investigating evidence

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Invetigting Eviene

TEachErsGuIdE

Ask Questions

Notice Patterns

Make CarefulObservations

Collect andAnalyze Data

Do anExperiment

Draw PossibleConclusions

Develop aHypothesis

SynthesizeReferenceMaterials

The ScientifcProcess

DownyWoodpeckerbyTerriGueck


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Iesigig Eieceis part o the inquiry-based BirdSleuth curriculumdeveloped by the Cornell Lab o Ornithology

Production Team or BirdSleuth (First Edition)

Project Leader: Jennier SchausCurriculum Writers: Jennier Schaus, Anne James Rosenberg, Tina Phillips

Editor: Rick Bonney, director o Program Development and Evaluation

Design Director: Diane Tessaglia-Hymes

Graphic Design: Susan Steiner Spear

Curriculum Consultants:Linda De Lucchi and Larry Malone, Lawrence Hall o Science

Evaluation Consultants:Stephanie Thompson, Seavoss Associates Inc.

Deborah Trumbull, Cornell University, Department o Education

Jennier Shirk, Cornell University, Department o Natural Resources

We would like to express our gratitude to the dedicated teachers who eld tested thiscurriculum across the United States. Thank you or all your valuable eedback!

We also thank the Macaulay Library and the Inormation Science team at theCornell Lab o Ornithology or resources and support.

I you have questions about any aspect o the curriculum, please contact us.Email: [email protected]: 800-843-BIRD (2473)

Post: 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, NY 14850BirdSleuth web site:

The Cornell Lab o Ornithology is a nonprot membership institution whose mission isto interpret and conserve the earths biological diversity through research, education,

and citizen science ocused on birds.

This curriculum is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundationunder Grant No. 0242666. Any opinions, ndings, and conclusions or

recommendations expressed in these materials are those o the authors and donot necessarily refect the views o the National Science Foundation.

Recommended citation: Schaus, J. M., R. Bonney, A. J.-Rosenberg, and C. B. Phillips.2007. BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence. Ithaca, NY: Cornell Lab o Ornithology.

Copyright 2007 Cornell Lab o Ornithology159 Sapsucker Woods Road

Ithaca, NY 14850


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Tee GieInvetigting Eviene

Table o Contents

Invetigtion Pge

Introduction to BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence . . . . . . . . . . . iv

1. What is Science? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

2. Testing Hypotheses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

3. Show Me the Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

4. Plan and Conduct My Investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

5. Present My Inquiry Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

ii


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iv

IntroductionBirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence

Wat is BidSlet?Science is sleuthy! Scientists observe careully and collect evidence and data, theyconduct investigations, and they draw evidence-based conclusions. BirdSleuth helpsbring the excitement o scientic investigation to students everywhere.

BirdSleuth is a growing series o inquiry-based, interdisciplinary science modules orelementary and middle school students developed at the Cornell Lab o Ornithology.BirdSleuth: Most Wanted Birdsand BirdSleuth: Exploring Bird Behaviorare the rst twomodules o the curriculum. This module, BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence, continuesinquiries begun in the other modules, and is available online.

Both Most Wanted Birdsand Exploring Bird Behaviorocus on learning to identiy birdsand participate in the Labs Citizen Science program. Through citizen-science projects,people across the continent make important contributions to science by collectingdata about their local birds and sending the inormation to scientists who study birdpopulations and develop bird conservation programs. Most Wanted Birds brings theLabs newest and largest citizen-science projecteBirdto students in both ormal andinormal educational settings. Exploring Bird Behavioris ocused on learning about birdbehavior through ocused study o corvids (crows and their relatives) through the CrowsCount citizen-science project.

Through BirdSleuth, students learn to observe birds careully, to ask questions based ontheir observations, and then to gure out how to answer their questions and share theirresults. Specically, this module, Investigating Evidence, provides support as studentsparticipate in the scientic process by asking and answering bird-related questions andthen sharing their results. It is probably most useul as a continuation or capstone to oneo the otherBirdSleuth modules.

Investigating Evidenceconorms to many o the National Science Education Standards(NSES) or grades 5 through 8 (see the table on page v).


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v

BidSlet: Investigating EvideneNatinal Siene Edatin Standads, Gade 58

Investigating Evidence

Uniying Concepts and Processes X

Systems, order, and organization X

Evidence, models, and explanation X

Change, constancy, and measurement X

Evolution and equilibrium

Form and unction

Science as Inquiry

Abilities necessary to do scientic inquiry X

Understandings about scientic inquiry XLie Science

Structure and unctions in living systems X

Reproduction and heredity X

Regulation and behavior X

Populations and ecosystems X

Diversity and adaptations o organisms X

Science and Technology

Abilities o technological design X

Understandings about science and technology X

Science in Personal and Social Perspectives

Personal health

Populations, resources, and environments X

Natural hazards X

Risks and benets X

Science and technology in society X

History and Nature o Science

Science as a human endeavor X

Nature o science X


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vi

Wat ae BirdSleuth Reports and Classroom BirdScope?

The BirdSleuth curriculum is designed to give students experience with the entirescientic process, which culminates in a publication or presentation. We encouragestudents to send us their work. Twice a year, the Cornell Lab o Ornithology publishesselect student work in a webzine called BirdSleuth Reports, published on the BirdSleuth

web site. In this webzine, we ocus on reports that students send about the experimentsand descriptive studies they have done. Then, each spring the Lab publishes the nationaledition o a printed newsletter called Classroom BirdScopewhich eatures exceptionalstudent research reports and illustrations. We hope you will submit some o yourstudents work or consideration or these publications. Note that submission or bothpublications is done online in the Student Publications section o the BirdSleuth website, .

Possibilities or student submissions are broad, and we encourage your students to becreative. Student research reports, including descriptive studies and experiments, makeup the majority o each publication. Some articles describe the research o individualstudents while others summarize a classrooms bird counts or the year or a class study.These research reports are supplemented with illustrations. For example, we mightinclude student illustrations o Blue Jays along with the report Do Blue Jays Scare AwaySmaller Birds? We are also interested in receiving writings and drawings rom student

eld journals and photos o students engaged in bird study and habitat improvement.

See the BirdSleuth web site at and the lessons in this module ormore details and guidelines or submissions.

Wat ae te lessns and main ideas Investigating Evidence?In this module, weve provided resources and ideas that will be helpul as you guidestudents to ask and answer their own questions. Due to the fexible nature o authenticinquiry, youll need to think about the ormat that your students independent inquirieswill take beore beginning this module.

Lessn Titles and Gals

Invetigtion 1: Wt i siene?

G: Students will examine some o the main eatures o scientic investiga-

tion. They will discover that dierent types o scientic questions can lead todierent kinds o investigations, and will practice raming questions that requiredierent investigative methods.

Invetigtion 2: Teting hypotee

G: Students will understand the role o variables and hypotheses within anexperimental design.

Invetigtion 3: sow Me te dt

G: Students will use graphing techniques to visually represent data.


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vi

Invetigtion 4: Pln n cont My Invetigtion

G: Students will design and conduct their own inquiry investigation.

Invetigtion 5: Peent My Inqiy Pojet

G: Students will become amiliar with the parts o a scientic presentationbeore preparing a peer-reviewed project about their investigation.

Tings t nside bee beginning te mdle:

Plan how students will conduct their investigations. For example, considerWhat kinds o questions can students investigate?

Will they need to do an experiment? Conduct a descriptive study? Consultsecondary sources? Examine eBird data? Some combination? Or is the ormat

fexible?Will the students work together? For example, consider

Will students complete a written report? What length or ormat will be

required? In pairs? In groups? Will the students ask and answer only onequestion as an entire class? Or can students choose whether they work with apartner or group? Will you assign group members?

Plan how students will present their work.What kind o report/paper will you assign? Will graphs be required? What otherrequirements would you like to speciy?

Will they submit their report to the Cornell Lab o Ornithology or publication?Will the reports be compiled into a class science journal? Might they publish aschool newsletter?

Will students prepare a display? Will they take part in a science air? Will you hold

a class science symposium (oral presentation)? Might students share what theyhave learned with the school or with parents at a estival or open house?

Depending on the ormat o the investigations and presentations, you may want toemphasize or remove certain investigations. See the It Happened in Class box, pageviii or an implementation strategy example.

Anwledgments

Many people played important roles in the development o BirdSleuth.

First, we thank the 50 teachers who participated in the project pilot and eld tests, all

o whom provided valuable input or project development, evaluation, and revision. Weare most indebted to the ollowing teachers who gave extra assistance and eedback:Jim Barry, Marcia Carone, Norma Grin, Kate Roberts, Diane Cavaness, Yvette DeBoer,Phil Kahler, Paula Foreman, Britt Monroe, and Mary Sharp.

Second, we acknowledge the tremendous contribution o the Cornell Lab oOrnithologys Teacher Advisory Board, who not only tested lessons in their classroomsand gave eedback, but also traveled to Ithaca, NY or intensive project critiques: Therese


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viii

I ee i cssImplEmEntatIon StratEGIES In mS. EllwoodS 8th GradE ClaSS

Ms. Ellwood routinely has her students do inquiry in her classroom. Last year, she had groups o two toour students work together to design and implement an experimental study on birds. She required eachgroup to complete a minimum o eight one-hour observation periods at home or at school. Most o herstudents fnished their experimental observations within two to three weeks.

Each group o students wrote a scientifc paper which was submitted to Classroom BirdScope, and severalwere published. Each group also prepared scientifc posters which were displayed in the schools entrywayso that the entire community could admire the research. Finally, the students gave oral presentations inclass as part o their assessment.

Peer review was a critical component o the inquiry and paper-writing process in Ms. Ellwoods class.Students peer reviewed the scientifc papers and posters or each other, using the Peer Review Sheet. Ms.Ellwood recommends providing a grading rubric to the students so they can sel-evaluate their perormanceas they go along. Students turned in their Peer Review Sheets with their fnal poster, so she could evaluatewhether they acted on the suggestionsgiven, but she allowed each group to indi-cate i they didnt agree with any aspectso the peer evaluation, and why. Over theyears, Ms. Ellwood ound that it was bestto require that students submit sectionso their projects as they complete them,so she can give recommendations as thestudents progress. As she says, mini due

dates help keep them on track!

Due to students concerns about individualgrades on group projects, she built in asaety net or the individual memberso each group. Each group had a postercontract that they signed. I one studentdidnt bring his/her part or the poster, theother group members grades would notsuer.

Arsenault, Ithaca, NY; Robin Ellwood, Rye, NH; Katie Humason, Minneapolis, MN; NikkiDavenport, St. Louis, MO; Karen Vitek, Poughkeepsie, NY; Cathy Klinestecker, Red Blu,CA; Tammie Sanders, Princeton, KY; Carole Predergrast, Ramey, NJ; and Dan Jones,Chicago, IL.

Third, we thank our project evaluation teamStephanie Thompson and Deborah J.

Trumbull, and a team o dedicated graduate students: Marita Hyman, Barb Storandt,and Jennier Shirk.

Fourth, we thank the Labs Macaulay Library or providing audio and video resourcesand technical support, and the Labs Inormation Science team or their assistance withthe BirdSleuth web sites.

Finally, we thank the National Science Foundation not only or its nancial support othis endeavor but also or its commitment to advancing young peoples understandingo and interest in science.

Two o Ms. Ellwoods students with the poster they presented.


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Bee Y S

Time and Place

X

X

Materials Needed

For each group X

Reerence Guide Links X

Getting Ready X.

BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence Teachers Guide

Investigation 1

Wt i

siene?G

Students will examine some o the main eatures o scienticinvestigation. They will discover that dierent types o scien-tic questions can lead to dierent kinds o investigations, andpractice raming questions that require dierent investigativemethods.

leig objecies

1. Students will be able to analyze a Meet the Scientist report to determine the question investigated, the data/inor-mation that was collected and the ways in which they werecollected, and the conclusions that the investigator made.

2. Students will be able to describe, in their own words, the keyeatures o a scientic investigation.

3. Students will be able to identiy key aspects o the nature oscience as illustrated by the Meet the Scientist reports.

4. Students will learn the dierence between questions thatcan be answered through (1) reerence or literature search-es, (2) data exploration, (3) descriptive studies, and (4) ex-

perimentation.

Iesigi oeie1. Draw a scientist.

2. Read and discuss the Meet the Scientist reports and videos.

3. Discuss the nature o science.

4. Draw a concept map o the scientic process.

5. List ways to answer questions.

6. Think on Your Own: compare and contrast the scientist eatured in your report with your idea o a scientist

Ccig e Iesigi

1. Daw a sientist.

Ask students to think about what a scientist is and what sci-entists do. Give students about ve minutes to draw or de-scribe in their journals a scientist at work (JourNALpAGE1, question 1).

Bee Y S

Time and Place

70 minutes

Indoors

Materials NeededResource Pages

Meet the Scientist Reports (1per group, 5 reports total)

Kinds o Questions article

Journal Pages 13

Other Curriculum Components Meet the Scientists video

clips (online at www.BirdSleuth.net, as available)

You Provide I wonder list (i you have

completed other BirdSleuthmodules)

Research materials (such asbooks, Internet access, ieldguides)

Getting Ready Decide how you will acilitate

the Meet the Scientist reportsand videos, and prepareappropriately (See Step 2 in thislesson).

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10/44BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence Teachers Guide

Cornell Lab o Ornithology

2. read and disss te Meet te Sien-tist ets and vides.

Tell students that they will be introduced to aCornell Lab o Ornithology scientist though

a written report and a video (there is a threeto our minute video clip or each scientist).Depending on time and your ability to showvideos, you might choose to

Project one or more o the videos or theentire class as an introduction, then as-sign one written report per group

Ask each group to read one report andwatch only the corresponding video clip

Simply ask students to read the reports(rESourcE pAGES 13) i you cannot

show the videos.

Wt i siene?

Name: Date:

BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence Investigators Journal

1.Think about scientists whom youve read about, seen on TV, or maybe even knowpersonally. Draw a picture (or describe in words) what a scientist looks like and what ascientist does.

What is Science?

Scientists look for evidence that will help themdraw conclusions.

My Scientist

JourNAL pAGE 1

BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence Resource Materials

Meet a Scientist: Kevin McGowan

Dr. Kevin McGowan has been interested in animal behavior, especially bird behavior,since kindergarten. At the Cornell Lab o Ornithology, hes been studying social behavior inAmerican Crows. He ollows crows because he wants to nd out where they go, who theyhang out with, and what kinds o things they do.

Kevin needs to be able to recognize individual crows to answer his questions. For example,he wants to know i brother and sister crows hang out together when they are adults. Torecognize the crows, Kevin marks them. He climbs up a tree that holds a crow nest, borrowsthe nestlings long enough to put colored bands around their legs or tags on their wings,and puts them saely back in their nest. He also attaches radio transmitters to some o thebirds, which signal him where the birds have gone even when theyre out o sight.

Kevin has been collecting data about the crows or nearly 20 years. He records who ismating with whom, how long the crows live, and who hangs out together throughout theyear. By ollowing the birds hes tagged, Kevin has discovered that crows are very socialcreatures. Crow parents mate or lie, and crow children usually stay with their parents orseveral years, helping take care o their younger siblings. This behavior might not be oddor humans, but it is pretty unusual in birds; most bird amilies dont stay together or longater the fedglings leave the nest. Crows are also very protective o each other, and a crowsdistress call will gather other crows to help scare o intruders.

Kevin has recently been curious about a virus aecting crows called West Nile virus. Becausehe knows individual birds, he can learn a lot about who is aected and who isnt. Becausegetting the virus is usually atal or the crows, it is important or Kevin to try to understandwhat happens to crow social structure when crow populations are decreasing and there are

not as many helpers in crow amilies.

Lots o people are interested in the eects o the virus, so Kevin has shared what heslearned about crow amilies by publishing his research in scientic journals, magazines, andnewspaper articles.

One o the American Crows that Dr. Kevin McGowan hastagged and banded. The crows dont seem to be botheredby the tags, and treat them like eathers!

Kevin discovers a nest o baby crows. Hell tag them, take theirtemperature, and then put them back in the nest beore theirparents have a ft.

KevinMcGowan(2)

rESourcE pAGE 1




Wt i siene?

Name: Date:


Cornell Lab of Ornithology

2.In a small group, read one of the Meet the Scientist reports/videos. Discuss it withyour group and answer the questions below.

Report Name:

Scientists Name:

a. What did the scientist wonder?

b.Did the scientist observe something that led him/her to ask a question? If so, whatdid he or she observe?

c. How did this scientist answer his/her question (what was the investigation like?)

d.What kind of information and data did the scientist gather?

e. What has this scientist learned as a result of his/her research?

What is Science?

Meet a Scientist

JourNAL pAGE 2Divide the class into groups o three tove students, and give each group oneo the Meet the Scientist reports and/orvideo clips. Give students at least 15 min-utes to read and discuss their report and

video, and answer the questions aboutthe scientists work (JourNAL pAGE 2,question 2). For younger or less experi-enced students, you may wish to modelthis exercise by reading one report aloudand outlining the components o the sci-entic process used by the scientist.

When students are nished, have eachgroup briefy describe the research theylearned about to the rest o the class. Youmight ask each group to introduce the re-

searchers question, describe the data orinormation that the researcher collectedand how they gathered it, and explainwhat conclusion(s) the researcher made.

When each group has reported,

Ask

What does each o these scientists have incommon? (Possible answers include ask-ing questions, collecting data, studyinganimals.)

How does the work o these scientists dier?

(Possible answers include studying dier-ent animals, working outside versus inside,traveling to dierent locations around thecountry and in other parts o the world.)




Wt i siene?3. Disss te nate siene.

Summarize these similarities on the boardby emphasizing the ollowing aspects o thenature o science (or background,

read the TEAchEr BAckGrouNDBox, What is the Nature o Sci-ence?

Scientists collect data and inormation.They look or evidence that will helpthem draw conclusions.

Scientic ideas change and grow. Oneobservation or experiment oten leadsto new questions. There is always some-thing new to learn!

Scientists are creative in the questions

they ask and the methods they use to an-swer them.

Scientists work together, getting ideasrom each other as well as rom their ownexperience and research.

Students may wish to share similar examplesrom scientic investigations they have readabout, seen on TV, done themselves, or thatthey are amiliar with because they knowa scientist personally. You may also discusshow these aspects were important or the sci-

entists in the Meet the Scientist reports.

4. Daw a net ma te sientifess.

Illustrate the many ways (methods) o con-ducting science by constructing a conceptmap o the scientic process withthe class (see next page TEAchErBAckGrouND Box, The Scien-tic Process.) Let students know thatthroughout the unit, they will continue to

investigate how science and scientists work.This will prepare them to develop their ownquestions and collect data and inormationto help them answer questions. Save the con-cept map you create or later reerence.

tece Bckgwhat IS thE naturE of

SCIEnCE?

One o the most exciting aspects oteaching science is conveying how science is doneand engaging students in the process o discov-ery or themselves. Science is a particular way ounderstanding the natural world, and is built uponour natural curiosity. Science is based on observa-tions. We use our senses, and extensions o thosesenses (instruments) to give us inormation aboutthe world around us. Scientists investigate thingsover time, they collect and analyze data, andsometimes they do experiments. Scientists alwaysbase their explanations or conclusions on evidence.But scientists have to stay open to new ideas and

be willing to change or discard their ideas whennew or more reliable evidence is ound. Scientifcresults are always subject to testing and possiblerevision. Science can be especially un becauseit oten benefts rom creativity and imagination(with a good bit o logic thrown in)!




Wt i siene?

tece BckgthE SCIEntIfIC proCESS

Younger or less experienced students might visualize the basic process that scientists use to try to fnd answersas a series o steps (oten called the scientifc method):

Observe the natural world and look or patterns.

Defne questions to investigate based on these observations. Questions may also arise rom fndings oearlier research or through research done by other scientists.

Develop hypotheses to test.

Systematically collect and then analyze inormation (data) to test the hypotheses.

Look at the results, then come to conclusions about whether their hypotheses are supported or not sup-ported.

Ask more questions based on these observations.

However, doing science is not as simple as a linear progression, nor is it always experimental. A concept map othe scientifc process, below, shows more complexity:

Ask Questions

Notice Patterns

Make CarefulObservations

Collect andAnalyze Data

Do anExperiment

Draw PossibleConclusions

Develop aHypothesis

SynthesizeReferenceMaterials




Wt i siene?5. List ways t answe qestins.

Generate a class list o Ways to AnswerQuestions. I you have an existing I Won-der Board (as eatured in BirdSleuth: Most

Wanted Birds and BirdSleuth: Exploring BirdBehavior), you might ask the students to lookat the questions they have previously post-ed. See TEAchEr BAckGrouND Box (thispage), I Wonder Board.

Ask

Has anybody in the class ound the answers toany o these questions since they were posted?I so, how?

Which o the questions are you still interestedin answering? How do you think you might go

about fnding the answers?Make sure that students realize that they can(1) look up the answers to some questions or(2) or others, devise ways o nding answersthemselves.

tece BckgI wondEr Board

Iqiy is ciic ce

o the BirdSleuth curriculum. The I WonderBoard provides a way to track student questionsthroughout the investigations.

Qesis ig iseduring class that youcant explore because o time constraints, orbecause you are not sure how to address them,or because you want students to consider themmore. Keep track o these questions on a class IWonder list. Recording questions will eliminatepressure or you to provide immediate answers,and might encourage students to think about oranswer some o the questions on their own. Also,

youll eliminate the problem o losing questions inthe Thats a great question lets come back toit later vacuum.

Se eces ehanded out sticky notes tostudents so they can write their questions as theythink o them, and easily afx the notes to theboard. In addition, the student journal containsan I Wonder area in which students can recordtheir questions or each investigation. You maywish to look at these questions regularly and recordinteresting or oten-asked questions on the board.As investigations continue, the I Wonder Board

will provide a wealth o ideas that can orm thebasis o independent research. Students will wantto return to questions that they are genuinely in-terested in (i.e., How do loons make that noise?How do birds know what kind o nest to build?Would some birds eat pizza?).




As part o class, or or homework, have thestudents read the article Kinds o Questions(rESourcE pAGE 4).

Following along with the I Wonder Kid(Figure 1), introduce the our categories oquestions whose answers are ound in dier-ent ways:

Reerence Materials: These are questionsor which you look up answers. Oten,youll have to read and synthesize in-ormation rom several reliable sourcesbeore reaching a conclusion. The reer-ences you are looking at are based on thendings o scientists who did research be-ore you.

Data Exploration: Youll look at other

peoples data (or example, the eBirddata submitted by people all around thecountry) to answer these questions.

Descriptive: I you want to answer thesekinds o questions, youll need to collectdata as you observe the natural world.

Experimental: I you want to answerthese kinds o questions, youll generatethe data yoursel by conducting an ex-periment.

rESourcE pAGE 4

Wt i siene?

BirdSleut: Investigating Evidence Resource Materials

You may have already come up with some questions you have about birds. For example:What would happen i we set up a birdbath? How do birds behave when a hawk ies over?Does weather aect the number o birds on our schoolyard? Does our playground noise

aect birds? How does a bird fnd its way when it migrates? How many species has my classseen? You can fnd the answers to a lot o your questions, too! Dierent types o questionslead to dierent types o research projects. You can classiy questions by the way you canlook or the answer. Figure 1 illustrates our o ways to answer your scientifc questions.

Kinds of Questions

Where will you jump into the process?Depending on your question, you can enter the process o science at dierent stages. Look at the

dotted arrows to see where this student scientist could jump into the scientifc process. Some conducttheir investigations through experimental ordescriptive studies, some start byexploring andanalyzing data rom a database (like eBird, or example), and still others fnd answers bypullingtogeter information they fnd in reerence materials such as books or web sites.

I wonder?

EXPERIMENTALSTUDY

DESCRIPTIVESTUDY

DATA

REPORTFINDINGS

MOREQUESTIONS

ANSWERYOUR

QUESTION

REFERENCEMATERIALS

conduct

explore

and analyze

read,

then

draw

con

clusio

nsabo

ut

Figure 1

conduct

WhAT DO YOU ThINk? Look at Figure 1 and read the paragraph in the box.What are the our ways to answer your scientifc questions?




Wt i siene?

Name: Date:

BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence Investigators JournalCornell Lab of Ornithology

3.Refer back to page 1 (question 1) in your journal. How are the scientists in the Meetthe Scientist reports like the scientist you drew earlier? How are these scientistsdifferent?

Think on Your Own

What is Science?

JourNAL pAGE 3

tece BckgSurvEYS to anSwEr

QuEStIonS

Students will sometimes mention sur-veying people as a way to fnd answers. Surveyquestions typically ask about human opinion.Thereore, they are not science questions somuch as social science questions. Depending onyour teaching goals, you may or may not want topursue these kinds o questions. Examples o surveyquestions include, What bird is the avorite othe ourth grade students? and How many birdeeders do ourth grade students have at home?To answer these questions, students would need toconduct surveys and compile data. Such surveysoten result in data that can be displayed graphi-

cally in pie charts or bar graphs.

Note: Some students might suggest con-ducting surveys as a way to nd answers.I this should arise in your class-room, consider the TEAchErBAckGrouND Box, Surveys

to Answer Questions.

6. Tin n Y own

Introduce and assign the Think on YourOwn question (JourNAL pAGE 3): Howare the scientists in these reports like thescientist you drew earlier? How are thesescientists dierent?


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Investigation 2

Teting

hypoteeG

Students will understand the role o variables and hypotheseswithin an experimental design.

leig objecies1. Students will be able to dene the terms hypothesis, nul

hypothesis, and alternate hypothesis.

2. Students will be able to write a testable hypothesis.

3. Students will be able to identiy independent and dependent variables within an experimental study.

4. Students will be able to describe why it is important to con-trol variables in an experimental study.

Iesigi oeie1. Introduce the term hypothesis.

2. Read and discuss the hypothesis handout.

3. Present the variables slide show.

4. Read and discuss Amys experiment in groups.

5. Discuss experiments as a class.6. Brainstorm experimental questions.

7. Discuss an experimental plan in detail, in groups and as aclass.

8. Generate consensus about the plan.

9. Think on Your Own: Why is it important to control variables?

Ccig e Iesigi

1. Intde te tem ytesis.

Reer students to the science process concept map they madein Investigation 1. Introduce students to the concept o ahypothesis as an important part o any scientic investi-gation.

Ask

What do you think a hypothesis is?

Make sure that a hypothesis is described as an idea that istestable.

Bee Y S

Time and Place

90 minutes

Indoors

MATERIALS NEEDEDResource Pages

Hypothesis Help handout

Variables in your Experimentarticle

Will a Fake Cat Scare Birds?research report

Answering your ScientiicQuestions article

Journal Pages 46

Other Curriculum Components Variables in Science

Experiments (PowerPoint slideshow)

You Provide Graph paper

Transparency o HypothesisHelp resource page

I wonder list (i you havecompleted other BirdSleuthmodules)

Getting Ready Prepare to present the

Variables in ScienceExperiments slide show.

00:90



0


2. read and disss te ytesis and-t.

a. Project a transparency o Hypothesis Help(rESourcE pAGE 5) and, as a class, read

the frst our sections aloud as you uncoverthem one by one:

What do I wonder?

What do I already know?

How do I turn my idea into a hypoth-esis?

How do I test my hypothesis?

b. Discuss the stated hypothesis or this studyabout American Robins and ask studentswhat a graph might look like i the statedhypothesis is supported by data. You may

wish to draw the graph on the board (seegraph 1).

Teting hypotee

20

18

16

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

067 A.M. 910 A.M.121 P.M. 34 P.M. 67 P.M.

Meannumberofvisits

Time interval

Mean number of parental visits toAmerican Robin nest over 7 days

Graph 1: Hypothesis supported: the mean number o visitsseems highest in the morning.

rESourcE pAGE 5


Hypothesis:A testable statement or prediction about the natural world

which can be supported or rejected by experiments or observations.

Hypothesis Help

How do we turn a QUESTION into a HYPOTHESIS?

What do Iwonder?

Suppose you are curious about what time o day AmericanRobins eed their young the most.

What do Ialready know?

Beore you turn your question into a hypothesis, you needsome background knowledge about this topic. You do someresearch and discover that most songbirds, including robins,sleep at night.

How do I turnmy idea into a

hypothesis?

Knowing this inormation might lead you to think thatparents eed their nestlings most oten early in the morningbecause they are hungry ater a night with no ood.Thereore, yourstated hypothesis could be, Feeding rateso American Robins may be highest in the morning.

How doI test my

hypothesis?

Although there is more than one way to test thishypothesis, you might design a study that would involvewatching at least one active robin nest or several days andrecording the number o times a parent brings ood to theyoung during specifed time intervals during each day.

How do Iknow i my

hypothesis wassupported?

The data you collect can be used as evidence to eithersupport or reject your hypothesis. Are eeding rates muchhigher in the morning as you expected? I so, you wouldsupport your stated hypothesis.

What i Ididnt fnd any

dierences?

I your results show that robins eed their young about thesame time throughout the day, you would conclude thattime o day had no eect on eeding rates. We call this a nullhypothesis, which means that you could not fnd a patternor relationship or the things you were testing. You wouldthereore reject your stated hypothesis and support your nullhypothesis.

What i I oundsomethingother than

what Iexpected?

I your results show that robins ed their young the mostright beore sunset, you would reject your stated hypothesis,in avor o an alternative hypothesis. You might wonderi eeding rates are highest right beore sunset becausethe young need a lot o ood to get through the night. Analternative hypothesis to test might be American Robinseed their young the most right beore sunset.




c. Continue reading the last three sections othe overhead aloud:

How do I know i my hypothesis wassupported?

What i I didnt nd any dierences? What i I ound something other than

what I expected?

You may wish to draw an example o whatthe graph o the data might look like i thehypothesis is rejected (see graphs 2 and 3).

d. Sometimes students might eel they haveailed i they do not support their statedhypothesis. Inquire about students eelingsabout this.

Ask

What i our original hypothesis isnt supported? Should we be disappointed? Shouldwe conclude we must have done somethingwrong? Why or why not?

How might you eel i you did your study and your evidence supported the null hypothesis(that the change did not have an eect)?

Tell the students that any outcome o a scien-tic study contributes to our understandingo the world around us i the study has beenwell designed. Any outcome (whichever hy-

pothesis is supported) is valuable.Remind the students o the our kinds o ques-

tions they learned about in Investigation 1(experimental studies, descriptive studies,exploring data, and looking at reerence ma-terials). Tell the students that theyll spendsome time now concentrating on experi-mental studies.

3. pesent te vaiables slide sw

Oten, scientists test hypotheses by doing ex-

periments. Present the Variables in ScienceExperiments PowerPoint slide show (avail-able or download at the BIrDSLEuThWEBSITE) to emphasize the importanceo dierent kinds o variables in an experi-ment. Note: The script you can ollow can beound in the Notes section o each Power-Point slide.

Teting hypotee

Graph 2: Null hypothesis supported: mean number o visitswould be about the same at every time interval.

15

10

5

067 A.M. 910 A.M.121 P.M. 34 P.M. 67 P.M.M

eannumbe

rofvisits

Time interval

Mean number of parental visits toAmerican Robin nest over 7 days

Graph 3: Alternative hypothesis supported: mean number ofvisits would be higher in other intervals (afternoon and evening)

12

10

8

6

4

2

06-7 A.M. 9-10 A.M.12-1 P.M. 3-4 P.M. 6-7 P.M.M

eannumbero

fvisits

Time interval

Mean Number of Parental Visits toAmerican Robin Nest Over 7 Days




To ollow up, you may wish to have yourstudents read the article Variables in YourExperiment (rESourcE pAGES 67).

4. read and disss Amys eeiment in

gs.

Hand out copies o Will a Fake Cat ScareBirds? (rESourcE pAGES 89) to each stu-dent. Have students read it and discuss thequestions at the end o the report with theirgroup.

What was Amys hypothesis?

What was the Independent Variable inthis study?

What was the Dependent Variable in this

study? What actors did Amy hold constant?

What questions or concerns do you haveabout her methods?

Was the study well-designed?

Teting hypoteerESourcE pAGE 6


Variables in Your Experiment

If you want to do an experiment, youll have to consider variables. A variable is acharacteristic that has two or more different valuesit varies! For example, you might countthree Turkey Vultures one day, eight the next day, and none on the third day. The number

of Turkey Vultures is a variable.

When you do an experiment, always consider these three types of variables: IndependentVariables, Dependent Variables, and Control Variables:

Independent Variable (IV)

The experimenter (you) changes this variable, or looks at a variable that naturallychanges, such as temperature.

Graph it on the x-axis.

Dependent Variable (DV)

This variable that might be affected by the change in the IV (you mightremember: it DEPENDS on the change in the IV).

This is what you measure.

Graph it on the y-axis.

Control Variables

These are all the things that you try to keep constant, or control.

Figure 1

Y Axis

X Axis

Lets look at these variables in an actual study. Allison wanted to know if birds preferred to eatat a bird feeder located in an area that was protected by trees and bushes. Allison consideredthree variables before she began: Independent, Dependent, and Control Variables.

rESourcE pAGE 8


By AmyRobert Frost School, Silverton, ORMrs. Rindy

Introduction

I noticed that cats in my yard hadbeen scaring the birds away. I wonderedi the birds could dierentiate a ake catrom a real one. I decided to nd out:does a ake cat scare birds? I measuredthe amount the birds ate one week andcompared it to how much they ateduring the next week when a stu ed catwas guarding the eeder. I thoughtthat or a little while the birds would bearaid o the ake cat but that eventuallythe birds would gure out that the catwas ake. Thereore, my hypothesis wasthat during the week that the cat wasnot guarding the bird eeder I wouldget more birds but that there wouldonly be a small dierence in the amounto ood eaten.

Materials and MethodsI lled two bird eeders with 2 cups o seed (one with mixed seed and one with sunfowerseed). I hung them outside. Ater one week, I took the bird eeders down and measuredhow much seed was eaten. I got a lie-size stued cat and propped it up in the tree close tomy bird eeders (see picture). I then lled the bird eeders again with the same kinds andamounts o seed. Ater one week, I measured how much seed was eaten with the stuedcat present. I compared how much seed was eaten with and without the cat.

Results and Analysis

I ound out that more birds came to the bird eeders when there wasnt a dangerousanimal around. When I didnt have the cat guarding the bird eeders, the birds ate all2 cups o mixed seeds and 1 cups o the sunfower seeds (a total o 3 cups o seedwas eaten). During the week with the stued cat, only out o the 2 cups o seeds wereeaten out o each o the eeders (a total o only cup o seed was eaten). The birds didnot eat as much birdseed when the stued cat was guarding the bird eeder. See mygraph.

Will a Fake Cat Scare Birds?

Amy wondered if a fake cat would scare away the birds. Here you cansee her stuffed-animal cat guarding her bird feeder.

CourtesyofAmy




Teting hypotee

tece BckgwaS amYS ExpErImEnt

faIr?

Note that many actors could aectthe numbers o birds coming to the eeders besidesthe cat. Some possibilities include dierences inthe temperature or the amount o rain during theweeks that the experiment took place. AlthoughAmy did a good job keeping as many variablesconstant as she could, it would have been helpulor Amy to tell us whether any o these might haveaected her results.

Be wary that students may consider evidence suchas the data that Amy cites as proo o a hypoth-esis. A hypothesis cannot be proven, only rejected

or supported. Scientists continue to collect evidenceand alter and refne their explanations based onthe evidence.

5. Disss eeiments as a lass.

Ater the groups have had time to discusstheir ideas, share as a class by askingquestions such as

How did Amy change the IndependentVariable?

What things did she hold constant in bothtreatment groups?

Were there any other things Amy shouldhave (or could have) controlled or?

Could Amys experiment have proventhat the cat aected the number o birdsat the eeder?

See the TEAchEr BAck-GrouND Box Was Amys

Experiment Fair? or more inor-mation on the answers to these ques-tions.

Conclude by emphasizing the eatures oAmys study that make it experimental:

i. The Independent Variable was ma-nipulated: cat and no cat. Theseare called the treatment and con-trol groups.

ii. Other variables were held constant(the location and kind o eeder, thekind o birdseed). This helps to makethe experiment a air test.




Teting hypotee

Name: Date:



Our experimental question:

Our hypothesis:

Our Independent Variable (treatment groups):

Our Dependent Variable:

How we could measure the Dependent Variable:

Our control variables:

The materials we would need to conduct this study include:

How we could conduct this study (our methods):

Testing Hypotheses

Making a Plan for an Experiment

JourNAL pAGE 5

6. Bainstm eeimental qestins.

Working in pairs, ask students to practiceidentiying variables or the three experimen-tal questions on JourNALpAGE 4. You may

wish to do one o the questions together as agroup as an example. Discuss the studentsideas as a class and allow them to correct anymisconceptions theyve recorded in their jour-nal.

Brainstorm various experimental questionsabout birds that could be investigated on yourschoolyard or at the students homes. To start,you may wish to look at your I Wonder listi you have one. Generate a list o possibleexperimental questions on the board.

7. Gs disss an eeimental lanin detail.

. As a class, choose one o these research ques-tions to discuss in more detail. For example, istudents wanted to determine whether noiseaects the number o birds in the schoolcourtyard, students might suggest, I weplay loud hip hop music, we will see ewerbirds in the courtyard, as a hypothesis.

Ask students to work in groups o two to ourstudents to make up an experimental planthat would address the class hypothesis. Eachgroup should develop a list o methods andmaterials or conducting the study, identiythe Independent and Dependent Variables,and describe the Control Variables. Studentsshould record their thoughts by answeringthe questions on JourNAL pAGE 5.

8. Geneate nsenss abt te lan.

. Ask one group to share their plan and ask orclass comments about that plan. You shouldmake sure that students have ully addressedthe idea o controls in an experiment. Youmay need to have several groups share theirplans and make comments to arrive closer tothis ideal.

To conclude, generate a class list o all o thevariables that theyd need to hold constantin the class experiment.

Name: Date:


Testing Hypotheses

An important part of a scientific investigation isstating a testable hypothesis.

Read these three experimental questions. Identify the treatment groups for theIndependent Variable (ask yourself how the Independent Variable would change). Then,tell how you might measure the Dependent Variable.

Question 1: Will more birds visit the schoolyard if we put up a birdbath?

Independent Variable (treatment groups):

Dependent Variable:

Question 2: Does the height of grass affect the number of robins feeding?


Dependent Variable:

Question 3: Do more birds sing when it is sunny?


Dependent Variable:

Identifying Variables

JourNAL pAGE 4, WITh SAMpLE ANSWErS

bath, no bath

Count the total number o birds who visit, ornumber o kinds o birds who visit.

grass height: tall or short

Count the number o robins eating in theyard.

sunny, cloudy

Count the number o birds singing on 3cloudy mornings versus on 3 sunny mornings.




See IT hAppENED IN cLASS,Discussing the ExperimentalPlan (page 16) or an examplediscussion that took place in oneBirdSleuth classroom that was investigating

seed preerences in birds.

9. Tin n Y own.

For homework/review, ask students toread the article Answering Your ScienticQuestions(rESourcE pAGES 1015)

You may wish to discuss the What Do YouThink? questions that are scattered through-out the article, or ask the students to providewritten responses or assessment.

Ater reviewing the article, they can answerthe Think on Your Own question Why isit important to control variables in a scien-tic experiment? (JourNALpAGE 6).

BirdSleuth : Investigating Evidence Resource Materials

10

Two ways of answering your questions involve collecting and analyzing your own dataExperimental and Descriptive studies. The other two involve investigating the data thatothers have collected (Data Exploration) or examining references others have published(Reference).

1. Experimental Questions

Sample Questions

What would happen if we set up a birdbath?

Do birds prefer a certain kind of birdseed?

Does our playground noise affect birds?

Does temperature affect the number of birds that visit our feeders?

For these types of questions, you are interested in whether some change has an effecton the birds, so youll conduct an experiment. Experimental studies look for the effect ofone variable (the thing that changes, which is called the Independent Variable, or IV) onanother variable (the thing you measure, which is called the Dependent Variable, or DV). Forexample, one student wondered if the amount of playground noise (Independent Variable)affects the number of birds that visit (Dependent Variable). In order to be sure that changesin the DV are due to the IV, the researcher attempts to controlhold constantall othervariables that might affect the DV.

What Do You Do?

Measure your Dependent Variable to see if it is affected by the Independent Variable bycollecting data on your study site. Change only one thingthe Independent Variablewhile you hold other variables constant. Analyze your data and draw conclusions.

For example, for the question about birdbaths, you could ask: Do birds prefer feeders thatare with or without a birdbath? Since you are really only interested on any effects of abirdbath, you want to be sure that the only thing you change is whether or not there is abirdbath. You want everything else, like the time of day that you count, where you count,and how you count, and everything about the feeder, to stay the same. See Figure 1.

In the example above, the presence or absence of a birdbath is the Independent Variablesince it is the thing you changed. The number of bird visits to the feeders is the DependentVariable since it is the thing you measure. Notice that when you graph, the Independent Variable is graphed along the X-axis (along the bottom) and the Dependent Variable isalways on the Y-axis (the up-and-down axis).

Answering Your ScientificQuestions

rESourcE pAGE 10

Teting hypotee

Name: Date:


Hypothesis

Think on Your Own

Why is it important to control variables in an experiment?

JourNAL pAGE 6




Teting hypotee

I hee i CssdISCuSSInG thE ExpErImEntal plan

When the frst student group shared their plan, they stated, We would make two identical eed-

ers rom soda bottles and fll one with one kind o mixed birdseed and the other with a more expensivebrand o mixed birdseed. We would hang the eeders in the same tree and count and record the number and kindo birds that visited each eeder or a onehour period. Miss James, their teacher, asked the students what theirhypothesis was, and the students replied that they thought the birds would visit the eeder with the expensiveseed more oten.

Miss James commented that she thought it was a great plan to have the eeders in the same tree, and asked ithe students agreed. One student commented, I they hung the eeders in dierent trees, they may not knowwhether the birds liked one o the trees better or i they actually preerred one kind o ood or the other. Onestudent commented, I you did hang them in dierent trees and one tree was close to a noisy playground andthe other tree was in a quiet area, birds may not visit the noisy tree regardless o what kind o ood was in it.Miss James and several other students agreed.

Miss James asked other student groups to decide whether they had considered this in their plans. Another stu-dent said that the group she was in had planned to hang the eeders in dierent trees, but they were all in thesame area. Discussion was lively about whether that was OK or not, and in the end, the group decided not tochange their plan, but to make sure other things (like height and general location o trees) were held constant.

Miss James asked the students whether they thought an hour o eeder watching was enough. Students sharedtheir plans to count birds and compared ideas between groups. Most groups had more extensive plans to countbirds and elt that the more time spent counting, the more accurate results would be. One group suggested thatis was better to weigh or measure the amount o seed remaining, rather than just the number o bird visits, sincea bird could visit the eeder to check the ood, but not actually eat it. The class agreed that would improve thestudy, and they were excited to begin their experiment.


25/44


Bee Y S

Time and Place90 minutes, more i you exploreeBird data

Indoors

MATERIALS NEEDED

Resource Pages Graphs o Bird Data handout

Graphing My Data article

The I Wonder Kid handout

Journal Pages 711

Other Curriculum Components None

You Provide Graph paper

Internet access

Getting Ready Copy the Reerence Guide

articles or each student.

Make a color transparencyor class handouts o Graphso Bird Data, or prepare toproject it or the class.

Investigation 3

sow Me

te dtG

Students will use graphing techniques to visually representdata.

leig objecies1. Students will be able to correctly identiy and describe our

kinds o graphs commonly used in science: pie charts, linegraphs, scatter plots, and bar graphs.

2. Students will be able to draw an appropriate example o apie chart, line graph, scatter plot, and bar graph to repre-sent data.

3. Students will be able to explain how the our types o graphsare used to represent dierent kinds o inormation.

less oie1. Introduce graphs.

2. Look at real world graph samples.

3. Discuss choosing the right kind o graph.

4. Generate class graphs.

5. Become an eBird data sleuth (optional).

6. Think on Your Own: complete another graph.

Ccig e aciiy

1. Intde gas.

Remind the students that in Investigation 2, they saw ex-amples o bar graphs in Amys Scientic Report, and di-erent kinds o graphs in the Answering Your ScienticQuestions article. Begin with a class discussion about howand why people use graphs.

Ask questions such as

Have you ever made a graph? Why do people make graphs?

Can you name any types o graphs? (Make sure that bar, lineand pie/circle graphs have been mentioned.)

Why do you think that inormation is oten presented in graphsinstead o just in lists or tables? (Graphs visually show relationships between variables.)

00:90




2. L at eal wld ga samles.

Display an overhead or give each studentthe Graphs o Bird Data handout (rEEr-ENcE pAGE 16) that illustrates our kinds

o graphs you will ocus on: pie, line, scat-ter, and bar. Ask students to compare andcontrast the graphs, ocusing on how thedata are presented and any dierences theymight notice between the kinds o data pre-sented in each.

You may wish to create a Venn diagram to il-lustrate similarities and dierences betweenpairs o graph types, and ask students to tellwhat they think the graphs show.

sow Me te dtrEErENcE pAGE 16

16

BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence Resource Materials Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Graphs of Bird Data

Pie Charts

Types of birds we counted this month

songbirds

water birds

shorebirds

birds of prey

other Bar Graphs

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Minneso ta New York I ll inoi s Indiana

State

Percentage of feeders visited byNorthern Cardinals in four states

Percentage

offeedersvisited

Group sizes of American Crows in New York state

Week Starting on

AverageCount

1 /1 2 /1 3 /1 4 /1 5 /1 6 /1 7 /1 8 /1 9 /1 1 0/ 1 1 1/ 1 1 2/ 1

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

22

Line Graphs

The effect of temperature on the numberof bird feeder visits in winter

Numberofvisits

Temperature (C)

0

5

10

15

20

0 10 20 30

Scatter Plots




Name: Date:

BirdSleuth : Investigating Evidence Investigators Journal

Show Me the Data

Practice representing data using different typesof graphs.

Types of Graphs

Ater a class discussion about graphs, fll in the reasons or using each type o graph.

Type ofGraph

When to Use This Graph

Pie Chart

Line Graph

Scatter Plot

Bar Graph

JourNAL pAGE 7

sow Me te dt3. Disss sing te igt ind

ga.

Have students read Graphing my Data(rEErENcE GuIDE pAGES 1721).

Review the terms Independent Vari-able and Dependent Variable i neces-sary. Discuss ways that dierent types ographs are better at illustrating dierentkinds o data. Make the ollowing pointsby appropriately reerencing the ourGraphs o Bird Data graphs:

Line graphs are especially helpul orshowing how something changes overtime.

Scatter Plots are similar, and good or

showing trends in data. They showhow much one variable is aected byanother.

Bar graphs are used to compare twoor more categories o things.

Line, bar, and scatter plot graphs allhave a dependent variable that ismeasured and plotted on the y-axis.

Line graphs are preerred or showingchanges over time because they bet-ter represent a continuum o data. In-

ormation presented in a bar graph isdivided into categories.

Pie charts show proportions and al-ways add to 100%.

Students should record these ideas in thetable on JourNAL pAGE 7.

You may wish to discuss the What Do YouThink? questions scattered throughoutthe article, or ask students to submit writ-

Placeholder text

BirdSleut: Investigating Evidence Resource Materials

17

Graphing My Data

Youve probably heard the phrase, A picture is worth a thousand words. A well-madegraph is worth a thousand wordsit summarizes your data and might even make it easy tosee any trends in your data! Graphing is all about showing people your data visually.

There are many kinds of graphs. Not every kind of graph will be best for your data. Decidingon what kind of graph to draw, and how to draw it, can require thoughtwhich makesgraphing a fun challenge! Here, youll learn about four kinds of graphs and when to useeach kind.

Pie Carts

When you can convert data to show percentages, you can use a pie chart.

Remember that the pieces of a pie together make 100%.

Types of birds we counted this month

songbirds

water birds

shorebirds

birds of prey

other

Figure 1

WhAT DO YOU ThINk? What is the most common kind of bird the studentscounted? What kind of bird was seen least often? Approximately what proportionof birds counted this month were water birds?

rEErENcE pAGE 17



0


sow Me te dtten responses as part o your assesment.

4. Geneate lass gas.

Practice making a sample graph o each type

with simple class-generated data (see sam-ples below). Students should record a samplegraph o each o the our kinds on JourNALpAGES 810.

pie C Examples to graph: what proportion o

students choose a given avorite sport,bird, or ood? See the sample pie chart,Figure 1.

Steps or making a pie chart:

1. Collect the data and organize them in

a table with column and row headings(see Table 1). Remember, pie chartsare used to display percentages andthe total o all categories always addsup to 100%.

2. Calculate the proportions and circledegrees or each item in the table (oryounger students, calculating circle de-grees is not necessary; estimating anddrawing the proportions will sufce).

3. Draw a circle to represent a pie chart.

4. Transer the data to the graph bydrawing segments in the chart. Distin-guishing sections by color is the stan-dard way to tell them apart.

5. Decide on a title or the pie chart. Thetitle should go at the top and summa-rize the variables studied.

Favoritecaeteria

ood

Numbero

students

Percentage

o students

Circledegrees

(% x 360)Pizza 8 40% 144

Hamburgers 5 25% 90

ChickenNuggets 3 15% 54

Other 4 20% 72

Total 20 100% 360

Favorite cafeteria food

Pizza

Hamburgers

Chicken Nuggets

Other Food

Name: Date:



Show me the Data

Fun with Graphs!

Follow along with your class to complete an example of a pie chart, line graph, scatterplot, and bar graph. For each graph remember to include:

Question you are trying to answer

Title for your graph

L abe ls for x an d y ax es (li ne , bar, an d s cat te rpl ot s)

Scale measurements for x and y axes (l ine and bar graphs, scatterplots)

Key or legend

Data table (optional)

1. Pie Chart

Question to graph

JourNAL pAGE 8

Table 1: Table o avorite caeteria oodsFigure 1: Sample pie chart




6. Create a key to identiy the sections othe pie chart.

lie G Examples to graph: a students growth

in height or weight since birth, the dailyhigh temperature over the course o lastweek. See Figure 2 or an example.

Steps or making a line graph:

1. Collect the data and organize themin a table with column and row head-ings (see Table 2).

2. Draw a right angle on the board torepresent the graph axes.

3. Label the x and y axes o the graph.Lay out the scales or each axis (orthe example below: height in inches,060, age in years, 110).

4. Transer the data to the graph by add-ing data points and drawing a linethrough them.

5. Decide on a title or the graph. The

sow Me te dt

Kerrys height since age one

Age (in years) Height (in inches)

1 27

2 32

3 37

4 40

5 42

6 45

7 48

8 50

8 52

10 54

How Kerry has grown since age one

Age (in years)

Height(in

inches)

0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 0 10

10

20

30

40

50

60

Name: Date:



Placeholder textShow Me the Data

2. Line Graph

Question to graph

3. Scatter Plot

Question to graph

JourNAL pAGE 9

Figure 2: Sample o line graph Table 2: Table o students growth




title should go at the top and describethe relationship between the variablesrepresented.

Sce psScatter plots are best or showing whethertwo variables are correlated.

Examples to graph: the number o hoursthat students spent studying or an examversus the grade received (see Figure 3).

Steps or making a line graph:

1. Collect the data and organize themin a table with column and row head-ings (see Table 3).

2. Draw the outline o a graph (a rightangle) on the board to represent thegraph axes.

3. Label the x and y axes o the graph.Lay out the scales or each axis.

4. Transer the data to the graph by add-ing data points.

5. You may choose to draw a best-t linethrough the points i they seem to becorrelated. (This has not been donein the sample, but it appears there isa positive correlation between time

spent studying and test score.)

sow Me te dt

StudentHours spent

studying

Test score

1 3 80

2 5 90

3 2 75

4 6 80

5 7 84

6 1 55

7 2 64

8 0.5 48

9 1 4210 7 100

11 1.5 81

12 2.5 82

13 3.5 82

14 4 91

15 1.5 61

Effect of Study Time on Test Scores

Hours Spent Studying

TestScore

0

10

0

0

40

50

60

70

0

90

100

0 2 4 6 8

Table 3: Table o study time and associated test scoreFigure 3: Sample scatter plot




sow Me te dt6. Decide on a title or the graph. The

title should go at the top and de-scribe the relationship between thevariables represented.

B G Examples to graph: which movies the

students have recently watched, whatpets they own, or which ice cream favorsare their avorites.

Steps or making a bar graph:

1. Collect the data and organize them ina table with column and row head-ings (see table 4).

2. Draw a right angle on the board torepresent the axes o the graph.

3. Label the x and y axes or the graph.Lay out the scales or the y-axis andthe categories or the x-axis.

4. Transer data to the graph by draw-

Kind o

Pet

Number o Students who have

at least one o this kind o Pet

Dog 6

Cat 7

Fish 8

Rodents 5

Others 3

What Pets Do Students Have?

Kind of Pet

NumberofStudent

s

0

2

5

6

810

Dog Cat Fish Rodents Others

Name: Date:


10


4. Bar Graph

Question to graph

Show Me the Data

JourNAL pAGE 10

Table 4: Pets owned by studentsFigure 4: Sample bar graph




ing bars on the graph.

5. Decide on a title or the graph. The titleshould go at the top and describe whatthe graph is about.

5. Beme an eBid Data Slet (tin-al).

We encourage you to complete or begin BIrD-SLEuTh: MoST WANTED BIrDS LESSoN6, Become an eBird Data Sleuthwith your students i you have notalready done so. I you began thelesson, but did not complete either othe Advanced Inquiry Options (page 32o that unit), consider doing that part at thistime (see TEAchEr BAckGrouND boxthis page, Advanced Inquiry Options, orinormation.)

(BirdSleuth: Most Wanted Birds may be or-dered on the BirdSleuth web site.

Project The I Wonder Kid overhead (rE-SourcE pAGE 22note that the studentswere previously introduced to this gurein the Kinds o Questions article on rE-SourcE pAGE 4.) Emphasize the Exploreand Analyze Data jumping in point on thediagram. To answer these kinds o questions,

students will need to look at data that havealready been collected. The Cornell Lab oOrnithologys citizen science databases are aperect resource. For example, eBird is ull odata about the kinds and numbers o birdsseen around the country, and can be used toanswer many kinds o questions about birddistribution and abundance. eBird also eas-ily generates graphs o that data. Considervisiting eBird at www.ebird.org to explorethis resource.

I youd like more support or using eBird, as-sociated lessons can be ound in two otherBirdSleuth modules: BirdSleuth Most WantedBirds and BirdSleuth: Exploring Bird Behav-ior (you may order these BirdSleuth modulesat www.BirdSleuth.org.) Specically, we en-courage you to complete:

BirdSleuth: Most Wanted Birds Lesson 6,Become an eBird Data Sleuth, particu-

sow Me te dt

tece BckgadvanCEd InQuIrY optIonS

(Taken rom Most Wanted Birds:

Become an eBird Data Sleuth)oe Iqiy

Give a copy o the Questions to Investigatehandout (Resource Materials) to each student. Askeach pair o students to explore the question thatinterests them the most. You may wish to havestudents present what they have ound either tothe whole class, to another group, or in a writtenreport.

Ieee IqiyHave each student or pair o students develop

a question that they think can be answered using

the eBird database, then research the answers.You might speciy that they examine either yourclassrooms BirdSleuth eBird data (i you have col-lected enough), or all eBird data. Ask students tonote any interesting fndings as well as the answerto their question as they work. Students shouldshare their fndings with another group, with theentire class, or in a written report.

rESourcE pAGE 22


22

Where will you jump into the process?Depending on your question, you can enter the process o science at dierent stages. Look at the

dotted arrows to see where this student scientist could jump into the scientifc process. Some conducttheir investigations through experimental ordescriptive studies, some start byexploring andanalyzing data rom a database (like eBird, or example), and still others fnd answers bypullingtogether information they fnd in reerence materials such as books or web sites.

I wonder?

EXPERIMENTALSTUDY

DESCRIPTIVESTUDY

DATA

REPORTFINDINGS

MOREQUESTIONS

ANSWERYOUR

QUESTION

REFERENCEMATERIALS

conduct

read

,the

ndraw

con

clusio

nsabo

ut

Figure 1

The I Wonder Kid

conduct

explore

and analyze




larly the Advanced Inquiry Options(page 32 o that module, see TeacherBackground box this page, AdvancedInquiry Options, or inormation.)

BirdSleuth: Exploring Bird Behavior Ex-plore Corvid eBird Data lesson (page 17o that module).

These modules come complete with slideshows that can help you explore eBird.

6. Tin n Y own

Ask students to complete their own examplegraphs in groups, pairs, or individually, onJourNAL pAGE 11. You may want themto do one o each type o graph, or speciytype(s). They can use the data in their jour-nals or data the class has collected duringtheir BirdSleuth bird counts. Students shouldexchange their graphs with another group,pair, or student who can peer review theirgraph beore submitting their revised graphto you or comment. Provide graph paper orthe students.

In class, review and correct any commonmistakes ound in the graphs. You may wishto post exemplary examples o each type ograph.

sow Me te dt

tece tihElpInG StudEntS

IntErprEt data

Consider the ollowing questions tohelp students make sense o data:

What patterns do you notice?

What does the data show?

What do you think the data mean? What canyou conclude?

How would you explain that?

What generalizations do you think you canmake based on your data/observations?

Name: Date:

11


Show Me the Data

Think on Your Own

Create a graph and exchange it with another person or group.

JourNAL pAGE 11

tece tiJumpInG In poIntS

Questions that the students an-swer using the data youve collected on

your schoolyard, questions that they answerusing the eBird database, and questions they

answer using literature and online resources areall possibilities or publication in theClassroomBirdScope student research magazine orBird-Sleuth Reports webzine. In other words, each othese jumping in points is a great way to answerscientifc questions, and each o these questiontypes will be considered or publication.

Students will learn more about publishing theiroriginal research in Investigations 4 and 5.

Thinking ahead to conducting independent research on your schoolyard




sow Me te dt

Notes Page


35/44


Bee Y S

Time and Place50 minutes or introduction

Time outside/inside class orstudents to create their planand get your approval

Ongoing time or research and

investigationIntroduction is indoors.Research is primarily outdoors.

MATERIALS NEEDEDResource Pages

Annalisas Report researchreport

Journal Pages 1217

Other Curriculum Components None

You Provide Research materials (such as

books, Internet access, ieldguides)

Computer with Internet access

Getting Ready Make copies o Annalisas

Report or each student

Decide on the ormat o yourstudents investigations.

Assign due dates or the variousparts (JOURNAL PAGE ).

Investigation 4

Pln n cont

My InvetigtionG

Students will design and conduct their own inquiry investigation.

leig objecies1. Students will be able to design a study to answer a scientic

research question.

2. Students will be able to collect data and inormation thaaddresses their research question.

3. Students will be able to draw an evidence-based conclusion.

less oie1. Brainstorm ways to present ndings.

2. Read Annalisas report and examine the parts o it.

3. Prepare a project plan.

4. Collect and analyze data and inormation.

Ccig e aciiy

1. Bainstm ways t esent fndings.

Ask students to brainstorm ways that scientists might sharetheir ndings. I they struggle, you could remind them othe Meet the Scientist reports they read, and any experi-ence they have in sharing scientic ndings (perhaps at ascience air). Make sure that students mention

Written reports (or example, in magazines, via theInternet, in newspapers or newsletters, and in scienticjournals)

Oral presentations (at a symposium or conerence)

. Displays (in a poster, or instance).

2. read Annalisas ret.

Pass out a copy o Annalisas Report research paper onchickadees to each student (rESourcE pAGES 23-24). Givestudents 10 minutes to read her report individually or inpairs, asking them to pay close attention to the sections othe report in bold and the inormation ound in each sec-tion. Ater students have fnished reading, record inorma-tion about these parts o her report on the chalkboard in

00:50




a table similar to Scientifc Report Compo-nents (see page 29).

Tell the students that by including this inor-mation in each section, Annalisa was ableto organize her ideas and make sure that herreport was complete. Whether students do awritten report, oral presentation, or poster,including these sections will help them tostay organized and make sure their project iscomplete.

3. peae a jet lan.

Invite students to take part in a scienticinvestigation and presentation, startingwith one o their questions about birds. Askstudents to look at the project checklist on

JourNAL pAGE 12 to review the processthey will use:

a. Identiy a researchable question relatedto birds, then develop a hypothesis thatcan be tested with the time and resourcesyou have.

b. Read about what you are studying orbackground and summarize what youlearn. Write down citation inormationor the resources you use.

c. Outline your method, which may includedesigning an experiment, collecting data,accessing eBird, or gathering other inor-mation.

d. Do your study, collecting any necessarydata and inormation.

e. Organize the data you collect in tablesand graphs. Consider analyzing thedata.

. Create a rst drat o your scientic post-er, presentation, and/or report.

g. Go through a peer-review process andedit your work based on eedback.

h. Communicate what you did and whatyou learned through a nal scienticposter, scientic paper, oral presentation,and/or research report.

Note: Parts ae are covered in this lesson (In-vestigation 4) and parts h are covered in In-vestigation 5, Present My Inquiry Project.

Plan and condut My Investigation

Name: Date:

12


Plan and Conduct My Investigation

How will I carry out my investigation?To get started on your original investigation, devise a plan to

carry out your work.

Project Checklist and Timeline

Use the checklist below to construct a timeline or each stage o your project.Remember to get your teachers approval at each stage.

Project Checklist Date to beCompleted

CheckWhenDone

TeacherInitials

a. Identiy a researchable question related tobirds, then develop a hypothesis that can betested with the time and resources you have.

b. Read about what you are studying or back-ground, and summarize what you learn.

Write down citation inormation or theresources you use.

c. Outline your method, which may include

designing an experiment, collecting data, ac-cessing eBird, or gathering other inormation.

d. Do your study, collecting any necessary dataand inormation. You may need to make datasheets.

e. Organize the data you collect in tables andgraphs. Consider analyzing the data.

. Create a frst drat o your scientifc poster,

presentation, and/or report.

g. Go through a peer-review process and edityour work based on eedback.

h. Communicate what you did and what you

learned through a fnal scientifc poster,scientifc paper, oral presentation, and/or re-search report. Consider submitting your workto the Cornell Lab o Ornithology.

JourNAL pAGE 12

rESourcE pAGE 24


23

Annalisas Report

The Effect of Temperature on Chickadeesby Annalisa, 10th GradeTualatin Valley Junior Academy, Hillsboro, OR

Mr. Kahler

IntroductionI decided to study Black-capped Chickadees

and Chestnut-backed Chickadees observed at our eeding station. Both birds are ound in mature orests near streams, which makes Downy Creek(near my school) the perect haven or these active birds. I wanted to know i the temperatureaected the number o birds seen eating at our eeders. I predicted that on colder days, Iwould observe more chickadees than on warmer days. I based this prediction on the actthat spiders and insectsthe main ood o these little birdsare scarce when its cold,causing the birds to seek ood rom eeders.

Materials and MethodsI observed the eeders at the bird blind in the wooded area behind the school on 13 dierentdays rom November through March. At Downy Creek, we oer birds a variety o birdseedin eeders and on the ground, and suet at eeders hanging rom several trees. On each datacollection day, my biology class would write weather inormation on our bird tally sheets,walk to the bird blind, count birds, and compare data. Then we entered the inormationon the web site. Each bird watch was about 15 to 30 minutes long and took place in theaternoon around 2:30 p.m.

Results and AnalysisThe greatest number o Black-capped Chickadees seen on an observation day was three.The greatest number o Chestnut-backed Chickadees seen on an observation day was our.I saw these species on about hal the days I watched: on ve o the days, no Black-cappedChickadees were observed, and on six o the days, no Chestnut-backed Chickadees wereobserved. The temperature on observation days fuctuated rom 6 C to 20 C (rom 43 F to68 F). I calculated an average number o visits or each temperature category and createda bar graph to see i there were any trends in the data. See my graph.

Black-cappedChickadeebyCaitlyn,Grade7,Tualatin

ValleyJuniorAcademy,Hillsboro,OR,Mr.Kahler




Scientifc Report Components

Section o report What might be ound in this section?

Ici Background inormation, including natural history inormation

Statement o the hypothesis

Why the question was chosen or is important to study

meis mes

Materials used to conduct the study

Data details: when and where data were collected, whocollected them, and how

Any other methods used

ress aysis Results, including tables and graphs

What the data or any patterns mean

How the data were analyzed (i they were analyzed)discssi Ccsis

Conclusions

Alternate explanations or the results

Suggestions or improvements to the study design

Ideas or uture research

reeeces Any citations: web sites, books, magazines, science reports,Classroom BirdScopeorBirdSleuth Reportsarticles.




0


Share your expectations or the student investi-gations and assign due dates or each o theabove steps. See the TEAchEr TIp Box,(How Can my Students Share TheirFindings? on page 28) or ideas and

details.Note that peer review and ways to shareresults (reports, posters, oral presentations,and articles) are covered in Investigation 5.You will want to cover that lesson beore thedeadlines that youve established approach.

4. cllet and analyze data and inma-tin.

a. Ask students to complete a preliminary planon JourNAL pAGES 1315 (questions 18)with their project team or by themselves. Re-view their plans and make suggestions orimprovement. I they are using a data sheet,ask them to submit a drat o the data sheetprior to collecting data. When their planshave been approved, invite them to begintheir study.

b. Provide each group with the time and re-sources they will need to conduct their in-vestigations. As they progress, they shouldrecord their work on their data sheets and

in theirJourNAL(pAGE 1617), questions915. This journal can be used later to out-line their poster/presentation/paper.


Name: Date:


14


4. Describe how youwill conduct yourstudy.

4. My methods:

5. List the materials youwill need.

5. My materials:

6. If you are doingan experiment, listthe variables youllconsider.

6. My Independent Variables(s):

My Dependent Variables(s):

My controls:


Materials and Methods

JourNAL pAGE 14

Name: Date:


13


1. Write a question thatcan be answeredusing one of themethods youlearned about.

1. My question:

2. Develop a testablehypothesis toanswer yourquestion.

2. My hypothesis:

3. Read about the topicyou are studying (inbooks and on theInternet). Take notesin a notebook.

3. My list of references:


Introduction

Use the following pages to keep track of your research project. The left hand columnwill help you structure your work. As you conduct your project, use the right handcolumn to take notes.

JourNAL pAGE 13





Name: Date:


15




7. Create data sheets. 7. Data Ill collect on my data sheet:

8. Determine how youwill visually present

your data. (Forexample; line graph,pie chart, scatterplot, or bar graph).

8. Notes about my graphs:

JourNAL pAGE 15

Name: Date:


16




9. Create a preliminarygraph or graphs

investigating evidence

Documents