Essential Questions: With current advancements in technology, we have the capability to clone species.
Should we use this technology to clone extinct species? What would be the dangers and benefits of this
practice?
Goal: Present an argument for or against the cloning of extinct species.
Role: Research Scientist
Audience: Editor of Scientific Journal, News Anchor, Legislators that approve funding, etc.
Situation:
In the movie Jurassic Park, dinosaurs are brought back to life after extracting their DNA from mosquitoes
trapped in amber. At the time the film was released, it was pure fiction, because the technology to achieve
such a feat did not exist. Since that time, scientists have made many technological advancements and are
closer to bringing back extinct species.
Preserved samples and carcasses, such as the woolly mammoth, are being found all
around the world. Should scientists be trying to clone these animals to bring them back? What are the
benefits? The dangers?
Product: PowerPoint, Newsletter, Newspaper or Journal Article, Infographic, PodCasts, or Videos. Other
products are acceptable with teacher approval. Products may be handed in on paper, via email, or posted on
Edmodo.
Document Library:
Document A: Bringing Them Back to Life- National Geographic
● http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2013/04/species-revival/zimmer-text
Document B: Animal Cloning- Pros and Cons Discussed
 http://www.manataka.org/page1033.html
Document C: Reviving Extinct Species May Not Be Science Fiction- Audio or transcript
 http://www.npr.org/2012/06/25/155717381/reviving-extinct-species-may-not-be-science-fiction
Document D: Cloning Fact Sheet
 http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/cloning.shtml
Document E: Tasmanian Tiger
http://www.dpiw.tas.gov.au/inter.nsf/WebPages/BHAN-53777B?open
Document F: Should We Have Cloned Lonesome George?
http://news.discovery.com/tech/biotechnology/lonesome-george-cloning-120628.htm
Document G: Cloning: Can It Resurrect Extinct Species?
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120229-can-we-resurrect-extinct-species/1
Grading Scale:
2012 by Teresa Davis, Martinsville High School, Martinsville City Public Schools, Virginia
A- 34-40 total points
B- 28-33 total points
C- 16-27 total points
D- 11-15 total points
Content Rubric
Essential Skill or Knowledge
Novice
(2 Points)
Proficient
(4 Points)
Expert
(6 Points)
Natural Selection
Student mentions
natural selection
in their argument
but offers no
explanation of
how it’s related to
cloning.
Student included
some
explanation of
natural selection
in their argument
but makes few
connections to
cloning.
Student
discusses the
role of natural
selection in
extinction and
links the idea to
the effects of
cloning extinct
species.
DNA Structure
Student mentions
the vocabulary but
shows no
understanding of
what terms mean.
Student cites
appropriate
vocabulary with
minimal
application of
how it relates to
their position on
cloning.
Student uses
vocabulary terms
associated with
DNA correctly to
provide evidence
to support their
position.
Ecology
Student describes
the environmental
needs and
challenges of a
cloned extinct
species.
Student makes
minimal
connections to
how the needs of
the cloned
species will
impact their
environment.
Student is able to
explain the effect
of cloning extinct
species on
existing habitats
and populations
and provide
examples.
Moral and ethical use of
science and technology
Student offers
their personal
opinion on the
ethics of cloning
with no
justification or
reasoning for their
beliefs.
Student offers
some
explanation of
their beliefs on
cloning but it is
not based on
scientific
evidence.
Student
discusses the
moral
implications of
cloning and
justifies their
viewpoint using
scientific
information.
21st Century Skills Rubric
2012 by Teresa Davis, Martinsville High School, Martinsville City Public Schools, Virginia
Score/Comments
Essential Skill or
Knowledge
Entry
(1 Point)
Developing
(2 points)
Approaching
(3 points)
Research &
Information
Fluency
Students may acquire
limited information from
provided materials
combined with opinion;
some information may
be inaccurately used or
lack strong authority.
Students use some
techniques to
determine the authority
of information and to
conduct some analysis
of the provided
information; opinion,
when used, is
supported by some
connection to content
knowledge.
Students generate valid
questions to guide their
research and to determine
the authority of
information; they use
some variety of digital
tools to assemble and
organize given information
to support their position.
Students use expert
strategies to analyze
information and guide their
own research; they use a
variety of digital tools and
media to assemble and
synthesize information to
form a powerful response to
the situation that contains
aspects of personal
relevancy.
Communication &
Collaboration
Students do not
consider the positions
of others and do not
seek help, whether in
the classroom or from
appropriate
communities beyond
the classroom.
Students follow
defined roles to create
assignments that may
be accurate but that
communicate little
unique information or
have limited relevance
beyond the scope of
the class.
Students demonstrate
some control of their own
learning and navigate
between different roles to
meet the demands of the
task (researcher, editor,
reporter, etc.); they use
appropriate digital tools to
collaborate, when allowed,
but do generate products
that communicate to
relevant communities.
Students use appropriate
digital tools to collaborate
with others, when allowed,
and to create information
that has relevance beyond
the classroom to appropriate
communities; they reflect on
their roles as
communicators, evaluate the
effectiveness of their
selected strategies, and
determine how the
experience might impact
their performance in the
future.
Critical Thinking &
Problem Solving
Students complete
assignments using
opinion, personal
experience, or basic
recollection of factual
information with little
justification for their
position or reasoning.
Students may move
beyond incorporating
basic factual recall and
can respond to
requests for
justification when
prompted; they use
digital tools to support
their thinking and
problem solving
strategies in a limited
way.
Students generate
purposeful questions to
guide their work, identify
the problem, and take
steps to justify the
decisions they’ve made
and their problem-solving
strategies; they use digital
tools to support higher
levels of critical thinking
and as resources for
solving complex problems.
Students demonstrate expert
problem generation and
solving strategies that allow
them to provide innovative
solutions to complex
problems; they use digital
tools to generate authentic
solutions that require high
levels of critical thinking; they
reflect on their roles as
critical thinkers, evaluating
their strategies; and posing
options for future growth.
Creativity &
Innovation
Students follow
teacher directions or
prompts with little
variation and limited or
no original outcomes.
Students express
some original choice
during the activity and
use some technology
to explore new ideas,
including generating
questions or
predictions.
Students analyze trends in
information and make
predictions that may be
novel--to them or others-that result in meaningful
work with appropriate
digital tools within the
parameters of the
assignment.
Students synthesize existing
and self-generated
knowledge to make
sophisticated predictions the
extend beyond the
parameters of the
assignment; They take risks
to test hypotheses and
potential innovative solutions
and reflect on their own
creative process and
consider how the experience
can inform their performance
in the future.
Total Score: _______________
Additional Comments:
Ideal
(4 points)
Grade: _________________
2012 by Teresa Davis, Martinsville High School, Martinsville City Public Schools, Virginia
Comments
Score