Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Introduction to the My Blog

Welcome to this blog!  This is being created for a class, in which I have to create a one week lesson plan for all things dealing with Genus Pepsis.  What is Genus Pepsis, you ask?  Follow my lesson plans, and you will find out!

Standards

So, I'm teaching this unit, but... how does this tie into what my state is wanting me to teach?  This is a single bug!  I guess it's time to search Georgia's standards at www.georgiastandards.org/ to see what I need!

Well!  Look what I found!

Standards
GPS
S7L1. Students will investigate the diversity of living organisms and how they can be compared scientifically.
a. Demonstrate the process for the development of a dichotomous key.
b. Classify organisms based on physical characteristics using a dichotomous key of the six kingdom system (archaebacteria, eubacteria, protists, fungi, plants, and animals).
S7L4. Students will examine the dependence of organisms on one another and their environments.
d. Categorize relationships between organisms that are competitive or mutually beneficial.
e. Describe the characteristics of Earth’s major terrestrial biomes (i.e. tropical rain forest, savannah, temperate, desert, taiga, tundra, and mountain) and aquatic communities (i.e. freshwater, estuaries, and marine).

CCGPS
L6-8RST7: Integrate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text with a version of that information expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model, graph, or table).
L6-8WHST2: Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical processes.
a.       Introduce a topic clearly, previewing what is to follow; organize ideas, concepts, and information into broader categories as appropriate to achieving purpose; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
L6-8WHST6: Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas clearly and efficiently.
L6-8WHST7: Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration.
L6-8WHST9: Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis reflection, and research.

**I can use the basic GPS for 7th Grade Science to integrate this topic, but to make sure that I'm also covering the new Common Core GPS, I have found some relative topics that can be integrated to align my standards!

Objectives

Objectives:  Outcome-Based Statements
     1)      Students will be able to classify Genus Pepsis, starting from Kingdom down to Species.
     2)      Students will be able to label the Genus Pepsis with its common name(s).
     3)      Students will be able to explain the life cycle and life span of Genus Pepsis in detail.
     4)      Students will identify the different particles, plants, animals, and other organisms in the Genus Pepsis’ habitat.
     5)      Students will create and identify the anatomical parts of the Genus Pepsis.


Initial Set of Questions

As I'm not a Science teacher, I had to start from the very beginning.  I had to find out what Genus Pepsis was myself!  After finding out what Genus Pepsis was, I had to find out basic information. Below are the questions I asked myself, along with the corresponding answers and the websites in which I found the information.

Guiding Questions
   1)      What is the common name(s) of the genus pepsis?
a.       Tarantula hawk, tarantula wasp
                                                               i.      http://bugguide.net/node/view/3920
   2)      What is the classification of the genus pepsis?
a.       Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies)
Family Pompilidae (Spider Wasps)
Genus Pepsis (Tarantula Hawks)
Species P. thisbe
                                          i.    http://bugguide.net/node/view/3920
                                         ii.    http://www.ck12.org/book/CK-12-Understanding-Biodiversity/r21/section/14.6/
   3)      Where do the genus pepsis live?  What type of ecosystem?
a.       Open areas, deserts, in the SW U.S.
                                                               i.      http://bugguide.net/node/view/3920
                                                             ii.      http://museum2.utep.edu/chih/theland/animals/invertebrates/insects/tarantulahawk.htm
   4)      What is the life cycle of the genus pepsis?
a.       Mating takes place on flowers, or sometimes near a "hilltop", such as a large cactus, defended by the male. Females seek out tarantula burrows, paralyze them, and bury it in a burrow, laying a single egg. Larvae feed on the paralyzed spider.
                                                               i.      http://bugguide.net/node/view/3920
                                                             ii.      http://www.ck12.org/book/CK-12-Understanding-Biodiversity/r21/section/14.6/
                                                            iii.      http://museum2.utep.edu/chih/theland/animals/invertebrates/insects/tarantulahawk.htm
   5)      How long does the genus pepsis live?
a.       Males live 1-2 months, but females live longer
                                                               i.      https://www.desertmuseum.org/kids/oz/long-fact-sheets/Pepsis%20Wasp.php
   6)      What does the genus pepsis eat?
a.       Nectar and milkweed
                                                               i.      http://bugguide.net/node/view/3920
   7)      What is the anatomy of the genus pepsis?
a.       Blue-black body with orange wings, made up of a head, thorax, abdomen, 6 legs and antenna 
b.       


                                                               i.      https://www.desertmuseum.org/kids/oz/long-fact-sheets/Pepsis%20Wasp.php
   8)      Interesting facts about the genus pepsis.
a.        Females lay the egg in the body of a tarantula, and the larva feeds off the stomach of the tarantula; though they are not aggressive, if provoked, the tarantula wasp has one of the strongest stings in the United States.
                                                               i.      http://pepsis2014.wordpress.com/
                                                             ii.      http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/like-a-bee/Content?oid=2161327
                                                            iii.      http://www.wild-facts.com/2011/wild-fact-483-dont-tug-on-supermans-cape-tarantula-hawk/
   9)      What animals, plants, and other organisms exist in the desert?
a.       Rats, mice, chipmunks, toads, cacti, moss

                                                               i.      http://sciences.unlv.edu/desertsurvivors/Pages/mojave.htm

Introduction to Genus Pepsis

Now I need to figure out how to introduce this topic to my students.  Maybe I should start off with

Hi!  My name is... nah, that won't work.  They already know my name.  Maybe if I start off with "My name is Genus Pepsis."  But that might confuse some of the students.  Maybe I should try this...

Introduction:

To get students familiar with the next lesson, students will discuss what a classification is.  They will recall (activate prior knowledge) the different types of kingdoms, phylums, classes, orders, genii, and species that we have discussed in the past unit.  I will have them race to find the classification of a bald eagle.  In doing this, they will be prepared for the upcoming task before them.

Research Question

Now that I have my initial set of questions, I need to make sure my students can get it!  But where do I start with them?  I guess I'll start them off where I started.  I must first give them a research topic in order to get them started.


Research Question

What are the intricacies in the life of Genus Pepsis?


Well, that's a little broad, and if I'm trying to reach 7th graders, I should probably cut this stuff down 
to size for them.  Therefore, I created a group of sub-questions that I also aligned with the standards that will be addressed in each question.

Sub Questions Used for WebQuest
   1)      What is the full classification of Genus Pepsis and common names? (S7L1.a and S7L1.b)
   2)      Where do Genus Pepsis live (in what type of ecosystem do they exist)?  What other things would      you find in their environment? (S7L4.e)
   3)      How do Genus Pepsis reproduce and live out their lives?  How long do they live? (S7L4.d)    
   4)      What do Genus Pepsis look like?
   5)      What are some interesting facts about the Genus Pepsis?

    *Question number 4 is a fundamental question for identification purposes, and question number 5 is to make the assignment more appealing to the students.



Websites

These are websites that I used to help fuel my exploration.  Hopefully, these sites may help my students!

Websites