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NIE:
Pascagoula River Basin Grade 9 Science Reasoning
These lessons are designed for science reasoning because of the pressure for time to teach all of the Biology I curriculum and have students prepared for the state graduation required Biology I test. Teachers may choose to use these in Biology I or Environmental Science. Additionally, science teachers might use ideas from the Language Arts Writing section of these lesson plans to generate research and discussion groups, panels, or debates in lieu of the writing activity. UNIT: Pascagoula River Basin DAY: 1 OBJECTIVES: *The student will be able to research and critically analyze current investigations using periodicals (2b). The student will be able to demonstrate an ability to record and organize data from a variety of sources (2c). **The student will be able to explain the differences between autotrophs and heterotrophs (6a) ***The student will be able to investigate how organisms interact with their environment. MS FRAMEWORK: * 2b, c ** 6a *** 9a, c, d MATERIALS: The Sun Herald, Paradise in Peril, Part 1: A priceless heritage, the Mississippi Public Broadcasting documentary, The Singing River. Paper, Pencil, Chart Paper, Markers, Worksheet, ETV video LEARNING STRATEGIES: The student will watch a portion of the Mississippi Public Broadcasting documentary, The Singing River, that introduces and describes the Pascagoula River Basin. The student will read stories from The Sun Herald: Paradise in Peril, Part 1: A priceless heritage. The student will discuss the information with his/her "expert group." (An expert group is comprised of students that read the same portion of the article.) The expert group will report the findings to the "recorder." The "reporter" then explains this material to the rest of the class. The class, in essence, is the "home group." The student will write a summary that describes the River Basin as a unique ecosystem and includes the various species (plant and animal) that inhabit the area. The student will create a food chain or food web that utilizes the various organisms found in the Pascagoula River Basin. The student will complete a teacher-composed worksheet based on this first insert and on "expert group" information. ASSESSMENT: Summary (Teacher Rubric) Food Chain or Food Web (Teacher Rubric) Worksheet (Accuracy) UNIT: Pascagoula River Basin DAY: 2 OBJECTIVES: * The student will be able to research and critically analyze current investigations using periodicals (2b). The student will be able to demonstrate an ability to record and organize data from a variety of sources (2c). ** The student will be able to demonstrate graphing techniques (3a). The student will be able to communicate results of research using oral presentations (3d). *** The student will be able to investigate how organisms interact with their environment. MS FRAMEWORK: * 2b, c ** 3a, d *** 9a, b, c, d, e, f MATERIALS: The Sun Herald Paradise in Peril, Part 2 : A river threatened,Mississippi Public Broadcasting documentary, The Singing River. Paper, Pencil, Chart Paper, Markers, Population Information, Graph Paper, Color Pencils, Species List, Research Resources (including computers/internet) LEARNING STRATEGIES: The student will watch a portion of the Mississippi Public Broadcasting documentary, The Singing River entitled "In Search of Gulf Sturgeon." The teacher may play this section of the documentary or have the students view an expanded video about the subject on this website in the section, Natural History, Aquatic Life. The student will read part of the article insert from The Sun Herald: Paradise in Peril: A priceless heritage November 9 edition. Paradise in Peril: A river threatened November 16 edition. The student will read from The Sun Herald, Paradise in Peril, Part 1: A priceless heritage and Paradise in Peril, Part 2: A river threatened. The expert group will report the findings to the "recorder." The "reporter" then explains this material to the rest of the class. The class, in essence, is the "home group." The student will graph data based on the population growth of the Biloxi-Gulfport-Pascagoula area. This information will be provided by the teacher via www.censusscope.org. Peer-editing will be utilized to check for accuracy. The student will then participate in classroom discussion of human impact on an ecosystem. In a group setting, the student will research a rare or endangered species found in the Pascagoula River Basin. Presentations will be given at a later date. Species include but are not limited to: American Swallow-Tailed Kite, Bald Eagle, Gulf Sturgeon, Diamondback Terrapin, Gopher Tortoise, and Redbelly Turtle. More species can be found by clicking on the Pascagoula River link at http://www.dmr.state.ms.us/Coastal%20Ecology/Gems/Pascagoula%20River.htm ASSESSMENT: Discussion (Teacher Observation) Population Graph (Accuracy and Teacher Observation) Research and Presentations (Teacher Rubric) 1.5 Hours plus extra time for research and presentations UNIT: Pascagoula River Basin DAY: 3 OBJECTIVES: * The student will be able to research and critically analyze current investigations using periodicals (2b). The student will be able to demonstrate an ability to record and organize data from a variety of sources (2c). ** The student will be able to explain the importance of variations in organisms (8a). *** The student will be able to investigate how organisms interact with their environment. MS FRAMEWORK: * 2b, c ** 8a *** 9a, b, c, d, e, f MATERIALS: The Sun Herald, Paradise in Peril, Part 3: Preserving a treasure and the Mississippi Public Broadcasting documentary, The Singing River, Guided Activity, Textbook (as resource for Peppered Moths), Paper, Pencil, Poster Board (or other materials for Species Variation Activity) LEARNING STRATEGIES: The student will watch "Pascagoula Wildlife Management Area" video on this web site in the section, Stewardship, Preservation The student will read a teacher-selected passage excerpted from The Sun Herald: Pascagoula in Peril: Preserving a treasure November 23, 2003 edition. The student will complete a guided activity based on the excerpted passage. (Activity to be decided at teacher discretion.) The student will read about the Peppered Moths of England. Class will then discuss why variations are needed. The student will rejoin his/her group from Day 2 to discuss how their particular endangered animal could adapt and avoid potential extinction by using new variations. The "reporter" of each "expert group" will explain the views to the class, which is considered the "home group." Each group will choose a way to depict a potential variation of their species to the class. This depiction should specifically state how the variation would aid their species in avoiding extinction. (Forms of assessment could include poster, skit, song, essay, poem, etc...) ASSESSMENT: Guided Reading Activity (Teacher Rubric) Class Discussion (Teacher Observation) Expert Group Discussion and Reporting (Teacher Observation) Species Variation Depiction (Teacher Rubric) |
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