Culminating Task Example: Evolution

Title: / Warbles Culminating Task
Unit: / Evolution
Curricular Area: / Biology
Grade Level: / 10th

Step #1 – Content Standards

7. The frequency of an allele in a gene pool of a population depends on many factors and may be stable or unstable over time. As a basis for understanding this concept, students know:

A.why natural selection acts on phenotype rather than the genotype of an organism.

B.why alleles that are lethal in a homozygous individual may be carried in a heterozygote and thus maintained in a gene pool.

  1. new mutations are constantly being generated in a gene pool.
  2. variation within a species increases the likelihood that at least some members of a species will survive under changed environmental conditions.

8. Evolution is the result of genetic changes that occur in constantly changing environments. As a basis for understanding this concept, students know:

A.how natural selection determines the differential survival of groups of organisms.

B.a great diversity of species increases the chance that at least some organisms survive major changes in the environment.

C.the effects of genetic drift on the diversity of organisms in a population.

  1. reproductive or geographic isolation affects speciation.
  2. how to analyze fossil evidence with regard to biological diversity, episodic speciation, and mass extinction.
1.0 Investigation & Experimentation

D. Formulate explanations by using logic and evidence.

I. Analyze the locations, sequences, or time intervals that are characteristic of natural phenomena

K. Recognize the cumulative nature of scientific evidence.

Step #2 - Essential Question/Student Learning Goal:

Teacher: What factors effect the diversity of life?
Student: What makes some species survive and some become extinct?

Step #3 - Language Arts Standard(s):

2.0Reading Comprehension Strategies– a power standard Students read and understand grade-level-appropriate material. They analyze the organizational patterns, arguments, and positions advanced.

2.4Synthesize the content from several sources or works by a single author dealing with a single

issue; paraphrase the ideas and connect them to other sources and related topics to demonstrate comprehension.

1.0 Writing Strategies Students write coherent and focused essays that convey a well-defined perspective and tightly reasoned argument. The writing demonstrates students' awareness of the audience and purpose. Students progress through the stages of the writing process as needed.

Organization and Focus

1.1Establish a controlling impression or coherent thesis that conveys a clear and distinctive perspective on the subject and maintain a consistent tone and focus throughout the piece of writing.

Research and Technology

1.4Develop the main ideas within the body of the composition through supporting evidence (e.g.,

scenarios, commonly held beliefs, hypotheses, definitions).

Step #4 – Determine the Level of Rigor

The culminating task should be developed for the highest level of rigor indicated by the standard in question.

Levels of Knowledge / Cognitive Domain
Remember / Understand / Apply / Analyze / Evaluate / Create
Factual
Conceptual / 7c, 8c, 8d / 7a, 7d, 8b. / 8a, 8e
Procedural / 7b
Metacognitive / 1.1 / 1.4

Step #5 -Description of Task:

Write a simple statement of the task you will ask students to perform.

Identify the setting, the students’ role, the audience and the product that student will be asked to create.

Write a rough draft of the performance task.

Task Statement

/ Taking the role of a field biologist studying the little-known island-dwelling Warble, students will write a comprehensive essay on how warbles demonstrate evolutionary change in response to genetic and environmental variation.

Setting

/ The Island of Washoo, where the student is performing a study of a little known mammal, the Warble.
Role / Student is a field biologist
Audience / Scientists at the Agency of New Species Control, who will be granting money to continue funding the research project.
Product/ Performance / Students must analyze given data and produce a “report” to the Agency of New Species Control. The report must be as complete as possible to receive a full grant

Step #6 - Rough Draft:

You are a field biologist assigned to study a little known mammal on the Island of Washoo. Your job is to analyze some known data and turn in your report to the Agency of New Species Control. Below is some information that was gathered about warbles. On a separate sheet of paper complete the following assignment. Your report must be as complete as possible to receive your full grant. (Refer to rubric).

Warbles are small mammals that live in the desert and feed on seeds. One important variation found in warbles is the time of day they forage for food-some warbles are nocturnal (active at night) and some warbles are diurnal (active during the day). The primary predators of warbles are owls, which hunt only at night.

  1. Do you think nocturnal warbles and diurnal warbles have equal chances of being eaten by owls? Explain your reasoning.
  2. Do you think that nocturnal warbles and diurnal warbles produce an equal number of offspring? Explain your reasoning.
  3. Which type of warble is more fit? Explain your answer.
  4. Over a long period of time, changes can occur in warbles as a result of evolution. Based on the answers you have given in this case study, what sorts of change do you think could occur in warbles due to evolution?

Some warbles are born without the ability to reproduce. This is due to a genetic disorder caused by the recessive “no Baby” alleles.

Why is it that this disorder continues to persist even though the warbles that have the disorder cannot pass on the allele to their offspring? Your analysis needs to include the word heterozygous.

The “no Baby” allele did not always exist in the gene pool. Explain how this allele first entered the gene pool.

Most warbles are either light or dark. There are a lot more dark warbles than light ones. If a volcanic eruption covers the ground of white ash, why is it good that there is more than one color of warbles? Describe how the change over time will occur in the warble population.

What if a natural disaster caused all warbles to go extinct? Why would the natural disaster probably not kill all living things?

What if a natural disaster killed all but these four warbles? What affect may this have on the future generations of warbles?

What if an earthquake split the warbles into two groups? How might geographic isolation lead to speciation

Analyze the following fossil record by answering the questions in complete sentences:

  1. List the kinds of fossils that are found in each rock layer of Site 1(Layer A-G) and Site 2 (Layer V-Z).
  2. Discuss whether or not these fossil layers show evidence of biodiversity. Be as descriptive as possible.
  3. Discuss whether there is any evidence of mass extinctions. If so, be specific about which layer and which site and why you think this is true.
  4. Do you see new species arising in layers? If so, in which layers and what site?
  5. For site 1 and 2 which layer is the oldest and youngest and how do you know?

On the next page there are five scenes. For each scene you need to write what is happening. Make sure you relate this whole story to Natural Selection. Make sure you note the variation between the two animals and describe their phenotypes. This must be colored and all sentences must be complete.

Step #7 - Determine the criteria for successful completion of this task.

The criteria should be defined to indicate what students’ performance would look like at a mastery, proficient, basic and limited level. Remember your descriptions should indicate “what’s right,” “what’s wrong,” and “how to fix it.” The criteria may appear in the form of a:

• Rubric• Checklist• Score Sheet

Criteria Chart or Exemplar

What elements are necessary for “Mastery” (may be co-developed with the students)

Rubric for Culminating Task

5 -Advanced / 4 – Proficient / 3 - Basic / 2 – Below Basic / 1 – Far Below Basic
Able to achieve mastery at the highest cognitive level. Performance tasks are accurate, sequential, and demonstrate understanding, application, and analysis. Format is exceptional. / Highest cognitive dimension not quite mastered. Analysis is not complete. Final product exhibiting satisfactory grammar, content, format and concepts. / Analysis lacking application of key concepts in evolution. Final product exhibiting errors in grammar, and some content. Format is correct. / Limited analysis. Some Errors in application tasks. Final product exhibiting some errors in grammar, content and concepts. Format is incomplete. / Lacking analysis. Many errors in application tasks. Final product exhibiting numerous errors in grammar, format, content and concepts.

Step #8 – Who will Evaluate the Task?

Teacher (various elements will have peer review)

Step #9 - Prior Knowledge Needed for Success:

Students need to have an understanding of

natural selection’s role in shaping life.

genetics knowledge in analyzing benefits of a heterozygotic genotype

the role of mutations in generating new traits in a population

the effects of variation within and between species on survival rates after environmental change

the effects of genetic drift on diversity within a population

fossil evidence to biological diversity, episodic speciation, and mass extinction

the proper structure of a multi-paragraph essay

how to refer to data to make a persuasive argument

tone and role-playing

Step #10: Selecting Scaffolded Lessons/Activities

PowerPoint: Introduction to change over time

Activity: Small changes add up to big differences (sorting)

Pepper Moth Simulation Internet Simulation

Collaboration: Creating a graphic organizer

Simulation: “It’s All in the Bones”

Reading: “Beak of the Finch” article (Golden sentences)

“Invent a Species” Activity

Activity: Modeling natural selection

Philosophical Chair debate (optional)

Level of Rigor / Scaffolded Key Activities or Performance Tasks
Remember / Task:Small Changes: Given a specific ecosystem and group of animal cards, students sort animals based on characteristics that would allow them to survive or not survive in that ecosystem. Students perform a quick write to justify their sort.
Understand / Task: Pepper Moth Simulation Internet Simulation
Task: Multiple choice & short answer quiz on key terms and limiting factors, competing theories of evolution, modern and fossil evidence for evolution.
Apply / Task 1: “It’s All in the Bones” Internet Simulation
Task 2: Small group collaboration to produce a graphic organizer showing natural selection acting on two separate species within a known ecosystem and known limiting factors.
Task 3: Students “Invent a Species”, draw their organism, write on adaptations they posses, homologous origins from ancestral species
Analyze / Task:Open-ended prompt: For those species that survive in the given ecosystem, explain their chances of survival, given a particular catastrophic event, such as a drought.
Task 2: “Philosophical Chairs” debate – Should the Theory of evolution be attributed only to Darwin?”
Culminating Task – Warbles activity

Step #11 – Selecting Teaching/Literacy Strategies:

Word WallThink-aloud w/ textbook

Cornell Note-takingPowerPoint lecture

Graphic organizersO.P.T.I.C. decoding strategy

Debate Small group discussion

Higher-order QuestioningInquiry labs

Interactive Computer SimulationsVideo clips

Identifying misconceptionsPredicting

ConnectingParaphrasing

Summarizing (Golden sentences)Analyzing

Step #12 – Identifying Resources Needed:

Textbook

Computers w/CD Rom; LCD projector; connection to internet

Overheads/PowerPoint slides

Coloring book plates

CD ROMs

Coloring book plates, colored pencils, crayons, or overhead pens

Large Chart Paper

“Philosophical Chairs” rules * regulations

PBS “Evolution” Website:

Magazine articles; “Beak of the Finch” reading

Supplementary books on Evolution: “After Man”

Animal Card Game

Appropriate Seating Arrangement for Philosophical Debate – “hot seats”

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Adapted from Area Education Agency 7 • Educational Services, Iowa, Fall 2000