Africa Storyline Calendar (Click ​here​ for Abbreviated Version of Storyline)
Day 1
Battle at Kruger video
TEACHER
NARRATIVE
FOR THIS UNIT
Advantages of social
behavior/Trophic
levels/Relationships/
Habitats
(​Questioning Form​)
SP 1
LS 2-8
Cause and Effect
Week 1
Lesson-Level
Phenomenon: ​ Video
(Show with no
sound/observations
reinforce research from
the research form)
Week 2
LuLu Lioness
SP 4, 6
LS 2-8
3-2
Patterns
Cause and Effect
Day 2
Watch Battle at Kruger
again to complete
observations
Identify physical &
behavioral traits and
explain how adaptive
Determine Obs vs Inf
Create Venn diagram
with 3 species to identify
similarities and
differences
Observation form--back
of Question form
Self/Peer Eval - Group
Norms
SP 1
LS 2-8
Cause and Effect
Patterns
Complete LuLu the
Lioness Lab with
assessment
Karyotype Assessment
Characteristics of life
chart​ (lions only)
SP 4, 6
LS 2-8
3-2
Patterns
Cause and Effect
Day 3
Compare and contrast
lion behavior
How behaviors increase
survival?
Why live in a group?
Simulation on Group vs
Solitary Behavior
Day 4
Lions Life as a Hunter
Day 2
(Pages 3-4)
Research on
computer at home
SP 4, 6
LS 2-8
3-2
Cause and Effect
Kilocalorie Cash​ for
performance
assessment
SP 4, 5
LS 2-8
Cause and Effect
Microsatellites &
Mapping Activity
(Updated 9/5/19)
Microsat Data for all
Populations
SP 8
LS2-6, 4-2
Patterns
Cause and Effect
Who is in a group?
How are the
individuals related?
LuLu the Lioness
SP 4, 5
LS 2-8
Cause and Effect
Lions Life as a Hunter
(NEW! Updated
9/17/19)
Lion genes & geography
Grouping of students
into populations
Day 5
Lion genetics &
geography
Cytochrome b seq
activity
Revisit and revise
Explanation Tool for
Sabi Sands with new
data
SP 4
LS2-6, 4-2
Patterns
Stability and Change
Cause and Effect
Lion genetics &
geography
(Dubach data)
Lion Pride Research
Form​ = done
SP 8
LS2-6
4-2
Patterns
Stability and Change
Cause and Effect
Africa Storyline Calendar (Click ​here​ for Abbreviated Version of Storyline)
Students design food
web based on their own
population info
Present population data
via gallery walk
Lion Pride Field Data
Form
Week 3
What herbivores and
plants are the same?
Different?
Week 4
NEXT YEAR!
Add
macromolecule
data set that
shows
breakdown of
C-C molecules
from each
SP-6
LS 2-1
Patterns
Scale, Proportion, and
Quantity
Macromolecules: What
are the building blocks
of life?
Compare and contrast
macromolecules
From where do animals
get the CHO? And N?
SP-6
LS1-6
Patterns
Energy and Matter
Lion Midpoint
Assessment
(See assessment note
below calendar)
How is Energy Used in
Organisms​ - data set that
looks at energy
requirements of lions v.
elephant and how much
energy from plants
SP-4
LS 1-7, 1-2
Patterns
Energy and Matter
Elephant & Lion
Macromolecules
Experimental Design Lab
Lab Test Results PPt
UPDATED 9/30/19
Animal Nutrition Lab
Data Set 1
Hide and go Ceca
(Predicting trophic
level: carnivore,
herbivore, omnivore)
UPDATED 9/30/19
Animal Nutrition lab
Continue working
through data sets
starting with Data Set 2
Lion vs Elephant
Animal digestion lab
Lions & Protein
digestion/synthesis
SP-4
SP-2
LS1-6, 1-7
Matter and Energy
Continue working
through data sets
Analysis Question
sheet
Hide n Go Cecum lab
Link
SP-4
LS 1-7
Patterns
Energy and Matter
Lion vs Elephant video
(Begin video at 5:08)
Animal Nutrition Lab
Animal Nutrition Lab
Assessment
(assessment is at the
end of the ANL lab)
SP-4
LS 1-1, 1-2, 1-3
Patterns
Structure and Function
Lion vs Elephant
Animal digestion lab
Elephant digestion
Include CER for
nitrogen source in plant
proteins
SP-4
LS 1-1, 1-2, 1-3
Patterns
Structure and
Function
Food Pyramids &
Food Chain (HHMI)
Food web cards
Characteristics of life
chart​ (elephants
only)
SP-4
SP-2
LS1-7
Energy and Matter
SP-5
LS2-4
Energy and Matter
Africa Storyline Calendar (Click ​here​ for Abbreviated Version of Storyline)
Constructing food webs
(HHMI)
Week 5
SP-5
LS2-4
LS2-7
Energy and Matter
Stability and Change
Finish CSI Wildlife Pt I
CSI Click and Learn
CSI Wildlife Assessment
(See assessment note
below this calendar)
Week 6
Week 7
OPTIONAL: H-W calcs
CSI Wildlife Pt II
SP-4, 5, 6
LS2-2, 7
LS3-3
LS4-1, 6
Stability and Change
Niche partitioning
(Updated link 10/9)
Niche partitioning video clip
(Stop at 6:02 - ask
students if they
recognize data on
screen - allele data!)
SP-4
LS4-2
Cause and Effect
NEW!
Phenomenon: What are
these elephants ​doing?
What biotic and abiotic
factors impact
elephants?
Elephant Populations
and Limiting Factors
Assess values of
elephants (intrinsic,
environmental,
economic, aesthetic)
Elephant Value Lab
(Updated 9/24/19)
SP-5
LS2-6, 7
Stability and Change
How can we tell how
many animals have lived
in an area?
Pringle Video - Poop
survey
Are seeds alive?
Come up with initial list
of evidence
SP-8
Human Impact Watch​ tusklessness
video​ but stop at 1:45
Tusklessness data
points​ (p 1-2)
SP-4
LS2-7
Stability and Change
Evaluate Solutions to
Human Impacts activity
Elephant Conservation
Programs
(Updated 9/23/19)
SP-5
LS2-7
Stability and Change
Poop Lab
Harvesting seeds from
scat or from soil
Poop Recipe
Setting up experiment
SP-3
LS2-3
Energy and Matter
Tusklessness video
Tusklessness data
points​ (p 3-4)
SP-5
SP-6
LS2-7
Stability and Change
Elephant Census
(​Differentiated Version​)
(Both updated 9/23/19)
Landscape
Printout/Support
Materials
Enlarged Landscape
Image
SP-7
LS2-2, 6
Stability and Change
Scale, Proportion, and
Quantity
Mitosis lab
What do plants require
to grow?
Pics of adult leaf vs root
tip slide
SP-2
LS1-4
Systems and System
Models
CSI Wildlife Pt I
Tracking poachers
CSI Click and Learn
SP-4, 5, 6
LS2-2, 7
LS3-3
LS4-1, 6
Stability and Change
Continue Elephant
Census
SP-7
LS2-2, 6
Stability and Change
Scale, Proportion,
and Quantity
Poop Lab contd:
Qualitative/
Quantitative data
Class data collection
Elephant Poop
Article​ ​NEW!
Seed Dispersal Video
(Show after article)
SP-3
LS2-3
Energy and Matter
Africa Storyline Calendar (Click ​here​ for Abbreviated Version of Storyline)
Make observations of
switched sprouts
(light vs dark)
Characteristics of Life:
Are the seeds alive?
Week 8
Week 9
​NEW!
Revisiting the ​Nitrogen
Cycle through African
Termites!
Modeling:
Using a ​Venn Diagram
to pull ideas like the
Characteristics of Life
together
How are different plants
on the savanna
structured to all
complete photosynthesis
to get their energy?
Leaf shape/size, leaf
number, stomata, root
structures, storage in
stem
African Plant Diversity
Lab
Assessment Day 1
(Individual Assessment)
(See assessment note
below this calendar)
Tie trophic levels, CR
and PS together
How do plants get raw
materials for new cells?
Mathematical
representations
Energy Pyramids
Lion/Elephant/Plants
Mathematical
representations
CR ​Data points
Data points
Input/Output of plants
Nutrient cycling
Each student does a
separate data point
SP-5,6
LS2-3, 5
Systems and System
Models
Assessment Day 2
(Student Collaborative
Problem Solving)
(See assessment note
below this calendar)
Assessment Day 3
(Individual Assessment)
(See assessment note
below this calendar)
UPDATED 10/21/19
Summative Self-eval
Africa Summative
Review
Assessment Note: All assessments are protected but are available to teachers when they contact j​ ason@drcrean.com​ with their official school
district email address.
Africa Storyline Calendar (Click ​here​ for Abbreviated Version of Storyline)
NGSS Performance Expectations Addressed (but not limited to):
* Not referenced in calendar.
HS-LS1-2. Develop and use a model to illustrate the hierarchical organization of interacting systems that provide
specific functions within multicellular organisms.
HS-LS1-3. Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence that feedback mechanisms maintain homeostasis.
HS-LS1-4. Use a model based on evidence to illustrate the relationships between systems or between components of a
system to illustrate the role of​ ​cellular division (mitosis) and differentiation in producing and maintaining complex
organisms.
HS-LS1-5. Use a model to illustrate how photosynthesis transforms light energy into stored chemical energy.*
HS-LS1-6. Construct and revise an explanation based on evidence for how carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen from sugar
molecules may combine with other elements to form amino acids and/or other large carbon-based molecules.
HS-LS1-7. Use a model to illustrate that cellular respiration is a chemical process whereby the bonds of food molecules
and oxygen molecules are broken and the bonds in new compounds are formed resulting in a net transfer of energy.
HS-LS2-1. Use mathematical and/or computational representations to support explanations of factors that affect
carrying capacity of ecosystems at different scales.*
HS-LS2-2. Use mathematical representations to support and revise explanations based on evidence about factors
affecting biodiversity and populations in ecosystems of different scales.*
HS-LS2-3. Construct and revise an explanation based on evidence for the cycling of matter and flow of energy in aerobic
and anaerobic conditions.
Africa Storyline Calendar (Click ​here​ for Abbreviated Version of Storyline)
HS-LS2-4. Use mathematical representations to support claims for the cycling of matter and flow of energy among
organisms in an ecosystem.
HS-LS2-5. Develop a model to illustrate the role of photosynthesis and cellular respiration in the cycling of carbon
among the biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere.
HS-LS2-6. Evaluate the claims, evidence, and reasoning that the complex interactions in ecosystems maintain relatively
consistent numbers and types of organisms in stable conditions, but changing conditions may result in a new
ecosystem.
HS-LS2-7. Design, evaluate, and refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment and
biodiversity.*
HS-LS2-8. Evaluate the evidence for the role of group behavior on individual and species’ chances to survive and
reproduce.
HS-LS3-2. Make and defend a claim based on evidence that inheritable genetic variations may result from: (1) new
genetic combinations through meiosis, (2) viable errors occurring during replication, and/or (3) mutations caused by
environmental factors.
HS-LS3-3. Apply concepts of statistics and probability to explain the variation and distribution of expressed traits in a
population.
HS-LS4-1. Communicate scientific information that common ancestry and biological evolution are supported by
multiple lines of empirical evidence
HS-LS4-2. Construct an explanation based on evidence that the process of evolution primarily results from four factors:
(1) the potential for a species to increase in number, (2) the heritable genetic variation of individuals in a species due to
mutation and sexual reproduction, (3) competition for limited resources, and (4) the proliferation of those organisms
that are better able to survive and reproduce in the environment.
HS-LS4-4. Construct an explanation based on evidence for how natural selection leads to adaptation of populations.
Africa Storyline Calendar (Click ​here​ for Abbreviated Version of Storyline)
HS-LS4-5. Evaluate the evidence supporting claims that changes in environmental conditions may result in: (1)
increases in the number of individuals of some species, (2) the emergence of new species over time, and (3) the
extinction of other species.
HS-LS4-6. Create or revise a simulation to test a solution to mitigate adverse impacts of human activity on biodiversity.*