Project Design Overview
Overview: The Gray Wolf has been missing from the Olympic Mountain ecosystem in Western Washington’s Olympic Peninsula since the 1920s. The wolves of the Olympic
Peninsula were hunted, trapped, and poisoned as part of a government program to rid the area of what was thought to be a very dangerous predator of humans, farm animals,
and wildlife. Over the last 100 years there has been scientific research and a new understanding of the role of the wolf in an ecosystem. Over the years, there have been various
proposals to reintroduce the grey wolf (Canis lupus) back into the Olympic Mountain Ecosystem. With the successful reintroduction of the grey wolf to the greater Yellowstone
ecosystem, proponents of reintroduction have once again called for the study of reintroducing wolves back into the Olympics.
Project: Call of the Wild: A Case for the Return of Canis Lupis to the Olympic Mountain Ecosystem
(modified PBL / Smarter Balance)
Significant Content
 Life Science
 Common Core ELA
Life Science (WA State Standards / Revised 2010)
Flow of Energy Through Ecosystems
Next Generation Science Standards
MS-LS2 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
Common Core ELA
English Language Arts Standards » Science & Technical Subjects » Grade 6-8
**See Common Core ELA and Math connections at end of MS-LS2 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
21st Century Competencies
Project summary:
Driving Question
Essential questions
Targets
 Collaboration
 Communication
 Critical Thinking
Students will take the role of a citizen scientist addressing the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife during the public
feedback period on the benefits of large predators / Canis Lupis in an ecosystem. There are different viewpoints to this question,
but this project will focus on & incorporate the general ecological principles and concepts addressed in the current WA state
standards and the Next Generation Science Standards. Students will incorporate standard based content in presentations (see
product)
“What are the benefits of predators in an ecosystem and how do ecosystems change in the absence of predators?” Case Study:
Wolves in the Olympic Ecosystem
 What happens when a component of an ecosystem (biotic or abiotic) within an ecosystem is altered? Are these changes
temporary or permanent?
 How have attitudes towards wildlife management changed throughout history? How have they changed in America from
1900 to the present? What factors gave rise to these changing attitudes?
 Understand the roles of predators and prey within an ecosystem
 Understand ecosystems are comprised of biotic and abiotic components, all of which are interrelated
 Understand the complexities of intended and unintended consequences created by the manipulation of a
component within an ecosystem
 Understand the factors that contribute to scientific integrity as the basis for creating policy
Entry Event / Meet the Problem

Students will be introduced to the
context of the “problem”.
Big Ideas/Understanding:

Attitudes towards wildlife as
a natural resource have
changed significantly since
1900
Meet the Problem PowerPoint (***videos embedded in PowerPoint) Objectives:
1. Set the context for the problem:
2. Activate background knowledge/partial knowledge/misconceptions
3. Examine preconceived bias
Activities:



Analysis of Wolves in Contemporary Culture (View embedded videos in meet the problem PowerPoint
Probe: The Big Bad Wolf Quiz a great first activity to find out what your students really know about wolves
The Tracks of My Mind: Will the Real Wolf Please Stand Up?
This activity allows students to examine their perceptions, thoughts and feelings about wolves and the origins of their
knowledge about wolves
Student Articles:
Article #1: A Brief History of Wolves in the United States (Informational Text) Plain Version of article Cornelia N. Hutt / Defenders of
Wildlife Lexile Range: 1230
Overview of wolves in North America including how they have been seen and affected by various groups of humans.
Article #2: The Wolf That Changed America : Wolf Wars: America's Campaign to Eradicate the Wolf (Nature)
Video to support articles: The Wolf That Changed America (Full Episode: 45 minutes)
Possible Tasks: (Depth of knowledge 3-4)
1. Diary entry from the point of view of a pioneer/bounty hunter/rancher in the early 1900’s
2. Myth Buster’s presentation (Students create presentation debunking common myths about wolves (fact/fiction)
3. Mock debate/Early 1900’s : “A wolf pack has been observed in the area” (kill or not to kill animals)
4. Newspaper Editorial from local paper: 1920’s (Let students choose perspective: pro/anti wolf)
Need to know
Using the “need to know” template
students will examine
1.
the knowledge they already have
that will help to explain benefits
of predators/wolves
2.
Questions they will need to
answer/explore in order to
create a product to address focus
question
3.
Information (ecological
principals/concepts) acquired
during class activities
*** This section will continue to
develop as project gets depth, teacher
will need to guide inquiry to meet
targets and to keep project within
parameters of time/targets
Possible student generated “Need to know”
Questions
1. What happened to the wolves?
2. What type of habitat do they need?
3. Why do wolves live in packs? What are the
benefits of living in packs?
4. Why are predators important?
5. What happens without predators?
6. How much room do wolves need to live?
How many wolves could live in the
ecosystem?
7. Does the absence of wolves affect the
ecosystem? How?
8. How do wolves hunt? What do they eat? Is
there enough of that prey species in the
ecosystem?
9. Do wolves attack humans? How often?
10. If wolves are reintroduced, will they kill
animals like cows, dogs, sheep etc . ?
11. How often do wolves reproduce? How many
offspring?
Possible Teacher “Need to know” targets: Aligned with
standards and chapter 21-23 Targets / “Big Ideas” as
project gains depth
What needs must be met by organism’s surroundings? 21.1.1
What are the biotic and abiotic parts of the habitat? 21.1.2
What are the levels of organization within an ecosystem? 21.1.3
What causes changes in a population’s size? 21.2.2
What factors limit population growth? 21.2.3
What adaptations help organisms survive in an ecosystem
21.3.1
7. What are the major interactions among organism’s in an
ecosystem? 21.3.2
8. What type of symbiotic relationships occurs in an ecosystem?
21.3.3
9. What is primary secondary succession?21.4.1
10. What are the energy roles that organisms play in an
ecosystem?22.1.1
11. How does Energy move through an ecosystem? 22.1.2
12. What factors can limit the dispersal of a species? 22.3.3
13. How do decision makers balance opposing needs and concerns?
23.1.2
14. What is the value of biodiversity? 23.3.1
15. What factors affect biodiversity? 23.3.2
16. What human activities threaten biodiversity and how can
biodiversity be protected? 23.3.3-4
17. Why is gene pool diversity crucial to the survival f a species?
Content Specific Vocabulary: habitat, organism, biotic, abiotic, species,
population, community, ecosystem, ecology, population density, limiting
factor, carrying capacity, adaptation, niche, competition, predation,
predator, prey, symbiosis, mutualism, commensalism, succession,
primary succession, pioneer species, producer, consumer, herbivore,
carnivore, omnivore, scavenger, food chain, food web, energy pyramid,
biogeography, biodiversity, keystone species, endangered species,
threatened species, habitat fragmentation/destruction, captive breeding,
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