How Many Critters Live Here?

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=56 BGCOLOR="#003333" TEXT="#F7F7FF" bgproperties="fixed" background="011a0a03.jpg"> <div> How Many Critters Live Here?</div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=135 BGCOLOR="#003333" TEXT="#F7F7FF" bgproperties="fixed" background="21fa0c01dduajq.jpg"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Educators Science and Math Institute Ser"><U><B>Educators' Science and Math Institute Series</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="About the Series"><U><B>About the Series</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id117.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Goals"><U><B>Goals</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Institutes"><U><B>Institutes</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="lesson_plans_prepared_by_esmis_participants_.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lesson Plans"><U><B>Lesson Plans</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id53.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id138.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Photo Albums"><U><B>Photo Albums</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.ed.mtu.edu/search.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ed.mtu.edu/search.htm"><U><B>Search</B></U></A><A HREF="http://www.ed.mtu.edu/search.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ed.mtu.edu/search.htm"><U><B> ESMIS</B></U></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=424 BGCOLOR="#EEEEEE" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>How Many Critters Live Here?</B></div> <div> Estimating Wildlife Populations<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >.</FONT></div> <div> Grade 4-6</div> <div> August 1, 2001</div> <div> Shawn Oppliger</div> <div> Western UP Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education</div> <div> P.O. Box 270</div> <div> Hancock, MI 49930</div> <bR> <div> Introduction</div> <div> This unit of study will help students develop an understanding of how wildlife biologist estimate the population of a particular species and an appreciation for number and diversity of animals, insects, plant that live in a particular area. Students will develop skills of science inquiry through activities that involve map construction and population sampling. They will be making observations, formulating predictions, recording observations and data, comparing their data to other group's data, interpreting data and observations, and drawing conclusions. </div> <bR> <div> Students will construct a map of a study area using an appropriate scale and noting vegetation, physical features, and environmental factors. The students will use a process called sampling to estimate the population of an organism in the study area or forest.  This unit will take approximately five 50 minute class periods.  Activity 1 and 2 in this unit plan are adapted from the Teacher Guide “ Schoolyard Ecology” .  Activity 4 was created as an extension of Activity 2 from the “Schoolyard Ecology”.   </div> <bR> <div> Michigan Content Standards Addressed:</div> <div> Science:</div> <div> Students will ask questions that help them learn about the world; design and conduct investigations using appropriate methodology and technology; learn from books and other sources of information; communicate findings of investigations using appropriate technology; and reconstruct previously learned knowledge.</div> <div> Students will explain how parts of an ecosystem are related and how they interact; explain how energy is distributed to living things in an ecosystem; investigate and explain how communities of living things change over a period of time; describe how materials cycle through an environment; and analyze how humans and the environment interact.</div> <div> Mathematics:</div> <div> Students identify locations of objects, identify location relative to other objects and describe the effects of transformation on an object.</div> <div> Students compare attributes of two objects, or of one object with a standard unit and analyze situations to determine what measurements should be made and to what level of precision.</div> <div> Students collect and explore data, organize data into useful form, develop skill in representing and reading data displayed in different formats.</div> <div> Students experience counting and measuring activities to develop intuitive sense about numbers, develop understanding about properties of numbers, understand the need for and existence of different sets of numbers, and investigate properties of special numbers.</div> <div> Students understand and use various types of operations to solve problems.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Activity 1- Creating a Map of the Study Site.</div> <div> Estimated time: one 50-minute class period</div> <bR> <div> Preparing for the Activity</div> <bR> <div> Choose an area of the your school yard or school forest with a diversity of vegetation and interesting natural features for your study area. The study area should have the dimensions that allow the area to be divide easily into a grid of squares. Example is a 25' by 25' area that can be divided into a grid of 5' by 5' squares.  Mark off your study area with brightly colored string or flags.</div> <bR> <div> Break up the class into groups of 2 or 3 students.  </div> <bR> <div> Each student group will need:</div> <div> graph paper to draw their map on.</div> <div> clipboard</div> <div> pencils and erasers</div> <div> measuring tape and directional compass.</div> <div> lab sheet for each student</div> <bR> <div> A map of the study area on a transparency to be used with the class as a whole for compiling data.</div> <bR> <div> Conducting the Activity.</div> <bR> <div> Each group will construct a map of the study area on a piece of graph paper. They will work in their groups at the study site to construct the map. </div> <bR> <div> Have the students mark the boundaries of the study area on their graph paper. They will need to decide the scale that they will use and put that scale in their legion. Make sure that the students make their maps as big as possible.</div> <bR> <div> Using a compass, the students should mark the directions north, south, west and east using a compass rose.</div> <bR> <div> Using a measuring tape, the students should mark and draw the location of all physical features of the study area, such as trees, bushes, fences etc on their map. Make sure that they label each feature.</div> <bR> <div> Activity 2- Identifying Environmental Factors in the Study Site.</div> <div> Estimated time:  one 50-minute class period..</div> <bR> <div> Preparing for the Activity</div> <bR> <div> Each group will need</div> <div> study site map from activity 1</div> <div> pencils</div> <div> blue, red and green colored pencils or markers.</div> <div> lab sheet for each student</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Conducting the Activity</div> <bR> <div> Introduce the concept of `environment' and `environmental factors' by having the students brainstorm a list of factors that would affect a population of a particular organism such as spiders.  Have the students compile a list of the factors on their lab sheet, making sure that sunlight, moisture and cover are included.</div> <bR> <div> Ask the students to predict how each factor would affect the population of spiders in the study area.  Have the students record their predictions for sunlight, moisture and cover.</div> <bR> <div> Have the students give you words to describe the most and least of three factors, sunlight, moisture and cover.  Example is given below.</div> <bR> <div> Environmental factors                    Most/ Least</div> <bR> <div> Sunlight                         sunny / shady</div> <div> Moisture                         wet/ dry</div> <div> Cover                              tree or bush covered/ open space</div> <bR> <div> Have each group take their maps to the study area and record the location of the environmental factors from the table above.  Sunlight will be recorded using a red pencil, moisture a blue pencil and cover a green pencil. A plus sign will indicate the most of a factor and a minus sign will indicate the least of a factor. Each group should include a table similar to the one above, coded with color, on their map.</div> <bR> <div> After each group has finished marking the environmental factors, compile the data from each group on the overhead class map.</div> <bR> <div> Ask the students “ If you were to mark environmental factors at different time of day, how would they differ?” and   “If you were to mark environmental factors at different time of year, how would they differ?”  Have the students record the main points of this discussion on their lab sheet.</div> <bR> <div> Activity 3:  Finding and Observing Spiders</div> <div> Estimated time: one 50-minute class period</div> <bR> <div> This activity is taken out of “School Yard Ecology” and is found on p. 21- 31. (copy of this activity is included)  Students will search for spiders in the study area and record the location of spiders.  They will develop relationships between the occurrence of spiders and the environmental factors from Activity 2. Make sure that the students answer the questions for activity 3 on their lab sheet.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Activity 4: Determining Spider Population in the Study  Area</div> <div> Estimated time: two 50-minute class periods</div> <bR> <div> Preparing for the Activity</div> <bR> <div> Each student group will need:</div> <div>      map of study area</div> <div> 20ft of brightly colored string tied in a loop</div> <div>      tape measure</div> <div>      pencils to record findings</div> <div>      lab sheet for each student</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Conducting the Activity</div> <bR> <div> Have each group divide their study area map into a grid of equal size squares, i.e.   25' by 25' area that can be divided into a grid of 5' by 5' squares. Each 5' by 5' square will be a sample site. Number each sample site.   Model this procedure on the overhead class map.</div> <bR> <div> Have the students make predictions in what sample sites will they find the most or least spiders. Have them provide supporting evidence for their prediction from observations they made in activity 2.  Also ask them to predict how many spiders are in study site.  Make sure that they record their predictions on the lab sheet.</div> <bR> <div> Ask the students if they think that they could count every spider in the study area in 30 minutes? or the whole school forest?  Introduce to students, that to count populations in a large area, ecologists use a process called sampling.  They count the number of a particular organism in several small sample sites and then estimate the number of that organism in the study area or forest.  The sample site in this activity will be an area that corresponds to size of square on the grid of the study site map, i.e. 5' by 5' square.</div> <bR> <div> Have each student group choose and mark off their sample site with the loop of brightly colored string.  Record the location on their map. Make sure that each group chooses a different site and that they do not overlap. With a class of 25 students, approximately half of the sample sites will be counted.</div> <bR> <div> Have each group work in cooperative way to count the number of spiders in their sample site and record that number on their lab sheet. Make sure that they look under leaves, fallen logs and rocks and also on the bark of trees, fences etc.</div> <bR> <div> Compile each group's location of sample site and number of spiders on the overhead class map.</div> <bR> <div> Work with the students to calculate the average of the sample sites on the map.  Then multiple that average by number of squares on the grid to get the total for the study area.</div> <bR> <div> Referring to the overhead map, discuss with the students the questions on the lab sheet. Have the students record the main points of this discussion on their lab sheet. </div> <bR> <bR> <div> Suggestions for younger students</div> <bR> <div> This will work with students that do not possess the skills to calculate an average value. Choose a study site that is smaller i.e. 10' by 25' site that is divided into ten  5' by 5' squares. Divide the site into 10 sample sites with string. Each group will choose a sample site and count the number of spiders. Record the data for each site on the overhead map, then the students will add up the data for all 10 sites to get the total.</div> <bR> <div> Assessment: </div> <bR> <div> Each student will complete the lab sheet that is included with these activities.  A majority of the questions require that the students write about the main points of each activity.  Students will graded on scientific thought and ability to answer in a clear and concise manner.</div> <bR> <div> Resources:</div> <bR> <div> Schoolyard Ecology, Teacher Guide, Grades 3-6, Lawrence Hall Of Science, University of California. 1998</div> <bR> <div> Michigan Curriculum Frameworks, Michigan Department of Education, Lansing,  Michigan 1996.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> LAB SHEET: Estimating Wildlife Populations </div> <bR> <div> Name __________________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Name of students in your group _____________________________________________</div> <bR> <div> Activity 2- Identifying Environmental Factors in the Study Site.</div> <bR> <div> Give a list of environmental factors that will affect a spider population in the study area.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Predict how sunlight, moisture and cover would affect a population of spiders.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> If you were to mark environmental factors at different time of day, how would they differ?</div> <bR> <bR> <div> If you were to mark environmental factors at different time of year, how would they differ?</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> Activity 3:  Finding and Observing Spiders</div> <bR> <div> What clues tell you that spiders are living nearby?</div> <bR> <div> Where in the study area did you find the most spiders?</div> <div> Why? talk about the environmental factors present in that area.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Activity 4: Determining Spider Population in the Study  Area</div> <bR> <div> Predict what sample site or sites will have the greatest number of spiders?</div> <div> Why? explain your answer </div> <bR> <div> Predict what sample site or sites will have the least number of spiders?</div> <div> Why? explain your answer.</div> <bR> <div> Predict the number of spiders in study area.  ________________</div> <bR> <div> Observed number of spiders in your group's sample site. ____________</div> <bR> <div> Calculate the average sample site population. Please show your work and circle your answer.</div> <bR> <div> Calculate the estimated total number of spiders in the study area. Please show your work and circle your answer.</div> <bR> <div> In your sample site, where did you find spiders?</div> <bR> <div> If half the spiders in the study area are female, and each female lays 100 eggs, predict the number of baby spiders that will hatch? Show your work and circle your answer.</div> <bR> <div> In what sample sites where the greatest number of spiders found? Did this match your prediction?</div> <bR> <div> In what sample sites where the least number of spiders found? Did this match your prediction?</div> <bR> <div> What environmental factors were present on the sample sites that had most spiders?</div> <bR> <div> Did the estimated total number of spiders in the study site match your prediction?</div> <bR> <div> What errors did your group make in counting the number of spiders in your sample site?</div> <bR> <div> Did those errors affect the answer for the estimated total number of spiders in the study site?</div> <bR> <div> If your group was to do these activities again, how could your group improve the way they worked together, collected data and made observation?</div> <bR> <div> If your group were to do this activity again, what would your group do to reduce the amount of error in your count?</div> </td> </tr></table></body>