Science Learning Community: Science and Engineering Lesson Plans
Don’t Runoff: Engineering in Urban Landscaping
Dan Graff
7-17-14
INFORMATION ABOUT THE LESSON
Grade Level and Subject Area
Grade 10-12; Aquatic Ecology
Time Frame
1-4 days depending on which lessons you choose or delete.
Objectives: Upon completion of this unit, students will be able to:
•
•
•
Students will understand the differences between point and nonpoint discharge.
Students will understand best management practice in terms of engineering a landscape to prevent runoff.
Students will learn how to develop an engineering design.
Next Generation Science Standards
HS-LS2-7.
Design, evaluate, and refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment and biodiversity.*
[Clarification Statement: Examples of human activities can include urbanization, building dams, and dissemination of invasive
species.]
HS-ESS3-2.
Evaluate competing design solutions for developing, managing, and utilizing energy and mineral resources based on costbenefit ratios.* [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the conservation, recycling, and reuse of resources (such as minerals
and metals) where possible, and on minimizing impacts where it is not. Examples include developing best practices for
agricultural soil use, mining (for coal, tar sands, and oil shales), and pumping (for petroleum and natural gas). Science
knowledge indicates what can happen in natural systems—not what should happen.]
HS-ESS3-4.
Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces impacts of human activities on natural systems.* [Clarification
Statement: Examples of data on the impacts of human activities could include the quantities and types of pollutants released,
changes to biomass and species diversity, or areal changes in land surface use (such as for urban development, agriculture
and livestock, or surface mining). Examples for limiting future impacts could range from local efforts (such as reducing,
reusing, and recycling resources) to large-scale geoengineering design solutions (such as altering global temperatures by
making large changes to the atmosphere or ocean).]
Funded by an Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title IIb Wisconsin Improving Teacher Quality Grant in
Partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Stout
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Science Learning Community: Science and Engineering Lesson Plans
Standards for Technological Literacy
ENG2.a.1.e: Discuss the engineering design process includes identifying a problem, looking for ideas, developing solutions and
sharing solutions with others.
ENG2.a.4.m: Examine how brainstorming is an individual or group design process step used to generate ideas to solve a
problem.
ENG4.c.3.e: Improve the design solutions.
Common Core State Standards in Mathematics
MP.2
Reason abstractly and quantitatively. (HS-ESS3-1),(HS-ESS3-2),(HS-ESS3-3),(HS-ESS3-4),(HS-ESS3-5),(HS-ESS3-6)
Common Core State Standards in English and Language Arts
WHST.9-12.2
Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical
processes. (HS-LS2-1),(HS-LS2-2),(HS-LS2-3)
RST.11-12.1
Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to important distinctions the author
makes and to any gaps or inconsistencies in the account. (HS-ESS3-1),(HS-ESS3-2),(HS-ESS3-4),(HS-ESS3-5)
Prior Learning
Content encounters:
1.
2.
Experience in daily life: Students have probably seen erosion, a brown river after it rains, runoff, a storm sewer, etc.
They may have been involved in a home landscape project.
Prior instruction: Students may have studied nonpoint source discharge in earlier grades. They may have seen sewers
stencils or might have been involved in a stencil storm sewer project. They have most likely been involved in
discussions with teachers, parents, 4-H leaders, scouts and so forth, concerning these issues.
Learned related content: The teacher needs to survey the class or ask questions about prior learning before starting to see how
much background the kids will need and what they actually know.
Misconceptions: Many students think “storm sewers” go to the sanitary wastewater treatment plant. A few kids might not have
any idea that fertilizers and other materials three miles from the river can run into it via the storm sewer.
Materials
Materials, activities, resources are all printed in: EiE (Engineering is Elementary); A power point and activities are available
from: Rain to Rivers...Wise Choices for Cleaner Waters (an education campaign sponsored by the Chippewa Valley Storm Water
Forum)
Funded by an Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title IIb Wisconsin Improving Teacher Quality Grant in
Partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Stout
Page 2
Science Learning Community: Science and Engineering Lesson Plans
LESSON IMPLEMENTATION
Objective: Upon completion of this lesson, students will be able to:
•
Students will understand the differences between point and nonpoint discharge.
•
Students will understand best management practice in terms of engineering a landscape to prevent runoff.
•
Students will learn how to develop an engineering design.
Pre-Assessment
There will be questions and discussion before starting to figure out what the kids know and to get those who are
behind up to speed.
Procedures
Lesson 1
100
minutes
Lesson 2
50
minutes
Lesson 3
80
Minutes
Lesson 4
80
minutes
“Rain to Rivers” video and power point lesson on watersheds,
nonpoint/point discharge, etc., and photo activity (students must go out
and take photos in the community of good and bad water management
practices). The kids are given a couple days to get this done, then they
share them with 3 other students and pick the best few to email to the
teacher. The teacher shares the best pictures with the class and
implements a short discussion
This lesson involves introducing students to engineering design and to
the runoff issue presented in EiE. Students then get into groups and
workout an engineering design to how they will tackle the urban
landscape project they were just presented. Students will be given time
to think about and test individual materials to be used in landscaping
their city.
Background
Information
Engineering Design
Students groups will use there engineering design to come up with a
plan for how to landscape their city. They will build their city as well.
Students will get 40 minutes to come up with a design after they have
been introduced to the “challenge” and the rubric presented. Students
will then exchange plans with other teacher picked groups and those
other groups will add the landscape features according to the “plan”
they received.
Carrying out the
engineering design
by planning and
building the urban
landscape design.
Students will test the design and then have time to discuss the pros and
cons. At least one administrator and teacher will judge the designs
according to the rubric. After the groups discuss what happened there
will be a class discussion. After that groups will be allowed to redesign
and test their own city to see if they understand what best practices in
urban landscaping will be.
Testing the design
and redesigning
Formative Assessment
The teacher will constantly be circling and monitoring progress during all of the student work time to assess progress,
correct misconceptions, give possible hints or guided questions which may help the groups.
Closure
Students will be asked to reflect in their science notebooks about each lesson. There will be couple of guided
questions on each lesson for the students to reflect on. After they have completed the notebook entry they will be
asked to get into random groups to discuss their answers. Then the teacher will take a few minutes to have the whole
Funded by an Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title IIb Wisconsin Improving Teacher Quality Grant in
Partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Stout
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Science Learning Community: Science and Engineering Lesson Plans
class discuss and reflect upon the lessons learned.
Summative Assessment
Students will have a “pop” quiz after lesson 2 to check for understanding on background information and the
engineering design process. Student will have a unit test consisting of matching and multiple choice questions
covering the main concepts and at least one major essay question to check their overall understanding.
Funded by an Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title IIb Wisconsin Improving Teacher Quality Grant in
Partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Stout
Page 4