Fellow name: Kris Kaiser Title of Lesson: Declining Amphibians ...

Fellow
name:
Kris
Kaiser
Title
of
Lesson:
Declining
Amphibians:
Where
have
all
the
frogs
gone?
School:
Culver
City
High
School
Grade
Level:
9
(9‐12)
Subject(s):
Biology
Summary
In
this
lesson,
students
learn
about
global
amphibian
declines,
and
how
they
relate
to
human
changes
to
environments.

The
lesson
starts
with
a
lecture
on
amphibians,
which
differentiates
amphibians
from
reptiles
and
introduces
students
to
very
basic
amphibian
biology,
to
help
them
understand
why
they
may
be
more
likely
to
decline
than
other
vertebrate
groups,
and
introduced
to
the
concept
of
amphibian
declines.

After
that,
students
are
broken
into
groups,
and
given
one
potential
cause
for
amphibian
declines.
They
are
to
act
as
scientists,
read
the
information
given,
and
determine
whether
they
think
their
assigned
factor
is
a
significant
cause
for
global
amphibians.

On
the
final
day,
students
hold
a
debate
or
town
hall
meeting,
where
they
present
their
evidence
for
or
against
their
factor.
In
what
way
is
your
lesson/activity
inquiry­based?
Students
are
given
non‐biased
information
with
information
about
the
assigned
factor,
and
it
is
their
job
to
act
as
a
scientist
to
interpret
it
and
present
it
to
the
class
and
justify
it.
Time
Required
Four
50‐minute
class
periods;
more
or
less
depending
on
amount
of
work
assigned
outside
of
class;
short
discussion
(10‐15
minutes)
on
fifth
day;
may
be
fit
into
debate
day
if
debate
runs
short.
Group
Size
Approximately
4
students
Cost
to
implement
$10/class
Learning
Objectives
After
this
lesson,
students
should
be
able
to:
‐Explain
the
difference
between
amphibians
and
reptiles
‐List
and
describe
several
causes
for
amphibian
declines
‐Explain
what
makes
amphibians
susceptible
to
declines
than
other
vertebrates
‐Relate
the
causes
of
amphibian
declines
to
human
changes
to
the
environment,
and
how
these
changes
can
affect
all
of
biodiversity
‐Define
terms
such
as
metamorphosis
and
indicator
species.

Introduction
/
Motivation
Not
provided
Procedure
Day
1:
Power
Point
Lecture
on
Amphibians
and
Reptiles
/
Introduction
to
Amphibian
Declines
Day
2/3:
Students
are
broken
into
groups
and
assigned
topic
for
debate,
and
given
grading
rubric.
Students
may
need
more
time,
and
some
of
ours
came
in
at
lunch
or
after
school.
If
an
extra
day
is
warranted,
or
if
you
want
to
give
students
time
to
do
extra
research
online,
build
it
in
here.

Students
should
be
warned
that
they
will
NOT
be
given
time
to
work
on
projects
in
class
the
day
of
the
debate.
Each
team
should
also
be
given
a
second
role
to
look
at
and
familiarize
themselves
with.

They
will
not
present
this
information,
but
they
will
“keep
the
other
team
honest.”
Let
them
know
they
are
specifically
in
charge
of
asking
that
particular
team
questions,
as
they
have
information,
though
they
can
ask
any
team
questions.

Point
out
that
this
means
that
each
team
has
some
of
their
information,
as
well,
so
they
need
to
know
their
material.

You
can
give
them
the
full
sheet
or
the
slightly
pared‐down
“secondary
role”
version.

It
helps
if
students
take
notes.
Day
4:
Students
hold
debate.


We
required
each
student
to
speak.

Presentations
were
2‐3
minutes,
maximum.
Day
5:
Short
discussion
on
reflections
on
the
debate.
Ask
students
what
the
main
cause
of
declines
is.
Allow
several
students
to
answer.
If
no
one
says
“humans,”
see
if
students
can
see
that
humans
are
the
common
thread
behind
all
of
the
causes.

Assign
reflection.
Debate:
Each
group
presents
their
project,
and
then
other
students
are
allowed
to
ask
questions.

Teams
are
judged
partly
on
their
ability
to
field
questions
(within
reason).
Students
are
graded
on
participation,
i.e.,
asking
questions
during
the
debate.
In
addition
to
their
topic,
each
group
has
been
given
a
small
amount
of
information
on
a
secondary
topic,
so
each
group
that
presents
has
another
team
who
knows
something
about
their
topic
and
should
be
able
to
ask
informed
questions
even
if
no
one
else
participates.
Optional:
Students
expressed
an
interest
in
being
able
to
do
presentations
with
visual
aids
other
than
just
posters.

One
option
is
to
allow
students
to
present
their
work
using
different
media
at
your
discretion,
as
long
as
it
meets
the
grading
criteria.
Also
optional:
focus
question/question
of
the
day
/
warm
up
each
day,
if
used,
can
incorporate
the
lesson:

Day
1
(lecture)
–
(warm
up
for
day
2
or
focus
for
that
day):
List
3‐5
new
things
you
learned
during
the
lecture.
Day
2:
Summarize
your
primary
factor
for
the
amphibian
decline
project.
Day
3:
Summarize
your
secondary
factor
for
the
amphibian
decline
project.
Day
4
(Debate):
Do
you
think
there
is
one
major
factor
causing
amphibian
declines?
Explain.
Materials
List
Each
group
will
need:
1
Poster
board
Art
supplies
Optional:
Printer,
computer
with
internet
access;
Power
Point;
other
media
for
students
to
create
presentations
To
share
with
the
entire
class:
One
classroom
set
of
grading
rubrics,
Copies
of
one
amphibian
decline
for
each
team,
ideally
in
protective
plastic
sleeves.
If
copies
are
limited,
allow
students
to
take
handouts
home
by
request
only.
Safety
Issues
None
Lesson
Closure
Short
discussion
on
the
final
day
closes
the
lesson,
and
then
the
reflection
assignment
allows
assessment
of
whether
students
really
grasped
the
concepts.
Is
this
lesson
based
upon
or
modified
from
existing
materials?
If
yes,
please
specify
source(s)
and
explain
how
related:
Parts
of
scenarios
are
based
loosely
on
the
Case
of
the
Missing
Anurans.
References
www.hamline.edu/cgee/frogs/teachers/activity/CaseofMA.pdf
http://www.uoregon.edu/~titus/herp/documents/girardeau.html
http://amphibiaweb.org/declines/IntroSp.html
http://www.frogsaustralia.net.au/conservation/cane-toads.cfm
http://www.saracooks.com/articles/20021222_001.html
Attachments
Kaiser
where
have
all
the
frogs
gone.ppt
–
lecture
slides
Amphibian
Population
Declines
Background
Info.doc
–
handout
for
students
Amphibian
Decline
Project
Written
Reflection.doc
–
Lesson
wrap
up
assignment
amphibian
decline
town
hall
rubric.doc
–
Grading
rubric
amphibian
decline
town
hall
roles.doc
–
Team
roles

amphibian
decline
town
hall
secondary
roles.doc
List
CA
Science
Standards
addressed:
6. Stability in an ecosystem is a balance between competing effects.
As a basis for understanding this concept:
a. Students know biodiversity is the sum total of different kinds of
organisms and is affected by alterations of habitats.
b. Students know how to analyze changes in an ecosystem resulting from changes in
climate, human activity, introduction of nonnative species, or changes in population
size.
Lesson
Implementation
Comments
The students were overwhelmingly positive in the reflection of the project. They really enjoyed
it, and because it’s something with animals, and something out of the ordinary, they got into it.
The quiet kids, the artistic kids, the girls, they all loved it, surprisingly enough. Kids that
normally don’t really like biology, loved it. One kid called it hands down his favorite project
he’d ever done.