What's in a Word

<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> What's in a Word</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 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VSPACE="0"></B>The lesson began with the idea of getting students to be aware of their role and responsibility in regard to the ecology of Michigan.  In groups of five to six, students formed three companies: an advertising company; a group/company representing something to do with Michigan forests; and a group/company representing something to do with the Great Lakes.  The following are some of the names they chose, and the ideas the companies were trying to promote: </div> <bR> <div> <B>Ad</B><B>ventors</B></div> <div> <B>Blue Ox Timber</B> - Clear cutting makes new growth</div> <div> <B>Liquid Homes</B> - Beaches are safer with cleaning </div> <div> <B>The Amazing Technicolor Ad Agency</B></div> <div> <B>People Against the Killing of Forest Floor Vegetation (PAKFFV) - </B>not to kill forest floor vegetation</div> <div> <B>P.C.P. - </B>Not to pollute Great Lakes</div> <div> <B>Madwag Advertising Co.</B></div> <div> <B>Moysen Forestry - </B>Tree diseases public service announcement</div> <div> <B>Jorite Inc. -</B> Using native G.L. plants in products is good</div> <div> <B>Go Figure</B></div> <div> <B>Care Bears - </B>recycling</div> <div> <B>Water Works - </B>recycling</div> <bR> <div> The companies began by determining something they wanted to promote to the general public, mostly as public service announcements (PSA's).  They had to use twelve different vehicles, as subsequently described, to learn about the topics included in the appendix of this paper.  Each vehicle needed to describe, using an example from Michigan forest ecology or Great Lakes ecology, at least one of the topics.  The groups wrote two letters, one as if it came from their forestry company and the other from their Great Lakes company, to their advertising company seeking the ad company's help in designing the public service announcement.  The ad company then had to produce an internal report detailing some of the ecological information the other companies wanted advertised.  </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="2075d890.png" border=0 width="349" height="137" ALT="Adobe Photoshop Image" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The groups storyboarded their ads, which were presented in front of class and then produced their printed advertisements.  Ideas included magnets, billboards, newspaper ads, and an ad to put in those little clear plastic things that sit on the tables of restaurants.  Originally there were going to be two ads due by November 20.  Since the Macomb Academy of Arts and Sciences (MA<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >2</FONT>S), a math and science academy for students from five northern Macomb County school districts, recently received an Apple G4 with the Final Cut Pro digital video editing software the second ad is going to be a filmed one-minute commercial.  It will be completed after the November 26 deadline of this paper.  The groups terminated the project by writing four opinions, one for and one against each ad, in the form of a letter to the editor or an editorial.</div> <bR> <div> The idea for this project came about in the middle of September; long after a different idea had been submitted to the ESMIS program.  It did, however, get its start because of that draft, which detailed how students were going to look at advertisements.  Instead, they created them.  The nicest part of this project was the integration.  It showed the students that English, Speech, Journalism, and Art all have a place in the science classroom.  It lacked graphic arts training from which all of the projects would have benefited, though.</div> <bR> <div> That second part of this project revolved around the word “biodegradable”.  The students used the ad campaign as a lead-in to the research aspect of this lesson.  </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="20860a40.png" border=0 width="352" height="164" ALT="Adobe Photoshop Image" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">They were told about the ESMIS class in which their teacher participated and the fact that the quiet harbor by the Bay Campground on South Manitou Island contained different forms of, and a seemingly higher population of, algae as compared to other parts of the island.  They were also told that the shore near the Bay Campground was observed to be a bathing point.  </div> <bR> <div> Based on the daylight available on June 25, the students conducted an experiment to determine if various soap products increased algal dry weight biomass.  The experiment was based on ideas presented in the book <U>Bottle Biology</U> by Ingram.  It was done in classrooms in Armada, Farmington, and Petoskey High Schools.</div> <bR> <div> It was intended that the students would conduct this part of the project at their home schools and would be broken into groups that would communicate via the Internet with similarly sized groups from the other schools.  Those collaborative groups would then design and implement further suitable ecological studies.  They were to communicate their findings from three independently working sites and then write a scientific-journal style paper.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="2115d8a0.png" border=0 width="349" height="138" ALT="Adobe Photoshop Image" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The idea behind the experiment was to give the students the opportunity to research their potential impacts on the environment, as well as their individual ecological roles.  Because students at the Armada site were also involved in a river quality-sampling project with the Clinton River Watershed Council in addition to the ad campaign, they did do lessons that allow them to reflect on their roles.  </div> <bR> <div> The third phase, the collaborative part, will probably not be done.  There were changes in plans with one of the collaborating teachers.  At the Armada site there was the reality that plenty of ecology was done, and it was time to move on to other areas of biology.  Plus, those experimenters determined that there was too much error that needed to be rectified with the original design plan.  They wrote up their findings with suggestions for changes.  Depending upon time, they will either attempt the changes or pass them on to next year's biology students to try.</div> <bR> <div> The collaborative portion of this lesson is easily the most intriguing from a research perspective.  However, it requires much more planning than this author originally believed would be necessary.  A repeat attempt may be tried in the future with either of the other two sites.  Brian Derowski from the Sanillac County Intermediate School District Math and Science Center, to which Armada has more proximity, has also expressed an interest in looking into a collaborative project.    </div> <bR> <div> <B>The Benchmarks</B></div> <div> <B>C-1 and C-2</B> deal with students being able to ask questions that can be investigated and for them to design and implement the studies to provide answers for such questions.  These two benchmarks provided the impetus behind the research component of this project.</div> <div> <B>C-4</B> tells students to be able to gather and synthesize information from books and other sources of information.  Students conducted plenty of searches in books and on the Internet to get the information they needed.  </div> <div> <B>C-5</B> asks them to discuss topics in groups by making clear presentations.  The opportunity to do this with students from other schools, coming in with different attitudes and styles than their own, would have been a unique opportunity.  This was also done with the presentations of the storyboard from the ad campaign.  </div> <div> <B>R-1</B> wants them to justify plans on a theoretical or empirical basis.  They generated data, and they had justify their conclusions based on that data.  </div> <div> <B>R-6</B> demands that they develop an awareness of and sensitivity to the natural world.  Hopefully this assignment provided a jumpstart to lifestyle changes and attitudes, or reinforced an already environmentally friendly demeanor.  It is still hoped that select individuals from the Armada site will get the opportunity to live this mind-set for a week or so during a summer session designed and modeled on “Island Hopping.”  </div> <div> <B>LEC-1</B> is looking for students to describe ecological relationships among species and environments.  They did this in the river quality project, the ad project, protist samples we took, a forensic entomology project, and a forest tour.  </div> <div> <B>LEC-2</B> looks for students to explain the flow of energy through ecosystems.  This was satisfied during the ad campaign.  </div> <div> <B>LEC-3 </B>asks students to be able to discuss how population sizes are regulated in ecosystems; also satisfied by the ad campaign</div> <div> <B>LEC-4</B> allows the students to generate some deep thought and argument by describing responses of an ecosystem to events that cause it to change.  It had been hoped that the soap experiment would provide for the satisfaction of this benchmark, but due to much error, it did not.  Chemical tests, like those done at the Farmington High site, will be done next year to try to bring some success to the bottle project.</div> <bR> <div> Some of the other benchmarks listed above are ongoing and will be discussed further in upcoming lessons.  These benchmarks deal with cells and cell processes - like photosynthesis.  The study of protists is an introduction into cell functions, anyway, and that was done prior to the ad campaign and throughout the research phase of this project.  </div> <bR> <div> <B>The Objectives</B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="20d5dc20.png" border=0 width="349" height="194" ALT="Adobe Photoshop Image" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">At the end of this lesson, the students will be able to:</div> <div> 1.  Design and conduct experiments. This is an ongoing objective at MA<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >2</FONT>S throughout a student's four years.</div> <div> 2.  Write a paper in proper scientific style.  A format using an Executive Summary, Purpose, Preparation, Procedure, Data and Observations, Data Analysis, and Error Analysis is what students know now.  They will transition to the Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion style of scientific writing during the current marking period.</div> <div> 3.  Demonstrate an ecologically sound attitude.  This needs to be assessed, but quite possibly may not be able to be directly assessed.  Instead it is hoped that the students will be environmentally friendly into their adult lives.</div> <div> 4.  Discuss their individual environmental impact capabilities.  This is going to be assessed within two weeks of the due date of this paper.</div> <div> 5.  Collaborate effectively with peers, whether in physical contact or using various electronic media.  This did not occur as hoped.  Instead, collaboration took place in the classroom with students delegating responsibilities during the ad campaign.</div> <div> 6.  Find necessary scientific/other information independently.  The teacher did  not serve as the primary source of information.  Students needed to use books and the Internet, as well as projects created from information found in the two former sources.</div> <div> 7.  Classify various protists This was done by students creating a dichotomous key based on protists collected from water sources in and around Armada.</div> <div> 8.  Demonstrate/Discuss an understanding of the effects of climate/weather and geology on the environment and ecological relationships.  A very brief lecture was done on long shore currents, glaciation, wind, and water.</div> <div> 9.  Scrutinize advertisements and other visual forms of communication for misleading key words and/or messages.  Advertisements were created instead.  Two representatives from an advertising company in Romeo did come speak to the students about how to create various forms of ads, like print, radio, and television.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Works Cited</B></div> <div> Ingram, M. <I>Bottle Biology An idea book for exploring he world through soda bottles and other recyclable materials</I>.  Dubuque, Iowa.  Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company.  1993.</div> <div> <I>New Directions for Science Education in Michigan State Objectives for K-12 </I><I>Science.  </I>Michigan State Board of Education.  June, 2000.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Appendix</B></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <U>Concepts to Focus On</U></div> <div> Ecological Relationships</div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="565" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="121"><div> Competition</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="96"><div> Territory</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="186"><div> Carrying capacity</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Natural balance</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Dependence</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="96"><div> Survival</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Biotic and Abiotic factors</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="141"><div> Population</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="215130a0.png" border=0 width="275" height="266" ALT="Adobe Photoshop Image" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Energy Flow</div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="354" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Food Chain/web</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="96"><div> Producers</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="121"><div> Consumers</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Decomposers</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Energy Flow</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Energy Pyramid</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> Population Size</div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="510" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="121"><div> Competition</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="121"><div> Parasitism</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Carrying capacity</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="121"><div> Predation</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Loss of habitat</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="121"><div> Weather</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="126"><div> Disease</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="121"><div> Migration</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> Ecosystem Responses</div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="414" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="126"><div> Succession</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="126"><div> Pioneer</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Physical Conditions</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="126"><div> Climate</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="126"><div> Extinction</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="146"><div> Biodiversity</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> Carbon and Nutrient Flow</div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="430" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="96"><div> Nitrogen</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="96"><div> Sulfur</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="96"><div> Carbon</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Phosphorous</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>