Using the On-line Interactive Activities in the Classroom

NorthwestPark Science

Welcome Teachers!

Please use this section to better understand how the on-line interactive activities are organized. Each interactive activity is correlated to Washington's Essential Academic Learning Requirements. They are designed primarily for sixth through eighth grades, but can be adapted for older and younger students. We recommend that students work in teams when using this web site. By working in groups of two or three, students will be able to learn and engage in problem solving as a group. In the today's scientific climate, research is always a team effort.

Four of the activities were designed using applied science and/or real data. When encountering authentic science, students may be compelled to consider careers in these fields or may be inspired to discover natural wonders on their own and with their families.

In the simple act solving the puzzles in this site, students engage in active problem solving. In a simplified form, problem solving uses the same processes scientists use when they employ the scientific method.

We hope that this web site provides some helpful tools for learning about and enjoying your national parks.

Activity / Focal Grade levels / Page
Glaciers – a balance for our rivers / 6 – 8, adaptable through 12th / 2
Forest Ecology – a cycle of life / 4 – 6, adaptable through 8th / 3
Forest Carnivores – the energy pyramid / 4 – 6, adaptable through 8th / 4
Bird Surveys – a science of estimation / 6 – 8, adaptable through 12th / 5
Volcanic History – reading the layers of time / 4 – 6, adaptable through 12th / 7
Lewis and Clark – an exploration of language / 4 – 8, adaptable through 10th / 8

Hardware and Software Recommendations:

  • Windows Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator 6.0 or greater
  • Macromedia Flash 6.0 or greater

Glaciers – a balance for our rivers

Objective: Students will…

  • Understand the relationship between glaciers and river flow.
  • Learn how climate affects the development of glaciers.
  • Demonstrate their understanding of the difference between bar and line graphs and their ability to interpret them.

Essential Academic Learning Requirements:

  • Science 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 3.2
  • Mathematics1.2, 1.4, 1.5, 2.1, 3.1 - 3.3, 5.1, 5.2

Grades: 6 – 8, adaptable through 12th

Background:

Researchers at North Cascades and elsewhere are monitoring glacial mass. Not only are they measuring glaciers to learn about global climate change, but also to learn how yearly glacial melting affects rivers in the Northwest. They are finding that glaciers act as a kind of buffer to drought. During times when precipitation is low and temperatures are high, glaciers release water into rivers. The effect is that many rivers in the Northwest do not fluctuate as much as they would without glaciers.

Procedure:

1)Explain the differences between bar graphs and line graphs to your students. Demonstrate the how the stacked bar graph displays combined data, as shown in the River Flow Chart.

2)Explain how scientists use indices to describe complex information. In this activity, the General Heat Index and Precipitation Index are fictitious indices describing the overall climatic regime. Explain how climate affects glacier development.

3)In groups of two or three, have the students try to solve the problem in the activity.

4)Gather the class together and have the students discuss why flow in rivers is moderated due to glaciers and climate.

Additional Option:

Have each group research the climatic regime of a location where glaciers exist elsewhere on earth. Have each group hypothesize what the month-to-month river flow is for a river in those glacial watersheds based on the climate information they gather. They should then research glacial rivers in those locations to see if their hypotheses are correct.

Forest Ecology – a cycle of life

Objective: Students will…

  • Explain how organisms interact with their environment.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of how energy cycles through ecological systems.
  • Understand sentence structure by organizing incomplete sentences.

Essential Academic Learning Requirements:

  • Science1.1, 1.2, 1.3
  • Reading 1.1, 1.2

Grades: 4 – 6, adaptable through 8th

Background:

Ecosystems depend on the flow of natural cycles. The water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles are three very fundamental ones. We depend on these basic cycles as much as we do on those cycles that are less apparent—such as fire. In many ecosystems, especially in forests, the fire cycle is an essential cycle that helps renew life, soils, and process integrity. Fire helps to generate nutrients for plants and create habitat for animals.

Without fire and the other natural cycles, ecosystems can lose their strength and ability to fight disease and combat invasive species. Ecosystems can be compared to a movie in that all of the actors, actresses, and sets are critical, as is the story and the way everything interacts with each other. Biologists speak to a great extent about the need to protect biological diversity, yet for whole ecosystems, the ways in which ecosystems interact (the cycles and processes) is equally important.

Procedure:

1)Brainstorm with your students a variety of cycles in nature. Come up with a list of at least ten different cycles in nature. How do they differ? How are they the same?

2)In groups of two or three, have your student solve the forest ecology puzzle.

3)After all the groups have completed the puzzle, go around the room and have one student from each group read one segment from the puzzle. Start the reading at any location. Don’t stop the reading when the text returns to the point at which the reading began. After they read part of the way through again, stop them and ask them to determine where the beginning and end of the story is. Is there a beginning or an end?

Forest Carnivores – the energy pyramid

Objective: Students will…

  • Demonstrate knowledge of the trophic pyramid and the relationship between energy and the food web.
  • Understand how organisms interact with their environment and with other organisms to acquire and release energy.
  • Learn about the special stewardship responsibilities that humans have in regards to the environment.

Essential Academic Learning Requirements:

  • Science1.3, 2.2

Grades: 4 – 6, adaptable through 8th

Background:

In Northwest forest ecosystems, small carnivores feed on a great variety of small mammals. Those small mammals feed on a large base of vegetation and life that scientists call primary producers. And all life is based upon the abiotic characteristics of the landscape and atmosphere. These levels of life (primary producers, herbivores, carnivores, etc.) are what ecologists call trophic levels. They are simply a way to describe the food pyramid. Trophic levels are usually illustrated as a pyramid because energy is lost in the form of heat at each level. Consequently, the quantity of life that can be supported becomes smaller at each level. Ecosystems are typically composed of four trophic levels: producers, herbivores, small carnivores, and large carnivores.

Procedure:

1)Explain the concept of energy transfer within the food web and why the trophic pyramid develops out of energy use and loss within ecological systems. Discuss the different levels within the trophic pyramid: abiotic base, primary producers, herbivores, and large carnivores.

2)In groups of two or three, have the groups solve the forest carnivore energy pyramid puzzle.

3)As a class brainstorm other trophic systems, how they are organized, where do scavengers and omnivores fit in, and where do humans fall within this ecological structure.

4)Discuss the difference and the similarities between the human species and the other animals within the trophic pyramid.

Additional Option:

Have each group prepare an oral and graphical presentation on another ecological trophic pyramid found elsewhere on the planet. They should answer the following questions: on what abiotic factors does it depend, who lives in it, how is it organized, and what happens to the energy as it is released with the system.

Bird Surveys - a science of estimation

Objective: Students will…

  • Design, conduct, and evaluate a scientific investigation.
  • Use evidence from a scientific investigation to think critically and logically to develop a more accurate investigation.
  • Develop and evaluate geometric expressions and formulas.
  • Predict outcomes of experiments and simulations and compare the predictions to experimental results.
  • Learn when to use estimation to obtain a reasonable approximation.

Essential Academic Learning Requirements:

  • Science 2.1, 2.2, 3.1
  • Mathematics 1.1 - 1.5, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1 - 3.3, 4.3, 5.1 - 5.2

Grades: 4 – 6, adaptable through 12th

Background:

Scientists use a variety of methods to estimate populations of organisms because some are more difficult to count than others—they may be well camouflaged or active only at night. Studying insects can be particularly challenging because they may appear only in specific seasons or during certain years. In the case of forest-dwelling birds, their populations are most easily estimated by sight, song, and call recognition (also known as vocalization).

To study birds, scientists sometimes use a method called point counts. In a point count, researchers will count all the birds detected by sight or sound within a given radius. The data is then plugged in to an equation, created by scientists, that estimates bird species per area.

Procedure:

In groups of two or three, students will develop the best possible method for estimating birds per 100 m2 for four species of birds.

1)Describe to the class why scientists study populations and brainstorm methods that scientists might use.

2)If students are not familiar with calculating the area of a circle, explain how the equation (area = * radius²) can be used to calculate the area within a radius for a point count study.

3)In their groups, students should explore the interactive aerial model, observe bird movements and vocalizations, and create a method to count the birds.

4)They should test their method by estimating species per hectare and checking their work. The “% error” column will help them refine their method. Remind them that gaining accurate counts through estimation is difficult and that they should be pleased with results that produce less than 75% error. They will need to have paper and pencil ready to tally species counts.

5)Have them refine their method at least two times and check their accuracy. They should keep track on paper how accurate their methods are by writing down the percent error for each species in each session.

6)After each group has tested and refined their method at least twice, have the groups average together each of the species percent error for each of their methods. Gather each group’s lowest percent error.

7)Have the group that obtained the lowest average percent error describe the method they used to count the birds. Brainstorm with the class methods used by other groups. Discuss whether or not they were successful, and why or why not.

8)As a class, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the methods if employed in field.

Equations used in this activity:

area =  * radius²

 = ~3.14

If your students are not able to calculate the birds per area using the equations above, then have them measure out a 50 m radius circle and do their point count within that radius. Students must still develop a method for recording the data. They must decide where to take measurements, how long to wait at one point, what to do if a bird leaves or enters their radius, how many times to count, how to average, etc.

Then provide them this equation:

(area of a 50 m radius circle) * 1.27 = 100 m²

So, in order to calculate the estimated populations per 100 m², they will need to multiply their species count within a 50 meter radius circle by 1.27.

Example:

thrushes counted in 50 m radius circle = 7

7 * 1.27 = 8.89

8.9 thrushes per 100 m²

(round to the first decimal)

Volcanic History – reading the layers of time

Objective: Students will…

  • Learn how sedimentary layers are deposited chronologically.
  • Understand that volcanoes deposit different types of materials.
  • Generate hypothesis through observation, critical thinking, and testing to understand the chronology of recent geologic events.

Essential Academic Learning Requirements:

  • Science 1.1, 1.3, 2.1, 3.1

Grades: 4 – 6, adaptable through 12th

Background:

Vulcanologists study sedimentary layers to learn about the history of volcanoes of the world. Generally, layers are deposited chronologically with the youngest layers on top. At Mount Rainier, there are typically three types of layers found: tephra, lahar, and pyroclastic. Tehpra deposits are formed from ash, pumice, and other materials that have been ejected from a volcano into the air. Lahars are mudflows or debris flows that begin on a volcano and can be triggered by volcanic events, glaciers, or structural failures. Pyroclastic flows deposit superheated materials or magmas and are directly caused by volcanic eruptions.

Procedure:

1)Explain the difference between tephra deposits, lahars, and pyroclastic flows to your students. Help them understand that scientists classify all sorts of things including sedimentary layers deposited by volcanoes.

2)In groups of two or three, have students study the interactive satellite map of Mount Rainier and learn about the variety of sedimentary layers found there.

3)Have the groups organize the layers so they are correctly sequenced in the activity.

Additional Option:

Distribute to each group one or more layers, so that all ten layers are used. Have the groups research their layers and write a couple of paragraphs describing the events that may have taken place to produce their sedimentary layers. Gather the groups together and have the students tell a group story of the volcanic history of Mount Rainier, starting from the oldest event ending with the most recent.

Lewis and Clark - an exploration of language

Objective: Students will…

  • Examine the language and writing style used by Meriwether Lewis in his journals.
  • Write a journal entry.
  • Compare and contrast Lewis’historical time period with our present day society and culture.
  • Learn to distinguish basic parts of speech.
  • Examine historical writing styles.

Essential Academic Learning Requirements:

  • Reading1.1, 2.1 - 2.3, 3.2
  • Writing1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.2, 2.3,
  • Social Studies: History 1.1.2a, US1.2.2
  • Social Studies: Geography 2.3.2, 3.3.2a

Grades: 4 – 8, adaptable through 10th

Background:

As cultures and societies change so does the language they use. English language use and style differs greatly from what was spoken and writtenin the early 1800s. By reading a few entries of Meriwether Lewis’ journal, we can gain an understanding of both the culture of his day, as well as the cultural differences between his time and today. The 16-day journal excerpts used in this activity was written by Lewis during his time at FortClatsop.His exploration team, the Corps of Discovery, remained at FortClatsop from December 7, 1805 until March 23, 1806.

Procedure:

In this activity, students will work individually to produce their final product.

1)Have your students come to class prepared with a short three-paragraph journal entry describing their daily life over the past few days. Recommend that they write in an active voice and to use as many interesting action verbs and nouns as possible.

2)Have them complete the on-line Lewis and Clark activity. They will either need to enter their journal entries into the available field or copy and paste from a file they bring with them. Access to a printer will allow them print a finalcomparison sheet.

3)Each student will then use the printed comparison sheet to analyze the relationships between Lewis’ time period and today. Students should submit an essay to you which demonstrates societal differences through language use comparisons.

Additional Option:

Have students rewrite their journal entries using more descriptive language and an active voice.

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