Curriculum Areas: Science
Recommended Levels: 5-8
Time Frame: 10 periods of 45 minutes
Tribal Affiliation: Oneida
Geographic Location: Wisconsin
Developed by: Becky S. Nutt
Email addresses of developers: bnutt@oneidanation.org
Date lesson was developed: 7-26-01
American Indian Standards: Science 5-8 – Life Science Standard C3
Goal: To understand the diversity, codependence and intricate balance of aquatic ecosystems.
Behavioral Objectives: Students will:
Prior Knowledge
Needed:
Materials and Resources Needed:
Culture Content and Strategies:
Fish have been a portion of the diet of Oneida people throughout time. Fish are also used in as fertilizers in soil. The life cycle of fish, specifically their spawn time, is used as an indicator of events to come.
Lesson Summary and Performance Tasks:
Asking students to tell about the biggest fish they have caught will tap student’s prior knowledge as a form of introduction. (In Wisconsin people take pride in telling the tallest tale about the “big one that got away”.) Students will then view illustrations of selected game fish which the teacher will project directly from the Wisconsin DNR website at http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/water/fhp/fish/3index.htm .
To further develop identification skills the teacher will lead a discussion of representative characteristics and how those characteristics are used to group species into families. For example the placement of dorsal fins or the general body shape are characteristics used for identification. Next the students will be given illustrations of the different species along with sheets which give the common and scientific names of the species arranged in family grouping. Students will be asked to match the illustration with the correct name for the species. When students are confident that they have correctly placed each species they will glue the illustration to the sheet to make their own individual guidebook. To integrate the Oneida language student will be given the Oneida name for each species.
Student will brainstorm a list of habitats where they fish can be found. The breakdown would include streams, rivers, lakes, ponds, the Great Lakes, and wetlands. Students will be divided into six groups. Each group will be assigned a habitat. They will research the habitat and produce a mural approximately 3’ X 4’ which depicts the characteristics of the ecosystem including other species, which would interact with the fish. The finished murals will be digitally photographed to be used later.
Once the murals are finished they will be used to review both fish identification and the aspects of a healthy ecosystem. To do this laminated cut outs of fish will be attached to the back of each student. Students will then move amongst each other asking yes or no questions about their characteristics and life styles. Once they believe they have a positive identification of themselves they will ask the teacher for confirmation. Next they will place their fish place their fish in its habitat by placing a small piece a tape on its back so as not to damage the murals. Once all students have identified their fish the entire class will examine the placements. Students will be asked if they disagree with any specific placement as a lead in to a discussion of the adaptability of some species and the very specific needs of others.
To add a fun-filled element the students will be taken to a local lake to fish. Digital camera will be brought along to capture the excitement and document those species that are caught.
Back in the classroom each of the six previously assigned groups will develop a web page to present information about the habitats they researched and the fish most commonly found in each habitat. Because some of the fish may be found in multiple habitats each group will be given a list of fish they will include in their web page. To further integrate the Oneida language students will be asked to utilize one or more fish phrases in their work. A requirement for the finished project will be two or more links to websites discussing either habitat or fish identification. Before breaking out into groups to work on the final project students will help to develop a rubric for use in grading the project. View a project example.
Finally each group will present their finished web pages to the class for evaluation.
Assessment:
Technology Integration:
Digital photography
Student web pages
Enrichment/Remediation:
Identification games