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Bosque School
7th Grade Integrated Science
Syllabus 2007 - 2008
Kari Daniels, Tom Allen, and Dan Shaw
I. General Goals
1. To broadly meet roughly a third of the middle school science standards as
stated in the National Research Council's National Science Education Standards
(1996).
2. To engage in real, inquiry based research and applied science projects
where students work and share their data with other students, government,
university, and other scientists.
3. To allow students the time to experience their local landscape in ways that
allows them to build direct, personal, and visceral connections with it.
II. Description:
In seventh grade, students expand their studies outward from the Rio Grande
and engage in a watershed wide exploration. On a monthly basis, students
monitor the biological, chemical, and physical characteristics of their home
watershed. From river bottom to mountain-top, climbing five thousand vertical
feet, through five life zones, students use the environment at hand to
understand ecological concepts and scientific principles. Furthermore, they
share their research findings with other students, natural resource agency,
university, and other scientists.
In seventh grade, students venture forth into a watershed wide exploration of
their environment. On a monthly basis, students monitor about a dozen water
quality and quantity parameters at several surface water sites in their local
area. Students study biological, chemical, and physical conditions in this
integrated science program. Students come to understand how water quality and
quantity are influenced by what the watershed consists of as well as what
takes place across that landscape. As appropriate and as time permits,
students participate in other related investigations.
Students conduct their surface monitoring through participation in a New
Mexico Department of Game and Fish sponsored Watershed Watch program. In it,
students are part of a state-wide network of student monitors. The surface
water research sites include a high mountain stream north east of Albuquerque,
a small stream in Albuquerque's eastern foothills, two merging streams in the
Jemez Mountains, and the main channel of the Rio Grande. The main channel site
is adjacent to a long-term environmental monitoring site that is part of a Rio
Grande Bosque study (Valett, 1996).That site is intensively studied by sixth
grade BPS students so it provides educational and geographical continuity for
returning Bosque School seventh grade students. Students also look at
watershed conditions, such as fire and land uses, as they impact water issues.
Seventh grade science students share their data with other researchers and the
community at large. Students make formal presentations to other students from
other schools. Student field work is supported by laboratory, classroom, and
computer room activities. This includes the use of spreadsheets to manage and
analyze data.
III. Course Content and Objectives
By the end of seventh grade science, students will develop a strong
understanding of laboratory procedures and other research activities. Students
will also have the opportunity to understand their relationship to their local
watershed. Where possible science coursework will integrate with other
subjects (such as using math concepts, writing skills, and drawing techniques
developed in other disciplines within science). Also, coursework will be
supported by selected readings from naturalists and scientists such as
Leopold, Dillard, Meehan, Nabhan, and Trimble.
III A. Meeting National Standards
Broadly speaking, the following specific sections of the middle school portion
of the national science education standards (National Research Council, 1996)
are incorporated into the 7th grade integrated science curriculum (standard
details can be found in the referenced text):
4A. Science as inquiry
a. Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
b. Understandings about scientific inquiry
4B. Physical Science
a. Properties and changes of properties in matter
c. Transfer of energy
4C. Life science
a. Structure and function in living systems
b. Reproduction and heredity
c. Regulation and behavior
d. Population and ecosystems
e. Diversity and adaptations of organisms
4D. Earth and Space Science
a. Structure of the earth system
b. Earth's history
4E. Science and Technology
b. Understandings about science and technology
4F. Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
b. Populations, resources, and environments
c. Natural hazards
d. Risks and benefits
e. Science and technology in society
4G. History and nature of science
a. Science as human endeavor
b. Nature of science
c. History of science
In addition to the national standards students will master:
1. The ability to extend and apply the scientific skills and knowledge learned
in 6th grade science;
2. The ability to respectfully and productively interact within a group to
investigate phenomena and solve problems;
3. The ability to incorporate skills and knowledge gained from other
disciplines into science as well as to use scientific skills and knowledge in
other disciplines.
III B. Orientation to Watershed Monitoring
During the first semester, students are introduced to the seventh grade
watershed monitoring program. They go to each of the primary monitoring sites
where they learn the procedures for monitoring a dozen water quality and
quantity parameters. First time visits to sites will involve a fair amount of
exploration, observation and reflection to help students develop a positive
feeling about each site. Throughout the first semester, it is assumed that
students will have little understanding about the meaning of their results and
the underlying scientific principles. At first they will do more than they
understand.
By the end of the first semester students shall:
- Know how and why to safely conduct themselves in lab and field settings and
do so.
- Know how and why to gather a representative water sample and do so.
- Properly operate a spectrophotometer, turbidity meter, TDS meter,
thermometer, and at
least two pH measuring devices.
- Measure streamflow with no more than a 10% margin of error.
- Accurately and neatly record results and observations
- Define the following terms/concepts in their own words:
watershed macroinvertebrate turbidity
spectrophotometer turbidity meter TDS
TDS meter pH streamflow
cubic feet per second representative sample
- Know where the following places are in relation to each other:
Bosque School Rio Grande Embudo Canyon
Albuquerque Sandia Mountains Las Huertas Canyon
Interstate 25 Placitas Sandia Reservation
Jemez Mountains East Fork Jemez River San Antonio Creek
- Know how and why our stream monitoring activities benefit human, fish, and
other animal populations. Know who uses the data we collect.
- Know how to enter data in a spreadsheet and do computer based scientific
presentation
First Semester Student Activities
Orientation field experience
- Introduction to primary sites through personal investigation and awareness
building activities
- Introduction to the interaction between the water cycle and landscape
- Sampling technique. How to take a representative water sample from a stream
- Introduction to watershed, slope, and run off
Orientation field experience to Las Huertas Canyon and Jemez Mountain sites
- Introduction to site through readings from previous 7th graders
- Exploration of area and land uses
- Introduction to downstream uses of Las Huertas and Jemez creeks water
- Introduction to water testing and stream gaging
Orientation field experience on the main stem of the Rio Grande
- Introduction of stream ordering concept
- Compare and contrast lower order and higher order streams
- Conduct stream monitoring
- Call USGS for streamflow data
Introduction to the use of the following equipment for the following tests:
- Spectrophotometer/Colorimeter: (copper; nitrates; nitrogen, ammonia;
phosphorus)
- Total dissolved solids (TDS) meter: (total dissolved solids)
- pH color wheel, pH paper, &/or pH meter: (pH)
- Turbidity meter: (turbidity)
Field work at the Zoo and Montano fire sites
- Follow up on the research done by previous 7th grade students related to
fire ecology and cottonwood forest regeneration.
- Introduction to scientific report writing including proper format,
documentation, content, and presentation of findings to the natural
resource management/scientific community.
Field experiences at Rio Grande Nature Center and/or Tingley Beach
- Introduction to using macroinvertebrates as indicators of water quality
- Gross sorting of macroinvertebrates to taxanomic order
- Exploration of the differences between ponds, lakes, streams, and rivers
Continued stream monitoring of the primary sites as assigned in a monthly
rotation of the various seventh grade sections.
First semester supporting lab, classroom, and computer room activities may
include:
-Slope and microwatershed calculations: "Watershed" (Aquatic Project WILD
activity)
- Building 3-D models in the sand of the Albuquerque area watershed
- Organizing and compiling a field/lab notebook
- Organizing and entering data into individual spreadsheets
- Calculation activities of streamflow and water use within New Mexico
- Report writing on cottonwood fire ecology findings
- Stream ordering activity using New Mexico maps
First semester opportunities for advanced work and extra credit
- Represent the school at the New Mexico Watershed Watch (NMWW) fall
gathering. Gain information and technical skill using water testing equipment.
Become a peer educator who trains other students based on skills learned at
the NMWW fall gathering.
- Participate in Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge wildlife surveys
- Hike from the top of the watershed down to monitoring locations. Along the
way note land forms,
springs, vegetation patterns, and land use activities.
III C. Mastering Skills & Concepts
In the second semester, students continue to go to the field on a monthly
basis and gather additional data at their primary field sites (Las Huertas,
Embudo, and the Rio Grande). Students build on the multi-year watershed
monitoring data base and enter data into a spreadsheet. They come to
understand what their results mean.
By the end of the second semester students shall:
-Have mastery of the concept: "Interaction between the water cycle and
landscape." Mastery of supporting terms including: Watercycle, landscape,
water table, ground water, surface water, aquifer, floodplain, wetlands,
watershed, levee, bosque, riparian, arroyo, canal, acequia,
evapotranspiration, headwaters, meander, and tributary.
- Have mastery of the concept: "Stream Chemistry." Mastery of supporting terms
including: Chemistry, atom, molecule, proton, neutron, electron, element,
compound, ion, nucleus, acid, base, salt, hydrogen ion, hydroxide ion,
phosphorus, periodic table, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, copper."
-Have mastery of the concept: "Water pollution." Mastery of supporting terms
including: Pollution, dilution, concentration, effluent, erosion, total
dissolved solids, turbidity, sediment, nitrates, eutrophic, nutrient, toxic,
toxin, acute, chronic, parts per million, milligrams per liter, state
standard, federal standard, indicator species, tolerant, intolerant.
- Have mastery of the use of the turbidity meter, spectrophotometer,
colorimeter, TDS meter, and a pH measuring device and explain how each device
works.
Second Semester Student Activities
- Continued stream monitoring of the three primary sites as assigned in a
monthly rotation of the various seventh grade sections. Continued updating of
the watershed watch computer spreadsheet.
- Watershed lecture series. Guest speakers with various perspectives and
expertise on watershed health and human use of watersheds. Likely topics include:
- Groundwater issues in New Mexico
- Defining the boundary: Explorations along the Continental Divide
- Comparing and contrasting the Rio Grande Watershed to another watershed
- Scarce resource - Many demands. Conflicts and pressures on the Rio Grande
Second Semester supporting lab, classroom, and computer room activities may
include:
- Activities on the characteristics of water: "Hangin' Together," "H2O
Olympics," "Is There Water on Zork," and "Molecules in Motion," "Branching
Out," and "Just Passing Through." (All from Project WET activity guide).
- Activities that explore the interplay between some combination of the
following: rain, surface water, ground water, vegetation, wildlife, and human
activity:
-"Blue Ribbon Niche, "Dragonfly Pond," "Hooks & Ladders" (From Aquatic
Project WILD)
- "Rainfall and the Forest" (From Project WILD)
- Drinking water investigation: "Tapwater Tour" (From LaMotte)
- Wetlands and watershed investigations: "Field, Forest, & Stream," "Watch on
Wetlands," and "Water Wonders." (From Project Learning Tree.)
Second Semester opportunities for advanced work
- Attend the New Mexico Watershed Watch winter gathering. Learn how to sort
macroinvertebrates to the family level and become a peer educator for that topic.
- Participate in Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge wildlife surveys
- Participate in a watershed/marine biology related winterim activity or
internship.
III D. Making Connections and Presentations
While continuing to do their monthly monitoring, student focus shifts to
finding the underlying meaning of their work and presenting their findings to
others in a variety of formats. The final culminating canoe trip is a
celebration of the river system as an educational, cultural, and life
sustaining entity.
By the end of this unit, each student shall:
- Create their own data summary chart for the current school year for each of
the primary stream monitoring locations. Be able to use that chart to explain
trends and patterns within the data and areas of concern based on human or
fish standards. Be able to analyze similar data sets and interpret trends and
discern meaning.
- Know how to assess and then merge the results of a variety of stream
condition indicators to do a riparian assessment.
- As assigned, for at least two parameters studied, develop an expertise. The
expertise for each of those two parameters shall include detailed knowledge of:
- Applicable state and federal standards and any time(s) the standard were
not met
- Current school year trends and patterns within the data
- Historic trends and patterns within the data from previous years
- How the results are obtained, likely causes of biases or inaccuracies
within the results
- Primary causes or potential causes for the results obtained
- Be able to use a dichotomous key to classify collected macroinvertebrates to
the taxonomical level of family. Be able to use a provided chart to indicate
how relatively tolerant a given family of macroinvertebrates is to pollution.
Student Activities
- Visit Hawkwatch spring migration site. Examine how raptors, like streams,
can be an indicators of overall ecosystem health. Gain a general understanding
of the following terms:
Raptors Migration Endangered Threatened
Buteos Accipiters Eagles Falcons
Vultures Osprey Harriers Kites
Owls Niche
- Working with a small group of students develop a 30 to 45 minute hands-on
presentation on some aspect of watershed monitoring or bosque biology that can
take place in the field. Create lesson plans and necessary supporting props
and materials. Present that activity at least four times to students from
another school.
- Working with another student who shares an area of expertise create a poster
presentation of a studied parameter for the school's student watershed
congress. Present the key concepts to visiting water and natural resource
professionals at the Bosque hosted watershed congress.
- Prepare and submit a final end of school year written report for the New
Mexico Department of Game and Fish on at least one studied parameter.
- Culminating end of year canoe trip.
Supporting lab, classroom, and computer room activities may include:
- Instruction on the nature of teaching and how to involve people (Good vs.
Bad scenarios)
Opportunities for advanced work
- Attend the New Mexico Watershed Watch student congress. Present our school's
findings to the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, other participating
schools, and other interested people and organizations.
- Sort an entire site's macroinvertebrate sample to the family level. Use the
watershed biotic index to assess the family biotic index.
- Participate in Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge wildlife surveys
- Assist with an acequia's spring ditch cleaning
IV. Assessment Methods:
Assessment is based on demonstrating competence in the field of science and
mastering core concepts. This is done through full participation in
individual and group experiments and research projects. These projects
involve literature reviews, designing and conducting experiments, data
collection and analysis, and presenting results. Supporting assessment
methodologies include traditional tests and the review of student lab and
field journals. Students learn to critique their own performance. At least
once a term, teachers provide students and their parents with a written
assessment narrative. A failing grade can result from: academic and/or
scientific dishonesty; failure to competently perform assigned tasks; and not
mastering core material.
V. Student Responsibilities
Through discussion and consensus, students establish their own community and
classroom standards of conduct. Much of the class work takes place away from
the classroom. Work done away from the school is EQUALLY as important as work
done at the school. At all times, students are expected to exercise restraint,
responsibility, and respect as described in the student handbook.
This class includes adversity and challenge within the confines of a safe
environment. Every reasonable attempt is made to provide each student with a
safe learning environment both in the lab and away from the school. Students
must help to protect themselves by following stated safety guidelines.
Students are expected to know when the next lab and/or field session takes
place and be prepared with the proper clothing and equipment. Aside from being
prepared for lab and field sessions, there is no regular homework in science
class.
Homework is not a routine part of science class. Work not completed in class
becomes homework. Year end reports and poster presentations may require some
out of class preparation.
VI. Instructional Resources
- Students create their primary resources through the process of keeping and
creating their own "Watershed Journals" as well as their own field and lab
notes and reports
- Much of the curriculum is drawn from, and students consult, original
scientific research and natural resource management documents including:
City of Albuquerque Parks and General Services Department. (1993). Bosque
action plan Rio Grande Valley State Park. Albuquerque, NM: Author.
Crawford, C.S. et. al (1993). Middle Rio Grande Ecosystem: Bosque biological
management plan. Albuquerque, NM: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Ellis, L.M, Molles, M.C., and Crawford, C.S. (1996). Seasonal flooding and
riparian forest restoration in the Middle Rio Grande Valley. Albuquerque:
Department of Biology, University of New Mexico.
Finch, D.M. and Tainter, J.A., tech eds. (1995). Ecology diversity and
sustainability of the Middle Rio Grande Basin. Gen. Tech. Rep. RM-GTR-268.
Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky
Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 186 p.
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. (1996). Middle Rio Grande water assessment
executive summary. Albuquerque, NM: Author.
Other curriculum is drawn from or heavily influenced by a variety of sources
including:
American Forest Foundation, Inc. (1993). PLT environmental education activity
guide. Washington, DC: Author.
American Forest Foundation, Inc. (1995). Project Learning Tree, secondary
environmental education program: Exploring environmental issues: Focus on
forests. Washington, DC: Author.
Chadwick, S. and Henderson, C. (1992). An introduction to wildland ethics and
management. Lander, WY: National Outdoor Leadership School.
Clark, I.G. (1987). Water in New Mexico: A history of its management and use.
Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
Colorado Division of Wildlife. (1990). Manual for river watch network. Denver,
CO: Author.
Dillard, A. (1974). Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. New York: Bantam.
Fleming, W. and Schrader, R. (1998). New Mexico watershed watch workbook: A
watershed ecosystem approach to water quality education. Santa Fe: New Mexico
Department of Game and Fish.
Hach Company. (1992). Water analysis handbook. Loveland, CO: Author.
LaMotte Company. (1989). The tapwater tour. Chestertown, MD: Author.
Leopold, A. (1949). A Sand County almanac. New York: Oxford University Press.
MacEacher, D. (1990). Save our planet: 750 everyday ways you can help clean up
the Earth. New York: Dell Publishing.
Mitchell, M.K. and Stapp, W.B. (1995). Field manual for water quality
monitoring (9th ed.). Ann Arbor, MI: Thomson Shore, Inc.
National Research Council. (1996). National science education standards.
Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Nabhan, G.P. and Trimble, S. (1994). The geography of childhood. Boston:
Beacon Press.
Rohnke, K. (1988). Cowstails and cobras II: A guide to games, iniatives, and
ropes courses. Beverly, MA: Wilkscraft Creative Printing.
Rohnke, K. (1988). Silver bullets: A guide to games, initiative problems,
adventure games, and trust. Beverly, MA: Wilkscraft Creative Printing
Shaw, D.C. ed. (1998). Bosque ecosystem monitoring program: Set up and
monitoring directions guidebook. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico,
Biology Department.
Stuever, M.C. and Morris, L. (1995). The bosque education guide. Albuquerque,
NM: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The Watercourse and Western Regional Environmental Education Council,
Inc.(1995). Project WET curriculum and activity guide. Bozeman, MT: Author.
Valett, H.M. (1996). "Proposal to the National Science Foundation: Informal
science education supplement to stream/groundwater ecotones: hydrology,
biogeochemsitry and ecology, (Grant No. DEB-9420510, Amendment No. 004)".
Albuquerque: University of New Mexico, Biology Department.
Western Regional Environmental Education Council, Inc. (1992). Project WILD
and Aquatic Project WILD activity guides (2nd ed.) Bethesda, MD: Author.
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