[LTER-education] Draft 1 - Cross-site activity - focus on precipitation

[Stephanie Bestelmeyer]

Jill,
Thanks for taking the lead on a cross-site activity. 

For those of us in the 44 states using Next Generation Science Standards or standards based on NGSS, the value of this activity would be enhanced if we intentionally align it to NGSS performance expectations or at least science and engineering practices at the middle school level.

For example, there are two middle school PE’s that certainly relate to some of the ideas you’re covering here:
MS-LS2-1 Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.
MS-LS2-4 Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations
We’d have to delve more deeply into those performance expectations to figure out exactly how to structure the activity to align with one of these. Alternatively, depending on how the data and questions are structured, it would also be possible to cover Science and Engineering Practices of asking questions and defining problems, analyzing and interpreting data, constructing explanations, and engaging in argument from evidence. We use Appendix F of the NGSS (https://www.nextgenscience.org/sites/default/files/Appendix%20F%20%20Science%20and%20Engineering%20Practices%20in%20the%20NGSS%20-%20FINAL%20060513.pdf <https://www.nextgenscience.org/sites/default/files/Appendix%20F%20%20Science%20and%20Engineering%20Practices%20in%20the%20NGSS%20-%20FINAL%20060513.pdf>) to understand what each of those practices mean in each grade band.

I’d be happy to discuss this further if you or anyone else is interested.

Take care,
Stephanie (Jornada)

Stephanie Bestelmeyer, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Asombro Institute for Science Education
30 Years of Wonder <http://asombro.org/wonder>
PO Box 891
Las Cruces, NM 88004
575-524-3334
www.asombro.org <http://www.asombro.org/>

> On Oct 6, 2020, at 1:54 PM, Jill Haukos <konzaed at ksu.edu> wrote:
> 
> Educators -
> 
> I've attached a first draft of what I'm imagining for a potential cross-site activity.  If you and your site are interested in participating, here are some details and info I'm seeking from participants:
> 
> Audience:        5th – 7th grades 
> Goal:                Increase understanding of the different biomes and how they react to water –  
>    including aspects that affect water, including (but not limited to):  drought, elevation, temperature, and salinity  
>  
> What I need from each site participating: 
>  
> 1.  Name of site 
> 2.  Biome or habitat of site 
> 3.  Describe your site – how would you describe your site to a child who had never visited before?  Include as much detail as you      think necessary for a child to really “get” your site.  
> 4.  How does water affect your site?  What aspects of water are part of the equation? 
> 5.  Include a data set from your site that relates to water that a child could easily understand.  If it exists! 
>  
> What I’m thinking of asking kids: 
>  
> 1.  Read about the sites and then answer questions relating to what they’ve read, such as: 
>  
>             a.  Which of the sites would be most affected by: 
>                         - Drought 
>                         - Rising temperatures of the ocean 
>                         - Hurricane 
>                         - High amounts of rain 
>                         - Dry winter – low snowfall 
>                         - An unusually warm winter 
>                         - An unusually cold winter 
>                         - Forest fires 
>                         - others? 
>  
>             b.  Which sites have: 
>                         - Distinct seasons 
>                         - Just one season that is about the same all year 
>                         - The least precipitation 
>                         - The most precipitation – what affects this? 
>  
> 2.  What is the average amount of precipitation that each site receives? 
> 3.  At what sites do you think it’s important that the precipitation arrives at a certain time of the year? 
> 4.  Which sites seem to get about the same amount of precipitation every year? 
> 5.  What sites seem to get a very different amount of precipitation every year?  Why do you think there are differences in the annual precipitation at some of the sites and not others? 
> 
> I've attached my responses for Konza Prairie that could serve as a template. Note: this is a work in progress, I foresee it changing/morphing as necessary. Nothing is set in stone.
> 
> Many thanks!
> 
> Jill
> 
> 
> 
> Jill F. Haukos
> Director of Education
> Konza Prairie Biological Station
> 116 Ackert Hall; Division of Biology
> Kansas State University
> Manhattan, KS  66506
> (785) 587-0381
> konzaed at ksu.edu <mailto:konzaed at ksu.edu><LTER Cross-site activity Draft One.pdf>_______________________________________________
> Long Term Ecological Research Network
> education mailing list
> education at lternet.edu <mailto:education at lternet.edu>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.lternet.edu/private/education/attachments/20201008/ff98ea61/attachment-0001.html>