Lessons Incorporating Information Literacy and SCIENCE

Click here for additional resources: Science and Information Literacy

Standards: I. History and Nature of Science

Lesson: WHAT IS A SPECIES?

Overview: Adapted from "Species: An Evolving Concept." Students will recognize that scientists use different definitions of species, be able to assess the strengths and limitations of species definitions depending on their context, use definitions of species to enhance their understanding of speciation, and understand the concept of taxonomy and biodiversity inventories.

Standards: Research Process, Reading/Media Literacy

Lesson: EXPLORING HUMAN HISTORY

Overview: Students will learn that anthropology is divided into four main subdivisions: archeology, linguistics, cultural, and physical. They will explore the fieldwork of several contemporary anthropologists to compare their methods and applications. In the process of scientific inquiry, students will explain how they reach their own conclusions and be able to listen with an open mind to how others reached theirs.

Standards: Research Process, Technology Use, Reading/Media Literacy

Standards: II. Physical Science

Lesson: CARBON: STRUCTURE MATTERS

Overview: Students will explore the molecular structure of matter and how it can affect the physical characteristics of specific material. By using online resources, students will view and compare the similarities and differences of graphite and diamond, fullerene and buckeyball molecules, and lonsdaleite. Students will also create pyramids and cubes out of straws.

Standards: Research Process, Technology Use, Reading/Media Literacy

Lesson: DISCOVERING ELEMENTS ONLINE

Overview: Students will work independently and in small groups to research assigned elements on the internet with sites given in advance. They will then contribute to a class database with their individual information. The database will then be made available for students to again work independently and in pairs to answer questions created from a class discussion to discover relationships about the elements.

Standards: Research Process, Technology Use, Reading/Media Literacy

Standards: III. Earth and Space Science

Lesson: HOW MUCH IS AN ECOSYSTEM WORTH?

Overview: Students will explain the economic importance of ecosystems, define and give examples of ecosystem services, research and analyze environmental data, and suggest specific actions that would protect ecosystem services.

Standards: Research Process, Technology Use, Reading/Media Literacy

Lesson: ORIGINS: EARTH IS BORN

Overview: Students will collect and identify micrometeorites from space. After creating a filter, teams of students will work together to collect particulate matter over a designated period of time. Then they will prepare slides with the matter and learn how to identify sky dust using a variety of pictures from online resources. Students will prepare one-page summaries about the origins, similarities, and differences of asteroids and meteorites.

Standards: Research Process, Technology Use, Reading/Media Literacy

Standards: IV. Life Science

Lesson: BIOMAGNIFICATION IN THE GREAT LAKES ECOSYSTEM

Overview: Students will draw a diagram of a food chain, label maps to show progress on environmental issues, and understand problems related to biomagnification in the Great Lakes and other ecosystems.

Standards: Research Process, Reading/Media Literacy, Responsible Use

Lesson: MAPPING THE BRAIN

Objective: Students will develop meaningful icons to represent the different functions of different parts of the brain and use these icons to label maps of the brain. Students will be able to identify various parts/structures/functions of the brain in 2D and 3D, connect the fuctions of the brain to activities in daily life, and create icons to represent complicated ideas.

Standards: Research Process, Technology Use, Reading/Media Literacy