Go Fish

Go_FishExploring Fisheries Management

by Rachel Zuercher, Ben Higgins, and Satina Ciandro

More than 1/3 of people in the world rely on fish as their major source of protein, however, global fisheries today face enormous challenges such as; overfishing, habitat loss, marine pollution and climate change. Fortunately, well-designed fisheries regulations can help mitigate these problems and ensure sustainability of fisheries into the future. Teaching students about fisheries can lead to a public that is informed regarding fisheries management, and a generation of conscious seafood consumers.

This module is an opportunity for students to learn: 1) The “tragedy of the commons” in the context of fisheries, 2) The components that make up a fishery, 3) Some of the causes of overfishing, 4) How fisheries regulations work, and 5) The benefits and costs of fisheries regulations.

Docs: GoFish_module_text.docx  West_coast_groundfish_template.pdf  intro.pdf   wrksht.docx   labwrksht.docx
Standards: HS-ESS3, Models, Cause and Effects, Systems
Keywords: cause communication economics fisheries HS-ESS3 math models natural resources systems tragedy of the commons

Break a Sweat

break_a_sweatMeasuring Your Response to Exercise 

by Ben Higgins, Caleb Bryce and Sarah Baumgart

Will walking create the same cardiac response as running? Physical activity is associated with numerous health benefits, even modest levels of physical activity (Janssen & Leblanc, 2010; Strong et al., 2005). However, many students remain largely inactive. This module is designed to promote student-specific physical activity as a health promotion strategy by introducing the concepts of vital signs and target heart rate training. Ideally, students will discover an enjoyable type of exercise and/or learn how to self-assess their cardiovascular responses (i.e. vital signs) to exercise to most effectively train.

Students learn: 1) How to measure basic vital signs, 2) How to calculate their own target heart rate, 3) To design their own workout plans, and 3) How exercise duration and intesnsity affect performance.

Docs: fulltext.docx   intro.pptx   wksht.docx
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eywords: exercise physiology, heart rate, HS-LS1, human health, investigations, stability, structure, vital signs

 

Size Matters

size mattersUnderstanding the Surface Area-to-Volume Ratio

by Caleb Bryce, Kimberly Goetz, Pablo Barrick and Sarah Baumgart

The surface area-to-volume relationship is important for the function of both living things (ex: lung anatomy, tree roots, cell size, brain vascularization) and many human-made objects (ex: car radiators, air conditioning units). By understanding that surface area increases at a slower rate than volume as objects get larger, students can appreciate: why small cell size is advantageous; why plants benefit from a branched network of stems, leaves and roots; and why a variety of everyday objects are shaped and sized the way they are.

In this module, students learn: 1) About the relationship between surface area and volume, 2) Why this relationship is important for cells in our body.

Fellows Kim Goetz and Caleb Bryce produced this video explaining the concept of surface area to volume. A diffusion experiment using colored agar cubes, and various real life examples are used to help students understand this concept.

Docs: fulltext.docx   presentation.pptx   worksheet.docx   worksheetkey.docx
Keywords: HS-ETS1.B, HS-LS1, HS-LS1.B, HS-LS1.F, HS-LS1.G, surface area, volume

Native Plant Labels

native plant labelsMaking Labels for Native Plants

by Jenn Yost and Bill Callahan

As described below in tne native plant garden module, one way to protect biodiversity is by restoring degraded habitats to more natural conditions. This process can be simulated at a school by creating a native plant garden. Native plant communities may also be studied in nearby protected areas. One way to expose students to local biodiversity and teach them the importance of biodiversity, is to learn about native plants and create native plant labels.

In this module, students research a native plant in their area and create their own native plant labels. These labels can be laminated and then attached to a stake that can be placed alongside the plant allowing others to identify and learn about local native plants.

Docs: fulltext.docx   intro.pptx   worksheet.docx   labels.doc
Keywords: communication, native plants, plant identification, restoration, school garden

Predict This!

predict this!

Using Models to Observe Correlation and Improve Predictions

by Caleb Bryce, Kim Goetz and Pablo Barrick

In this mini-activity, students measure the masses of specific numbers of beans and graph their data. From their graph they determine a linear model equation. Using their model, they predict the number of beans based on a given mass. The students are asked to create their own model for estimating the number of marbles in a large jar.

Students learn: 1) How to make graphs to depict data and to assess patterns; 2) How correlation can be used to construct a practical model; 3) How to use a model to predict what can not be easily measured; and 4) How to use evidence to support an argument.

Docs: fulltext.pdf
Keywords: argument, evidence, models, patterns, prediction, proportion, scale, systems

Are You My Sister

Sister moduleBuilding Trees to Understand Evolutionary Relationships

by Ben Higgins and Satina Ciandro

How do students begin to make sense of the vast diversity of life?  Even when exposed to just a sliver of such diversity, it is commonplace for students to become disengaged.  This module is a first step in understanding why and how animals are classified and to become excited about the process.

The purpose of this module is to use the traits that each species possess to develop an understanding of species relatedness.  Upon completion of this module, students should have a better understanding of why assemblages of animals are classified together. This module is an opportunity for students to learn: 1) How organisms are grouped together and 2) How to interpret relationships among groups of organisms.

Docs: sequences.docx   cards.pdf
Keywords: argument, cause, data, evolutionary trees, explanations, HS-LS3.B, HS-LS3.A, HS-LS3.B, HS-LS4.A, investigations, models, MS-LS4.A, patterns, phylogenetics, traits

E-Literacy

E-LiteracyEvaluating Online Sources

by Elissa Olimpi, and Chrissy MacLean

Students are faced with an overwhelming amount of information online and need to learn how to sift through available sources to find ones that are credible and appropriate for a specific research task. Many students have a basic understanding of the importance of evaluating sources, but have not practiced source evaluation. This lesson guides students through the process by highlighting questions that the student should ask of the source in order to decide if it is reliable.

Students learn: 1) A systematic approach for evaluating the credibility of internet sources 2) How to determine which sources to use for specific tasks, 3) How to cite textual evidence, and 4) How to corroborate or challenge claims.

Docs: fulltext.docx   intro.pptx   assessment.docx
Keywords: communication, evidence, sources

 

Says Who

says who.Deciphering a Scientific Article

by Hamutahl Cohen and Dan Johnston

The goal of this module is to teach students how to read and understand scientific articles. This skill can be applied to answering a variety of research questions from different disciplines of science and engineering. The context for this inquiry is the impact of climate change on a species. Although climate change is the specific prompt used here, the prompt can be modified for different classroom topics and different courses.

Students learn: 1) How to read a scientific article, 2) How to use scientific articles to answer questions, and 3) How to cite information in APA format.

Docs: fulltext.docx   intro.ppt   handout.docx   pikas.pdf   bears.pdf   turtles.pdf
Keywords: APA citation, cause, climate change, communication, HS-ESS3.C, HS-LS2.A, scientific articles

 

Toxic Avengers

Featured

toxic avengersTools for Uncovering the Human Geography of Pollution

by Jenny Lovell and Dawn Krenz

Environmental Justice (EJ) describes the trend of environmental impacts disproportionately affecting minority communities. It is a great subject to get students engaged about their neighborhoods and health. The Toxics Movement is closely related to EJ and shares the common interest of all people having the right to a clean and healthy environment.

Students learn: 1) How to look up public census data, 2) How to find toxic sites in their neighborhood, 3) How to formulate a testable question regarding census data and toxic sites, 4) How to synthesize data and draw conclusions that answer their questions, and 5) The key components of presenting a social science project to an audience.

Docs: fulltext.docx   presentation.pptx   activity.docx   checklist.docx
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eywords: argument, cause, communication, data, environmental justice, mapping, questions, toxic sites

 

Spinning Tops

spinning tops

Experiencing the Scientific Process

by Kristin deNesnera and Max Tarjan

Independently planning and conducting investigations can be a daunting process for students. This module prepares students to carry out a study from beginning to end and to experience the feeling of ownership that makse the process more exciting. For students who are considering doing a science fair project, this mini-module will give them a better sense of their responsibilities as a science fair participant.

Students learn: 1) How to carry out an investigative study from start to finish, 2) How to perform skills needed for the scientific process and 3) What skills are needed to perform an independent science project (like a school science fair project).

Docs: fulltext.docx   StudentWorksheet.docx   TeacherTips.docx  Worksheet_Espanol.docx
Keywords: argument, cause, data, explanations, investigations, models, patterns, HS-PS2.A, questions, science fair, scientific process, structure

What’s that Sound?

what's that soundQuantifying and Describing Marine Mammal Sounds

by Caleb Bryce, Kimberly Goetz and Burnee Yew

Marine mammals use sound for feeding, communication, predator avoidance, and navigation. Students are introduced to the properties of sound by quantifying and describing sounds from several types of marine mammals (toothed whales, baleen whales, sea lions, and true seals). Students examine differences in sounds between marine mammal species and then use that knowledge to predict the source of a mystery sound.

Students learn: 1) Basic properties of sound, 2) How to interpret spectograms and waveforms, 3) Why marine mammals use sound, and 4) How to describe the diversity of sounds made by marine mammals.

Docs: fulltext.docx   labworksheet.docx   labworksheetkey.xls   worksheet.docx   worksheetkey.docx   photocredit.xlsx
Keywords: bioacoustics, communication, HS-LS2, HS-PS4, marine mammals, sound

Native Plant Garden

native plant gardenAssessing Biodiversity Using a School Garden

by Jenn Yost, Carla Fresquez and Bill Callahan

One way that we can protect biodiversity is by restoring degraded habitats to more natural conditions. This process can be simulated at a school through the restoration of a degraded plot of land into local native plant communities. Planting a native garden is a way to expose students to local biodiversity, teach them the importance of biodiversity, and mimic what can be done on a large scale to restore ecosystems once they are degraded.

Students 1) develop their own methods to quantify biodiversity, 2) measure biodiversity in a native garden, and 3) gain first hand experience in native plant gardens, restoration, and human impacts on environments.

Docs: fulltext.docx   lecture1.pdf   lecture2.pptx   handout.docx   datasetExs.xlsx   graphs.docx
Keywords: argument, biodiversity, cause, data, HS-ESS3.A, HS-ESS3.C, explanations, garden, investigations, HS-LS1.A, HS-LS2.A, HS-LS2.C, HS-LS4.A, HS-LS4.D, models, native plants, patterns, questions, restoration, systems

Land to Sea

land to seaSearching for the Source of Pollutants

by Max Tarjan and Will Federman

In this module students work in small groups with map-based data to learn about watersheds and to find a likely source of pollutants. After a short introduction, students work together to intrepret ther maps provided and to support an argument, stating where the pollutant is coming from, using the map data as evidence. The module provides all the supporting materials needed to run a 90 minute activity.

In this module, students learn: 1) How substances and organisms on land can affect ocean life, 2) How human activities may disrupt ecosystem integrity, to identify the watershed that supplies a river, 3) How to interpret maps of watersheds and land use, and 4) How to combine information from different maps using map scales, and 5) How to make estimates based on map data, and engage in argument from evidence.

Docs: fulltext.pdf   introlect.pdf   summarylect.pdf   handout.pdf   watersheds.pdf   landuse.pdf   seaotters.pdf   sealions.pdf
Keywords: argument, cause, communication, data, HS-ESS2.C, evidence, explanations, HS-LS2.A, HS-LS2.C, mapping, marine mammals, models, patterns, pollution, scale, systems, watersheds

Top Carnivore

top carnivoreTrophic Cascades and Predator-Prey Dynamics

by Veronica Yovovich and Dan Johnston

This module presents a “game” activity in which students learn about trophic cascades and how the different elements of a food chain interact. The module explores the importance of top-down regulation and how predators may regulate the habitats in which they live.

In this module, students learn: 1) How predators and prey interact, 2) How human activities may disrupt ecosystem integrity, 3) How to formulate predictions and hypotheses, 4) How to engage in argument from evidence, make and interpret simple graphs, and make estimates based on data they collect.

Docs: fulltext.pdf   handout.pdf   homework.pdf   cards.pdf
Keywords: argument, cause, data, evidence, food web, graphs, HS-LS2.A, HS-LS2.C, math, models, predators, prey, stability, systems, trophic cascades

Oil Pollution Solutions

oil pollution sollution

Oil Pollution in the Marine Environment

by Kristin deNesnera and Satina Ciandro

In this “hands-on” module, students learn about: sources of oil pollution in the marine environment; the effects of oil pollution on marine life, human health, and economies; examples of major oil spills; and the challenges involved in responding to and cleaning up an oil spill.

Students learn: 1) How human activities cause oil pollution, 2) How oil pollution affects marine resources, the environment, 3) About various oil spill clean-up technologies and sorbent materials absorptivity, and 4) About the challenges related to oil spill clean-up.

A video to accompany an inquiry based educational activity (module) used in the SCWIBLES program. Created by Kristin de Nesnera.

Docs: fulltext.pdf   lecture.pdf   activity.docx   costchart.docx
Keywords: clean up, data, engineering, HS-ESS3.A, HS-ESS3.C, HS-ETS1.C, HS-ETS2.B, explanations, investigations, marine, math, models, oil pollution, HS-PS1.A, questions, scale, stability, structure, systems

What’s Stomata With You?

what's stomata with youUsing Leaf Epidermal Peels to Determine Stomatal Density

by Catherine Wade and William Callahan

This module provides an opportunity for students to observe leaf stomata and make predictions about interactions between plants and environmental conditions. After introducing students to the basic form and function of stomata and discussing photosynthesis and transpiration, students will hypothesize about the distribution of stomata on the upper and lower leaf surfaces. Then, they make wet mount slides of leaf epidermal peels to view stomata under a microscope and calculate average stomatal densities for the top and bottom of the leaf.

Fellow Catherine Wade produced this video to explain the concepts behind leaf stomata and their importance in regulating water loss in plants.

Docs: fulltext.docx   worksheet.docx
Keywords: argument, communication, data, explanations, investigations, HS-LS1.A, HS-LS1.C, math, plants, prediction, questions, stability, stomata, structure, transpiration

A Matter of Human Proportions

a matter of human proportionsAre You Vitruvian?

by Vikram Baliga and Sarah Baumgart

This module is an opportunity for students to learn: 1) How to use the metric system to measure linear distances; 2) Whether proportions that exist between parts of the human body are consistent across individuals; and 3) How to form a hypothesis, analyze data, and argue whether evidence supports the hypothesis.
Docs: fulltext.docx   metric.pdf   worksheet.docx   instructions.docx   handout.pdf   stats.pdf
Keywords: argument, communication, data, evidence, explanations, human anatomy, hypothesis, investigations, HS-LS1.A, HS-LS1.B, HS-LS3.B, math, models, patterns, proportions, questions, structure, systems, vitruvian man

Otters and Urchins

otters and urchinsEcology of The Kelp Forest

by Kristin McCully and Jack Horner

This multi-week modules is designed as a general introduction to ecology as a science, while exploring the excitement of the charismatic kelp forest ecosystem. It introduces the fields of population, community, ecosystem, and conservation ecology, and helps build skills in using equations, creating graphs, interpreting maps, and modeling ecological systems.

Docs: poplecture.pdf   ecolecture.pdf   commlecture.pdf   introlecture.pdf   conslecture.pdf   worksheets.doc   worksheetskey.pdf   studyguide.pdf   studyguidekey.pdf
Keywords: communication, data, ecosystem, explanations, graphs, kelp forest, HS-LS1.C, HS-LS2.A, HS-LS2.B, HS-LS2.C, marine food web, marine science, math, otters, patterns, scale, stability, systems, urchins

What’s Your Walk Score

what's your walk scoreWalkable Neighborhoods as Healthy, Social and Safe Communities

by Jeff Jenkins and Sarah Baumgart

Students in low income communities are increasingly faced with poor nutrition and limited exercise options. One way to combat this is to teach about walkable communities. Teaching about walkable communities will also get students to think about land use in their own neighborhood, will make them more aware of their surroundings, and will provide direction for improving their communities.

Students learn: 1) Why safe and healthy communities are related to walkability, 2) How walkability of neighborhoods/schools can be assessed through a walk score, 3) How to think about, interpret, and communicate spatial information, and 4) What factors in their community can be improved to increase walkability.

Students, particular those in low income communities, are increasingly faced with poor nutrition and exercise options. One way to combat this while also building community is to teach about walkable communities.

Docs: fulltext.docx   worksheet.docx
Keywords: communication, community, health, HS-LS2.A, HS-LS2.D, models, patterns, structure, sustainability, urban design, walk score, walkability

Hold Your Breath!

hold your breathby Vikram Baliga and Sarah Baumgart

This module helps students learn about the mammalian dive response. Students simulate a dive by submerging their faces in cold water for 30 seconds. They measure heart rate and body temperature before and after the “dive”. Students learn how the human body responds to stress (cold water) and they convey their findings using bar graphs and a final lab report.

 

 

 

Fellow Vikram Baliga produced this video to accompany his Dive Response module for inquiry-based education in high school science lab.

Docs: fulltext.docx   worksheet.docx
Keywords: body temperature, cause, data, dive response, graphs, heart rate, investigations, HS-LS1.A, math, questions, stability, systems

Ecosystem in a Jar

ecosystem in a jarExperimenting With Plant Growth

by Kristin McCully and Jack Horner

Students, as a class, develop, conduct, and analyze an experiment to determine what affects the growth of an “ecosystem in a jar.” “Ecosystems” include soil, water, plant seeds, and other items decided by the class in glass jars. Discussion should focus on experimental design and analysis, but instructor can incorporate ecosystem ecology, biodiversity, food chains and webs, photosynthesis and respiration, and other concepts of ecology and biology.

Docs: fulltext.pdf
Keywords: cause, communication, data, ecosystem, experimental design, investigations, jar, HS-LS2.A, HS-LS2.D, math, models, patterns, photosynthesis, plants, questions, respiration, stability, structure, systems

Spit Lab

spit labMacromolecules and Environmental Effects on Enzymes

by Jenn Yost and Erin Mejía

In this module students will do an activity and a lab. A cut-out activity illustrates the anabolic and catabolic functions of enzymes, enzyme specificity, and the individual components of macromolecules. Students then test the effects of temperature on enzymatic activity in spit.

Docs: fulltext.pdf   module.doc   worksheet.doc   enzymes.pdf   lab.doc   lablecture.pdf   enzymelecture.pdf
Keywords: cause, enzymes, investigations, HS-LS1.A, macromolecules, math, models, HS-PS1.B, spit, structure, systems

There’s Something in the Water

there's something in the waterInvestigating Water Quality in Local Watersheds

by Yiwei Wang and Dan Johnston

This module teaches students about why watersheds are important
components of the ecosystem and how their health can be impacted by human activities. The objectives are to get students to learn what man-made pollutants are entering their local watersheds, predict which water bodies are most impacted by these contaminants, and test their ideas by using kits to measure water quality. Students will learn how jeopardizing the integrity of the watershed impacts both human health and that of the ecosystem and consider potential ways to mitigate these effects.

Docs: fulltext.pdf   final.doc   handout.doc   handoutkey.doc
Keywords: data, ecosystem health, HS-ESS2.C, HS-ESS3.A, explanations, investigations, HS-LS2.C, models, pollution, water quality, watersheds

Observing Animals

observing animalsOrganizing and Recording Observations on the Animals All Around Us

by Joe Sapp and Don Brown

This project encourages students to think about how they recognize and classify things they observe in nature, using local insects as a model. Students are asked to identify insects from their area and to think about how exactly they are able to tell them apart. They draw the insects, list any names they might know for them, and learn what defines them as insects. In the process, they learn the basics of insect biology and how to make meaningful scientific observations about the natural world.

Docs: fulltext.pdf   insect.pdf   glossary.pdf   labels.pdf   worksheet.pdf
Keywords: animals, classification, communication, eta, explanations, insects, HS-LS1.B, HS-LS4.A, observation, patterns

Vanishing Shells

vanishing shellsEffects of Ocean Acidification on Marine Life

by Tara Cornelisse and Bill Callahan

This project is an opportunity for students to learn how increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere decreases the ocean’s pH and negatively affects shelled marine organisms. Students start with short informational videos and news readings, and then a real-life problem (an oyster business) as the context for designing questions, hypotheses, and investigating this phenomenon through hands-on experiments.

Docs: fulltext.pdf   labworksheet.pdf   labkey.pdf
Keywords: atmosphere, carbon dioxide, cause, data, HS-ESS3.C, HS-ESS3.D, explanations, investigations, marine, ocean acidification, oysters, pH, HS-PS1.B, questions, shells, stability, structure

Learn From Seabird Barf

what can seabird barf tell us

Seabirds and Marine Debris

by Kristin McCully and Jack Horner

Albatross boluses provide a record of what the seabirds fed on, which often includes plastic marine debris. In this project, each class builds a research question, hypothesis, procedures, and datasheet before dissecting albatross boluses from the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and analyzing their results statistically and graphically. This project is framed by discussion of how marine debris impacts marine organisms and how humans can reduce their use and waste of plastics.

Docs: Fulltext.pdf   Worksheet.pdf   Presentation.pdf
Keywords: albatross, data, HS-ESS3.C, explanations, investigations, HS-LS1.B, marine, marine debris, math, models, patterns, plastic, pollution, questions, seabirds, systems

Controlling DNA

controlling DNA

Ethical Guidelines for the Use of DNA Technology

by Tara Cornelisse

In four 2-hour class sessions, AP Biology students receive enriched, in-depth Power Point lectures that accompany their study of Campbell’s AP Biology textbook to explain the mechanics of DNA modification, and engage in two different group activities to apply their understandings of both science and social issues through engaged ethical reasoning, debate, and presentations.

Docs: Fulltext.pdf   Worksheet.pdf   Lecture 1.pdf   Lecture 2.pdf
Keywords: bioethics, communication, debate, DNA, HS-ETS2.A, HS-ETS2.B, HS-LS3.A

Why Do Organisms Vary?

why do organisms varyGenetic and Environmental Contributions to Trait Variation

by Beth Bastiaans and Ryan Kuntz

In this 2-month project, students design an experiment to assess phenotypic variation in one or more traits. Students use Wisconsin Fast PlantsTM (Brassica rapa). In a breeding experiment, they select a trait and analyze it during two generations of plants. Students create a pedigree by cross-pollinating the first generation with those of other students to generate a second generation of seeds with known parentage. They use linear regression to measure similarity of the selected trait in both generations. The second experiment begins with the offspring generation: students select an environmental variable, and plant enough of those offspring seeds to control that variable, again measuring the selected trait, and using linear regression to analyze effectiveness of that environmental factor.

Docs: Fulltext.pdf
Keywords: argument, data, HS-ETS2.B, explanations, genetic traits, investigations, HS-LS1.B, HS-LS3.A, HS-LS3.B, HS-LS4.B, math, organisms, phenotype, questions, variation

Roadkill Reduction with GIS

road-kill reduction with GIS

Learning to Use Layers

by Beth Bastiaans and Dan Johnston

What factors influence roadkill densities on our streets and highways? What steps can we take to protect wildlife? In this 2-hour module, students use Google Earth to learn how Geographical Information Systems (GIS) technology can help solve environmental problems. They also develop and test their own original hypotheses about roadkill, a familiar, local environmental issue. By combining multiple GIS layers in Google Earth, students develop and test hypotheses about which other landscape features may be correlated with roadkill frequency. Finally, the students discuss the difference between correlation and causation and what factors might bias their analyses.

Docs: Fulltext.pdf
Keywords: argument, causation, cause, communication, correlation, data, HS-ESS3.C, HS-ETS2.A, HS-ETS2.B, explanations, GIS, investigations, layers, math, patterns, questions, roadkill, systems

The Highest Tide

the highest tideScientific, Comic, and Poetic Species Descriptions

by Tara Cornelisse

Using passages from The Highest Tide by Jim Lynch, students learn that there are different ways to describe an object or an organism, and that these may have different effects on readers, but all of them can include plenty of detailed information. Students first listen to several of Lynch’s most vivid and creative descriptions of marine organisms, and take turns in teams drawing those organisms as they visualize them, and attempting to categorize the descriptions as scientific, comic, or poetic–or as combinations–locating key words or phrases that convey humor, feeling, and extensive, factual information. Then they research and describe a marine specimen organism in detail three times, in response to three short prompts, which emphasize the three respective purposes: scientific, poetic, and comic.

Docs: Fulltext.pdf
Keywords: communication, description, ecology, highest tide, investigation, marine, models, structure

The Road to Sustainability

the road to sustainability

Closing the Loop by Achieving Zero Waste

by Tara Cornelisse

Students learn that the products they own go through a materials economy that includes natural resource extraction, production, distribution and themselves as consumers and disposers. Learning that this is unsustainable, students do a waste characterization of school trash and calculate the percent of trash that can be diverted from landfills with the goal of zero waste.

Docs: Full text.pdf
Keywords: data, HS-ESS3.A, HS-ESS3.C, explanations, investigations, life cycle analysis, math, patterns, questions, sustainability, systems, zero waste

It Runs in the Family

Runs in the FamilyBuilding Trees to Understand Evolutionary Relationships

by Ben Higgins and Satina Ciandro

How do students begin to make sense of the vast diversity of life?  Even when exposed to just a sliver of such diversity, it is commonplace for students to become disengaged.  This module is a first step in understanding why and how animals are classified and to become excited about the process.

The purpose of this module is to use the traits that each species possess to develop an understanding of species relatedness.  Upon completion of this module, students should have a better understanding of why assemblages of animals are classified together. This module is an opportunity for students to learn: 1) How organisms are grouped together and 2) How to interpret relationships among groups of organisms.

Docs: fulltext.docx   handout.docx   handoutkey.docx
Keywords: cause, evolution, Inheritance, HS-LS3.A, HS-LS3.B, HS-LS4.A, morphology, MS-LS4.A, patterns, traits