Submitted by: Jen Franks-Butler

Subject and Grade Level: 8th grade Ecology (mini course -9 weeks long) with 8th grade language arts

Overview: with the ecology class, the students will spend time in the wood lot behind the school. We will be looking for making plaster casts of and trying to identify animal tracks ( both footprints and gaits). With their language arts teacher, the students will write a story putting themselves in the position of the animal. Based on our identification of how and how fast the animal was moving, the students will write a story describing what was happening in the animals life in those moments.

Purpose: to give students an opportunity to develop their skills: at working with others, problem solving, making and recording careful observations. To allow students to demonstrate their knowledge of the species living in the wood lot (this will reinforce previously learned concepts of native species, habitats and food webs) To give students practice with their writing - creatively, stylistically and grammatically. To allow students to empathize with the lives and habits of other animals. To give the students some time to enjoy the outdoors.

Objectives: The learner will: work as a productive group member, problem solve, use deductive reasoning, learn how to plaster cast a print, make careful observations, write a creative story from an animals point-of-view.

Resources /Materials: Plaster, water, mixing supplies, wax spray (if done in winter), track identification books/guides, paper and pencil/pen

Activities and Procedures: Day one: Distribute track books to teacher selected groups and allow them to peruse the books for 5 minutes. I would then ask them to draw prints for 3 different local animals. When the groups were ready, they would exchange drawings and try to identify the animal from the print. Day 2: Take class to a staged set of prints each group will problem solve the best way to mix the plaster and lay it into the print. At the end of class, we will discuss their trial and error results. Day 3 and 4: Complete with observation sheets, we will walk through the wood lot looking for sign. Any animals sign will be carefully recorded by the group who found it. At the end of each day all groups will report on what they found. Plaster casts will be made of tracks.

In Langugage Arts -Days 5, 6, and 7- this could also be done in Ecology class alone. Students will write and polish their animal stories based on our observations in the woodlot.

Assessment: Students will assess themselves and their group members on their effort contribution to the data collection. Their stories will be assessed based on a rubric.

Standards Addressed: Constructing New Scientific Knowledge Reflecting on Scientific knowledge using scientific knowledge in life science standard 2, 5 Using scientific knowledge in Earth Science standard 3.