Content Maps &
Analysis
The contents of this framework are intended to help educators use Citizen Science as a
tool for engaging learners in scientific discovery. It is not designed to support scripted
teaching approaches, rather to leverage the elements of the video game to support
educators in linking game content to local contexts. Have fun playing and learning!
Citizen Science can be played online here:
http://citizenscience.eriainteractive.com
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Game Content
Game content is divided by argument. All game dialogue that takes place in the game can is connected to
one argument. Game dialogue is provided in Appendix A. Game content can be considered through four
vehicles for content learning:
1. Vocabulary
2. Arguments
3. Lake Globe
4. Tools
1. Vocabulary
When considering vocabulary acquisition and word learning, words are broken down into three tiers. Tier
one words are basic vocabulary, and include sight words. Tier two words are high frequency words, or
words with multiple meaning words. Tier three words are content/domain specific terms. Tier two words
may not be content specific, rather, they are found frequently associated with tier three, or content words.
Therefore, for students to learn content at a mastery level, a knowledge base of tier two words is needed.
In providing targeted instruction for learners, teachers should support word-learning strategies through
student activities for both tier two and tier three words.
For the purposes of curricular support, the vocabulary in Citizen Science has been broken down to
include teacher resources for targeted tier two and tier three words. Each argument section in this
document includes a list of tier two and three words that players encounter in dialogue. Teachers may use
and adapt curricular supports as appropriate for their students.
Appendix C provides a matrix of vocabulary words and game arguments. In addition, vocabulary words
have been compared with the McREL word list, and indicate wherever listed the McREL grade level and
McREL reported 1st appearance on a standardized test.
2. Arguments
These are the game arguments and content goals for each section. General game-based big ideas are
indicated in bold highlight.
# Argument
1
Don’t let raven
swim.
Big Ideas
Performance
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Argument
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Argument
Secchi Disk
Reading
Phosphate
Readings
Lake Globe
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2
Don’t introduce
exotic species
into the lake.
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Algae in lakes can be dangerous for the health of humans and small
animals.
Humans have introduced pollutants (such as phosphates) into the
lake’s ecosystem.
Phosphates cause problems like algae blooms.
Good argumentation requires the use of evidence to support
points.
Convincing arguments can help people make behavioral choices.
Eutrophic lakes are not dangerous for some species, such as
muskrats, but are dangerous for other species, such as humans.
Models can show us how different variables have an impact on a
system. (Game example: Lake Globe)
Eutrophic lakes can have a bad odor, particularly along the shoreline.
Eutrophic lakes have an overabundance of the nutrients needed by
plants and algae, which can in turn present a significant health
hazard.
Secchi disks are tools that scientists use to measure the turbidity, or
cloudiness of a lake.
Turbidity is an indicator of the lake’s overall health, and can help
predict algae blooms and growing lake eutrophication.
Using keywords like “because” and “although” in arguments can
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
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3
Plant buffer
strips.
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4
Manure should
be treated.
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5
Support fishing
regulation.
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6
7
Avoid using
phosphatebased
fertilizers.
Plant rain
gardens.
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8
Make the lake
less eutrophic.


9
Help restore
wetlands.

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
help build a case in convincing someone of something.
Just because something is natural and has a desired impact (like
mussels making water less cloudy), other related outcomes may
make it a poor decision (like increasing algae and cluttering beaches).
Chemistry readings of water can help identify the amount of things like
phosphates, which are a pollutant. Readings tend to be higher closer
to the source of the pollution.
The runoff from farms can be a dangerous pollutant, and contribute to
eutrophication.
One such pollutant that gets carried into lakes via runoff is manure.
Buffer strips filter and reduce the pollutants that can enter a lake via
runoff.
The government subsidizes or helps provide resources for farms that
want to use buffer strips.
The runoff from farms can be a dangerous pollutant, and contribute to
eutrophication.
One such pollutant that gets carried into lakes via runoff is manure.
Manure contains nutrients, like phosphates and nitrates.
Buffer strips filter and reduce the pollutants that can enter a lake via
runoff.
Piscivores (animals that eat other fish) and planktivores (animals that
feed on plankton, the microscopic organisms in water) are parts of a
lake ecosystem.
Stocking or increasing the supply of piscivores in the lake (fish that
eat other fish) helps reduce algae blooms.
Overfishing reduces the number of fish in a lake, and can result in
increased algae.
Regulations set forward rules for how a system can be
used/interacted with to support a bigger goal or objective. In this case,
fishing regulations help prevent overfishing.
Some kinds of chemical substances, such as phosphate-based
fertilizers, are illegal to sell because of their dangers to people and the
environment.
Planting rain gardens is helpful to the environment, because it helps
rain water that comes from impervious surfaces (roofs, asphalt, etc.)
absorb back into the ground instead of carrying runoff pollutants into
the storm drains and then to lakes and streams.
Actions like planting rain gardens have higher levels of environmental
impact than picking up trash, not that picking up litter isn’t important.
There are many, many ways lake health can be supported. All
require resources and/or groups of people to make specific
choices, from planting rain gardens to lobbying for government
support.
Examples of things that support lake health include regulation of
construction sites to prevent runoff of pollutants, restoration of
wetlands, and increasing fish stocking.
The state and federal government have resources that can be used
for supporting environmental issues.
Government money in large part comes from the taxes that citizens
pay.
Citizens have the right to lobby (or try to convince) government
representatives to pay attention to specific causes, such as supporting
lake health.
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
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Argument
Lake Globe
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Argument
Lake Globe
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Argument
Lake Globe
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Argument
Lake Globe
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Argument
Lake Globe
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Argument
Lake Globe
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Argument
Lake Globe
Wetlands Restoration
Fishing Regulation
Construction Regulation
Fish Stocking
Rain Garden Planting
Buffer Strip Planting
Manure Treatment
Exotic Mussel Introduction
Littering
 
Clarity
Odor
Piscivore
Population
Planktivore
Population
Algae
Population
Pollution
Levels
Runoff
Input Variables:
Flooding
Phosphate
Levels
Output Results:
Zooplankton
3. Lake Globe
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National Standards Alignment
This section focuses specifically on the alignment of game-based content to national standards. It is
important to not that Citizen Science was designed to have utility in multiple disciplines, from civics and
social studies to sciences. Citizen Science may be used as a catalyst for myriad types of learning
activities, and may therefore to be used to address any number or combination of national standards and
learning goals. The alignment specified in this section, however, relates most directly to the in-game
content, and the activities and performance of the students as players of the game.
The concepts addressed in Citizen Science can be used across multiple grade levels, whether repeated
in multiple years for various purposes (changes in specific content applications/focus, use of peer
mentoring, etc.), or can be used as part of a learning trajectory for players between 3 rd and 8th grade.
NRC Framework for K-12 Science Education
Citizen Science addresses the following areas of knowledge as described by the Framework for K-12
Science Education:
Guiding Scientific and
Engineering Practices
Developing and Using Models
Science often involves the
construction and use of models and
simulations to help develop
explanations about natural
phenomena.
Engaging in Argument from
Evidence
In science, reasoning and
argument are essential for clarifying
strengths and weaknesses of a line
of evidence and for identifying the
best explanation for a natural
phenomenon.
Obtaining, Evaluating, and
Communicating Information
Science cannot advance if
scientists are unable to
communicate their findings clearly
and persuasively or learn about the
findings of others.
Crosscutting Concepts
Cause and Effect
Events have causes, sometimes simple,
sometimes multifaceted. A major activity of
science is investigating and explaining
causal relationships and the mechanisms by
which they are mediated. Such mechanisms
can then be tested across given contexts
and used to predict and explain events in
new contexts.
Systems and System Models
Defining the system under study –
specifying its boundaries and making explicit
a model of that system – provides tools for
understanding and testing ideas that are
applicable throughout science and
engineering.
Disciplinary Core
Ideas
Life Sciences
LS2: Ecosystems:
Interactions, Energy, and
Dynamics
Earth & Space Sciences
ESS3: Earth and Human
Activity
Engineering, Technology,
and Applications of
Science
ETS2: Links among
Engineering, Technology,
Science, and Society
Stability and Change
For natural and built systems alike,
conditions of stability and determinants of
rates of change or evolution of a system are
critical elements of study.
As is described in the Framework, a core idea for K-12 science instruction should:
 Have broad importance across multiple sciences or engineering disciplines or be a key organizing
principle of a single discipline.
 Provide a key tool for understanding or investigating more complex ideas and solving problems.
 Relate to the interests and life experiences of students or be connected to societal or personal
concerns that require scientific or technological knowledge.
 Be teachable and learnable over multiple grades at increasing levels of depth and sophistication.
That is, the idea can be made accessible to younger students but is broad enough to sustain
continued investigation over years.
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NextGen Science Standards
The following NextGen Science Standards are addressed by playing Citizen Science, and may be
covered in greater depth through the use of out-of-game conversations and expansion activities. These
performance expectations are based on the May 2012 release of the standards. For updates, details, and
clarification statements for use in assessment and expansion activity design, educators should visit
http://www.nextgenscience.org/.
#
Performance Expectation
Environmental Impacts on Organisms
3EIO a
Obtain, evaluate, and communicate
information about the types of habitats in
which organisms live, and ask questions
based on that information.
3EIO b
3EIO d
3EIO e
Obtain, evaluate, and communicate
information that in any particular
environment, some kinds of organisms
survive well, some survive less well, and
some cannot survive at all.
Use models to evaluate how environmental
changes in a habitat affect the number and
types of organisms that live there; some
remain, move in, move out, and/or die.
Use evidence to argue that some changes
in an organism’s habitat can be beneficial
or harmful to the organism.
Earth Systems and Their Interactions
5ESI f
Obtain, evaluate, and communicate
information describing the impacts human
activities have on Earth’s systems and
generate examples of actions individuals
and communities have taken to conserve
Earth’s resources and environments.
Description of Game Alignment
 Players obtain information about different
kinds of land use issues surrounding a
lake, indicating that human land use in
farming, fishing, construction, and even
recreation can impact the health of a
lake.
 The player character (PC) models
questioning and inquiry through narrative
to obtain information about the habitats of
organisms around and in a lake.
 The player uses the lake globe to ask
questions about changing variables in the
lake ecology.
 The player uses argument to
communicate information to a variety of
role groups within the game world.
 Big game ideas include the safety risks to
humans and small animals when
swimming in eutrophic waters.
 Conflict with Zib regarding the well-being
of muskrats in the narrative.
 The Lake Globe provides an interactive
model to illustrate how changes in the
lake habitat affect the overall health of
the area via input variables and results
that change over time.
 Game narrative introduces and reinforces
the way lake ecology impacts various
organisms, such as piscivores,
planktivores, humans, small animals, and
even muskrats (Zib).
 All arguments in the game must be
supported by evidence.
 Poor lake health has negative effects on
many organisms, and is specifically
addressed in arguments 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 9.


Interacting with the Lake Globe
provides players with visualizations to
help explain human impacts on overall
lake health.
Arguments 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 specifically
involve the impact of human activities
on lake health.
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5ESI g
Design and evaluate a process or product
to minimize unwanted outcomes of human
activities on Earth’s systems, while
increasing benefits and meeting societal
demands.


Interacting with the Lake Globe allows
the player to test multiple ways the
effects of human activities can be
reduced.
The final argument in the game
consists of making an argument to a
local representative about how to make
the lake less eutrophic through
government programs, legislation, and
community projects.
Life Sciences – Matter and Energy in Organisms and Ecosystems
MS.LSUse evidence to support arguments that
 Interacting with the Lake Globe
MEOE f
changing any physical or biological
provides the player with information
component of an ecosystem may result in
about ecological shifts in algae and
shifts in the populations of species in the
piscivore species.
ecosystem.
 Arguments 2, 4, 8, and 9 specifically
concern changes in ecosystem
populations based on changes to
physical and biological components of
the ecosystem.
Life Sciences – Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
MS.LS-IRE
Use a model to demonstrate the effect of

a
resource availability on organisms and
populations of organisms in an ecosystem.
MS.LS-IRE
b
Construct explanations to describe
competitive, predatory, and mutually
beneficial interactions as patterns across
various ecosystems.


MS.LS-IRE
d
Use models to explain the role of
biodiversity in ecosystems.

MS.LS-IRE
e
Use evidence to construct arguments for
how biodiversity can influence humans’
resources as well as ecosystem services
that humans rely on.

Earth and Space Sciences – Human Impacts
MS.ESS-HI
Generate and revise qualitative
b
explanations from data for the impacts on
Earth’s systems that result from increases
in human population and rates of
consumption.
MS.ESS-HI
c
Design engineering solutions for stabilizing
changes to communities by: (1) using water
efficiently, and (2) minimizing human



Interacting with the Lake Globe
provides a model through which the
player can manipulate nutrients
available to the lake ecosystem.
Interacting with the Lake Globe allows
the player to visualize the relationship
between piscivore, planktivore, and
algae populations.
Arguments 2, 5, and 9 are constructed
around predator/prey and ecosystem
interactions.
Interacting with the Lake Globe allows
players to investigate differences in
ecosystem health based on
introductions of native piscivores and
nonnative mussels.
The player encounters protesters in the
game, who wish to increase lake
biodiversity by introducing non-native
species to the lake. The player must
convince the protesters that increasing
biodiversity is not always good, and can
have negative consequences.
There is an option within the Lake
Globe to investigate the impact of
increased construction on lake health.
Arguments 3 and 4 concern the effects
of runoff from farms, and methods to
manage waste production.
There is an option within the Lake
Globe to investigate the impact of rain
garden construction, littering, buffer
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impacts on environments and local
landscapes by reducing pollution.

strip planting, and manure treatment on
the ecosystem.
Arguments 3, 4, 6, and 7 concern
actions that communities can take to
lessen human impacts on the
environment.
Players interact with a Secchi disk as
well as a chemical testing kit to monitor
lake health, and receive evidence
based on their use of these tools.
Ask questions to refine and develop an

explanation for the way technological
monitoring of Earth’s systems can provide
the means of informing the public of ways
to modify human impacts on Earth’s
systems.
Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science – Engineering Design
MS.ETS-ED Evaluate ideas for solving an environmental  The Lake Globe minigame provides
a
problem to determine which designs best
players with the ability to test the
meet the criteria and constraints of the
consequences of different conservation
problem and take into account scientific
efforts and policy decisions.
principles and short and long-term
 Players are required to evaluate
consequences.
knowledge that they have gained in the
game, in order to construct a
meaningful argument from evidence.
MS.ETS-ED Communicate information about a
 Players use evidence to propose
f
proposed solution to a problem, including
solutions to different problems, based
relevant scientific principles, how the
on scientific evidence and observed
design was developed, how it meets the
effects on society and the natural
criteria and constraints of the problem, and
environment in the Lake Globe and
how it reduces the potential for negative
through arguments.
consequences for society and the natural
environment.
Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science – Links Among Engineering, Technology, Science,
and Society
MS. ETSConstruct arguments for and against the
 The player argues for the use of rain
ETSS d
development of a new technology based on
gardens, buffer strips, and construction
potential short and long term impacts
regulation based on short-term and
(positive and negative) on the health of
long-term impacts of these policies and
people, and the natural environment.
regulations.
MS.ESS-HI
d
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Game Readability Statistics
Name
Value
Words
6015
Unique Words
1242
Characters
33536
Characters In Words
25902
Sentences
918
Average Word Length
4.3
Average Sentence Length
Average Words Per Sentence
28.2
6.6
Long Words (7 or more characters)
985
Short Words (3 or fewer characters)
2625
Syllables
8332
Monosyllabic Words
4472
Polysyllabic Words (3 or more syllables)
544
Automated Readability Index
2.1
Coleman Index
Coleman-Liau Index
Dale Chall Readability Index
5
9.5
7.3
Dale Chall Readability Grade Level
9 - 10
Degrees Of Reading Power (DRP)
51
Degrees Of Reading Power Grade Level
4
Fang Easy Listening Formula
3
Fang Easy Listening Interpretation
Farr-Jenkins-Patterson Score
Farr-Jenkins-Patterson Reading Ease
Flesch Reading Ease Score
Flesch Reading Ease
Flesch Reading Ease Grade Level
Easy
81
Easy
83
Easy
6
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level
3.3
Flesch-Kincaid Reading Age
8.3
Fry Readability Grade Level
3
Fry Readability Reading Age
8
FORCAST Grade Level
8.8
FORCAST Reading Age
13.8
Gunning Fog Index (FOG)
6.2
Gunning Fog Reading Age
11.2
Henshall formula
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1741.2
Name
Value
Johnson Readability
Johnson Grade Level
Lexical Density
Laesbarhedsindex (LIX) Index
Laesbarhedsindex (LIX) Readability
Laesbarhedsindex (LIX) Grade Level
25.7
6
20.6
23
Very Easy
Less than 5
Linsear Write Readability
2.9
McAlpine EFLAW© Test
9.4
McAlpine EFLAW© Readability
Very Easy
Miyazaki EFL Readability Index
71.5
Power-Sumner-Kearl Grade Level
4.6
Power-Sumner-Kearl Reading Age
9.6
Rate Index (RIX)
1.1
Rate Index (RIX) Grade Level
4
Raygor Readability Grade Level
3
SMOG Score
7.5
SMOG Index
7
SMOG Reading Age
12
Spache Readability Index (Original)
2.7
Spache Readability Index (Revised)
2.4
Wheeler Smith Index
Wheeler Smith Grade Level
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15.5
2