Behind the News 2008
TITLE OF STORY:FROG FUTURE
Curriculum Outcome Links: Science, Society and Environment/HSIEDATE1/04/08
Behind the News 2008
Student learning outcomes
Students will:
- Develop an understanding of the issues regarding declining frog populations
- Understand the importance of frogs in ecosystems
- Generate key questions for inquiry and produce an end product based on their inquiry.
Focus Discussion
- There is only fifty of the ______frog left in the wild.
- How many species of frogs have become extinct in Australia?
- How many are threatened?
- What are the reasons for the number of frog species declining?
- How has human activity impacted on frog species?
- Why is it important to protect frog species?
- What are zoos around the world doing to try to solve the problem?
- Describe the breeding program at St Francis Primary School.
- What is the program trying to achieve?
- Describe in your own words what the story was about.
An inquiry based approach
Students will be developing some key questions to investigate why frogs are an integral part of ecosystems and bio-diversity.
In groups, ask students to come up with a range of possible questions around the topic of frogs.
Collect the questions from each group and display them. Discuss with students the criteria for selecting questions for inquiry. Questions that may be precluded include those which most students already know the answers to or that may require unavailable resources.
Students should be encouraged to generate their own questions however some possibilities include:
What are the likely causes of decline in the frog population?
Why are frogs important to the ecosystem?
What are bio-indicators?
Ask students to complete the following chart as they go through the inquiry process. This can be done individually, as a group or a whole class.
What do I know? / What do I want to know? / How will I find out? / What I have learnt?Once students have investigated their key questions, they need to think about how they are going to transform the information into an end product.
Discuss with students what the choices are for presenting the information they have found. Encourage students to choose a format they may be unfamiliar with. For example, if they would normally choose to write a written report, then encourage them to produce an animation. Some possible end products include:
- Mind map
- Animation
- Model
- Oral presentation
- Desktop publish
- Webquest
Follow-up Suggestions
NATURALISTIC
Create a frog friendly garden or a frog pond at your school. To find out more go to:
INTERPERSONAL
Research what is being done in your local area to preserve the frog population. Present your findings to your class.
LOGICAL AND MATHEMATICAL
Use the online puzzle maker to create a word search or crossword about frogs.
VERBAL – LINGUISTIC
Develop an advertisement that promotes the importance of frogs in ecosystems.
BODILY – KINAESTHETIC
Develop a board game or multimedia game about frogs.
Related Research Links
Breeding program to save Corroboree frog
Life cycle of Corroboree frog
Information about frogs
Creating frog habitat
Information about the Corroboree frog
Learn about frogs
Zoo saving Corroboree frog
Life cycle and reproduction of Corroboree frog
Facts and games about frogs
Behind the News 2008