ABSTRACTThis unit is designed to directly connect middle school students with the topic of ecology and build and extend the learning, looking at the relationships of animals, plants, and their environment. This differentiated opportunity will allow students to go deeper and demonstrate their science skills as they are guided through a science experience leading to local field work and presentations of research findings.

Sara Tolman7th Grade Life ScienceKimberly Middle School – Kimberly, ID stolman@kimberly.edu jakesara@msn.com

UbD and the Idaho State Science Standards Unit PlannerGrade level: 7th Grade Life ScienceUnit topic: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

1. Idaho State Science Standards (ISSS) and Idaho Core StandardsISSS Performance standards:

MS. Matter and Energy in Organisms and Ecosystemso LS2-1. Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence

for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.

o LS2-3. Develop a model to escribe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.

o LS2-4. Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.

MS. Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystemso LS2.2. Construct an explanation that predicts patterns

of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems.

o LS2-5. Evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services.

ISSS scientific practices: Asking questions and defining

problems Developing and using models Planning and carrying out

investigations Analyzing and interpreting data Using mathematics and

computational thinking Constructing explanations and

designing solutions Engaging in argument from

evidence Obtaining, evaluating, and

communicating informationISSS crosscutting concepts:

Patterns Cause and effect Scale, proportion, and quantity Systems and system models Energy and matter Structure and function Stability and change

ISSS supporting content: 7.S.1.1.1 Define small systems as a part of a whole system. 7S.1.1.2 Determine how small systems contribute to the function of the whole. 7.S.1.2.1 Describe how observations and data are evidence on which to base scientific explanations and

predictions. 7.S.1.2.2 Use observations to make defendable inferences. 7.S. 1.2.3 Use models to explain or demonstrate a concept. 7.S.1.3.2 Recognize changes that occur within systems. 7.S.1.6.2 Use appropriate tools and techniques to gather and display data. 7.S. 1.6.4 Use evidence and critical thinking to accept or reject a hypothesis. 7.S.1.6.5 Evaluate alternative explanations or predictions. 7.S.1.6.6 Communicate and defend scientific procedures and explanations. 7.S.1.8.1 Read and evaluate technical instructions. 7.S.3.2.2 Describe how the availability of resources (matter and energy) limits the distribution and abundance of

organisms. 7.S.3.2.3 Illustrate how atoms and molecules cycle among the living and nonliving components of the biosphere. 7.S.3.2.4 Identify how energy flows through ecosystems in one direction, from photosynthetic organisms to

herbivores, carnivore, and decomposers. 7. S.5.2.1 Explain how science and technology are interrelated.

Idaho Core Standards: R.S. 6-8.2 Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; provide an accurate summary of the text distinct

from prior knowledge or opinions. R.S. 6-8.3 Follow precisely a multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements,

or performing technical tasks. R.S. 6-8.4 Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they

are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 6-8 texts and topics. R.S. 6-8.8 Distinguish among facts, reasoned judgement based on research findings, and speculation in a text. R.S. 6-8.9 Compare and contrast the information gained from experiments, simulations, video, or

multimedia sources with that gained from reading a text on the same topic. W.S. 6-8.1 Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.

o A. Introduce claim(s) about a topic or issue, acknowledge and distinguish the clam(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.

o B. Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant, accurate data and evidence that demonstrate an understanding of the topic or text, using credible sources.

o C. Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.

o D. Establish and maintain a formal style.o E. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.

W.S. 6-8.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

W.S. 6-8.5 With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed.

W.S. 6-8.7 Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration.

W.S. 6-8.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.

W.S. 6-8.9 Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis reflection, and research. W.S. 6-8.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for reflection and revision) and shorter time

frames (a single sitting or a day or two for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences. S.L. 6-8.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with

diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.o A. Come to discussions prepared, having read or researched material under study; explicitly draw on

that preparation by referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to probe and reflect on ideas under discussion.

o B. Follow rules for collegial discussions, track progress toward specific goals and deadlines, and define individual roles as needed.

o C. Pose questions that elicit elaboration and respond to others’ questions and comments with relevant observations and ideas that bring the discussion back on topic as needed.

o D. Acknowledge new information expressed by others and, when warranted, modify their own views. S.L. 6-8.2 Analyze the main ideas and supporting details presented in diverse media and formats (e.g. visually,

quantitatively, and orally) and explain how the ideas clarify a topic, text, or issue under study. S.L. 6-8.3 Delineate a speaker’s argument and specific claims, evaluating the soundness of the reasoning and the

relevance and sufficiency of the evidence. S.L. 6-8.4 Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with pertinent

descriptions, facts, details and examples; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.

S.L. 6-8.5 Include multimedia components and visual displays in presentations to clarify claims and findings and emphasize salient points.

2. Culminating outcomes: PROJECT 1: 400 Acre Woods Activity PROJECT 2: Field work (possibly an Informational Booklet for 5th Graders) PROJECT 3: RAFT project (to be displayed/shared at the school Science Expo)

3a. Essential question(s): Is survival a team sport?

o How does science play a role in your everyday life?

3b. Guiding questions: Who is on your team?

o What organization is found in ecosystems? Who is the opponent?

o How do living and non-living factors influence each other in ecosystems?o What roles and niches are found in ecosystems?

At what cost will you go to win?o What resources do living organisms need to survive?o Where does energy in an ecosystems come from and how does it cycle through?

What constitutes a win?o What conditions make a population stable or unstable? What controls

population growth?o How do humans impact ecosystems?

4. Progression of learning: WEEK ONE: Team Building – What are all the parts of a team?

o Frontloading crosscutting concepts – Essential Questiono Intro to ecology – curiosity, questioning, connections through creating an

analogy using inference and evidence from teacher provided articles.o Twitter-aided Socratic Circle – students engage in a discussion about survival and

team work. WEEK TWO: Interdependence – What are all the parts of an ecosystem? How is an

ecosystem organized?o Interactive Notebook – students will explore concepts and vocabulary through a

variety of interactive notebook lessons and activities.o Interactive Notebook Example Pages

WEEK THREE: Roles and relationshipso Build a framework for an ecosystem – How are the parts of an ecosystem

connected? Why do we care?o 400 Acre Wood Activity – Project Learning Tree Activity #50 – students will have

the opportunity to connect their personal experiences with new information and look at the ecosystem around them and human impact through a different lens. This lesson will have students model a claim, show evidence, and give reasoning.

Student examples 400 Acre Grid Symbols for 400 Acre Wood Activity

WEEK FOUR: Stability and changeo Local South Hills case studies : trail use, wildfire, invasive weeds, animals, etc.o Field work

WEEK FIVE:o Field work/research data – what does it mean? Where do we go from here?o Claim/Evidence/Reasoning – writing in scienceo Final Project –

Informational Booklets for 5th grade students RAFT Project

WEEK SIX:o Middle School Science Expo – project presentations

5. Ongoing formative assessment: Opening moments Closing moments Notebook checks Exit Tickets

Small group check-ins

Works Cited for Unit Plan

“Effective analogies motivate students, clarify students’ thinking, help students overcome misconceptions, and give students ways to visualize abstract concepts. When they are used appropriately (Glynn 1995), analogies can also promote students’ meaningful learning and conceptual growth (Treagust, Harrison, and Venville 1996)” (Orgill and Thomas 2006).

For the first time, 7th grade students are playing on school sports teams. Sports are a pretty big deal in our small rural community, so much so, that the addition of another team has been added at both the 8th grade and 7th grade levels for volleyball, girls’ basketball, and boys’ basketball.Each grade now has a red team and white team, allowing more participation and growth at themiddle school level. “To engage students, an analogy should be novel (e.g., a song, a poem, or a story), visual (e.g., a demonstration or visual aid), or directly related to students’ everyday experiences” (Orgill and Thomas 2006). By creating a “team sport” analogy, I feel my students (both athletes and non-athletes) will be very engaged and willing to share. My students also see that I have a love of basketball in particular. I will build the analogy around this sport because of confidence in knowledge, but I will also express that the analogy can be carried into any sport which will be addressed and explored as a class.

Students will identify all members that constitute a team. Did they remember to include the coach, the water boy, the team manager, the fans, and/or even the officials? Can a team function, and function correctly if one of those members is missing? Once it has been established that“there is no ‘I’ in team,” we can then connect and build our analogy to our ecosystem and survival.

Possible articles/topics to explore with students:

http://www.athleteassessments.com/articles/GRIP_Model_Roles_in_Teams_Sport.html

http://tweentribune.com/article/tween78/should-mountain-bikes-be-allowed-wilderness-areas/

http://tweentribune.com/article/tween78/canada-protects-rainforest-logging/

http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/47993/title/How-Plant-Soil-Feedback-Affects- Ecological-Diversity/

https://visitsouthidaho.com/south-hills-tons-trails-big-camping-areas-atv-side-side-enthusiasts/

https://www.myactivesg.com/sports/basketball/how-to-play/basketball-rules/basketball-positions-and- roles

Other article sources may include:

https://newsela.com/School subscription to Scholastic Science World http://scienceworld.scholastic.com/ Local newspaper http://magicvalley.com/Local news stations http://www.kmvt.com/ and http://www.ktvb.com/

Analogy

While attending the 2016 Idaho Super Conference, Learning Across All Dimensions, I had the opportunity to attend a break-out session by Laurie Roberts. Ms. Roberts is the English department chair at Timberline High School, a BSWP Teacher Consultant, and a member of the Idaho Coaching Network. The session was entitled Let’s Talk: Engaging All Students in Meaningful Discussions. Ms. Roberts stated that “Student engagement is a critical element in the classroom, and teachers need high-tech, low-tech, and no-tech options for engaging all students.This session explores various avenues of discussion (including twitter …), to entice even the most reticent students into authentic conversations, so that every voice is heard.”

It was at this session, I learned how to engage all students in a meaningful classroom discussion in a new way. Ms. Roberts shared how both the inside and outside circle of a Socratic Seminar can be engaged and contributing to the discussion. Ms. Roberts actually has a Twitter account and for those students that have a phone/device and account and wish to login they may but for those that don’t, they use the white boards around the room to “Tweet out.”

Ms. Roberts recommends that prior to the discussion day, students read text, create for questions and answer each with both evidence and commentary. The day of the discussion, she recommends that students participate at least four times while in the inner circle, for example: ask a question, answer a question, provide evidence, comment about evidence, or counter someone else’s point; and “tweet” at least three times while outside the circle (either on twitter or on the white board).

I had the opportunity to do this activity with my 7th grade students only using the white boards as our technology is limited. Students loved that they got to comment, write on the white board, and listen to their points being supported or argued. All students were very engaged and the discussion and lesson were much more meaningful to the students. That is why I would like to use this method of discussion again for the Essential Question “Is Survival a Team Sport?” and the analogy of sports to ecology.

Below are pictures of the previous Twitter-aided Socratic Circle in my 7th grade Science class:

Twitter-aided Socratic Circle

I strongly believe that a student’s interactive notebook serves as a portfolio collection of their work that demonstrates and reflects the individual learning that took place throughout the year. By using the interactive notebook, I am able to continually engage students in collaborative learning within the classroom lessons and have students write across the curriculum.

My Interactive Notebook pages are a combination of resources. The images below show purchased templates from Teachers Pay Teachers that may be used for this unit. Some templates have directly been used and some templates have been modified to fit my classroom instruction and needs. Direct links to purchase the products are provided under the images.

*This only represents a handful of lessons/pages that would be included throughout this unit.

Interactive Notebook

Learning Activity Plan Project Learning Tree Activity #50

400 Acre Wood Activity

Name: Sara Tolman Estimated Time: 2 60-minute class periods

Content Area(s): Science Grade Level(s): 7th

Idaho Content Standards:

Science Standard 5: Personal and Social Perspectives; Technology

Goal 5.1: Understand Common Environmental Quality Issues, Both Natural and Human Induced

Objective 1 (6-8.S.5.1.1): Analyze environmental issues such as water and air quality, hazardous waste, forest health, agricultural production, and depletion of natural resources.

Goal 5.3: Understand the Importance of Natural Resources and the Need to Manage and Conserve Them

Objective 1 (6-8.S.5.3.1): Identify alternative sources of energyISSS Performance standards:

MS. Matter and Energy in Organisms and Ecosystemso LS2-1. Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms

and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.o LS2-3. Develop a model to escribe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving

parts of an ecosystem.o LS2-4. Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or

biological components of an ecosystem affect populations. MS. Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems

o LS2.2. Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems.

o LS2-5. Evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services. ISSS scientific practices:

Asking questions and defining problems Developing and using models Planning and carrying out investigations Analyzing and interpreting data Using mathematics and computational thinking Constructing explanations and designing solutions Engaging in argument from evidence Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating

information

ISSS crosscutting concepts: Patterns Cause and effect Scale, proportion, and quantity Systems and system models Structure and function

Language Objective(s): Students will be able to verbally describe costs, benefits, and environmental impacts of land use based on their claim, evidence, and reasoning from developing a model, using computational thinking, and interpreting the data.

Students will be able to use proper ecology terms and be able to define and use the vocabulary word fragmentation.

Achievement Target(s): Assessments:

o Students will identify a variety of uses for forests, including wildlife, timber, recreation, etc. (Knowledge)

o Students will create a map that illustrates how they would manage 400-Acre Wood and explain their reasoning for their choices. (Knowledge/Performance/Product)

o Pre-assessment – Personal Communication (Question all students about various activities that take place in the forests by both humans and animals).

o Interim Assessment – Personal Communication/Short Answer (Working in small groups, students will discuss land use and fill out the corresponding worksheet determining the impact of the choices).

o Post Assessment – Performance/Product (Construct/create a map that illustrates how the student group would manage 400- Acre Wood and present in front of the class).

Special Planning/Preparations (i.e., safety concerns, etc.):

Computer with internet access: http://www.idahoforests.org/video.htm (Idaho’s Working Forests)http://www.plt.org/prek-8-activity-50---400-acre-wood

Poster Board Chart Paper Student copies of work page Markers/Crayons for students Calculators (optional) Tape Overhead chart (optional)

Procedures Time MaterialsAdaptations for Students with

Special Needs

Anticipatory Set: Begin the lesson by asking students to name outdoor activities we like to participate in here in Idaho. (Hiking, fishing, hunting, reading, taking pictures, camping, rock climbing, skiing, snowmobiling, etc.). Ask the

15 minutes *Whiteboard/chalkboard

*Teacher computer

After careful consideration, I have determined that no modifications/adaptations are necessary for this portion of the

class to look at the list and decide if any activities would conflict with each other if done on the same piece of land.

Discuss these questions:

Which activities would cost the most to provide on forest land?

Which would bring the most visitors? Which would have the greatest impact

on the forest ecosystem? On the wildlife there? Would this effect be permanent or temporary?

Which would cause fragmentation? Which would provide for society’s

most critical needs?Introduce the day’s activity by explaining that students will look at several complex issues that face forest managers.

Have the students watch a Project Learning Tree video Idaho’s Working Forests.

http://www.idahoforests.org/video.htm lesson.

Model: (Direct Instruction) Students will take turns reading aloud “If You Were the Boss” on pages 220-221 of Project Learning Tree.

Divide the class into teams of four, and explain that each team will decide the best use (or uses) of 400-Acre Wood, which has been donated to the community. Each team will develop a land management plan that will serve the best interests of the entire ecosystem. Explain to students that their team can use the entire 400 acres for one use, or can divide it up for multiple uses. For example, they may devote 200 acres to wilderness and hiking, 80 acres to a campground, and 120 acres for harvesting timber or hunting.

Before students begin, ask these questions:

Which forest uses in “If You Were the Boss” are compatible with other uses? (building a campground and hiking trail

15 minutes *student copies of “If You Were the Boss”

No modifications/adaptations are necessary during the demonstration.

next to each other)

Which might be incompatible with each other? (hunting near a campground)

What could you learn by figuring out the costs, revenues, trees, wildlife populations, and number of visitors for each management plan? (how the plan affects different forest values)

Are owls, wood rats, and salamanders the only wildlife in the forest? (no) What could you learn about the forest ecosystem by analyzing the populations of these three species? (By looking at three animals with different habitat requirements, you get an idea of the general health of the forest ecosystem).

Guided Practice: Student teams will then construct their own map using the information we just read. Students will be allowed to visit quietly with peers in their group and work together to discuss various strategies for managing the forest. When the team arrives at a consensus on how the land should be managed, direct the students to use “What’s the Score?” worksheet for a cost and benefit analysis of their plan. They should discuss what impact heir plan would have in terms of visitors, wildlife, trees, and cost and revenue.

When the teams have completed their management plans, they should use crayons or makers to illustrate their plans on the girds.Remind students to include a key showing what different colors and symbols mean.

I will roam around the classroom offering assistance to those who may need it and monitoring the progress of students’ work.

30+ minutes

(I want the students to really put some time and thought into this activity so I have planned for extended work time and will do a simple quick check as an exit ticket for the class period.)

*copies of “What’s the Score?” for each student

*large grid map for each team

*crayons/markers

*calculator (optional)

Earlier identified students will be given a modified worksheet with larger print, less writing, and permission to use a calculator.This will allow for less confusion and help the students to be more successful with the product they are creating instead of being distracted by incorrect answers and thus giving them better time management in completing their project. Working in a small group will also help identified students by having them receive help from peers.

Closer: When everyone is done, student teams will present their plans to the entire group, making clear how they decided on their plans citing their claim, evidence, and reasoning which includes having them report the findings of their “What’s the Score?” student pages. Post the maps around the room.

Lead a group discussion of different plans. Ask questions such as these:

Which plan enables the most people to enjoy the forest? What is the monetary cost in attracting the most visitors? Are there any other costs besides money?

Which plan does the most to preserve the forest in its original state? What are the costs of this plan?

Which plan has the most impact on wildlife and fragmentation? Why should we care if one animal species leaves the forest?

Which plan seems to provide the best balance of money, trees, wildlife, and visitors?

How do you think your plan should be paid for? If your plan made a profit, what should happen with the money?

Which do you think is most important: having the most trees, the most wildlife, or the most visitors? What makes you think so?

Which do you think is most important – an activity’s cost or revenue, or theactivity’s effects on trees, wildlife, and visitors? Give an example.

What will be the long-term effects of each plan? How will costs or revenue change in the next year? Will the numbers of trees, wildlife, or visitors change?

Use the on-line link to show the groups “What’sthe Score?” numbers to the class and to check

Day 2 – 60minutes

* www.plt.org

*http://www.plt.org/prek-8-activity-50---400-acre-wood

No modifications/adaptations are necessary.

the group’s math.

Remind the class throughout the discussion, that there is no right or wrong answer, and to berespectful of everyone’s opinions.

Allow/guide this class discussion to lead into stability and change and what we know about our local area (South Hills).

Integration of Technology: On-line Video: Idaho’s Working Forests; http://www.plt.org/prek-8-activity-50---400-acre-wood

Outreach to Families:

Resource: Project Learning Tree Pre K-8 Environmental Education Activity Guide (2009), Lesson Activity 50, page 217-223.

400 Acre Wood Student

*This is one of the first lessons I wrote and taught as a 7 th grade Life Science teacher. This lesson was not as successful as it could have been. The placement of this lesson in this Ecology unit lends itself to be much more impactful on the student learning.

Project Learning Tree – Lesson #50 400 – Acre Wood NAME:

Students will be given the opportunity to read and learn more about the South Hills. The South Hills are located about 6 miles south of Kimberly Middle School. Many students are either very familiar with the hills because they camp, hike, hunt, ski, or ride recreational vehicles or they have no connection with the South Hills at all. Taking the time to connect the South Hills to our ecology unit will help the students take an abstract idea and give it more purposeful meaning. At this point in our unit, we can pull our analogy and essential question back in directly and guide the students in creating stronger working connections to the concepts we are addressing with ecosystems and survival.

Possible articles/topics to explore with students:

https://www.wired.com/2016/09/bird-evolving-seriously-bizarre-way/

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/10/161013150000.htm

https://sird4u.org/

https://www.idahomagazine.com/article/a-blemished-beauty/

https://idahonativeplants.org/news/SageNotesSpring2009.pdf

http://gsabulletin.gsapubs.org/content/94/1/58.abstract

http://www.riderplanet-usa.com/atv/trails/idaho_list.htm

Other article sources may include:

https://newsela.com/

School subscription to Scholastic Science World http://scienceworld.scholastic.com/

Local newspaper http://magicvalley.com/

Local news stations http://www.kmvt.com/ and http://www.ktvb.com/

Local South Hills Case Studies

Field trips, better identified as field work (as suggested by Micah Lauer of the 2016 BSWP), can be recognized as important moments in learning. These moments can offer a shared social experience that provides the opportunity for students to encounter and explore novel things in an authentic setting. With this shared experience, I hope to deepen and enhance the quality of science learning taking place at the middle school level.

For this field work experience, students will travel by bus on a regularly scheduled school day a little over six miles south of the middle school to the South Hills. This location was selected to be the site of our field work for not just its ease of location, but more importantly for its vast array of ecological studies in an accessible location.

While on location, students will:

Take soil samples along three trails (footpath, equestrian, and motorized) to test –

pH, Organic matter, Textural analysis, and Nitrates

Take water samples along the stream to test –

Temperature, pH, Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Nitrates, and Turbidity

Perform a Plot sampling for plant density along each of the before mentioned trails.

Most of these tests have previously been done in my science lab on a smaller scale. Students will watch a teacher demonstration on site and then work in small groups with supervision to complete the tests, record data, and observations.

Yet to be decided – students may work in small groups that specialize in an area of field work where they become the expert and will teach and share data with the other groups once we have returned from the site.

Field Work: South Hills

Writing in Science “is essential to the discipline – it is what real scientists do and is as essential to the inquiry classroom as it is to the work of real scientists.” (Marcarelli, 22) This is not the first time students have heard or used claim, evidence, and reasoning but these review lessons will enhance the students writing both in the science classroom and in the English classroom.These lessons set the students up to successfully use claim, evidence, and reasoning in their final ecology unit project. These lessons will be spread out and reviewed over one week, enhancing and reinforcing the ecology points already discussed as we do mini writing prompts for practice. The “Doodle Notes” template for these lessons was purchased from Teachers Pay Teachers. The content notes have been modified to fit the needs of my school district and classroom. The direct link to purchase these templates is below the pictures.

Writing in Science: Doodle Notes and Stations for Science by Kate's Classroom Cafe https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writing-in-Science-Doodle-Notes-and-Stations- for-Science-2834855

Claim – Evidence – Reasoning

“Students who believe that they will have to teach material to others remember more information than students who are told that their learning will be measured by a test” (Rosenberg). Based upon prior experience with students and a recent STEM event where my 7th grade students led 4th

and 5th grade students and their parents through STEM activities and discussion, my students really excelled at the opportunity to engage with others. The usual struggling student was able to verbalize and show another student a science concept they may not be able to explain or decipher on a test because they were able to connect to the concept personally and relate directly to the other student.

For this assignment, students would work in small groups to create an interactive booklet that would enhance and help the 5th grade teachers and students in teaching and learning about ecology. This is a science standard that is not always covered in the 5th grade due to lack of time and resources.

Below is a possible example page for the booklet.

Booklet for 5th Grade Students

The RAFT strategy is a differentiated opportunity to go beyond the basic report! This technique encourages creative thinking and motives students to reflect in unusual ways about concepts they have read and studied. The RAFT strategy forces students to process information, rather than merely write out answers to questions. Students are given choices and are more motivated to undertake the assignment because it addresses various learning styles.

RAFT is an acronym that stands for:

Role of the writer : What is the writer’s role? Examples include but are not limited to a reporter, an author/illustrator, an attorney, graphic designer, a museum science designer, or a student researcher.

Audience : Who will be reading the writing? Examples include readers, animals, courtroom, general public, visitors at an information center, and classmates.

Format : What is the best way to present this writing/information? Possible formats may be in a letter, a magazine (article and/or advertisement), children’s story, court document, diorama, poster, or something suggested by a student.

Topic : Who or what is the subject of this writing? For this unit…Ecology. The topic will be narrowed to help guide students, yet be open to allow students to self-select and guide their own learning.

This project builds off of and supports the Claim-Evidence-Reasoning lessons. Students may choose a plant, an animal, a trail, a system, etc. that we have studied throughout the unit, including, and hopefully focusing on the South Hills, survival, and teams. The students will then do further research about their topic to complete the assignment. This will be an individual assignment but students will be re-grouped to sit with students that are doing similar projects/topics to be able to collaborate and support one another in their work and this will also allow me to do quick check ins with each of the students as the project progresses. I will model again ‘Steps for Scientific Writing,’ by using a short example text and note catcher, we will read the text aloud. We will then cover or remove the text. I will ask the class for ideas they thought were important from the reading. I will record these on the board. We will then check the text for accuracy of our statements. To finish we will read the text one more time to see if there’s anything else we want. Students will be given a time limit to complete their research (approximately 2 class periods), and the expectations I set for research include that they use at least one book and not rely solely on the internet. Once we end research time, the books and internet are no longer available to them and their notes must support their projects. Students will then work on constructing their projects using a rubric to guide their work.

RAFT ProjectROLE – AUDIENCE – FORMAT – TOPIC

Each spring, the middle school hosts a Science Expo for students to share their current science projects. This year, the Science Expo will be a great opportunity for all students to reach an authentic audience and truly teach others. The format of the Expo is designed to have the projects presented in “Museum” format where fellow students, elementary students, teachers, parents, and community members are free to walk around and experience each of the student exhibits

Science Expo

Works Cited

A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas.

Washington, D.C.: National Academies, 2012. Print.

Lauer, Micah, and BSWP. Field Trip vs. Field Work. Rep. Boise: Micah Lauer, 2016. Print.

"Lesson Activity 50." Environmental Education Activity Guide: Pre K-8. Washington, D.C.: American

Forest Foundation, 2008. 217-23. Print.

Marcarelli, Kellie. Teaching Science with Interactive Notebooks. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, 2010.

Print.

Orgill, MaryKay, and Megan Thomas. "Books & Resources." NSTA News. National Science Teachers

Association, 30 Dec. 2006. Web. Nov.-Dec. 2016.

Roberts, Laurie. Let’s Talk: Engaging All Students in Meaningful Discussions. Working paper. Boise:

Laurie Roberts, 2016. Print.

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