RENFROE MIDDLE SCHOOL FALL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
Aimee Webb, Janel Chatraw, Molly Embree, Suzy Sumrall, Angela Wade, Mike Amodio
Team meetings: every other tues 9-10:20
Pair team meetings: tues 11-12
Implementation of cases: Friday’s from 9-3 for Pond Case
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Tybee Island case will occur while the kids are on a field trip to Tybee island the
first two weeks of November and will then occupy one class day of pre trip
instruction and one day of post-trip work
Water Works will be implemented in Mid November
Sickle Cell may be implemented in December (during genetics) or will be
implemented in the spring during the human body section.
Save the Pond will be implemented at the beginning of the school year and
worked on weekly throughout the fall semester. Restoration work will occur after
school, on weekends, and during some class time in the winter and spring.
Cases:
1. A Friday in September (Sickle Cell Case)
A Nigerian student goes into sickle cell crisis and his classmates try to figure out
what is wrong.
http://www.bioquest.org:16080/lifelines/prism/llol_temp_blue.php?project_id=37
2. Water Works (Giardia)
A student gets sick with bad diarrhea and you must help identify the pathogen.
To be implemented during the Protists / Bacteria / Virus section of 7th grade Life
Science (November).
Learning Issues:
The digestive tract -- organs, functions, and disorders that can cause
diarrhea
How diarrhea causes dehydration
Identify and classify aquatic organisms, specifically members of the plant,
fungus, and protist kingdoms
Identify pathogenic members of the protist, fungus, and plant kingdom
Proper lab techniques for microscope and taxonomic key use.
Techniques or habits that can reduce risk of infection
GA-QCC's
1. Scientific Inquiry Skills: Uses process skills of observing, classifying,
communicating, predicting, inferring, identifying variables. Also uses
recording, analyzing,constructing hypothesis, and drawing conclusions
4. Reference Skills: Selects and uses multiple types of print and nonprint
sources for inormation on science concepts
7. Human Body--Digestive System: Explains and describes the features,
functions, and organs or the digestive system.
8. Human Body -- Immune Function: Describes body's line of defense
against pathogens
13. Classification: Classification of living things by similarities in
structure, behavior, food needs, chemical makeup into kingdoms, phyla,
classes, orders, families, genera, and species
15. Monerans, Protists, Fungus: Classification of organisms by kingdom
and identification of harmful and beneficial effects of organisms in these
three kingdoms
Investigations and Activities
Aquatic Organisms Lab: Students are given a sample of pond water. They
must prepare a wet mount slide and examine the sample under different
magnifications using a light microscope. They will classify the organisms
observed according to kingdom and list the key characteristics of each
representative kingdom. They will use a taxonomic key to further identify
organisms in their sample and will research three-five organisms in their
sample for possible pathogenic potential. Scanning Electron Micrograph:
Students will use the EM picture of giardia and a taxonomic key to
identify the organism. They will then use internet searches to identify the
treatment and prevention of infection by giardia
Student Products / Assessments
Pamphlets: Artifacts will tie in with student's Social Studies class:
Students will put together pamphlets that highlight water borne diseases
and their causative pathogens in specific countries in Africa or Asia.
Students will choose a specific country and identify 3-5 waterborne
diseases, their causative pathogen, risk factors for infection, prevelance,
methods that can be used to prevent infection, and barriers to
implementing those methods that face a specific country.
3. Tybee Island
Students become teams of naturalists selected to observe and document the
nonhuman, living organisms that currently inhabit Tybee Island. With disposable
cameras, students record representatives from each kingdom and as many phyla as
possible.
QCC’s covered in project: Numerous QCC’s will be covered at the camp. The
Photojournalism portion will cover:
1.Scientific Inquiry Skills: Uses process skills of observing, classifying,
communicating, predicting, inferring, identifying variables. Also uses recording,
analyzing, constructing hypothesis, and drawing conclusions
4. Reference Skills: Selects and uses multiple types of print and nonprint sources
for information on science concepts
13. Classification: Classification of living things by similarities in structure,
behavior, food needs, chemical makeup into kingdoms, phyla, classes, orders,
families, genera, and species
20. Ecology / Interdependence of Life: describes the characteristics of major
biomes; specifically describes the location, climate, and organisms of a coastal
wetland
21. Ecology / interdependence of Life: Describes the ability of organisms to
change as necessity for species survival. Defines and gives examples of
adaptation for survival of the species.
Implementation and Assessment: Students will be attending a coastal biology
“camp” in early November at Tybee Island. This case will be used to increase
engagement and assess learning at the camp. Additionally it will offer an
alternative means of assessing student involvement in the camp. An assessment
rubric for the photojournalism project is being created.
4. Save the Pond
Charge by the school PTA to renovate a local pond, students perform a needs
assessment and propose and implement refurbishments.
To be implemented at the beginning of the school year and worked on weekly
throughout the fall semester. Restoration work will occur after school, on
weekends, and during some classtime in the winter and spring.
QCC’s accomplished:
1. Scientific inquiry skills: Uses process skills of observing, classifying,
communicating, measuring, predicting, inferring, identifying, and
manipulating variables. Also uses recording, analyzing, and
operationally defining, formulating models, experimenting,
constructing hypotheses and drawing conclusions
2. Safety Skills: Understands and applies lab safety rules and practices
3. Standard International Measurements (Metric System)
Defines and identifies standards of measurement
Names the prefixes used in the SI system
Identifies SI units and symbols for length, volume, mass, density,
time, and temperature
Uses appropriate tools for determining mass, volume, temperature,
density, and length
4. Topic Reference Skills: Selects and uses multiple types of print and
nonprint sources
13. Living Things / Classification: Explains the method scientists use to
classify living things for the purpose of communication and study.
Explains how living organisms can be classified according to
similarities in structure, behavior, food needs, and chemical makeup
into kingdoms, phyla, classes, orders, families, genera, and species.
14. Living Things / Classification: Describes the major characteristics of
the five kingdoms (Monerans, Protists, Fungi, Plants, Animals).
Classifies common organisms into kingdoms based on similarities of
characteristics
19. Ecology / Interdependence of Life: Explains the foodweb / food chain
cycles in nature that affect living things
20. Ecology / Interdependence of Life: Describes the characteristics of
major biomes. Describes the organisms found within biomes (ponds)
Specific Activities:
1. Station Labs for assessing the current situation of the pond (described
above)
2. Webquest investigating the aspects of a healthy pond
3. Creation of a proposal for the refurbishment of the pond
Assessment Techniques:
1. Lab notebooks: Students will keep their data sheets from each station in a
group lab notebook. The lab notebooks will be checked periodically for
accuracy and completeness. A final assessment will come from the list of
pond problems and the response letter to the PTA
2. The pond proposal will be a group assessment. Specifics for what are
required in the pond proposal are listed above in scene 3. An assessment
rubric is being created.
Individually, students will have general quizzes on material that relates to the
pond and to the current topic in their classroom
5. Compost Case (see below)
6. Garden Case (see below)
7. Medicinal Plant Mystery (see below)
8. PCB Travels (see below)
Compost Case (under construction)
Context: Renfroe Middle School 7th Grade Science
Unit: Ecology
Timing:
Fall Semester (October)
Duration: 3-4 class periods over 2 weeks in October
QCC’s
19
Interdependence of living things
3
SI units
4
Reference skills
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I. Case Presentation (1 class period)
General concept:
A scene at home on the weekend. Dad is gathering unsold
leftovers from their yard sale for pickup to the dump. Mom is
trimming plants in the garden & listening to radio. News:
upcoming fees for trash pick up are going through the roof,
because landfill is out of space; cost of shipping trash is passed on
to citizens. Short term consequence of this cost hike: no trip to 6Flags. Long term consequence: financial disaster!
Characters:
Mom, Dad, 2-3 kids, Hippie Neighbor
Protagonists:
Hippie Neighbor, kids
Time line:
A week or so in the story; case takes 1 class period
Place:
Fictional town
Processes/Systems:
Nutrient recycling, ecologically sound household choices
Decision points:
How much of weekly “trash” is recyclable?
Make a plan to save family trip to 6-Flags
Resources:
calculators
metric rulers
II. Follow-up Webquest (1 class period)
Students do a webquest to discover:
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what items are recyclable in Decatur and Dekalb County?
what are Decatur/Dekalb resources for recycling & composting?
what are the requirements for constructing & maintaining a good compost pile?
Resources:
in-class (or library) computers
Let it Rot! ISBN # 0-88266-635-5
Worms Eat My Garbage ISBN # 0-942256-10-7
Backyard Composting ISBN # 0-9629768-0-6
III. Building Compost (1 class period)
Each class will set up 1 regular compost and 1 worm bin compost in an area on school
grounds. Initial measurements of the compost pile will be taken (height, surface temp,
core temp). Data collection posters will be set up in the classroom for weekly datapoints.
A rotating schedule will be established whereby each small group collects & records the
class’s compost data over the fall and spring semester.
Resources:
10’ fence wire, 14 gauge
Asian rat excluder
worm bin
IV. Lab: Lunch Leftovers (1 class period – 5th only)
After lunch, students bring lunch trays and all contents back to lab tables in
classroom.
 Leftovers will be separated into “compostable” and “noncompostable”.
 Each student measures the mass of the two categories from his or her own tray,
and adds this information to his or her small group’s data.
 Individual, group, and class data will be summarized and discussed.
V. Maintaining Compost (ongoing)
Teams will take turns on a weekly basis to collect compost data for the class. This will
take only a few minutes for one team at a time; no class periods are allocated for this
maintenance. When data indicate that the compost is “done”, a new compost pile may be
started. Compost will be used in the spring garden plots.
VI. Event: Recycle Day (optional)
October 4 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Dekalb Farmers’ Market
Composting & recycling exhibition
Free bin give-away and educational demos
Sponsored by Dekalb Cooperative Extension Service
Garden Case (under construction)
Context: Renfroe Middle School 7th Grade Science
Unit: Plant processes, Ecology
Timing:
Spring Semester (April 12-May 21)
Duration: 3-4 weeks
QCC’s (primary)
19
Interdependence of living things
17
Plant life processes:
- reproduction (sexual & asexual)
1
2
- photosynthesis
- cellular respiration
- nutrient transport & growth
- taxis/tropisms
Scientific Inquiry (skills & processes)
Safety Skills (field & lab)
QCC’s (secondary/review)
18
Characteristics and classification of invertebrates
13-15 Classification: plants vs. fungi vs. protists vs. monerans vs. animals
3
SI units
4
Reference skills
Preliminary work
Each class will form several gardening teams of 4-6 kids. In the fall, each team will construct a
1cubic meter compost pile, and monitor its development. In the spring, each team will build &
plant a small garden plot according to their own design (within specified limits!). The following
case is set to occur after spring break, when their gardens are a couple of weeks old.
General concept:
We will capitalize on the real problems that arise in the garden plots to investigate plant
interactions with 1) other plants, 2) animals, and 3) abiotic factors. The aphids and all
will arive univited, but Mike & I talked about also "fixing" a couple of situations to
broaden the spectrum: shaded plants for phototropisms, upside-down plants for
gravitropisms, unbalanced soil nutrient problems, lack of water/lack of sun issues, etc.
We will also find or “fix” some examples of symbiosis and coevolution.
Two entry points:
1. Evidence of plant distress will be collected from the garden plots. Each small group
will receive a plant (or piece of a plant) which exhibits identifiable symptoms (if bug is
culprit, it will be in place).
2. Evidence of symbiosis or co-adaptation will be presented to the groups. Possibly, 2
closely-related plants will be presented (one exhibiting the symbiosis, the other not).
Characters:
The students themselves.
Protagonists:
The students; their families; Decatur resources: Cooperative Extension Service
Time line:
Final quarter of school year
Place:
Renfroe Middle School! (relevance extended to home gardens)
Processes/Systems:
Each team will identify:
1) the plant's symptoms
2) the other factor in the interaction
3) the plant process affected
4) the expanded web (full cycle) including that particular interaction
Then, each kid will:
5) propose a solution
6) explain the expected outcome of their solution
7) design a field experiment.
Finally, keeping in mind ecological webs, plant-pest interactions, herbicide/insecticide
entry into food chain (including humans), they will re-evaluate the solution they
originally proposed.
Decision points:
Initial solution to garden problem
Informed solution to garden problem
(Extrapolate to home garden and each growing season)
Resources to use:
team garden plots
team compost piles
microscopes
soil-testing kits
internet: “bug mugs”; on-line plant doctor
print-outs of appropriate guides
Emory/UGA horticulture experts
Medicinal Plant Mystery (Case currently under construction)
Context: Renfroe Middle School 7th Grade Science
Unit: Plants, Plant Processes, Plant Classification
Timing:
Spring Semester (end March, start April)
Duration: 2-3 class periods (fits within a 4-day week)
Purpose: students learn the following ultra-boring QCC’s (plus a whole bunch of sciencegeek vocabulary like “cotyledon” and “rhizoid”) WITHOUT EVEN REALIZING they’re
learning it.
QCC’s (primary)
16
Characteristics and structures of nonvascular plants (mosses, liverworts,
hornworts)
16.1 Characteristics and structures of vascular plants (horsetails, ferns, angiosperms,
gymnosperms)
QCC’s (secondary/review)
17
Plant life processes:
- reproduction (sexual & asexual)
- photosynthesis
- cellular respiration
- growth
- taxis/tropisms
13-15 classification: plants vs. fungi vs. protists vs. monerans
1
Scientific Inquiry (skills & processes)
2
Safety Skills (field & lab)
3
SI units
4
Reference skills
General concept:
The students are ethnobotanists who have been travelling for days in a remote, densely
forested area, looking for the group of people whose plant use they plan to study. They
must avoid toxic plants and use medicinal plants as situations arise (mistakes could be
fatal!) on their trek.
Two entry points:
1. By the time they encounter the people they are looking for, one or more of the
ethnobotanists is gravely ill. The community does not want to let them near the
encampment, lest they bring evil spirits (illness) with them. They are faced with a
choice: leave and treat the sick members of their group using their own knowledge of
plants, or allow the shaman to treat their sick group members according to that
community’s ancient medicinal traditions.
2. They find the people without incident, and are welcomed into the community. The
ethnobotanists spend a few days peacefully accompanying members of the community,
learning the different plants they use routinely and the plants they use for special
purposes or avoid altogether. Then, one or two of the group members become sick.
Their condition deteriorates rapidly, doesn’t respond to the traditional medicinal
treatments, and soon, members of their host community are sick also. Crisis: a
ceremonial “spirit-reading” by the shaman indicates that if the sick people are not cured
within a 2-day period, the ethnobotanists must be sacrificed in order to ensure the
appeasement of the spirits and the health of the community.
Characters:
The students themselves are the ethnobotanists. Each small group within the class will be
an ethnobotanist team. Might even assign roles for the team members
(anthropologist/interpreter, nonvascular plant expert, gymnosperm expert, angiosperm
expert, toxicologist/doctor), and have dialogue for each. Other characters are men,
women, and children of the forest community, a shaman, the group leader . . .
Places:
Deep, deep in the forest. Many days of difficult travel from any road or developed area.
Processes/Systems:
plant classification, plant water/nutrient transport, cellular respiration
human cultural differences, oral traditions
safety skills in the field, using field guides
Protagonists:
The ethnobotanists AND the community they are visiting, if I do it correctly.
Time line:
The story timeline will cover 2-3 weeks of the ethnobotanist’s adventures. The time line for use
in the classroom will be 2-3 class periods, so that this case can be used to introduce a new unit
(plants) in a 4-day week right before spring break.
Decision points:
- Selecting plants along the way (before meeting up with foerst community) for a variety
of specific purposes (not just illness).
- Whether to treat their sick members themselves, or allow shaman to do it,
OR,
- What treatment to use to cure problems in 48-hour deadline given by shaman
Resources to use:
Plant Field Guides – hardcopy extracts provided
Internet Databases – Hortiplex Database, Native Plant Species & Image Gallery, others.
Light microscopes, preferably dissecting scopes
PCB Travels Case (under construction)
Context: Renfroe Middle School 7th Grade Science
Unit: Ecology; Biomes
Timing:
Spring Semester (April)
Duration: 2-3 class periods
QCC’s
19
Interdependence of living things
20
Characteristics of biomes
4
Reference skills
General concept:
After reading part of the text from Theo Colburn's "Our Stolen
Future", they will write their own story following a single PCB
molecule from organism to environment to organism through at
least 2 different biomes (using their expertise in ecological webs).
They start their story with a PCB molecule coming from their own
household. Challenge: come up with a way to finally REMOVE
that PCB molecule from the biosphere.
Characters:
A single PCB molecule; organisms of their choice representing
producers, consumers (including prey and predators), &
decomposers.
Protagonists:
Him or herself
Time line:
Story: they determine timeline
Place:
Decatur + several locations in 2 other biomes (by way of air, water,
land, and inside many organisms)
Processes/Systems:
Ecological webs, nutrient recycling, ecologically sound household
choices, review of body systems,
Decision points:
Each transition in their story
How to “capture” & remove PCB molecule at the end
Resources to use:
imagination
writing skills
cumulative knowledge of learning issues in entire course