Inquiry Project
Part 1: Driving question:
● What are your three initial driving questions?
How can we preserve the habitats for sea turtles?
How are human activities impacting sea turtles lives?
In what ways would the extinction of sea turtles impact the ecosystem?
● What is your one, final driving question?
How can we help save the sea turtles and preserve their habitats so they are able to
reproduce?
● Background information of this driving question:
What grade level are you working?
We are planning on working with 1st grade students for this project.
Which standard are you targeting?
We are targetting the standard 1.LS.1 -
Develop representations to describe that organisms have unique and diverse life cycles but all have in common birth, growth, reproduction, and death.
Provide any background information the reader should know about this project, such as time span, schedule and so on. Provide a brief introduction to your question as well and an overview to what you envision your lesson looking like.
Students will be looking at the environment that the Leatherback Turtles live in and different ways they are starting to go extinct. They will have to present on a poster their habitat and living. They students will also have to show the threats against the turtles and also come up with a solution showing how they would save the Leatherback Turtle. This project will take a total of five hours, each hour one day to look at the information for the Turtle while putting it on their poster. After presenting, the students will turn in their poster and a summary of what they learned and why their solution is the best.
● Why do you think this is a good driving question?
○ Does the DQ warrant in-depth study?
Yes, the DQ warrants in-depth study. The students will need to have a good amount of research in order to form an opinion on how to save the Leatherback Sea Turtle. They will have to research background information, reasons for extinction, habitat information, and what preventive measures are already being taken.
○ Is the DQ an authentic and relevant issue/problem for my students?
Yes, the students will be able to look at species that is going extinct and see how much that one life can affect our ecosystem. The students will learn how their actions can affect animals and that they also have a role in saving the species as well.
○ Is there more than one plausible solution to the DQ?
Yes, there is more than one plausible solution to the DQ. For example, students could decide that there needs to be more authority watching the nesting site, implement laws that don’t allow driving on beaches, have stricter laws on littering, etc.
○ Does the DQ provide opportunities for students to evaluate, analyze, present, and defend their solutions.
Yes, Students will have to be able to defend their solution for saving the turtles and why they think it's the best way of solving it. Each student will come up with a different way of solving the problem and presenting it.
Part2: Grabber
● What is your grabber?
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/leatherback-sea-turtle/#leatherback-sea-turtle-sand-beach-digging.jpg
Introductory Grabber:
The instructor will go into the article giving information about the turtles and their species. They will also show pictures of the turtles letting them see what they look like. This will get the kids interested about the species. Once they know a little information about the turtles, the instructor will bring their attention to the turtles going extinct. The students will now feel bad for the turtles that now come to love. They will be determined to find a solution to how they can them from being extinct.
Link to the article:http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/leatherback-sea-turtle/#leatherback-sea-turtle-sand-beach-digging.jpg
Introduce the Central Question:
After the class reads the about the article with the turtles. They will get a view of what the turtle has to go through. The instructor will present the driving question: “How can we save the Leatherback Turtle from extinction?” With the students getting attached to the turtles and being interested in them, they will want to save and preserve them. The students will figure without the turtles, a part of the ecosystem will be thrown off. Also the students will learn that a life matters.
Lecture: Together, will we go into the article about how the turtles are going extinct and then come up with solutions on how to stop the threats that come across their species. After we talk about the solutions, the instructor will bring up the activity for the kids to explore different ways to save the turtles.
● Why do you think this grabber is beneficial and how it align with your driving question?
● Does the story, article, video, announcement, role play, or other resource hook the learner into asking more questions about the topic?
Absolutely, students will read the article and be surprised to learn that the Leatherback Sea Turtles play a major role in the marine ecosystem and are absolutely essential. They will be motivated to learn more about the species and explore different questions they have.
● Does the grabber capitalize on novelty and / or high emotion situations?
Yes, the students will be motivated to do extensive research to find out how they can help save the Leatherback Sea Turtles. They will be motivated by the emotions tied to helping others/animals in extremely time sensitive issue.
● Does the grabber establish authenticity & relevance?
The grabber establishes authenticity and relevance because it is National Geographic Kids so it is age appropriate and provides information that is directly linked to the driving question. It is also relevant because it is an issue that is currently being debated on what solution is the best in preserving the species.
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● Culminating activities: List all your activities here:
1) Activity 1
● What is your first activity?
List the name of your activity here. And explain how it would be implemented in the class, describe the process, such as how to group your students, when to present information to your students, what resources you will use, what students will create or share, etc.
Research, the kids will be divide into groups of three. The kids will be doing research on how to preserve and save the turtles from extinction. Then they will put the information they think is the best on the poster to present. After having their poster done, they will present in front of the class, why their solution is the best way to save the turtles.
● Press Conference Activity
● The structure for this activity is adapted from an activity developed by the Teachers' Curriculum Institute: Five 60-minute science periods
● Introduction: The students will be standing in front of the class, holding their poster while one student will go over their poster. Each student will have a turn to speak about their idea letting the other students argue or ask questions. Each group will need to able to argue why their solution is the best and have information to back up their claim.
● Preparation for Conference: The teacher will begin by reviewing the expectations, procedures, and rubric for the presentations and discussion. Students will be asked to search different solution in order to form an opinion on why they believe their solution is better than another such as: pollution, new laws on protecting the habitat, regulate fishing, regulate the amount of turtles eggs being sold. Students will be given a set of questions to ask each group in order for the presenters to defend their solution. These questions will guide the discussion and somewhat have structure.
● Lecture: The instructor will give the topic of what each student has and remind them that they need to give clear explanations of why their topic is the best way to save the turtles from extinction. Students will ask questions to other groups asking why that is the best solution. After the presentations are finished, the students will all come together and discuss which solution would be best for saving the turtles.
● Activity Overview:
The students will engage in asking two questions, why are the turtles going extinct and how can we prevent it? Each group will present one at a time and students will be asked why they think that would benefit the turtles. At the end of the of all the groups presenting, the instructor will announce that their is no wrong answer to solving this problem.
● Why do you think this is a good activity for PBL?
Try to answer these 4 questions. (But you should not answer them with yes or no, instead explain the details and convince me that you’ve met these criteria)
● How is the activity authentic?
The activity is authentic because it involves a real-life problem that allows students to develop an understanding how animals lives can be impacted by the actions humans take. Also, it gives them a better understanding of the importance of the Leatherback Sea turtle plays in the marine ecosystem.
● Does the activity provide students with the opportunity to present and defend problem solution?
Yes, this activity provides students with the opportunity to present and defend the problem solution. Students will be in groups of three. They will need to be able to work together to collect data and present their findings on the topic. They need to be able to convince other students that their topic is an effective way of saving the turtles.
● Does the activity require student collaboration?
Yes, this activity requires student collaboration. As I stated above, the students will be in groups of three. The activity requires collaboration because they will need to work together to find accurate information to support their claim, create a poster, and write a summary on what they have learned about the Leatherback Sea Turtles and why they believe their solution is the best.
● How will I judge what students have learned from the activity?
I will judge what students have learned from this activity with a summary paper that they will turn in explaining why they think their solution is the best and what knowledge they have gained by studying the Leatherback Sea Turtle.
Answers to all four questions:
○ Summary of Press Conference
○ Listed below are the 3 companies we questioned about school lunches.
Pollution: Turtles are getting stuck in the plastic while also mistaking them for jellyfish and eating them.
Fishermen: Catching the turtles in the netting when fishing for other animals.
Laws on reserving the habitat: Dogs on leashes, no driving on the beaches, protective fences around the nest.
Turtle eggs: Regulate the amount of turtle eggs being sold.
○ Assessment : Students will be engaged the entire time even if they are not presenting. They will be asked to listen and ask questions to the different groups. They be expected to research their topic and gather that information, putting it on their poster. After they will present to the class their work and be able to argue their view on how to save the Leatherback Sea Turtle. After presenting, they will be asked to write a paper over how to save the turtles and which way is the best. The students will be able to show how much they know about this lesson after writing a well written essay.