Although I never got to teach this lesson plan, I plan on using it in my future classes. The activities are fun and can work with many grade levels because they are so easily modified. I think it is really important for students to learn about the natural world around them, and these activities can be conducted at any local stream that is easily accessed.
Lesson Plan: Project Wet and Project Wild
Title: Macroinvertebrate Mayhem and Water Canaries
Purpose: To illustrate how tolerance to water quality conditions varies among macroinvertebrate organisms and explain how population diversity provides insight into the health of an organism. Then, students will identify several aquatic organisms and assess the relative environmental quality of a stream using indicators of pH, water temperature, and the presence of a diversity of organisms.
Standards of Learning:
LS.12 b, c, d and e.
Materials:
Samples of macroinvertebrates
Resources (texts, field guides, encyclopedia)
Identification labels for groups
Pillow cases or burlap sacks
Chart paper or chalkboard
Sampling equipment
Water quality test kit
Magnifying lenses, eye droppers, forceps
Safety and Management:
Students will generate a list of ethical guidelines for handling live organisms.
A first aid kit, cell phone and field trip permission forms with emergency phone numbers and medical conditions listed will be required.
Procedure:
Day 1: Divide class into seven groups and assign one macroinvertebrate to each group (caddisflies, mayflies, stoneflies, dragonflies, damselflies, midge larva, etc). Have group members conduct library research to prepare a report for the class about their organism. The report should include the conditions the organism must have to survive. (45 mins)
Day 2: Have the students present their reports to the class and compare each organism’s tolerance of different stream conditions. (15 mins)
Play “Macroinvertebrate Mayhem” (Project Wet, pg. 322). (30 mins)
-Distribute appropriate identification labels to all group members. Inform students that some macroinvertebrates have hindrances to crossing the field; these obstacles symbolize sensitive organisms’ intolerance to pollutants. Have students practice their motions. Sample hindrances include:
Intolerant Macroinvertebrates and Hindrances |
||
Organism |
Hindrance |
Rationale for Hindrance |
Caddisfly |
Must place both feet in a bag and hop across field, stopping to gasp for breath every five hops. |
Caddisflies are intolerant of low oxygen levels |
Stonefly |
Must do a push-up every ten steps. |
When oxygen levels drop, stoneflies undulate their abdomens to increase the flow of water over their bodies. |
Mayfly |
Must flap arms and spin in circles when crossing field. |
Mayflies often increase oxygen absorption by moving gills. |
-Assemble the groups at one end of they playing field and the environmental stressor(s) at midfield. When a round starts, macroinvertebrates will move toward the opposite end of the field and the stressor will try to tag them. To “survive” the macroinvertebrates must reach the opposite end of the field without being tagged by the environmental stressor. The stressor can try to tag any of the macroinvertebrates, but will find it easier to catch those with hindered movements.
-The round ends when all of the macroinvertebrates have either been tagged or have reached the opposite end of the playing field. Record the new number of members in each species
Day 3:
1. Field trip to local stream ( Craig Creek, Sinking Creek, Little Stony would all work well). At the site, brief the students on habitat courtesies, working from the students own list of ethical guidelines for sampling activities. Emphasize that all wildlife is to be returned to its habitat unharmed. (Adapted from “Water Canaries” Project Wild, pg. 24)
2. Begin by observing the water and identifying organisms on the surface and in the depths. Divide the class into small groups again and have them use the sampling equipment (nets, trays, sieves, etc)to collect as many different forms of animal life as possible. Ask them to be alert to differing microhabitats near rocks, in riffles, and in pools. Place the animals to be observed in the white trays for viewing and drawing.
Have the students identify and draw the animals they observed in the aquatic environment and those temporarily removed for observation in the collection containers. Ask them to record the number of each kind found and to describe the actual location where the animal was found. Once these observations are complete, return the animals to their habitat.
3. Encourage the students to discuss their observations. How diverse were the aquatic organisms? Introduce the concept of diversity and explain that a variety of different kinds of plants and animals is usually an indication of a healthy ecosystem.
4. Have the groups test the water at the field site of other indicators of quality, including pH, and water temperature. Record these values. Assist the students in understanding that the values for pH and temperature affect the diversity of life forms found in aquatic environments.
5. Summarize the study with a re-emphasis on the fact that diversity of animals is a useful indicator of habitat quality as well as an overall indicator of environmental quality.
Lesson Assessment:
I chose this lesson plan design because one of my favorite undergraduate courses was Aquatic Entomology and I still have the bug collection I created in that class. Going out to streams and collecting the bugs was fun and educational. I learned a lot about the health of the streams and creeks in this area by the different species that I collected in each one. I also enjoyed when our class went to Sinking Creek and spent time collecting different species of bugs and testing the water. I think it’s really important to get kids outside as much as possible and let them get hands-on experience in the field. In high school, my favorite science class memory was when my teacher took us to his farm to collect bugs in his stream and test the water quality. It was the best thing we did all semester.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to try this lesson plan in my seventh grade classroom because it didn’t fit into the curriculum this fall, but I did try it out with my roommate and a couple of friends. We didn’t go into as much detail with the Macroinvertebrate Mayhem game, but we did go out to a field and practice the “tag” game. My friends enjoyed the activity and thought it was a fun way to stress the idea of ecosystem diversity, but they thought it would be hard to do with a whole class of seventh graders without the class getting out of hand and off-track. My roommate suggested trying to adapt the activity to use inside of the classroom, since it is a more controlled environment, which I think is a good possibility, but I also like the idea of taking my students outside and letting them run around a little bit. Even if it does get a little out of hand, I still think it is a beneficial experience.
Next, I took my friends to Craig Creek, since it is a very slow-moving stream that is easy to take large groups to. We didn’t have any water-testing equipment but I told them what my expectations would be for my class, and showed them how to collect bugs with a net and trays and forceps. Surprisingly, even people who insist they hate bugs often times enjoy seeing what kinds of bugs are collected, and picking them out of the net to put into the trays. I noticed this when I took Aquatic Entomology, and it was the same situation with my roommate and friends. They all claimed to hate bugs, but they thought it was really cool to see what kinds of bugs came out of the net. I showed them how to identify several different species and we counted how many of each kind we collected. Luckily, it was a warm day and we were able to collect a wide variety of insects.