Biology Partnership (A Teacher Quality Grant)

Lesson Plan Construction Form

Identifying Information: (Group Members and Schools, Title of Lesson, Length in Minutes, Course Level)

Title of Lesson: Patterns in Time Length: 50 minutes Course Level : 9th & 10th Biology

Members: 1. TC Brewer , Port St. Joe 2. Heidi Montgomery, Franklin County Schools 3. Patricia Piland, Taylor Co. High 4. Travis Moore, Mosley High School 5. Michele Brewer, Haney Technical School 6. Mentor , Lisa Davis 7. Steven Byrd, FAMU DRS 8. Mandy Tinsley, Arnold High School

Motivation:

View video clip on TEDEd about the age of the Earth. ( 3:45 minutes) http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-earth-s-age-in-measurements-you-can-understand-joshua-m-sneideman After viewing the video students will journal their favorite analogy of the age of the Earth and answer the following question. How was your perception of the age of Earth affected by the video? (3 minutes)

See Pre-Test Attached (see corrections on attachment)

Needed Materials & Set-Up:

Students will work in groups of 2-3. Grouping may be adjusted based on the availability of required materials (see below). Real fossils and/or models and/or pictures of fossils, from a variety of organisms,

including different classes of vertebrates. Cards or sheets of paper listing the major evolutionary periods and the emergence of each vertebrate. Pictures of modern fishes, amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds. (Check our collection of pictures of living and earliest vertebrates.). Do Web search for additional pictures if needed (or have students do this). Animals of the Past: Patterns in the Fossil Record (for overhead or PowerPoint) ­and/or enlarge for wall. Animals of the Past: Showing likely phylogenetic connections

Calendar, with squares for each day of the week. Calendar with 1" wide days provided Football field picture - awkward scale Football field picture - useful scale Register tape (strip of at least 10 yards). Mark off 1 inch, 7 inches, and 30'4" (about 10 yards). Meter stick (and enough metric rulers for students to observe in pairs), and a yardstick Big Map of your area in a 40 mile radius of your school ­with scale (try GoogleMaps or MapQuest) Big Map of your region or state (within about 280 miles of your school) ­with scale (ditto) Large Circle Compass, or length of string (for finding point of interest at particular distance from school) Geologic Time Scale Chart (spreadsheet) Demo TimeMarker Scale strip on Map Sample "Time Map" of your area (or another area, as an example, e.g.,...) Sample "Time Map" of San Francisco Bay Area Sample "Time Map" of Middle California Teacher Guide for using TimeMarker and Preparing Scaled Map Teacher Guide for Students Calculating Scale Dimensions Vertebrates Over Time Key: Vertical Bars from Labeled Tics Stack of 10 $1-bills, and a stack of 100 $1-bills (optional) "Jumbo" size paper clip (wire = 1mm thick This lesson will be conducted on a football or soccer field. Please refer to the football field pictures (awkward and useful scale) at the link below. Other Resources:

http://www.indiana.edu/~ensiweb/lessons/pat.in.time.html

Scale Events Worksheet Accumulating Traits in the Vertebrate Fossil Record (chart) TimeMarker Scale strip (1 per team) Scaled Map of your area (1 per team) Vertebrate Patterns (information and Practice Procedures) (1 per team) Vertebrates Over Time - Grid (Bare Time Scale Grid)... OR... Vertebrates Over Time - Tics (Tics for key group beginnings)...OR... Vertebrates Over Time - Labeled Tics (easiest/quickest)

Community Resource: Contact a volunteer organization, such as the athletic boosters, for help in supervising one's class over the expanse of a football/soccer field. This will facilitate a cross-disciplinary relationship between academics and athletics in the school. Alternatively, ask for parent volunteers for that day.

Outcomes Dimensions of K-12 Science Education Standards: Scientific and Engineering Practices: 1.5: Using mathematics and computational thinking

Crosscutting: 2.3: Scale, proportion, and quantity

Disciplinary Core Ideas: LS4: Biological evolution: Unity and diversity Next Generation Sunshine State Standards:

SC.912.L.15.1: Explain how the scientific theory of evolution is supported by the fossil record, comparative anatomy, comparative embryology, biogeography, molecular biology, and observed evolutionary change.

SC.912.L.15.8: Describe the scientific explanations of the origin of life on Earth. Content Literacy Standards:

MACC.912.NQ.1.1: Use units as a way to understand problems and to guide the solution of multi-step problems; choose and interpret units consistently in formulas; choose and interpret the scale and the origin in graphs and data displays.

MACC.912.N-Q.1.3: Choose a level of accuracy appropriate to limitations on measurement when reporting quantities.

Specific Learning Outcomes:

1. When given specific scale measurements and the correlating time frames, the student will calculate the distances of a million years ago with 100% accuracy. Application 2. Given a Geological Time Scale, the student will define appropriate quantities and interpret the scale to find the MAP distance with 100% accuracy. Knowledge 3. Given a Time Map, the student will plot the distance from their school to Cupertino with 100 % accuracy. Application 4. Given the Chronology of Vertebrates and transitions of classes, the student will explain the correlation between the two as Evolution with 90% accuracy. Evaluation

Presentation and Participation Behavior strategies include: • cooperative learning for developing the Vertebrates over time Grid/Tics • Demonstrations with the Calendar, Football field picture

Cognitive strategies include: • Brainstorming specific scale measurements and then correlate time frames. • Thinking activities to include a TimeMap to plot distance from their school. • Simulations for vertebrate patterns with Tics

Application/Process to include: • Inquiry based learning with developing a time scale and time map. • Project design for the Time Map and Vertebrate Adapatations.

Step One administer the pretest attached. Collect the paper and Begin to engage . 5 minutes

ENGAGE: FOSSILS OVER TIME

Use the Powerpoint presentation provided along with this

Introduction to fossils

Have some real fossils (and or plastic copies) of a variety of organisms for students to handle and share,

and also show pictures of fossils from the powerpoint presentation images. 1 minute

Ask: “if you found these fossils in some rocks, what questions would you ask? List some of the questions asked on the board, e.g. “what was it”?, “when did it live?”, “how old is it?”

Next, ask students to think about the age of the Earth.

Next, show the video clip about the age of the Earth TED-ED and then have students journal their favorite analogy of the age of Earth and answer the following questions. 3:45 minutes

“How was your perception of the age of the Earth affected by the video?”

Ask probing questions to get students thinking about time and distance: 3 minutes (COGNITIVE)

“How can you describe 1 million years to someone?”

“How do we measure time? Let students reply: counting seconds, clock, sun CALENDAR”

“Can we look at certain distances for time?” (distance from 11 to 12 on a clock, distance from Sunday to

Saturday on calendar, etc.; Show a big Calendar

Could we compare distances to explain “1 million years?”

If the days on your calendar are more than 1”, tell class “let’s assume that each day-square is 1 inch

across.”

If we use one inch here as a convenient length, how long would a week be? (7”)

(Show one inch and 7 inches on the paper tape)

How many weeks in a year? (52), so how many inches for a year? ( 7 x 52 = 364 inches)

Can you visualize 364 inches? (not easy) So, how could you do that?

(change to feet: 364” x 1 ft/12” = 30.3 feet

Roll out the tape to the 30.3 foot mark (~10 yards), or show that dimension in your classroom. ( 30.3 ft x 1 yd/3ft. = ~10 yards).

Ask “Where is there a place where you can see 100 yards easily?” (football field/soccer field)

You are more than 10 years old… (you can probably remember events over the past 10 years right?)

So you were born about a football field ago ( if 1 day is 1”), right? You are each more than a football field in age (fbf)!

Ask Students to think about a Different –Better-Scale:

A calendar scale is just too big to help us understand really deep time-many millions of years. So, “How

about shrinking 1 year of your life, down to the thickness of a $1 dollar bill. If we do this, how thick is ten years ( a stack of 10 $1 dollar bills)?” Show them that it is exactly 1mm. Note that 1 mm is also the thickness of a paper-clip wire. “What about 100 years-a human lifetime? (show them a 1 cm stack). Right 10 x 1mm = 10mm.”

Have them find 1 mm on their metric rulers, and look at the wire of a large paper clip. Ask how many mm in a meter? Show meter stick. If they don’t know, have them count mm in 1 cm (10), and cm in the meter (100), and so on. How many years would that be? (10 x 1000= 10,000 years). If 1 meter = 10,000 years, how many meters would equal to 100,000 years?

(100,000/10,000 = 10 meters); 1,000,000 years ( 1 million years)? (100 meters)

Right .. it would take 100 meters to equal 1,000,000 years…..1 million years.

What unit is a meter closest to in English measurements? (1 yard; show them 1 yardstick next to meterstick). So 100 meters is about ….100 yards, which you can visualize as being the length of …. A FOOTBALL FIELD! (or soccer field)

Now, if your lifetime so far is about 1mm, then a million years is about a football field long, right? Close your eyes and visualize a football field… Does that help to visualize a million? So, when we talk about a million, think of a football field of dollar bills! (if 10 years of your life were shrunk to 1mm)

Use the overhead projector, LCD , to show the scale equivalence so that all can see. (show that thickness of wire in a “Jumbo” paper clip = 1mm

1mm):

*Approximate distance in miles, based on 100 meter football field (0.6km = 1 mile)

When we talk about “one million years ago” we can abbreviate that with “1mya.

NEXT COOPERATIVE LEARNING ACITIVITY 10-15 minutes --(BEHAVIOR)

Place students in groups of 2-3 for the remainder of the lesson activities.

The students will need to have access to a football field/soccer field where they could approximate measurements to fit the timescale map and vertebrates over time tics mark grid exercise.

Distribute the premade Timermarker scale maps & Scales Events worksheet tables. Attached in lesson

Discuss that we are now talking about 10s and 100s of millions of years, so we’ll want to translate football fields into miles on a map of your area to get some idea of the vastness of time involved. You

will find that all the major fossils, on this scale will be less than about 40 miles away, a distance that students have traveled. Have a large map of your area and a large circle-drawing compass or two, e.g., a standard pencil-compass and probably an old chalkboard compass for longer distances, or use a string. Mark off circles with radii that represent key “distance” in time, so the kids can find landmarks (towns, special places, buildings etc.) that they may have visited, and therefore have some sense of their distances. A Geologic Time Scale Chart with such distances for key events in the geological past, based on the football field = 1 mya scale, is provided in attachments. Have students use their technology for googlemaps, mapquest etc..

Have students position a TimeMarkerScale, with its several key events in geological time, so that they can find familiar towns or other landmarks whose distances coincide approximately with those key events (mostly the earliest fossils for each major vertebrate group). The scale is based on 10 years = 1mm ( or 1 million years = a football field). Students then record the name of each town (or landmark) on their Scale Events Worksheet tables and answer the Discussion Question there. (APPLICATION)

*Samples to use from San Francisco Bay Map are attached to pull from for any help

NEXT, start the discussion on where might the vertebrates patterns in time fit into a timemarker scale?

Students should know that most of the familiar animals are vertebrates, and can be divided into five main classes: fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. If not, it would be good to review those groups, what they have in common (vertebrate traits), and what makes them different. Show pictures and models or living examples of each group, and either provide the two-page “Vertebrate Pattersn” handout for them to read (could be homework) or walk them through the “What are They?” and “Accumulating Traits” material on that handout, based on the abundant fossil record. All attachements.

Discuss How they are going to Build a “Vertebrates Over Time” Diagram. (APPLICATION)

15 minutes

For students to engage more deeply with how vertebrate group origins are staggered over massive amounts of time (many tens of millions of years), have your students plot those beginnings (earliest fossils for each vertebrate class) on a time grid for the past 530 million years, shifting the tic mark about 2 cm to the right for each successive emergence, from the earliest to the most recent.

A bare grid for “Vertebrates Over Time” is provided, or you could use the prepared grid, with tic marks already in place to save time.

Instructions are given on the handouts. You may want to illustrate with the Powerpoint slides provided. For fastest version, use the “Labeled Tics” grid: students simply draw vertical lines tracing the group from its beginning to the present—except for the pre-mammals (most helpful for middle school use).

Next, students label each of those “firsts” with the name of that group. For example, the 500 mya mark would be labeled “1st Jawless Fish” and so on. Use the “Accumulating Traits” table for this. In addition, if you like, students could add a few of the key NEW traits associated with each group. And have them notice how many millions of years passed between each new emergence.

To show that each group (except one) continues to exist to the present, have students draw vertical lines from each tic mark up to the most recent members of that group (top line). All but one will meet the “NOW” line at the top. Label each vertical line with the name of that class. For an example of this process, show your students slides 33, 34, and 35 in the Powerpoint presentation for this lesson.

Have each group make a label for one tic as directed by the teacher for their group. You can take these labeled tics to the football field/soccer field and mark off each of the timeframe scales with the prepared grid from the beginning activity.

TO analyze the vertebrate Fossil Pattern 5 minutes closing --USING INQUIRY (Application)

Point out the stair-step pattern of the different times of emergence for each vertebrate class. Emphasize how there are NO fossils of any class prior to (below) those earliest fossils marking the time of emergence. Ask your class, “What does this staggered emergence suggest about the possible origin of each class? (Cognitive)

Conclude with discussion on some possible hypotheses like the following:

“Could all the vertebrates originate at one time, but the early fossils of some just haven’t been found?”

(possibly, but not likely, since fossil scientitsts have searched long and hard in sediment of those ages and there is a consistenly clear absence of fossils of each group prior to the earliest ever found).

“Could each just magically appear ( or be created), one following the other?” (possible, but science can’t use magic for an explanation, because true magic can’t be tested”.)

“Could each class have come from one of the previous classes? (possible, and testable, so go with this one!! Ask, “If so, what kind of evidence would strengthen that hypothesis?

Questions: (3 higher order—analysis, synthesis, evaluation)

1. Why do you think adaptations were needed as plants moved from water onto

land? (Analysis)

2. Compare and contrast two symbiotic relationships that helped plants survive on land. (Analysis)

3. How would you explain the fact that no individual trees are found to be older than about 4,500 years old? Justify your response. (Evaluation)

Reflection:

See Post-Test Attached Written formative assessment will take place through the Post-test (same as Pre­test). Assessment will be handed back to the students to go over answers and clear up misconceptions.

Safety:

Teacher will orally review the safety rules as follows and specifically demonstrate for students. Even though they are on a football or soccer field, no horseplay is allowed in science classes. Students should be mindful of their surroundings at all times. No student should be left alone; no students should separate themselves from the class group except for the scale map.

Make sure that you have a list of any known student allergies to grass, fertilizer or sun. Affected students should be given the opportunity for an alternative assignment as necessary. Other students should be allowed to wear hats and put on sunscreen. Some students may not be familiar with artificial surfaces for soccer or football. Caution them once again about running and quick turns without the proper shoes for that surface. Sprained ankles or worse could result.

Tape measures should be used with caution to prevent rapid return. Meter sticks and yardsticks are for measurements not “sword fighting” or “walking canes.” A first aid kit should be brought out to the field for minor cuts or scrapes

Transformative: (Accommodations for at least 2 special needs students)

ESOL- This student is classified ESOL having Spanish as his first language. The student will be provided a printed Spanish version of all the materials. The student will also be paired up with another capable student to be able to assist him with the activity.

Visually Impaired- This student is visually impaired not blind. She will be provided with materials with large print. This student will also have another student for help.

Dyslexia- This student has Dyslexia. Teacher will read aloud all of the instructional materials. This student will also be paired with another capable student.

Utilize:

This is based off of a 60% pass rate on the post test. One of the strengths of this lesson was that the students had no issues being able to read the timeline. Another strength the students had was being able to understand that Earth is much older than they imagined it is. One of the weaknesses the students had understood the order of the organisms. A way that this can be improved is to reteach the students about each organisms, and what each one of them require for survival and how one needed the other to be able to progress. Another weakness the students had understood the discoveries of the Miller experiment. They had issues understanding that nucleotides made amino acids which made proteins. One way this can be retaught is to put the students in groups and give them a worksheet that has them build amino acids from nucleotides and have the students label each piece of the puzzle.