DI Project ­­ FINAL "The Holocene Mass

Extinction"
Author: Mackenzie Cornaglia
Date created: 11/29/2018 2:26 PM EST ; Date modified: 11/29/2018 2:45 PM EST

VITAL INFORMATION
Subject(s) Honors Biology

Topic The Holocene Extinction Event, Conservation Biology, and human impact on the environment

Grade/Level Grade 11

Materials and resources:
papers, pens, pencils, art supplies (markers, crayons, colored pencils, scissors, glue), headphones, clipboards, projector, blue index cards,
green index cards, tomato plant, holly plant, strawberry plant, blue paper, green paper, internet access
Technology resources:
Google Classroom, EdPuzzle, Google Forms, Socrative
Resources
The number of computers required is 1 per student.
Students Familiarity with Software Tool:
Students utilize Google Classroom in almost all of their courses. Students have used EdPuzzle previously and have been instructed to bring their
headphones to class this day. The teacher will have spare headphones for students to use. Students have not used Google Forms or Socrative
in this class but will be given instructions via google classroom on how to access the correct links.

STANDARDS & ASSESSMENT
NJ­ New Jersey Student Learning Standard for Science (2016)
Grade: Grades 9­12
Standard: Life Sciences
Indicator: HS­LS2 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
Sub­indicator: HS­LS2­1. Use mathematical and/or computational representations to support explanations of factors that affect carrying capacity of ecosystems at different
scales. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on quantitative analysis and comparison of the relationships among interdependent factors including boundaries, resources,
climate, and competition. Examples of mathematical comparisons could include graphs, charts, histograms, and population changes gathered from simulations or historical
data

Sub­indicator: HS­LS2­2. Use mathematical representations to support and revise explanations based on evidence about factors affecting biodiversity and populations in
ecosystems of different scales. [Clarification Statement: Examples of mathematical representations include finding the average, determining trends, and using graphical
comparisons of multiple sets of data.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to provided data.]

Sub­indicator: HS­LS2­6. Evaluate the claims, evidence, and reasoning that the complex interactions in ecosystems maintain relatively consistent numbers and types of
organisms in stable conditions, but changing conditions may result in a new ecosystem. [Clarification Statement: Examples of changes in ecosystem conditions could include
modest biological or physical changes, such as moderate hunting or a seasonal flood; and extreme changes, such as volcanic eruption or sea level rise.]
Standards
Sub­indicator: HS­LS2­7. Design, evaluate, and refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment and biodiversity.* [Clarification
Statement: Examples of human activities can include urbanization, building dams, and dissemination of invasive species.]

Sub­indicator: HS­LS2­8. Evaluate the evidence for the role of group behavior on individual and species’ chances to survive and reproduce. [Clarification Statement:
Emphasis is on: (1) distinguishing between group and individual behavior, (2) identifying evidence supporting the outcomes of group behavior, and (3) developing logical and
reasonable arguments based on evidence. Examples of group behaviors could include flocking, schooling, herding, and cooperative behaviors such as hunting, migrating, and
swar

Indicator: HS­LS4 Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity
Sub­indicator: HS­LS4­5. Evaluate the evidence supporting claims that changes in environmental conditions may result in: (1) increases in the number of individuals of some
species, (2) the emergence of new species over time, and (3) the extinction of other species. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on determining cause and effect
relationships for how changes to the environment such as deforestation, fishing, application of fertilizers, drought, flood, and the rate of change of the environment affect di

Sub­indicator: HS­LS4­6. Create or revise a simulation to test a solution to mitigate adverse impacts of human activity on biodiversity.* [Clarification Statement: Emphasis
is on testing solutions for a proposed problem related to threatened or endangered species, or to genetic variation of organisms for multiple species.]

Essential Questions (mini unit):

What is conservation biology? What is restoration ecology? How are the two fields similar? Different?

What limits the numbers and types of organisms that live in one place?

What is biodiversity and why is it important?

What are the relationships among earth's systems and how are they modified by human activity?

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 What is the current rate of global/regional climate change and what are the associated future impacts to earth's systems?

How can the impacts of human activities on natural systems be reduced?

What evidence is there that we are approaching the 6th mass extinction event, what has been coined the "Holocene Extinction", and that it is
being driven by human activity?

Essential Questions ­­ Symposium for Species:

What is our symposium about?
Our Symposium for Species is about the role that humans play in the environment, especially with regards to biodiversity and climate
change, and ways that we, as students, teachers, and community members, can reduce negative human impact and improve positive
human impact on the environment.
What will students learn?
Students in Group 1 will primarily learn about the scale of negative human impact on the environment, the different societal behaviors that
specifically reduce biodiversity, and why biodiversity is important to the survival of healthy ecosystems. Students in Group 1 will learn
primarily about the field of conservation biology and act as conservation biologists in their research project. Students in Group 2 will
primarily learn about the different ways that humans are currently trying to lessen the negative impact that humans have on the
environment, why they work, and what kind of obstacles conservationists face when trying to implement these strategies. Students in
Group 2 will primarily learn about the role of restoration ecologists and act as experts in this field during their research project. Students
will practice their observation, note­taking, and presentation skills.
What will visitors learn?
Visitors will learn about the different societal behaviors that negatively impact the environment the most, ways to reduce those behaviors,
ways to reduce the negative impact of human activity on the environment in general, and why the environment needs to be conserved.
Visitors will learn about different strategies that experts plan to implement in their efforts to restore ecosystems and the different
challenges that restoration ecologists face in their attempts to restore the environment. 
Story Line: The story line for each session during the Symposium for Species will be in the form of question and response. Students from
Group 1 and Group 2 will be planned to go every­other turn, so that visitors experience a project based on the question­­ What is wrong? and
then experience a project based on the answer­­ how can we fix the problem? The teacher will plan the sequence of projects from students so
Learning
that there is some congruence to the projects that follow one another.
Objective(s)
(Learning Focus Question: The focus question for the Symposium for Species is "In what ways are humans negatively impacting the environment and how can
Target(s)) humans change their behavior for the betterment of the environment?"

Lesson Objectives­­

Day 1) In their DI groups, students will complete activities at 4 stations that will each either engage the student with the content, help students
explore the content, prompt students to explain the content, have students elaborate on their thoughts/ideas or the thoughts/ideas of others,
evaluate their thinking/thinking of others, or some combination of the above.

Day 2) While at the Philadelphia Zoo, students will respond to questions and make field observations about at least 6 locations in the zoo, which
will encourage student examination of the role of zoos/natural history museums, questioning regarding the potential future roles of zoos as the
climate continues to change, discovery of the global scale/impact of human actiivty, and comparison/contrast of the roles of education and
inspiration in the field of conservation biology.

Day 3) According to their DI group, students will create a final, informative product of their choice that fulfills every requirement from the choice
board rubric as a means of demonstrating their ability to inform/inspire their audience regarding the 6th (Holocene) mass extinction event. 

Day 4) Students will present their informative, differentiated product in a manner that best suits their "entree" at a scientific symposium session,
and reflect on their DI experience and their peers' presentations in an online post­presentation survey.

Unit Objectives­­ At the conclusion of the unit, in their completion of the inquiry stations, participation during the field trip, and production of their
summative assessment:

Students will define biodiversity, discuss its limitations in terms of the number and type of organisms that live in one place, and articulate its
importance.

Students will recall their knowledge of ecosystems, energy transfer, and relationships between organisms to analyze humanity's impact on the
environment.

Students will predict possible outcomes that will result from continued human activity and evaluate the effectiveness possible solutions that would
reduce human impact on the environment. 

Students will create an informative product that either:

a) teaches an audience about biodiversity, ways that humans impact earth systems, and raises awareness of human­driven environmental
change

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 OR

b) persuades/inspires an audience to alter their behaviors to reduce their individual impact on the environment and informs them of the
dangers of human driven environmental change. 

For students with 504s, the teacher will provide preferential seating, subtle cues to remind to get back on task, regular communication with parents,
keep written record of test, quizzes, and assignments, stay for extra help if available; students will put consistent effort into homework and classwork,
ask for help, come to class prepared, parents communicate with teachers via email, students receive extra time on test quizzes and assignments if fully
utilizing class time.

Students will be grouped based on their strengths regarding their ability to recall and teach others information and on their ability to apply information
and place it into a larger context. Especially in science, the abilities to both recall and apply are equally important and success in the field of biology
often relies on a scientist's ability to do both  effectively. Students who are stronger recallers will have higher test and quiz grades, while students who
Knowledge of are stronger appliers will have higher grades on laboratory activities. In the unit, students will learn about the field of conservation biology and how
Stdnts/Universaleducating the public and asking people to apply their knowledge to the decisions that they make that will impact the environment is the key to making
Design for any sort of large scale environmental change. Students will also learn about the field of restoration ecology, and about the different challenges that
Learning scientists face in their attempts to restore the environment. Students in Group 1, the recallers, will be considered the conservation biologists in this
project, and students in Group 2 will be considered the restoration ecologists. On Day 3 of the mini unit, students will learn about the relationship
between the fields of conservation biology and restoration ecology prior to starting their projects so that everyone in the class understands their role
and the goal for their project.

Attachments:

1.  Group Separation Essay.docx
2.  Groups Calculations.xlsx

Students will be summatively assessed at the end of the mini unit on their project and presentation at the Symposium for Species. The teacher will
create and use specific rubrics for Group 1's projects and Group 2's projects, respectively, to assess the content of the projects. The teacher will use
a checklist during the Symposium for Species to assess the presentation skills of the students and the production quality of their work. The teacher will
distribute copies of the rubrics and checklists to all of the students so that they know what is expected for them to include in their projects and the
proper way that they should be presenting at the symposium. The teacher will track grading using a Google sheet for the entirety of the mini unit.
Students will be given a copy of the checklists and the associated point values so that they know what the teacher expects them to include in their
project and what the teacher expects of them during the Symposium for Species.

Students will be formatively assessed throughout the entirety of the mini unit.

Following Day 1 of the mini unit, students will have all of their submitted Inquiry Station materials assessed. The teacher will be primarily looking to
see student growth in understanding and for students to be developing their own ideas about the topics addressed in the stations. The teacher will
create answer keys, when possible, and will create a checklist to assess where students are in their level of understanding on open ended questions.
The teacher will utilize web 2.0 tools to grade these formative assessments where possible and supplement the grading of open­ended questions
manually. The teacher will use a Google sheet to keep track of student grades and to keep track of the assignments that students have completed. The
teacher will allow students to complete stations at home if they were unable to during class, but will lock in all submissions on the day of the field trip.
The teacher will utilize a "dipstick" formative assessment at the end of Day 1. The closure activity for this lesson will be a Google Form that asks
Assessment students to first evaluate their groupmates' participation during the activity and then asks students to reflect on their experience during the lesson. The
Plan teacher will use these responses to gauge where the class is as a whole in terms of the content and to determine which students, if any, are struggling
and why. 

Students will submit their "scavenger hunt" packets during their trip to the Philadelphia Zoo. The teacher will grade these packets using a rubric to
ensure objective grading. Students will be graded based on completion of the assigned tasks and the accuracy of information in their responses. The
teacher will use the pre and post field trip questions to assess student growth in understanding of the purpose of the field trip and in the students'
understanding of their roles in conservation. The teacher will compare and contrast the students' understanding following Day 1 and Day 2 of the
lesson using the checklist created in the mini unit's Google sheet.

Attachments:

1.  Inquiry Stations Rubric.docx
2.  PhillyZoo Field Trip Rubric.docx
3.  Project Rubrics & Teacher Feedback Form.docx

Links:

1.  Google Sheet ­­ Grading

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IMPLEMENTATION

This mini unit is intended to expose students to two fields of biology that will become increasingly important as human deplete more and more of
Earth's natural resources. Students will explore the role of either a conservation biologist or restoration ecologist based upon the differentiated
instruction group that they are placed in, and will have the opportunity to be an audience member for all of their peers' presentations. The goal of the
mini unit is to allow students to discover, for themselves, the importance of conserving and restoring Earth's natural environment and to understand
their potential future role in doing so.

Roger Bybee's model of guided inquiry­based instruction is used multiple time throughout the mini unit. This model is designed, and was chosen by the
teacher, to pique student interest during the engage stage of the process, involve students in their own learning during the explore stage, give students
an opportunity to show­what­they­know during the explain stage, expand on their knowledge during the elaborate stage, and prompt students to
reflect on their learning during the evaluate stage of the lesson. Inquiry­based learning engages students beyond what direct instruction or cooperative
learning lessons require and allows students to, with teacher guidance, explore answers to their own questions about the content. By providing
questions and researching answers to questions that they, themselves, are interested in, students become more invested in their education and more
invested in their final product. On Day 1 of the mini unit, the teacher will implement a guided inquiry lesson that utilizes stations.One station will be
video based and will ask students to complete another, longer EdPuzzle. One station will ask students to read an article and then to respond to
questions within a Google Form for homework. One station will ask students to work with their station­group mates in an activity and then,
afterwards, to answer questions within another Google Form. The last station that the students will complete on Day 1 is a Socrative quiz. Students
will answer prompting questions using Socrative quiz, an online Web 2.0 tool, that the teacher has set up. Between questions, the teacher will host
and monitor a discussion between students. These stations are designed to each pique student interest in some aspect of the topic depending on their
differentiated instruction groups. Google software is used during the inquiry day as a means of auto­saving student work and incorporating a tech tool
that students are already extremely familiar with. Students will be exposed to new technology tools in a low­risk manner so that they might be more
prepared for entire group Socrative sessions or virtual labs. Socrative is used in this lesson to allow for student involvement in the discussion without
requiring them to actually speak and to allow the teacher to have a written record of the students' ideas that they shared during the discussion,
allowing the teacher to be more actively engaged with the discussion.

Students will go on a field trip to the Philadelphia Zoo on Day 2 of the mini unit. The purpose of this lesson to allow students to explore how
conservation biologists serve their community in various ways and to witness, on a personal basis, a fraction of the biodiversity on Earth. The packets
that the students will fill out while on the field trip allow students to visit parts of the zoo that interest them and the packet utilizes questions that prompt
students to think further and deeper about what could just be a simple trip to the zoo. The trip will engage students with biology and science in a very
physical way and allow students to witness part of what their future role could be as an actual conservationist. Students will have the opportunity to
explain and evaluate the things that they saw at the zoo within the packet, following the guiding prompts. Students will elaborate on the ideas that they
develop while at the zoo during their final summative product.The teacher is currently employed by the Philadelphia Zoo and has personal investment
in the mission statement for the zoo. The teacher also has background knowledge about the animals on exhibit at the zoo and can offer the student
Lesson extra insight into the day­to­day operations of the zoo and the goal of AZA accredited zoos in general.
Rationale
On Day 3 of the mini unit, the lesson will follow the Madeline Hunter's model of Direct Instruction. This gradual release model is intended to scaffold
students throughout the lesson and intends for students to be able to work independently on their final differentiated product by the end of the lesson.
By utilizing this model for the day that students start their final summative projects, the teacher will guide students in the inception of their projects,
eliminate confusion regarding the purpose of the project and the methodology for the project, and answer any and all questions that students have
regarding the project prior to starting the assignment. If students were to start their projects on their own, there is an opportunity that students would
misunderstand the project or misunderstand the way that grouping the students into their Differentiated Instruction groups impacts the final product.
The anticipatory set in this lesson relies on a Think­Pair­Share activity following an inspirational video about the state of the world and the
environment. This gives students the opportunity to form a response immediately following the eye­opening video and to share their knee­jerk
reactions with a partner in a low­stakes discussion. The teacher will model the way that students will select the different options for their project and
the manner that students are expected to submit their outlines for their project, which they should submit by the end of the period for teacher
approval.The input portion of this direct instruction lesson will be brief to allow for students to have maximum time to work on their own projects and
to ask the teacher individual questions regarding their projects. The input portion of the lesson will focus on instructing students about different
strategies that they could use to approach their final product.

On Day 4 of the mini unit, students will present their summative projects at the Symposium for Species. During the Symposium for Species, students
will be presenting their individual projects to the audience of their choice: 1s t graders, adults, students, or aliens. Each session will take place at a
different time in the day, so students in the class will observe all of their classmates’ presentations. The teacher will enlist a group of 1s t graders from
the nearby elementary school to take a field trip for the students who created a project intended for that audience—the teacher will cooperate with
the 1s t grade teachers to have a session where the 1s t graders teach the 11th graders something about the environment, if the curriculum allows for it.
The teacher will also communicate with the faculty at the school to determine a period which would allow for the most adult participation for the adult
portion of the symposium. Since some of the symposium materials could be digital, the links to the projects could be forwarded to receive more
faculty feedback for these students prior to the symposium date. Parents can also be invited to attend this session. For the peer session of the
symposium, the teacher could ask their fellow teachers to bring their classes to meet in a central location (cafeteria/auditorium/empyt classroom/etc),
depending on the number of students expected to attend. For the alien session, the teacher will enlist another group of students (drama club, science
club, biology students) and perhaps free faculty during a free period to pretend to be aliens (the teacher will purchase alien hats) for the students that
select to present their project to extra­terrestrials.

The big idea for the symposium is that student scientists will be collaborating to determine the state of the world’s biodiversity and environmental

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 problems, the problematic behaviors that society is displaying that exacerbate these problems, and to propose potential solutions to those problems,
while accounting for the probable issues that would surround implementing these solutions. The main purpose of the symposium is to show students
how community and collaboration are key components of science, and how scientific innovations and paradigm shifts are only possible with
collaboration. 

Day 1: Inquiry Stations

Model of Day 2: Inquiry at the Philadelphia Zoo
Instruction Day 3: Direct

Day 4: Symposium for Species

Key Vocabulary for the mini unit:

conservation biology, restoration ecology, extinction, biodiversity, ecosystem, species, genetic, resiliency, population, community, biome, human
activity, pollution, climate change, carrying capacity, runoff, food web, food chain, trophic levels, habitat fragmentation, keystone species, innovations,
renewable energy, nonrenewable energy, primates, endangered species, Endangered Species Act, IUCN, CITES, invasive species, minimum viable
population, small population conservation, extinction vortex

Day 1: Inquiry Stations

Students will engage with the material first during the anticipatory set with the biodiversity EdPuzzle. Students will engage with the material later
during the longer EdPuzzle assignment that is specifically geared towards their differentiated instruction group. Students in Group 1 will engage with
the material in a kinesthetic manner at the group­activity station where they will be able to interact with living plants. Students in Group 2 will engage
with their material using a virtual lab.

Students will explore different aspects of the material while they complete the read and respond station. At this station, students will read and
respond to an article based on a current event and respond to questions in a Google Form. It is at this station that students will be exposed to new
components of the content that they are studying. Students in Group 2 will explore the role that different species play in an ecosystem in their virtual
Yellowstone National Park lab.

Students will explain their ideas and thoughts at every station during the lesson. Each station has open­response questions that ask students to explain
their thought process or reasoning. It is expected that students will develop their ideas as the lesson continues and that their interest in the content will
increase as they are exposed to new and different aspects of the information.
Subject Specific
Language Student will evaluate material while they read their assigned current events article and when they reflect on their and their station­groupmates' works
during the closure activity,

Students will elaborate on their thinking and their ideas during the open­ended questions that are located within the read and respond stations'
Google Forms, the group­activity station's Google Document, and in the closure activity's Google Form. 

Day 2: Philadelphia Zoo Field Trip

Prior to, after, and during the field trip, students will explain their reasoning for the answers in their scavenger hunt packet. Students will do this using
prior knowledge, information that they interpret from the signage at the zoo or from staff, and by analyzing the observations that they make at the
animal exhibits as they travel around the zoo grounds. 

Day 3: Differentiated Instruction Projects

Students will analyze, explain, and interpret the data that they collected during days 1 and 2 of the mini unit as well as additional outside research
to use in their summative product. Students will demonstrate this by means of the medium that they select from the choice board designed for their
differentiated instruction group, and show growth in their mastery of these skills during their presentations at the Symposium for Species..

Day 4: Symposium for Species

Students will evaluate their peers' presentations and reflect on their own presentations at the symposium. Students will get experience presenting in
front of a live audience. Students will predict the effect that their symposium will have on the behavior of those who attended in terms of
environmental impact

Attachments:

1.  CPII_DI_Project_Group_1_product.docx
2.  CPII_DI_Project_Group_2_product.docx
3.  DI_project_choice_boards.pptx
4.  DI_Project_Zoo_Scavenger_Hunt.docx

Page 5 of 7
 5.  Group 1 Article Response Google Form PDF.pdf
6.  Group 2 Article Response Google Form PDF.pdf
7.  Symposium for Species Presentation Guidelines.docx

Links:

1.  Day 1 CBC Article ­­ Nova Scotia Biodiversity Group 1 Article for Inquiry Stations
2.  Day 1 Group 1 & 2 Biodiversity EdPuzzle TedEd's video from Kim Preshoff about the importance of biodiversity.
Instructional 3.  Day 1 Group 1 Conservation EdPuzzle
Materials 4.  Day 1 Group 1 Google Form Link to Google Form for Group 1's responses to the CBC's article "One woman in charge of biodiversity in
(handouts, etc.) province with 71 at­risk species".
5.  Day 1 Group 1 Plant Field Journal Google Doc
6.  Day 1 Group 1 Plant ID activity Google Doc
7.  Day 1 Group 2 Endangered Species Act Article Group 2 Article for Inquiry Stations
8.  Day 1 Group 2 Food Chain Virtual Lab
9.  Day 1 Group 2 Google Form Link to Google Form for Group 2's responses following their reading of the Time Magazine article "Here's
Why the Endangered Species Act Was Created in the First Place"
10.  Day 1 Group 2 Yellowstone Virtual Lab Procedure
11.  Day 1 Groups 1 & 2 Socrative Discussion Quiz
12.  Day 1 Inquiry Closure Google Form Reflection
13.  Day 1Group 2 ConBio & Restoration Ecology EdPuzzle CrashCourse Biology video discussing conservation biology and restoration
ecology
14.  Day 3 Anticipatory Set Video Youtube video­­poetry reading "I'm Sorry" by Prince Ea
15.  Day 4 Symposium for Species Peer Feedback form

The procedure for the lesson exceeds the Taskstream character limit. See Microsoft Word Document that follows for the procedure.

Procedure Attachments:

1.  Procedure.docx

COMMENTARY

This project has challenged me more as a future educator than any of my other EDUC assignments ever have. This assignment asked me to not only
differentiate my class based on data of my own choosing, but also to create a mini unit that engaged all of the students in my class and posed as an
effective and key point in my students biological education. My goal with this mini unit was to design a series of lessons that urged my students to gain
a broader understanding of how important science, biology specifically, will become as humans continue to change the planet for the worse.

I personally have a strong interest in conservation biology, and when I was examining the curriculum for my school and looking for a unit to address in
this project, the time between the unit that focuses on biodiversity and the unit that focuses on human impact on the environment drew my attention the
most. If I could, in my project, show students how those two units are interconnected, then I would have considered my lesson successful.

I truly enjoyed the challenge that I posed to myself as I completed this project, created my own materials with the exception of the virtual lab, and
tried to anticipate the problems that my students would face as we progressed through the lesson. I felt like, and still feel like, bridging the gap in
societal knowledge regarding the connection between biology and human destruction of the environment is the responsibility, firstly, of educators.
With this project, I tried to help make it clear to my students why biodiversity is important and how humans are causing a significant and irreversible
decrease in biodiversity as we urbanize more of the planet and utilize more and more resources that are nonrenewable.
Evidence­Based
Reflection The manner in which I grouped my students came naturally. Students in science classrooms, and even professional scientists, are often good at
expressing their ideas or testing their ideas—and very rarely both. When I analyzed the data from the class’ grades, I was pleasantly surprised that the
results lent themselves to an almost perfect 50/50 split, with the exception of a few students. In my future classroom, I think that differentiating the
class in this manner more often would be extremely beneficial for students, who would now have the opportunities to work with students who think
and perform similarly to them to show off their strengths and to work with those same students to support each other and discuss their struggles and
strategies for overcoming those struggles when it came time to bolster their skills in tasks that they might not be as strong in.

I understand that there is absolutely no way that the lesson would take only four days—that would be a feat of superhuman intelligence and
superhuman speed from both my students and me. However, as I became more engrossed with the DI project, I realized how much of this project
was actually feasible in my placement, or wherever I end up teaching next year. Even if the lessons are not sequential, I can still have my students
watch videos that depict and describe biodiversity and human impacts on the environment, and create EdPuzzles that formatively assess them as they
progress through those videos. I can still take students on a trip to the Philadelphia Zoo, and impart some of the knowledge that I have from my time
there as an employee to them. I can still have students create a project that is differentiated based on their needs and have them present it in a
symposium­type setting. Following my design of this lesson, I now know that I have the skills necessary to plan and implement all of these tasks, and I
view this action as just adding tools to my teaching toolkit.

Page 6 of 7
Sample Student
Products

Page 7 of 7
 Day 1: Inquiry Stations
Anticipatory Set (7 minutes):
The teacher will display the differentiated instruction groups on the board which,
for this day’s stations, have each been broken down into three groups for the ease
of transitioning between inquiry stations. There will be three groups of students
highlighted in blue for Group 1 and three groups of students highlighted in green
for Group 2. One station-group from Group 1 and one station-group from Group 2
will be joined together in the front of the room for the Socrative activity during
each of the station “switches”.

The teacher will instruct students to take a laptop from the laptop cart back to
their desks and to log on to Google Classroom. The links necessary to complete
the day’s stations are all located within the assignments for the day, along with
the corresponding worksheets that should be completed at each station in the
form of a Google Form or Google Doc. There will be a link labelled: “Do Now:
Biodiversity EdPuzzle”. Every student, regardless of differentiated instruction
group, will complete this EdPuzzle first thing during the lesson as the anticipatory
set. The teacher will have written instructions on the board indicating for students
to complete this assignment as soon as they sit down. Students will log onto
Edpuzzle.com and enter using the class code within their Google classroom
assignment. There will be two different class codes, one for Group 1 and one for
Group 2 to ensure that the correct students are completing the appropriate
EdPuzzles. The teacher will have already used Google Classroom to assign Group 1
and Group 2 their differentiated assignments for this lesson. The teacher will be
able to view which students have completed the EdPuzzle and student progress on
the teacher’s account. Once all students have completed the anticipatory set, the
teacher will move on.

Purpose (5 minutes):
The teacher will ask students to join their station group-mates and to push their
desks together, instructing the paired groups of students to form a semi-circle of
desks at the front of the room. There should be a total of 5 desk clumps—four
small clumps and one larger semicircle. The teacher will remind students to treat
all technology with respect and to be cautious because the students will be moving
around the classroom with their laptops today. The teacher will sit in the center of
the semicircle at the front of the room.

The teacher will introduce the idea of differentiated instruction. The students have
been separated into two groups based on their strengths, and that the students
will spend the entirety of the mini unit working to showcase their strengths. The
students whose names are highlighted in blue have been determined to be
promising Conservation Biologists. The students whose names are highlighted in
green will take on the role of aspiring Restoration Ecologists. The teacher will tell
 students that today, they will learn what their role will be in this project and in the
study of conservation as a whole. For the rest of the unit, the students will act
within these roles to learn more about conservation and ecology and the way that
humans impact the environment.

The teacher will explain the way that this class period will go. Each group will
complete 4 stations total during the lesson, regardless of their differentiated
instruction groups. The teacher will inform students that they will only have to
move stations once in order to go to the semi-circle clump to meet with the
teacher. This means that student groups will be self-paced. Each station will habve
an instruction place card, printed onto a placecard of corresponding color to the
group. The placecards for Group 1 will be on blue index cards and the placecards
for Group 2 will be on green index cards. As a group completes a station, they will
move on to the next card. If the large group of students with the teacher is
finished their discussion, the teacher will ask two other groups to pause their
current station and to come to the front of the room. The teacher will distribute
place-cards on each group of desks that have instructions for all of the stations
except for the Socrative station, as well as any printed materials that the station
may require. The teacher will inform students to take their headphones out of their
backpacks. Students who do not have headphones can sign out a community pair
from the teacher when they need them and will be instructed to return them at
the end of the period or when they are done completing their EdPuzzles.

Inquiry(41 minutes):
The longer EdPuzzle station for each group should take approximately 15 minutes
to complete. Students will remain logged into their EdPuzzle account from the
anticipatory set. Students will answer all of the prompts embedded within the
video that is designated for their group. If students do not know an answer, they
can replay a portion of the video so that they can answer the question completely
and correctly within the embedded quiz. Students will receive a preliminary score
based only on their responses to the multiple-choice quiz questions, since these
responses are graded by the software. The teacher will have to go in manually and
grade the open-ended questions. Students will ask their group mates for help with
the software if problems arise. The EdPuzzle placecards at this station will instruct
students to ask a peer first, prior to asking the teacher for help with the tech tool
to prevent interruption into the small group discussion happening at the front of
the room. Students will also be instructed to click ‘submit’ following every question
in the quiz so that their progress is saved within EdPuzzle, and they can pick up
where they left off if they have to complete this station for homework.

The Socrative station should last approximately 10 minutes. There will be three
sessions held at this station, because there are six groups of students total. The
teacher will inform students that this is the only station that cannot be completed
for homework. The teacher will call groups up to the Socrative station as the
previous group finishes. Students will be instructed to save their work from the
previous station prior to moving to the front of the room. Students will be given
the opportunity to return to the station they were on once the Socrative activity
has commenced for their group. The teacher will give verbal instructions to the
group of students at the semi-circle clump to log onto Socrative.com. The teacher
will verbally instruct students to input the class code and to enter their first and
last names into the tool. The teacher will also have copies of written instructions
for students to read if they would prefer that. The teacher will briefly explain to
students that the teacher will unlock questions in Socrative for the students to
answer, then the students will submit their responses using the website. After
each question, the teacher will ask students to share their responses if they would
like, and the teacher will share their own ideas as part of and the facilitator of the
discussion. The teacher will ensure that at least 2 questions are included and
discussed at this station prior to moving on to the next double-group of students.
The teacher will also ensure that students across groups 1 and 2 interact and
share ideas, and the teacher will communicate to the students how important this
type of interaction is to scientific progress in the real world as well. Students will
log onto Socrative.com and follow the teacher’s verbal instructions. The students
will log into the correct class and input their first and last names into the site so
that they can receive credit for the responses. Students will ask questions to the
teacher as they arise to ensure proper use of the tool and allow maximum time for
discussion. Students will respond to the questions that they teacher unlocks in the
tool to the best of their ability and will offer to share their ideas and responses in
the discussion that follows each question. Students will engage with their
classmates that are both in and out of their differentiated instruction group. The
teacher will keep track of student engagement at this station using the “Inquiry
Stations” rubric.

The read & respond station should last approximately 10 minutes. Students at this
station will most likely only have time to read the assigned article for their group,
and possibly answer some of the questions associated with the article. These
questions will be assigned using a Google Form. Each differentiated instruction
group will have access to a different Google Form and a different article. The
purpose of the assignment of these articles is to help students accumulate prior
knowledge before they go to the Philadelphia Zoo and complete their final,
summative projects. Both articles, while different, have very similar themes and
the questions asked in both Google Forms require similar levels of thinking based
on Bloom’s Taxonomy. Regardless of what they complete, students should ‘submit’
their responses within the Google Form. This way, their progress is saved. The
teacher has already altered the settings of the Google Form to allow students to
alter their responses after submission. The teacher will lock in all submissions
(from every station) on the day of the field trip to the Philadelphia Zoo. The
instructions necessary to access the articles and to submit and save responses to
Google Forms will be located within Google Classroom and on the placecard for
this station.

The group activity should take approximately 10 minutes. Group 1 will complete
an activity based on identifying differences in species of plants. The purpose of this
station is to help students discover the diversity that is present within plants.
Often times, when students think of biodiversity, they think primarily of diversity
in animal life—this station should help to assuage this misconception and also help
students hone their observation skills. At this station, the teacher will place plants
on the windowsill in the classroom. The teacher will have printed out copies of field
journals, with more plants in the abridged field journal than on the windowsill. The
plants on the windowsill will be labelled ABC, and the plants in the journal will be
labelled with their common names. Two of the plants in the journal will not be
present on the windowsill. The teacher will also have images of each plant, ABC,
uploaded to Google Classroom, along with a copy of the field journal. This is done
so that students can complete the activity at home if time in the class period does
not permit students to finish. In a Google Doc that they will upload to Google
Classroom, students will have to indicate what species plants A, B, and C are, offer
some reasoning as to why they think so, and answer a few questions about the
activity. Plants A, B, and C will be tomatoes, strawberries, and holly, respectively.
The other two plants included in the field journal will be pumpkin and watermelon.
These plants were chosen because they are all fruit bearing plants, most of which
bear red fruit. The plants also have similarly shaped leaves. The inclusion of holly
was to urge students to realize that being able to identify plants could help people
avoid feeling sick—as all of the other plants’ fruits are edible. To receive full credit
for the station, students should avoid talking about how they “just know” what a
tomato, strawberry, etc. plant looks like.

Group 2 will complete a group-activity that is based on the web of life. Students in
this group will utilize a virtual lab to learn about Yellowstone National Park and the
key role that the gray wolves play in that ecosystem as a “keystone species”.
Students are given basic instructions and certain questions via the accompanying
Google Doc, but otherwise will be allowed to play around in the simulation to see
how removing certain species or altering certain species behaviors (what they eat)
can drastically alter the entire ecosystem. Students will be prompted to run the
simulation first to become familiar with the tool. Then they will run simulations
that depict Yellowstone before the gray wolves were all hunted, after the wolves
were gone, and after the wolves were reintroduced. Students will make
observations after each run of the simulation, and at varying points within the
'undisturbed' Yellowstone simulation, using the 'pause' function. Students will
primarily rely on the written instructions and their groupmates for help with
troubleshooting the software.
Closure(5 minutes):
The teacher will perform a brief “dipstick” formative assessment, and will unlock a
final Google Form for students to briefly evaluate their station-group mates’
behavior and participation and to reflect on their own experience during the
stations. The teacher will use these responses to determine where the class stands
in their understanding of the material covered during the inquiry lesson. The
teacher will instruct students at the end of the lesson to return their laptops to the
correct slot in the cart and to plug in their laptop. The teacher will remind students
that any incomplete station assignments should be completed prior to the field trip
to the Philadelphia Zoo. This can all be done online, and students can access and
save their progress through Google Classroom prior to leaving class. So long as
students submit their progress prior to leaving, their Google Forms can be
accessed and they can edit or add to their answers. So long as students click
“submit” at the end of each question in EdPuzzle, that tool will also save their
progress so that students can revisit the video at a later time. The teacher will lock
in all responses on the day of the field trip. If students express a need for
technology (ie. do not have a computer or internet access at home), the teacher
will write the student a pass to the library during that student’s study hall or host
an after-school work session in the library for any students who need it.

Day 2: Field Trip to Philadelphia Zoo

Anticipatory Set:
The teacher will instruct students to meet at a central location prior to boarding
the buses for the field trip. The teacher will distribute clipboards and scavenger
hunt packets to students as they arrive at the meet-up location. The teacher will
instruct students to form groups and to join their chaperone. The teacher will
instruct chaperones to take note of all of the students in their group’s contact
information, and vice versa. While waiting for the buses to arrive, the teacher will
instruct students that the objective of the field trip is to visit and to answer
questions about at least 6 animal exhibits at the zoo. The teacher provided the
students with a list of the exhibits at the zoo and will provide each chaperone with
a map that the students can use to plan their trip. While still at school, the teacher
will inform students of the Zoo360 app available from the Philadelphia Zoo that
acts as a virtual map and GPS around the zoo, if they would wish to download it
and use the zoo’s Wi-Fi while they are on site.

Purpose:
While on the bus or while still at school, the teacher will instruct students to
answer the first two questions on the front page of their scavenger hunt packet.
Once the students arrive at the zoo, there is typically a short interval where the
group will wait to be greeted by a staff member who will receive and process their
tickets. During this interval, the teacher will announce to the class that the goal of
 the field trip is to better understand the role of conservationists, especially the
different conservationists who work at the zoo, and to better understand the vast
diversity of life on earth. The packet will help guide students’ thinking as they
enjoy their trip to the zoo. The teacher will remind students, and their chaperones,
that the packet should be completed as students are actually present in the exhibit
indicated at the beginning of the accompanying section and not afterwards or
during lunch, etc. Once the students and the chaperones are inside the zoo and
have been made aware of the location where the school nurse will be for the
duration of the field trip and the contact information that they would need in case
of emergency, the groups will be allowed to explore the zoo on their own. Groups
will be asked to return to buses by 1 pm to ensure that the students will be back
at school in time for normal dismissal. The teacher will most likely be chaperoning
a group themselves, and will perform their role of chaperone accordingly.

Inquiry:
Students will be guided in their inquiry at each exhibit in the zoo by the scavenger
hunt packet that will be distributed by the teacher prior to boarding the bus. At
any exhibit in the zoo, students will be very actively engaged in their environment
due to the change in scenery from the typical classroom, the presence of familiar
and exotic megafauna, and because of the questions in the packet that encourage
students to observe exhibits more closely than they would while on a typical trip to
the zoo. Students will explore the different types of exhibits at the zoo at their
own pace and with their own interests in mind. Students will explain their answers,
ideas, and observations in the scavenger hunt packet for the exhibits at the zoo
that they choose to visit. Students will evaluate their observations and their trip to
the zoo on the bus ride home in the post-field trip questions. Students will
elaborate on their experience in the post-field trip questions as well.

While on the field trip, the teacher will most likely act as a chaperone for a group
of students, depending on how many faculty and parent volunteers there are to
chaperone the trip. As a chaperone and as the teacher, the teacher will have to
look after the students in their group and support those students in a manner
similar to the other chaperones, and also be conscious of the behaviors of students
in other groups should chaperones have issues, concerns, or questions. The
teacher will need to keep track of every student’s emergency contact information
as well as the chaperones’ contact information and the school nurse on the field
trip. For the group that the teacher is chaperoning, the teacher, as an employee of
the Philadelphia Zoo, will be able to offer some additional insight to the exhibits at
the zoo and help students think more deeply about the animals that they are
observing and the ways that humans are impacting the natural habitats where
those animals would be found in the wild.
 While on the trip, chaperones will be primarily responsible for the safety and
behavior of only the students in their group. The chaperones should contact the
teacher immediately via cell phone call or text message of any concerns,
questions, or complaints regarding a student while on the trip. The chaperones
should attempt to help students answer the questions in their scavenger hunt
packets by guiding students towards signs posted at the exhibits, staff members
located at certain sites, using the Philadelphia Zoo360 app to find information, or
offering answer themselves if the chaperones have some background knowledge
to offer the students in their group. Chaperones should have a map of the zoo on
them at all times and keep track of the time to ensure that all students are at the
designated meet up area by the buses prior to 1pm. The chaperone should keep
their cell phone ringer on at all times in case of an emergency and the teacher,
nurse, or a student needs to contact them. Chaperones should stay with their
group of students at all times.
Closure:
Once back on the bus, the teacher will instruct students to fill out the post-field
trip questions at the end of their scavenger hunt packet. The teacher will tell
students that they will also have whatever time is left in the school day to
complete the packet after they return if they would like to get off the bus before
writing their responses. The teacher will tell students that all packets will be
collected at 2:30. While on the bus ride back to school, the teacher will then ask
the class what questions they had about the zoo that they did not get to ask
someone, or any questions that they have for the teacher as an employee and
former intern at the zoo. The teacher will offer their answers, giving students
insight regarding the day-to-day operations of conservation efforts such as captive
breeding, keeping species that are extinct in the wild, and maintaining genetic
diversity, among other things at the zoo that the students might have questions
about.
Once back at school, the teacher will bring the class together in an empty
classroom (perhaps their classroom, if it is free that period) to have students finish
their post-field trip questionnaire and to turn in their clipboards. The teacher will
collect the scavenger hunt packets as the students leave for the day.

Day 3: Differentiated Final Projects

Anticipatory Set (7 minutes):

The teacher will play the youtube video from Prince Ea entitled "Dear Future
Generations: Sorry", stopping the video after the poetry reading is over and the
report about the youtuber's recent trip to Africa begins (for the sake of time) at
the 4:50 mark on the video. Students will be quiet and respectful during the video,
as the youtuber speaks very quickly. The teacher will display the closed captions
on the board so that students who may have trouble hearing or following the
performance can read it. Following the video, the teacher will ask students to jot
 down on a piece of scrap paper or in a corner of their notebook up to one sentence
describing how the video made them feel about the state of the world and the
environment. The teacher will then have students turn to a neighbor and share
their responses. Once everyone has shared with their partner, the teacher will ask
if there are any volunteers who would like to share their thoughts, ideas, or
feelings with the class. The teacher will give every student who wants to share the
opportunity to read their sentence out loud. Students will be respectful of their
peers as they share their responses to the video, and the teacher will remind
students that there is no right or wrong way to respond to a piece of art, like the
video.

Purpose/Input (10 minutes):

The teacher will then distribute the DI project product instructions to the
appropriate students based on their differentiated instruction group. Group 1's
product instructions will be printed on blue paper and Group 2's product
instructions will be printed on green paper. Attached to these instructions will be
the guidelines for the Symposium for Species, which will be printed on white
paper. All students, regardless of their differentiated instruction group, will be
following the same guidelines for the Symposium.

The teacher will explain that, while the assignment itself is identical for the "blue
group" (Group 1) and the "green group" (Group 2), the groups have different
prompts. The teacher will explain that every student in the class will have a final
product that looks vastly different from everyone else's and that, at the end of the
mini unit, each student will present their final project at the Symposium for
Species. The teacher will ask students what two types of scientists they learned
about in this unit were called (conservation biologists and restoration ecologists).
The teacher will explain that the class has been split into a group of conservation
biologists (blue) and restoration ecologists (green), just as they were for the
stations on Day 1, and that, based on their roles in their respective fields, their
projects would have to address different types of information, all while trying to
help the environment--just like the poem from the anticipatory set suggested.

The teacher will explain that the purpose of this project is to have students
imagine being a conservation biologist or restoration ecologist and to present
information on their topic as a means of getting people as excited about saving the
world as they are. Students will present their project at the Symposium for
Species--an event held during the school day where students will “run the show”.
The teacher will read aloud the instructions that are identical for both of the
differentiated instruction groups, and then instruct students to read the
'differentiated' parts on their own. The teacher will ask what initial questions the
students have regarding the content of the project and answer them.
 The teacher will reiterate that, on top of selecting what aspects of conservation
biology or restoration ecology that students want to address in their project,
students will also have to decide what audience they want to present to and the
setting of their presentation, as instructed in their packets (restaurant and
appetizer).

The teacher will read over the Symposium for Species Presentation Guidelines and
indicate to students that the rubrics upon which they will be graded are also
located within their packet on white paper. The teacher will pause briefly after
each guideline and ask what questions the students have about the symposium.
The teacher will indicate to students that they will actually be presenting to first
graders, adults, or classmates from other classes if they choose that audience. If a
student chooses to present to aliens, a variety of audience members will be
selected to play “pretend”, and act as aliens for the duration of that session of the
symposium. The teacher will make it clear to students that there will be four
sessions within the Symposium for Species, one for each audience, and that
students from Group 1 and Group 2 will alternate turns presenting at their chosen
session. The teacher will inform students that the entirety of the instruction
packets for both of the differentiated instruction groups will be uploaded to Google
Classroom, as well, so that students can access the document should they lose
their paper copy.

Model (5 minutes):
The teacher will inform students that, prior to starting the research for their
project, students need to submit an outline or a proposal for their project. The
students will do this using the front page of their packet. By the end of the period,
the teacher will emphasize that students should at least have the outline
submitted so that the teacher can approve the plan for their project. The teacher
will go through and make a mock up of an outline using a blank form on Microsoft
Word and project this model onto the SMART board. The teacher will use the
SMART board to fill in the outline as students would on their paper. The teacher
will use a fake topic so that students do not blindly follow their example. The
teacher will instruct students to work on their outlines on their own and to call the
teacher over/go up to the teacher's desk to have their outlined signed off on.

Guided Practice/Check For Understanding (10 minutes):

The teacher will make note of the time when students begin to work on their
outlines on their own. The teacher will circulate the room and observe students as
they mull over their options for the project. The teacher will seek out students who
may be confused, and ask them what they might have misunderstood about the
assignment. The teacher will distribute the students' grades for the inquiry
stations and for the Philadelphia Zoo field trip while students are working so that
they can use the information that they gathered during the previous days in the
 mini unit to inspire them and help guide the direction of their outline. After 10
minutes have elapsed, the teacher will tell students that they should begin
wrapping up their outlines and submitting them for the teacher to approve. Unless
students have questions, the teacher should be going over the students' outlines
as they are submitted so that students can begin researching information for the
project as soon as possible. The teacher should make note of students whose
outlines are submitted and approved in the Google Sheet for the grading of this
unit. If the teacher notices that multiple students have the same
misunderstandings or the same mistakes in their outlines, the teacher will address
the issue(s) with the whole class rather than individually.

Independent Practice (25 minutes):

Students will have almost the entirety of the remainder of the period to begin their
projects. Students will be instructed to use their work from the stations or the zoo,
the laptops that the teacher has signed out for the class again, or the books that
the teacher has made available to them to begin to answer the questions that they
chose to address in their project. The teacher will suggest that students create a
Google Doc so that students will have access to their research and answers
everywhere they go, and they will not lose them. The teacher will assist students
who have not finished their outlines during this time, and conference with students
who have proposed the build-your-own options on the choice board, to ensure that
those students will be able to meet all of the requirements in the assignment and
at the Symposium for Species.

Closure (1 minute):
The teacher will stop the class just short of the period ending to ensure that
students return all technology, books, and other resources to their proper
locations in the room. The teacher will ask students to turn in their mini-responses
from the video as an exit ticket, and as students turn them in, allow them to exit
the room.

Day 4: Symposium for Species

Students will arrive at school at the normal time and meet at the designated location for
session 1, the “peer” session. Prior to the start of session 1, the students and the
teacher will have a pep talk for the day. The teacher will ask every student to share a
brief blurb what this day means to them, after sharing what it means for the teacher.

The teacher will remind students that the goal of the day is to share what the students
know and to play to the students’ strengths. The teacher will remind students to feel
proud of the project that they produced and to use that pride to fuel their confidence
during their presentations at the symposium. The teacher will make note of which
students are dressed professionally.

Prior to the Symposium for Species, the teacher will have drafted a schedule based on
student topic and differentiated instruction groups. The teacher will attempt to have
presentations alternate between students from Group 1 and Group 2, and, to the best of
their ability, have students go before or after a classmate whose project in some way
relates to theirs (for example, a student from Group 1 who discusses biodiversity in the
Amazon rainforest might be followed by a student from Group 2 who proposes a solution
to deforestation in rainforests around the globe). This, of course, all has to happen
within the appropriate sessions based on the chosen audience of the students.

The teacher will post the schedule for each of the sessions days prior to the symposium
so that students are prepared to go when it is their turn. The teacher will introduce the
idea of the Symposium for Species before each of the sessions so that the audience
members understand the purpose of the ‘sharing day’ and understand their intended
role in the symposium. Students will present when it is their turn to go and follow the
symposium guidelines for professional behavior during their own presentation and
during all of their peer’s presentations. Students in the class will complete a feedback
Google Form for each of their peers at the conclusion of their peers’ presentations, with
the exception of the student slotted to go next, who will complete the feedback form
when they return to their seat after their own presentation has concluded. The teacher
will grade students using the presentation rubric live, during the presentations. The
teacher will make note of students who are disruptive or unprofessional during the
symposium and later adjust their grade for accordingly. The teacher will leave feedback
for each of the students at the bottom of their rubric, indicating what each student did
well and at least one way to improve. The teacher will distribute grades and feedback
the day after the symposium. The teacher will reserve a space appropriate for the
number of audience members expected to attend (large classroom, auditorium,
cafeteria), and ensure that the location is outfitted with the proper technology necessary
for all of the students to present their projects in the best manner possible. The teacher
will also use this space during the after-school practice session to ensure that the
students and the teacher understand how the tech works in this space and anticipate
any problems that might happen on the day of the symposium.

During their presentations, students will host short, live Q and A sessions with the
audience. The student should make it clear to the audience that they are open to any
and all questions about the topic they discussed in their presentations and will answer
those questions to the best of their ability. Students will not answer questions incorrectly
for the sake of answering, instead, the teacher will make it clear to them that they
should admit that they do not know the answer and perhaps make an educated attempt
at the response.
Session 1:
The teacher will ask other biology teachers to have their students attend the peer
session for the Symposium for Species, since those students should also be at the
same or similar points in the curriculum. Other classes will be invited to attend the
symposium if they wish to get a better picture of the impact that humanity has on
the environment and some of the solutions that could help lessen that impact.
Students who chose to present to peers will present their projects, alternating
between Groups 1 and 2 if possible and following the schedule.

Session 2:
The teacher will invite a class of 1st graders from the neighboring elementary
school to visit the high school on a field trip. The teacher will schedule the session
so that students will have the opportunity to have lunch with the first graders. The
teacher will supply pizza for all of the students. The teacher will ask students to
volunteer to bring drinks and snacks if they would like. Students who do not want
pizza will be instructed to bring lunch or buy lunch from the school. Students will
eat lunch with the 1st graders. The teacher will briefly introduce the symposium in
a manner that is appropriate for 1st graders. Students who chose to present to 1st
graders will present their projects, alternating between Groups 1 and 2 if possible
and following the schedule. Students who choose to present in this session will
have to be aware of appropriate vocabulary use and make very few assumptions
about the prior knowledge of the 1st graders.

Session 3:
The teacher will invite all faculty and administration who are free during the period
of this session to attend the symposium, as well as send a letter home to parents
of students in the class who might want to attend the session. The teacher will
introduce the symposium to the audience members and inform them of the
purpose of the sharing day. Students who present during this session will have to
make themselves aware of certain biases or beliefs that adults are more likely to
hold than them, and understand different ways to describe what their responses
are so that they make logical sense to the adults. The teacher will introduce
audience members of note that are in attendance, for example, the principal.
Students who chose to present to adults will present their projects, alternating
between Groups 1 and 2 if possible and following the schedule.

Session 4:
The teacher will ask other biology teachers to have their students attend this
session, intended for extra-terrestrials. The teacher will distribute alien antennae
to audience members and ask them to take on the role of aliens, who have no idea
of what life on earth is or why it matters and to ask questions accordingly.
Students presenting during this session will have to be extremely well aware of
their audience’s lack of prior knowledge and design their presentation accordingly.
 Students who chose to present to aliens will present their projects, alternating
between Groups 1 and 2 if possible and following the schedule.

At the conclusion of the symposium, students will finish all of the feedback forms for
their peers. The teacher will pull the students back together after dismissing the “aliens”
back to their scheduled classes. The teacher will start a discussion about how effective
students thought that the symposium was at achieving the intended goals of education
and inspiration of their selected audience. The teacher will guide the discussion towards
thoughts on professionalism and how it felt to pretend to be a scientist—either
conservation biologists or restoration ecologists. The teacher will ask students to offer
any suggestions about the unit for next time that would make the project easier to
understand or the symposium more fun/effective.
Mackenzie Cornaglia

Clinical Practice II

Absegami High School

11th Grade Biology; 10th Grade CSI

Differentiated Instruction Project – Grouping Students

In my observations made within science classrooms in my time as a student and as a teacher, I have

found that very often, students in a science classroom follow a trend. There are students who are very

comfortable with the theoretical and there are students who are very comfortable with the tangible. In certain

environments, this may have something to do with the variance in intelligences between students. In a science

classroom, this means that the students who generally do extremely well when expressing their ideas on quizzes

and tests tend to do poorly when asked to apply that same knowledge from the test during a lab activity, where

the content is applied in a new or different setting. Conversely, the students who often do very well applying

knowledge to new problems and are skilled in performing labs tend to do poorly on their quizzes and tests. This

is true for scientific experts as well.

Prior to undergraduate education, science teachers are the source from which most students are receiving

the majority of their scientific knowledge. These teachers are skilled in their craft and know effective ways of

teaching certain concepts to students in their grade level and are prepared to scaffold their students to help them

understand standards x,y, and z prior to the end of the year. However, if you were looking to perform a research

experiment, a science teacher in a high school classroom, for example, might not be the very best candidate to

design and implement a procedure in a lab setting. College professors, on the other hand, are known for their

vagueness during lectures and excruciating level of detail required when it comes to their labs. Professors, who

are brought to universities to do research and publish their findings under the school’s name, are often poor

instructors—but fantastic thinkers and problem solvers. I have chosen to split my class of Honors Biology

students, to the best of my ability, along lines similar to these.

In the preliminary stages of the planning for my project, I called the first group of students the

“teachers” and the second group of students the “solvers”, but I think that teachers and professors fit the groups

better. Both teachers and professors play critically important roles in the education system, and their goals are
aligned enough and different enough to justify assigning two similarly structured, but varying in content,

projects for the groups.

I split the groups using three grades that corresponded to tests or quizzes, and three grades that

corresponded to activities or labs. All of the grades that I chose to evaluate students on were high stakes

assignments. Students who had a very large difference between their average test/quiz and activity/lab scores

were placed in the group where they succeeded most often. Students who succeeded equally in both tasks were

divided evenly between the two groups so that the groups were more equal in number. Group 1, the teachers,

has 10 of the 21 students in the class, and Group 2, the professors, has the other 11 students.

In my grouping system, the students’ scores on the six grades were averaged based on the grouping of

the assignment. So, students received an average grade for their tests/quizzes, and a different average grade for

their labs/activities. I split the groups using these averages. The average test/quiz grade for the class was 76.

The average lab/activity grade for the class was 83. Students who were above average in one category and

below average in another were place first, in the group where they succeeded the most.

For students in Group 1, the teachers, the average grade on tests/quizzes was 85, and the average grade

on labs/activities was 78. In examining Group 1 further, the standard deviation from the average amongst the

students in the group on tests and quizzes was approximately 15.4. The standard deviation from the average

grades amongst students in Group 1 on labs and activities was nearly 21.3. In analyzing this, it is clear that the

students in this group perform more similarly on tests and quizzes than they do on labs and activities. The goal

of Group 1 is to act as a teacher and as a conservation biologist in their final product. Based on their grades,

students in this group are better able to digest and explain content, crucial skills for both teachers and

conservation biologists.

Conversely, the averages for Group 2 on tests/quizzes were 76 on tests/quizzes and 96 on labs/activities.

The standard deviation from the average grades from the students in Group 2 on tests and quizzes was

approximately 12.6. The standard deviation from the average grades for this group on labs and activities was

nearly 5.1. Students in Group 2 not only perform much better on their labs and activities than students in Group

1, but they perform better and more uniformly across the group. The goal of Group 2 is to act as researchers and

restoration ecologists. While Group 1 is determining the extent of the problems impacting biodiversity in
Earth’s ecosystems, Group 2 is creating ways to solve the problems, lessen human impact on the environment,

and accounting for pushback from members of society who do not understand the severity of the issues.

Students in Group 2 already have demonstrated their ability to apply their knowledge during labs and activities,

and it is my goal that, through this project, these students will be challenged to apply their new knowledge of

conservation biology to determine a procedure for solving problems that ecosystems across the globe are facing

because of human activity.

I think that it is crucial for students in both groups to understand the importance of their role in the

project and in science and the other group’s role. Part of the purpose of my lesson is to scaffold students’

understanding of how science is done in the real world. Group 1, for the purposes of this lesson and in certain

aspects of scientific discovery and inquiry, are fulfilling the roles of someone doing research collecting data and

forming a more complete picture of an idea or a topic. Group 1 is playing the role of conservation biologists,

and Group 2 is playing the role of restoration ecologists. On day 1 of the lesson, the students will learn what this

difference is and why it matters. Conservation biologists and restoration ecologists are two sides of the same

coin; these fields of science work towards similar end goals and operate under similar scientific phenomena.

On the last day of the lesson, students will have the opportunity to share their work. Students will

present their individualized project from their choice board to their audience (peer, adult, 1st grader, or alien)

during the Symposium for Species. During these presentations, students from both groups will be evaluating

their peers, providing feedback, and learning from their peers about the different problems that different

ecosystems are facing and how they can help solve those problems. Because every student will be an audience

member in a variety of settings, they will all be exposed to the content from multiple perspectives and in

multiple mediums, which helps to ensure that students with intelligences that might not be addressed every day

in the classroom are being exposed to their favorite medium for learning at some point during the symposium.

The goal of separating the class for this lesson was to allow students to operate with their strengths,

rather than their weaknesses, on display for their classmates, peers, teachers, and community members to see. It

is my goal that my students understand how, even though their strengths are different, everyone plays an

important role in the class and in educating the community about the negative impact that humans are having on

the environment.
 The groups will be separated as follows.

Group 1, the “conservation biologists”, the teachers, will consist of the following 10 students: Matthew

Barrera, William Cushlanis, Lilynn Custodio, Rafael DeGuzman, Erika Malouf, Rodney McNeil, Aleeza

Moschella, Sydney Mullin, Emily Reckenbeil, Grace Vu.

Group 2, the “restoration ecologists”, the professors, will consist of the following 11 students: Samantha

Adams, Christopher Arbieto, Aubrey Barnes, Brenden Hershman, Jakob Mangold, Madison McGloin, Chris

Perez, Sammad Rehman, Raghav Solanki, Shivani Surti, Jasmin Vu.

 Groups for DI Project

Water Trimester 1 Std Std

Yeast Lab Macromole- Macro Activity Macro Test Properties Chp 2 & 3 Grade as of Deviation Deviation
Student TPQ Average Yeast Lab Grade cules packet Grade Grade Project Test Recite Apply 11/20 Recite Apply
Adams, Samantha 51 70 100 69 77 67 88 65 61 88 72(C-)
Arbieto, Christopher 49 70 100 80 89 66 88 80 65 92 78(C+)
Barnes, Aubrey 71 68 97 72 80 56 78 71 66 85 71(C-)
Barrera, Matthew 100 70 100 88 98 99 100 97 99 99 97(A+) 15.8337093 15.4552277
Cushlanis, William 45 70 100 0 0 61 0 67 58 33 56(F)
Custodio, Lilynn 98 70 100 81 90 98 83 95 97 91 96(A)
DeGuzman, Rafael 88 70 100 81 90 84 73 94 89 88 89(B+)
Hershman, Brenden 46 70 100 65 72 83 84 59 63 85 72(C-)
Malouf, Erika 80 40 57 82 91 74 63 70 75 70 75(C)
Mangold, Jakob 79 65 93 81 90 78 78 68 75 87 76(C)
McGloin, Madison 86 70 100 81 90 81 98 88 85 96 87(B+)
McNeill, Rodney 59 70 100 0 0 68 75 64 64 58 65(D)
Moschella, Aleeza 102 70 100 80 89 100 90 87 96 93 94(A)
Mullin, Sydney 111 70 100 82 91 99 100 99 103 97 99(A+)
Perez, Chris 49 70 100 52 58 53 77 39 47 78 56(F)
Reckenbeil, Emily 82 70 100 0 0 68 88 83 78 63 81(B-)
Rehman, Sammad 75 68 97 58 64 50 81 64 63 81 67(D+)
Solanki, Raghav 68 70 100 77 86 55 86 68 64 91 70(C-)
Surti, Shivani 78 70 100 78 87 74 73 91 81 87 84(B)
Vu, Grace 94 70 100 60 67 88 93 84 89 87 87(B+)
Vu, Jasmin 95 70 100 77 86 88 88 89 91 91 91(A-)

76 83

Avg Recite Avg Apply

Group 1 Score Scote Std Dev Recite Std Dev Apply Recite Apply
Barrera, Matthew 85 78 15.41524017 21.32004795 99 99
Cushlanis, William 58 33
Custodio, Lilynn 97 91
DeGuzman, Rafael 89 88
Malouf, Erika 75 70
McNeill, Rodney 64 58
Moschella, Aleeza 96 93
Mullin, Sydney 103 97
Reckenbeil, Emily 78 63
Vu, Grace 89 87

Avg Recite Avg Apply

Group 2 Score Scote Std Dev Recite Std Dev Apply Recite Apply
Adams, Samantha 76 96 12.60807822 5.123918955 61 88
Arbieto, Christopher 65 92
Barnes, Aubrey 66 85
Hershman, Brenden 63 85
Mangold, Jakob 75 87
McGloin, Madison 85 96
Perez, Chris 47 78
Rehman, Sammad 63 81
Solanki, Raghav 64 91
Surti, Shivani 81 87
Vu, Jasmin 91 91
Student___________________________________________ Group 1 Group 2

Rubric for Inquiry Stations

Station 20 15 10 5 0
Google Form— Student receives Student receives Student receives Student receives Not complete/
Article Reading more than 25/30 more than 15/30 more than 10/30 less than 10/30 in submitted.
in their in their in their their responses.
responses. responses. responses. Student should
Student should Student should Student should answer some of
answer all answer all answer most of the appropriate
appropriate appropriate the appropriate questions
questions questions questions completely and in
completely and in completely and in completely and in full sentences.
full sentences. full sentences. full sentences.
Biodiversity Student answers Student answers Student answers Student answers Not submitted.
EdPuzzle every prompt. A every prompt. every prompt. every prompt.
majority of the Some of the Some of the Most or all of the
questions are questions are questions are answers are
answered answered answered incorrect.
correctly and the correctly and the correctly and the
student answers student answers student
in full sentences in full sentences sometimes
when when answers in full
appropriate. appropriate. sentences when
appropriate.
Group- specific Student answers Student answers Student answers Student answers Not submitted.
EdPuzzle every prompt. A every prompt. every prompt. every prompt.
majority of the Some of the Some of the Most or all of the
questions are questions are questions are answers are
answered answered answered incorrect.
correctly and the correctly and the correctly and the
student answers student answers student
in full sentences in full sentences sometimes
when when answers in full
appropriate. appropriate. sentences when
appropriate.
Socrative Student answers Student answers Student answers Student answers Student does not
Activity all of the quiz most of the quiz some or most of a few of the quiz answer any
questions questions the quiz questions questions correct
correctly and correctly and questions correctly and/or AND does not
avidly avidly correctly and participates in the participate in the
participates in the participates in the participates in the discussion discussion.
discussion. discussion. discussion sometimes.
sometimes.
Group- specific Student Student Student does Student does Student does
Activity participates in the participates in the NOT participate NOT participate NOT participate
activity and activity and in the activity in the activity and and does NOT
answers all of the answers most of OR does NOT does NOT attempt to answer
corresponding the attempt to answer attempt to answer any of the
questions corresponding all corresponding all corresponding corresponding
correctly. questions questions. questions. questions.
correctly. Student does not
submit work on
time.

Total Grade: ________________/100

Student___________________________________________ Group 1 Group 2

Rubric for Philadelphia Zoo Field Trip = 100 points

Criteria 20 15 10 5 0
Pre Questions Both questions One question of the pre- One question is Both questions Packet is
in the pre- assignment is answered answered fully and in in pre- not
assignment are fully and in complete complete sentences, one assignment are submitted
answered fully sentences and one question is not partially OR only
and in complete question is partially answered. answered. one
sentences. answered. question is
partially
answered.
Packet Six exhibits at Five exhibits at the zoo Four or three exhibits at
Less than three Packet is
Completion the zoo are are visited, and every the zoo are visited, andexhibits are not
visited, and corresponding prompt every corresponding visited and submitted
every is answered, or six prompt is answered, or every OR there
corresponding exhibits are visited and more exhibits are corresponding are many
prompt is there are minor prompts visited and there are prompt is major
answered. left many minor prompts answered or prompts
incomplete/unanswered. left more exhibits left
incomplete/unanswered. are visited and unanswered
there are major in every
prompts left exhibit
incomplete/ visited.
unanswered.
Post All questions in Four questions of the Three questions are Up to two Packet is
Questions the post- post-assignment are answered fully and in questions are not
assignment are answered fully and in complete sentences, two answered fully submitted
answered fully complete sentences and questions are not and in complete OR all
and in complete one question is partially answered or partially sentences, the questions
sentences. answered. completed. remaining are
questions partially
questions are answered.
not answered or
partially
completed.
Understanding Student Student demonstrates Student demonstrates Student does Packet is
of Role understands some developments in minor developments in not understand not
role of understanding the role understanding the role role of submitted.
conservationists of conservationists of conservationists more conservationists
more following more following the field following the field trip/ more following
the field trip/ trip/ inquiry stations. inquiry stations. the field trip/
inquiry stations. inquiry stations.
Behavior / Student is on N/A Chaperone reports that N/A Chaperone
Participation their best student was NOT on reports that
behavior while their best behavior. student was
on the field trip. Student submits the NOT on
Students submit packet. their best
the packet. behavior
and student
fails to
submit the
packet.
Student___________________________________________ Group 1 Group 2

Rubric for FINAL PROJECT = 250 points

Criteria 40 30 20 10 0
Outline Outline is Outline is complete Outline is missing Outline is Outline is not
complete and is and is submitted up to 5 components missing up to 7 submitted OR is
submitted on one day late OR and is submitted oncomponents and submitted, but is
time. outline is missing time OR outline is is submitted on missing all but
up to 3 components complete and it time OR outline one component.
and is submitted on submitted up to 3 is complete and Outline is
time. days late. is submitted up submitted more
to 5 days late. than 5 days late.
“Sides” Complete Complete Complete responses Incomplete The student does
responses for at responses for at for 1 “side” and responses for all not attempt to
least 3 different least 2 different two attempts for three “sides” answer any sides
“sides” from the “sides” from the “sides” from the from the choice from the choice
choice board for choice board and choice board. board. board.
the project. one attempt.
“Sides” At least 3 “side” 2 “side” responses 1 “side” response is 1 “side” response No “side”
Accuracy responses are are completely completely is completely responses are
completely accurate, and 1 accurate, and 2 accurate, and 1 accurate.
accurate. response is slightly responses are response is
accurate. slightly accurate. slightly accurate.
“Desserts” Complete Complete Complete responses Incomplete The student does
responses for at responses for at for 1 “desserts” and responses for all not attempt to
least 3 different least 2 different two attempts for three “desserts” answer any sides
“desserts” from “desserts” from the “desserts” from the from the choice from the choice
the choice board choice board and choice board. board. board.
for the project. one attempt.
“Desserts” At least 3 2 “dessert” 1 “dessert” 1 “dessert” No “dessert”
Accuracy “dessert” responses are response is response is responses are
responses are completely completely completely accurate.
completely accurate, and 1 accurate, and 2 accurate, and 1
accurate. response is slightly responses are response is
accurate. slightly accurate. slightly accurate.
Citations N/A 25 points— 15 points— 5 points— 0 points—
Student cites at Student cites 2 Student cites 1 The student cites
least 3 outside outside sources and outside source 1 outside source
sources and cites cites the correct and cites the but does not do
the correct source source every time source every so every time
every time they they need to OR time they need to they need to OR
need to. cites 3 outside OR cites 2 does not cite any
sources and fails to outside sources sources at all.
appropriately cite and fails to cite
them in their them
project. appropriately.
Submission N/A 25 points— 15 points— 5 points— 0 points—
Project is submitted Project is submitted Project is The project is
on time. up to 2 days late. submitted up to 4 not submitted, or
days late. is submitted
more than 5
days late.

Total Points earned: ______________________/250 points

Student___________________________________________ Group 1 Group 2

Rubric for Symposium for Species PRESENTATION = 100 points

Criteria 20 15 10 5 0
Content Completely Addresses more Addresses half of Addresses less than Does not
addresses every than half of the the questions half of the present.
aspect of their questions in their included in their questions in their
project in their project, but does project. project.
presentation. Meets not do so
every requirement completely.
of the choice board.
Knowledge of Presents project in Presents project Presents project Presents project in Does not
Audience an appropriate with audience in in an appropriate a manner which present.
manner for the mind for most of manner for does not line up
entirety of the presentation. approximately with the selected
presentation. half of the audience at all.
presentation.
Professionalism Very appropriate Appropriate Appropriate Appropriate Does not present
behavior is behavior is behavior is behavior is OR is extremely
displayed during displayed during displayed during displayed during unprofessional
presentation and presentation and presentation and presentation and for the entirety
during other during most of during less than student is of presentation
classmates’ their classmates’ half of their disruptive and not and during
presentations. presentations. classmates’ professional during classmates’
presentations. classmates’ presentations..
presentations.
Audience Q&A Student offers Student offers Student offers a Student takes Does not present
Q&A session for Q&A session for brief Q&A questions but does OR does not
audience, and audience, and session for the not offer answers, give audience
answers questions answers most audience, and is or offers only the option to ask
correctly when they questions able to answer incorrect responses questions.
are able to. If they correctly. some of the in cases where they
cannot answer a Admits when questions could have
question, student they do not know correctly. Offers admitted that they
states so. an answer. incorrect answers did not know the
to questions. answer.
Presentation N/A N/A Student speaks Student speaks Does not
Skills clearly and somewhat clearly present. Student
projects their and projects their does not speak
voice/volume is voice clearly or
appropriate. sometimes/volume project their
Student follows is appropriate. voice/is not
all of the Student follows at prepared to
presentation least half of the present. Less
guidelines. presentation than half of the
Student clearly guidelines. presentation
organizes Information in the guidelines are
information in presentation is followed.
the presentation. partially organized. Information in
presentation is
disorganized.
Peer Feedback N/A N/A Completes Completes Google Fills out the
Google Form Form feedback for Google Form
feedback for at least 10 feedback for
every classmate. classmates. less than 10
classmates..
Total Points earned: _________________________/100 points
Student___________________________________________ Group 1 Group 2

Teacher Response

What you did well Ways to improve

Project

Presentation

Project Grade: _______________/250

Presentation Grade: ______________/100 TOTAL GRADE: ______________ /350

Overall comments:
 Holocene Extinction Dinner Project Menu

Name________________________________________
The goal of this project is to “Show-What-You-Know” and to show off your strengths.
Follow the prompts in this menu to create a personalized dinner that will allow you to
demonstrate what you have learned about biodiversity and humanity’s impact on the
environment this week in a way that seems interesting and relevant to YOU.
Read through all of the options on the menu and the instructions before you decide on a
project and submit your outline.
Everyone’s project WILL be different. If you have an idea that is not listed in this menu,
propose it to the teacher in your outline. So long as it is reasonably equivalent to the options
given, it will be considered.
You will be presenting your project at the Symposium, so put your best work forward and
be prepared to share work that you are proud of!
This project and presentation is worth 350 points, and is graded using the attached rubric.
Be sure to CITE at least 3 sources that you use to gather information for your project!
Outline:
My Restaurant:_______________________________________________________________
My Appetizer:________________________________________________________________
My Entrée:___________________________________________________________________
My Sides:
1)______________________________________________________________________
2_______________________________________________________________________
3_______________________________________________________________________
My Desserts:
1)______________________________________________________________________
2)______________________________________________________________________
3)______________________________________________________________________
Can I get you anything EXTRA (CREDIT)?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
 Holocene Extinction Dinner Project Menu

Instructions:
1. Select one (1) “Restaurant”. This is the theoretical setting for where you intend your
project to be displayed at, performed at, posted to, etc. (Think—a 1st Grader might
only like McDonald’s or a pizza restaurant, but an adult is probably open to more
options)

2. Select one (1) “Appetizer”. This is your audience. Who are you trying to reach with
your message? Will your audience change based on your restaurant? (Think—could
you, for example, get mozzarella sticks as an appetizer at a Chinese restaurant?)

3. Select one (1) “Entrée”. How will you present your information to your audience?
Take this opportunity to play to your strengths. For example, if you love being
crafty, create an amazing poster board to present at the symposium, and if you have
video editing skills from Media Club, use them in your project to create a news report.
The entire class will not be ordering the same entrée.

4. Select at least three (≥3) “Sides”. Everyone loves lots of side dishes: mashed potatoes,
Mac-and-Cheese, vegetables, rice, soup, salad….yum! Answer questions that you
understand well and that you can present well in your “entrée”. Some dishes work
with certain entrees very well. (Think—cranberry sauce goes great with turkey… not
so much with a slice of pizza).

5. Select at least three (≥3) “Desserts”. These will be the richest parts of your dinner.
Your responses to these three (or more items) should be the most detailed. Choose
wisely; you don’t want to get stuck eating an entire apple pie if you hate apples!

6. Place all of your selections/proposals within your outline and submit the outline (with
your name at the top!) to the teacher. Begin researching your responses to your sides
and desserts while your teacher reviews your outline. After your teacher gives you
feedback, get cookin’!
 Holocene Extinction Dinner Project Menu

•Classroom
•Newsroom/Newspaper
•Ted Talk
•Youtube Video
Restaurants •Rally
•Build-Your-Own (requires teacher approval)

•Friend/Classmate
•1st Grader
•Adult
Appetizers •Alien

•PowerPoint presentation
•Newspaper article
•Movie
•Letter
•Speech
•News report
Entrees •Ted Talk
•Poster
•Comic Strip
•Advertisement
•Build-Your-Own (requires teacher approval)

•Define biodiversity
•Define limitations to biodiversity
•Explain 2 specific, real-life examples of human impact on biodiversity
Sides •Produce timeline with at least 4 human innovations and the impact that those innovations had on
humanity and on the environment

•Predict what will happen in one (1) ecosystem as a result of continued human impact on the
environment
•Create two (2) food webs: one (1) from before and one (1) from after humans impacted the
environment. Compare and contrast these food webs.
•Imagine interviewing your audience– what are three (3) questions you might ask them during the
Desserts interview, and what would their responses be?
•Imagine being an expert in the field of conservation biology– what are three (3) questions your
audience might ask you, and what would your responses be?
•From the Point-of-View of an individual organism, describe humanity’s on your life.
 Holocene Extinction Dinner Project Menu

Getting started:
• Everyone’s project will be different. For example: if you are writing a speech or a Ted Talk,

remember that your project will look very different from a student who is designing a poster or a comic

strip.

• Cite reputable sources. While Wikipedia can be a great starting point for research, you should NOT be

citing it in your project. We will go over how to find reliable sources and how to cite them appropriately

for this class.

• Brainstorm! Try experimenting with different “entrees”. Doing some research first can help you find

ideas and inspiration from other scientists. You can always conference with the teacher to get different

ideas or advice.

• Symposium for Species: After everyone is done their projects, we will host a Symposium for Species

where every student will get the chance to present their project to the audience that they chose. As you

complete your project, think of the other tasks that you will have to do in order to make your

presentation stand out. For example: if you select “Produce timeline with at least 4 human innovations

and the impact that those innovations had on humanity and on the environment” as one of your slides,

and you want to give a Ted Talk, you might want to have a PowerPoint slide to pull up, showing the

timeline (*wink wink*).

• Look at your feedback. I wanted you to turn in an outline for a reason—I am here to help! Let’s go

through your ideas together and conference a little bit about the best way to present your project. If you

have a rough draft and want to practice presenting or have me go through it, let’s do it! Every student

will have one chance to turn in a draft/practice with the teacher and receive feedback prior to

submission.

• RUBRICS. Look at the rubrics and checklists attached below. There are instructions for everything,
but ask questions if you are confused—chances are, one of your classmates has the exact same question!
 Holocene Extinction Dinner Project Menu
Name________________________________________
The goal of this project is to “Show-What-You-Know” and to show off your strengths.
Follow the prompts in this menu to create a personalized dinner that will allow you to
demonstrate what you have learned about biodiversity and humanity’s impact on the
environment this week in a way that seems interesting and relevant to YOU.
Read through all of the options on the menu and the instructions before you decide on a
project and submit your outline.
Everyone’s project WILL be different. If you have an idea that is not listed in this menu,
propose it to the teacher in your outline. So long as it is reasonably equivalent to the options
given, it will be considered.
You will be presenting your project at the Symposium for Species, so put your best work
forward and be prepared to share work that you are proud of!
This project and presentation is worth 350 points, and is graded using the attached rubric.
Be sure to CITE at least 3 sources that you use to gather information for your project!
Outline:
My Restaurant:_______________________________________________________________
My Appetizer:________________________________________________________________
My Entrée:___________________________________________________________________
My Sides:
1)______________________________________________________________________
2_______________________________________________________________________
3_______________________________________________________________________
My Desserts:
1)______________________________________________________________________
2)______________________________________________________________________
3)______________________________________________________________________
Can I get you anything EXTRA (CREDIT)?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
 Holocene Extinction Dinner Project Menu
Instructions:
1. Select one (1) “Restaurant”. This is the theoretical location for where you intend your
project to be displayed at, performed at, posted to, etc. (Think—a 1st Grader might
only like McDonald’s or a pizza restaurant, but an adult is probably open to more
options)

2. Select one (1) “Appetizer”. This is your audience. Who are you trying to reach with
your message? Will your audience change based on your restaurant? (Think—could
you, for example, get mozzarella sticks as an appetizer at a Chinese restaurant?)

3. Select one (1) “Entrée”. How will you present your information to your audience?
Take this opportunity to play to your strengths. For example, if you love being
crafty, create an amazing poster board to present at the symposium, and if you have
video editing skills from Media Club, use them in your project to create a news report.
The entire class will not be ordering the same entrée.

4. Select at least three (≥3) “Sides”. Everyone loves lots of side dishes: mashed potatoes,
Mac-and-Cheese, vegetables, rice, soup, salad….yum! Answer questions that you
understand well and that you can present well in your “entrée”. Some dishes work
with certain entrees very well. (Think—cranberry sauce goes great with turkey… not
so much with a slice of pizza).

5. Select at least three (≥3) “Desserts”. These will be the richest parts of your dinner.
Your responses to these three (or more items) should be the most detailed. Choose
wisely; you don’t want to get stuck eating an entire apple pie if you hate apples!

6. Place all of your selections/proposals within your outline and submit the outline (with
your name at the top!) to the teacher. Begin researching your responses to your sides
and desserts while your teacher reviews your outline. After your teacher gives you
feedback, get cookin’!
 Holocene Extinction Dinner Project Menu

•Classroom
•Newsroom/Newspaper
•Ted Talk
•Youtube Video
•Rally
Restaurants •Build-Your-Own (requires teacher approval)

•Friend/Classmate
•1st Grader
•Adult
•Alien
Appetizers

•PowerPoint presentation
•Newspaper article
•Movie
•Letter
•Speech
•News report
•Ted Talk
Entrees •Poster
•Comic Strip
•Advertisement
•Build-Your-Own (requires teacher approval)

•Explain 2 ways that humans are negatively impacting ecosystems

•Explain why biodiversity is important to the success and health of ecosystems
•Propose 3 possible solutions/ ways to reduce humanity's impact on the environment in general and explain why
they should work
•Propose a multi-step (at least 5 step) solution that you would implement to restore a single ecosystem that has been
Sides negatively impacted by human activity

•Create a justified argument for using renewable energy over nonrenewable energy.
•Construct a model of or describe the future of the environment if humanity's behavior does not change. Compare
and contrast this image of the future with the present.
•Investigate the impact of climate change on New Jersey's ecosystems and report things that the state and its citizens
are doing to reduce the impact of human activity on the environment
•Imagine being an expert in the field of restoration ecology– what are three (3) questions your audience might ask
Desserts you, and what would your responses be?
•From the Point-of-View of an individual organism, describe humanity’s impact on your life.
 Holocene Extinction Dinner Project Menu
Getting started:
• Everyone’s project will be different. For example: if you are writing a speech or a Ted Talk,

remember that your project will look very different from a student who is designing a poster or a comic

strip.

• Cite reputable sources. While Wikipedia can be a great starting point for research, you should NOT be

citing it in your project. We will go over how to find reliable sources and how to cite them appropriately

for this class.

• Brainstorm! Try experimenting with different “entrees”. Doing some research first can help you find

ideas and inspiration from other scientists. You can always conference with the teacher to get different

ideas or advice.

• Symposium for Species: After everyone is done their projects, we will host a Symposium for Species

where every student will get the chance to present their project to the audience that they chose. As you

complete your project, think of the other tasks that you will have to do in order to make your

presentation stand out. For example: if you select “Produce timeline with at least 4 human innovations

and the impact that those innovations had on humanity and on the environment” as one of your slides,

and you want to give a Ted Talk, you might want to have a PowerPoint slide to pull up, showing the

timeline (*wink wink*).

• Look at your feedback. I wanted you to turn in an outline for a reason—I am here to help! Let’s go

through your ideas together and conference a little bit about the best way to present your project. If you

have a rough draft and want to practice presenting or have me go through it, let’s do it! Every student

will have one chance to turn in a draft/practice with the teacher and receive feedback prior to

submission.

• RUBRICS. Look at the rubrics and checklists attached below. There are instructions for everything,
but ask questions if you are confused—chances are, one of your classmates has the exact same question!
 • Classroom
• Newsroom/Newspaper
• Ted Talk
• Youtube Video
• Rally
Restaurants • Build0Your-Own (requires teacher approval)

• Friend/Classmate
• 1st Grader
• Adult
• Alien

Appetizers

• PowerPoint presentation
• Newspaper article
• Movie
• Letter
• Speech
• News report
• Ted Talk

Entrees •
•
Poster
Comic Strip
• Advertisement
• Build-Your-Own (requires teacher approval)

• Define biodiversity
• Define limitations to biodiversity
• Explain 2 specific, real-life examples of human impact on biodiversity
• Produce timeline with at least 4 human innovations and the impact that those innovations had on humanity and on the environment
Sides

• Predict what will happen in one (1) ecosystem as a result of continued human impact on the environment
• Create two (2) food webs: one (1) from before and one (1) from after humans impacted the environment. Compare and contrast these food webs.
• Imagine interviewing your audience– what are three (3) questions you might ask them during the interview, and what would their responses be?
• Imagine being an expert in the field of conservation biology– what are three (3) questions your audience might ask you, and what would your responses be?

Desserts • From the Point-of-View of an individual organism, describe humanity’s on your life.
 • Classroom
• Newsroom/Newspaper
• Ted Talk
• Youtube Video
• Rally
Restaurants • Build-Your-Own (requires teacher approval)

• Friend/Classmate
• 1st Grader
• Adult
• Alien

Appetizers

• PowerPoint presentation
• Newspaper article
• Movie
• Letter
• Speech
• News report
• Ted Talk

Entrees •
•
Poster
Comic Strip
• Advertisement
• Build-Your-Own (requires teacher approval)

• Explain 2 ways that humans are negatively impacting ecosystems

• Explain why biodiversity is important to the success and health of ecosystems
• Propose 3 possible solutions/ ways to reduce humanity's impact on the environment and explain why they should work
• Produce timeline with at least 4 human innovations and the impact that those innovations had on humanity and on the environment
Sides

• Create a justified argument for using renewable energy over nonrenewable energy.
• Construct a model of or describe the future of the environment if humanity's behavior does not change. Compare and contrast this image of the future with the present.
• Investigate the impact of climate change on New Jersey's ecosystems and report things that the state and its citizens are doing to reduce the impact of human activity on the environment
• Imagine being an expert in the field of conservation biology– what are three (3) questions your audience might ask you, and what would your responses be?

Desserts • From the Point-of-View of an individual organism, describe humanity’s impact on your life.
Name___________________________________________________________________ Period______________

What do you think the purpose of a zoo is?

What role(s) do zoos play in conservation biology? What role(s) should they play?

While at the Philadelphia Zoo you MUST:

• Follow ALL school rules and zoo rules
• Respect the zoo staff, animals, and other guests of the zoo
• Follow all directions given to you by zoo staff, volunteers, and chaperones
• Take notes at 6 or more of the animal locations in the zoo. These do not have to be
in any particular order. Check off the exhibits you visit below and fill out the accompanying
questions.
o RACC
o Peco Primate Reserve
o Big Cat Falls & Buck Base Camp
o McNeil Avian Center
o Small Mammal House/Outback Outpost
o Reptiles & Amphibians
o Water is Life
o Kid Zoo U
o African Plains
o Bear Country
o Bird Valley
o Raptor Ridge
RACC
1. What does RACC stand for?___________ ________________________ ____________________________ ________________
2. List three animals in RACC that are threatened by human activity and where they are from:
a. _________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________
b. _________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________
c. _________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________
3. What is one example, in RACC, of two species who live together?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
List at least three (3) reasons why this relationship is possible/why this helps show a more complete
picture of an entire ecosystem.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. Look up! The treetop trail system starts at RACC. What animal has access to the trail right now? What
purpose might the trail play in this animals’ care? Can you see the animal?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Peco Primate Reserve

1. What are the three (3) main types of primates? Circle the one that YOU belong to.
a. _________________________________________________
b. _________________________________________________
c. _________________________________________________
2. Where are ALL lemurs from? _________________________________________________
3. Why might all lemurs be from the same place? ____________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 4. What do YOU think is the main reason for the global loss of biodiversity? How would this reason impact
a family troop of gorillas?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. What is one cool/new thing you learned in the Peco Primate Reserve? (Hint: maybe ask a staff member)
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Big Cat Falls

LOOK UP! Big cats are ALL around you!!

1. What are two (2) species of big cats that live at the Philadelphia Zoo? Where are they from?
a. _______________________________________ _____________________________________________
b. _______________________________________ _____________________________________________
2. List three (3) things that your favorite big cat needs to live a healthy life.
a. _______________________________________________________
b. _______________________________________________________
c. _______________________________________________________
3. How might the three (3) things you listed above be affected by human activity?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Buck Base Camp
1. What is palm oil?_____________________________________________________________________________
2. What region of the world is most affected by palm oil production?_____________________________________
3. What are two (2) companies that are using sustainable palm oil in their products?
a. ___________________________________________________
b. ___________________________________________________
4. Do you use/eat any products made by these companies? Which ones?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

McNeil Avian Center

1. Which two (2) bird species in this exhibit are extinct in the wild?
a. _____________________________________________
b. _____________________________________________
2. Why are those bird species extinct?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Where are most bird species found? What climate? _________________________________________________
4. Which do you think are more closely related to birds evolutionarily? Reptiles or mammals? Why?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. There are two species of birds that live just outside the building. What are they? What is one interesting
thing about both of these species?
a. __________________________________-___________________________________________________________________
b. __________________________________-___________________________________________________________________
Small Mammals / Outback Outpost
1. Why might certain animals live in groups?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. What impact might groups of animals have on an ecosystem rather than individuals?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. What are the two (2) types of mammals? Give an example of each
a. ________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________
b. ________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________
4. Are kangaroos endangered? _________________________________
5. What are two (2) things that kangaroos do that humans cannot/ do not do? Explain.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Reptiles & Amphibians

1. Why might “cold-blooded” animals be more at-risk as the global climate continues to change?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 2. What are two (2) endangered reptiles or amphibians? Where are they found in the wild?
a. ________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________
b. ________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________
3. What animals have access outside of the building? Where are they from?
a. _______________________________________ - _____________________________________________________________
b. _______________________________________ - _____________________________________________________________
4. What two (2) species of snake are considered the largest in the world? (HINT: one is from South
America and one is from Asia and they are located across from each other)
a. ___________________________________________________
b. ___________________________________________________
5. Find the Panamanian Golden Tree Frogs. What do they look like? _________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
(These frogs are considered at-risk for extinction in the wild, mainly due to chytrid fungus. Just look at
them and admire them—by the time you come to the zoo again, they may be extinct)

Water is Life
1. What are three (3) ways that you could conserve water?
a. ___________________________________________________
b. ___________________________________________________
c. ___________________________________________________
2. What are three (3) things that could be present in waterways as a result of human activity?
a. ___________________________________________________
b. ___________________________________________________
c. ___________________________________________________
3. How might those three (3) things in the water affect the things that live in/drink that water?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. How many otters are out today? ________________
 5. Can you tell which ones they are? Look for the sign that describes their individual neck markings or
ask a staff member. List the otters that you can see.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
6. Where in the world are these otters found in the wild? ________________________________________________

Kid Zoo U
1. What is currently the main issue regarding the domestication of animals? How does this impact
biodiversity?
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
2. How many types of goats do you see? _________________________ Chickens?____________________________
3. The goats all have names—who is your favorite? _______________________________________
4. What important roles do insects play in ecosystems?
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________

African Plains
1. What animal in African Plains is extinct in the wild? ________________________ __________________________
2. What species in this area live together?
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
3. What are three (3) adaptations do giraffes have?
a. _____________________________________________________________________________
b. _____________________________________________________________________________
c. _____________________________________________________________________________
4. How can you tell the difference between Cindy and Unna (hippos)? Susie and Laura (zebras)?
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
Bear Country
1. Are sloth bears herbivores, omnivores, or carnivores?_______________________________
2. How might the sloth bear diet impact their ecosystem?
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
3. How did the Philadelphia Zoo recycle a bear habitat for a different species? What bear used to live
in this habitat? What species lives there now?
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
4. What habitat do bears typically live in? ________________________________________________________________
5. What are two (2) ways that humans impact that habitat?
a)_______________________________________________________________________________________
b)_______________________________________________________________________________________
6. Listen up! What do you hear?
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
7. What animals might be making these sounds?
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________

Bird Valley
1. What are three (3) species of birds that live here?
a. ________________________________________________
b. ________________________________________________
c. ________________________________________________
2. What is a species that lives here that is NOT a bird? ___________________________________________________
3. Anybody home? Do you see any signs for a species of bird that you cannot see today?_______________
a. What species?___________________________________________________________
b. Why might this be? _________________________________________________________________________________
 4. What is one human behavior that threatens birds specifically? How does it impact birds?
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
5. Go for a walk! Bird Valley is only home to a few of the Philadelphia Zoo’s bird species. Talk a walk
towards the McNeil Avian Center to see some more cool birds. There are two bird species who live
outside the building, to the right of the main entrance to the McNeil Avian Center. What are they?
a. _________________________________________________________
b. _________________________________________________________

Raptor Ridge
5. Are bald eagles still endangered? _____________________
6. What put bald eagles on the endangered species list?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________
7. Where in the world can you find barn owls? ____________________________________________________
a. Is there a scientific word to describe this?________________________________________________
8. What are three (3) of the adaptations that barn owls have that make them excellent hunters?
a. _____________________________________________________
b. _____________________________________________________
c. _____________________________________________________
9. What other animals live at the “South End” of the zoo, with the raptors?
a. _____________________________________________________
b. _____________________________________________________
10. What is one interesting thing that you learned about cheetahs?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________
11. What is one interesting thing you learned about maned wolves?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
After visiting the zoo: (Answer the questions fully and in complete sentences)

What do you think about zoos now?

Did your visit change how you feel? _______________

Why/why not?

The main goals of conservation are to educate and to inspire. What percentage of the
Philadelphia Zoo’s efforts would you consider to be geared towards education? _______
What percentage of their efforts are geared towards inspiration? ________

Explain.

Imagine you visited the zoo and had NO background knowledge of human impact on
the environment. Would you say that you have a general understanding of the issue
now? _________________________

Why/Why not?
Did you interact with any staff today to assist in your scavenger hunt?___________________

What did they help you do? Did they offer any additional information?

What role might zoos/gardens play in the future if humans fail to reduce their
impact on the environment? Why?
11/27/2018 Sharing Our Planet

Sharing Our Planet

Answer all of the following questions while you read the CBC's article titled "One woman in charge of
biodiversity in province with 71 at-risk species" . Be sure to click "submit" when you are finished to
ensure that your responses are saved.

Here is the link to the article: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/donna-hurlburt-biodiversity-

species-at-risk-1.4917991

1. Email address *

2. What country is the website that is publishing this article based in?
Mark only one oval.

United States
Great Britain
Canada
Nova Scotia

3. What does Donna Hurlburt say is one of the biggest challenges when determining species
that need to be protected?
Mark only one oval.

Politicians creating policies that work against the Endangered Species Act
Finding accurate data about species and how they are being threatened
None of these
Money to fund conservation efforts

4. Select the three (3) things that Hurlburts says are the primary threat to biodiversity in Nova
Scotia
Check all that apply.

Roads
Forestry
Clear cutting
Invasive species
Pollution
Habitat loss

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11/27/2018 Sharing Our Planet

5. In full sentences, describe why invasive species are bad for ecosystems. (You might have to
look up additional information to completely answer)

6. Click on the link in the article labelled "that nearly wiped out Nova Scotia's bat population".
What is white nose syndrome? Why is white nose syndrome so detrimental to bat
populations?

7. Why do you think that we are in the midst of "one of the largest extinction events that's ever
been documented on earth"?

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11/27/2018 The Endangered Species Act

The Endangered Species Act

Answer all of the following questions while you read Gabby Raymond's Time Magazine article "Here's
Why the Endangered Species Act Was Created in the First Place". Be sure to click "submit" when you
are finished to ensure that your responses are saved.

Here is the link to the article: http://time.com/5345913/endangered-species-act-history/

* Required

1. Email address *

2. Which US President enacted the Endangered Species Act(ESA)? *

Mark only one oval.

Donald Trump
Richard Nixon
Theodore Roosevelt
None of these

3. What factor was the Trump administration attempting to add into the equation done to
determine which species remain on the "endangered" or "threatened" lists? *
Mark only one oval.

None of these
population size
habitat size
economic considerations
resource availability

4. What four (4) things did Richard Nixon do following the oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara,
California in 1969, according to the article? *
Check all that apply.

Enact the Endangered Species Act

Deliver a speech about the oil spill
Enact the Clean Water Act
Enact the Species Survival Program for species affected by the oil spill
Create the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Set aside government funds to clean up the oil spill
Visit Santa Barbara himself
Enact the Clean Air Act

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11/27/2018 The Endangered Species Act

5. In full sentences and in your own words, describe what the Endangered Species Act does. *

6. In full sentences, explain some of the issues surrounding the Endangered Species Act today
that are touched upon in the article. *

7. Predict what would happen to endangered species across the country if the Trump
administration is able to pass the amendment that would cause economic factors to be
considered in determining endangered and threatened species lists. Please answer in full
sentences. *

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 Symposium for Species
Presentation Guidelines

1. Remember your audience! A presentation of the same project to a

group of 1st graders will look different than presenting it to adults,
aliens, or classmates. Always keep your audience in mind.

2. Act professional. Conduct yourself like a conservation biologist or a

restoration ecologist. BE RESPECTFUL during your classmates’
presentations, and give all of them feedback with appropriate,
constructive criticism.

3. Speak clearly so that everyone in the audience can hear you.

4. Introduce yourself to your audience. Tell the audience your name and
the purpose of your project.

5. Be sure to briefly explain why the audience should care about what you
have to say—why does conservation biology/restoration ecology
matter?

6. Host a Q&A session after your presentation. Try to answer the

audience’s questions when you can. If you do not know the answer—say
so! Perhaps offer an educated guess based on what you do know. If you
record your presentation prior to the symposium (like a TedTalk or
news report, etc) you still are responsible for hosting a live Q&A.

7. Practice! The teacher will stay after school for a few days so that you
can practice your presentation OR record it in a quiet place if you are
ready. You might even get some feedback/tips if you hang out!

8. 5 points EXTRA CREDIT will be awarded if you dress professionally

for your presentation.
Biodiversity Inquiry Day Score:
1.    What human activity do you think has the greatest negative impact on biodiversity?

2.    Prior to today's lesson, were you worried about the state of the environment? Why or
why not? If you were worried, try to gauge how worried you were on a scale from 1 (not very)
to 10 (extremely concerned).

3.    What aspects of conservation biology and/or restoration ecology interest you? Why?

Page 1 of 1
12/11/2018 Day 1 Closure -- Reflection

Day 1 Closure ­­ Reflection
Please fill out this form at the end of class. Be honest­­ only the teacher will see your responses.

* Required

1. Email address *

2. On a scale from 1(not very well) to 5 (very well), rate how well you and your group­mates
worked together *
Mark only one oval.

1 2 3 4 5

We didn't work together well We worked together very
:( well!

3. If you didn't work together very well, briefly
explain 1 or 2 reasons why you think this
happened.

4. Are you more interested in conservation biology/restoration ecology after this activity? *
Mark only one oval.

 Yes
 No
 Not sure yet, I need more time
 Yeah! Lets save the world!

5. In one sentence, explain something new that
you learned today. *

6. In one sentence, explain something that you found out that was interesting OR something that
you would like to learn more about or research. *
 

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12/11/2018 Day 1 Closure -- Reflection
7. What is one question you still have after
today's lesson? *

8. Do you have your permission slip and payment for the field trip to the Philadelphia Zoo turned
in? *
Mark only one oval.

 Yes
 No

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12/11/2018 Symposium For Species Peer Feedback

Symposium For Species Peer Feedback
Please fill out this form for every single one of your classmates immediately following their presentation.

* Required

1. Email address *

2. Who is presenting? *
Mark only one oval.

 Samantha Adams
 Christopher Arbieto
 Aubrey Barnes
 Matthew Barrera
 William Cushlanis
 Lilynn Custodio
 Rafael DeGuzman
 Brendan Hershman
 Erika Malouf
 Jakob Mangold
 Madison McGloin
 Rodney McNeil
 Aleeza Moschella
 Sydney Mullin
 Chris Perez
 Emily Reckenbeil
 Sammad Rehman
 Raghav Solanki
 Shivani Surti
 Grace Vu
 Jasmin Vu

3. What did you think was the most interesting
part of their presentation? *

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12/11/2018 Symposium For Species Peer Feedback
4. Do you think that the presenter addressed their audience well? *
Mark only one oval.

 Yes
 No
 Sometimes

5. What is one thing that the presenter did very
well? *

6. What is one thing that the presenter could
improve on? *

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