Teacher's Notes
Topic:
“Adventures with Darwin” WebQuest is designed for implementation within an Evolution unit, focusing on the principles that Charles Darwin formulated to explain his theory of evolution by natural selection. Students will use these principles to justify how and why an organism has evolved over time.
Target audience:
Each of my four classes includes a wide array of ability levels including general education, those with learning disabilities, ESOL, and advanced or gifted students. Since class size varies from twenty-eight to thirty-four students, students will be assigned to work individually using the forty desk top computers in the PC lab. Each student will collaborate with a team of students to complete a journal and then submit their own concluding task.
Curriculum Standards:
Students will examine the evolution of living organisms through inherited characteristics that promote survival of organisms and the survival of successive generations of their offspring. (S7L5)
a. Explain that physical characteristics of organisms have changed over successive generations
b. Describe ways in which species on earth have evolved due to natural selection.
Big Ideas:
1) Evolution provides a scientific explanation for the history of life on Earth.
2) Evolution occurs as a consequence of natural selection.
3) Natural selection depends on variations between individuals, inheritable variations, overproduction, and reproductive
success within a given environment.
The Essential Questions that are being addresses include:
1) What observations led Darwin to the theory of evolution by natural selection?
2) How does natural selection affect the evolution of species on Earth?
Common Core Standards:
Students will integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media,including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.
Students will write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
Technology Standards:
Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.
a. Identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation
b. Plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project
c. Collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions
d. Use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutions
Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior.
a. Advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology
b. Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration,learning, and productivity
Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations.
a. Understand and use technology systems
b. Select and use applications effectively and productively
Performance Objectives:
Students will convey an understanding of the principles that support natural selection by completing comprehension questions based on the observations made traveling with Charles Darwin on the HMS Beagle in the form of an authentic journal.
Students will convey an understanding of the how natural selection affects the evolution of organisms by describing ways that species have evolved by natural selection and the physical characteristics that have changed through the process of evolution in the form of a written report.
Students will use multiple processes of technology effectively and productively to plan, conduct research, and collect and analyze data in the form of a journal to make informed decisions in the form of a written report.
Pacing Guide:
This WebQuest is intended to take a full week to complete. Before getting students on the computer, I show them authentic journals that were created from students in previous years. This gives them a visual model of what their team products should look like. It is also an opportunity to build excitement towards towards creating the journal. In order to keep my students well-pace, I set daily goals. For example; the first day's goal was to explain the project, show examples, and have the students complete their map, and begin their first journal entry. The second day's goal was to have students complete journal entries for destinations up to Australia. The third days goal was to complete the remaining journal entries. The fourth day's goal was to make final preparations and submit their team's journal. On the fifth day, the student's take the quiz and begin working on their concluding task based on their level of achievement. I also use this day to show models from previous years to simulate creative thinking from my students. For days six, and seven, students will continue to work on their concluding task at home. All final products including the typed report and illustration/model is due on day eight. Students will present their evolutionary organisms to the class on day 8 and day 9.
Modifications and Differentiation Methods:
Differentiation component: The quiz is used as a formative type of assessment to differentiate students by growth in knowledge. Those students that fully understand the concepts of evolution will complete task B which will enable them to be enriched using creative thought in the design on an evolutionary organisms of the future. Those students that need additional reinforcement will be assigned task A in which they will research an organism that currently exists and describe how it has evolved.
Special Education: The WebQuest has been designed to support students with reading disabilities as well as behavioral disabilities. Audio has been provided to allow the students to be read to. Students are encouraged to use technology to compose their journals. As an alternative to creating a team journal, a pre-made logbook has been created so that students can document manually or by using technology the answers to the questions for each destination. The logbook can also be used towards an individual assignment if necessary.
“Adventures with Darwin” WebQuest is designed for implementation within an Evolution unit, focusing on the principles that Charles Darwin formulated to explain his theory of evolution by natural selection. Students will use these principles to justify how and why an organism has evolved over time.
Target audience:
Each of my four classes includes a wide array of ability levels including general education, those with learning disabilities, ESOL, and advanced or gifted students. Since class size varies from twenty-eight to thirty-four students, students will be assigned to work individually using the forty desk top computers in the PC lab. Each student will collaborate with a team of students to complete a journal and then submit their own concluding task.
Curriculum Standards:
Students will examine the evolution of living organisms through inherited characteristics that promote survival of organisms and the survival of successive generations of their offspring. (S7L5)
a. Explain that physical characteristics of organisms have changed over successive generations
b. Describe ways in which species on earth have evolved due to natural selection.
Big Ideas:
1) Evolution provides a scientific explanation for the history of life on Earth.
2) Evolution occurs as a consequence of natural selection.
3) Natural selection depends on variations between individuals, inheritable variations, overproduction, and reproductive
success within a given environment.
The Essential Questions that are being addresses include:
1) What observations led Darwin to the theory of evolution by natural selection?
2) How does natural selection affect the evolution of species on Earth?
Common Core Standards:
Students will integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media,including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.
Students will write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
Technology Standards:
Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.
a. Identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation
b. Plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project
c. Collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions
d. Use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutions
Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior.
a. Advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology
b. Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration,learning, and productivity
Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations.
a. Understand and use technology systems
b. Select and use applications effectively and productively
Performance Objectives:
Students will convey an understanding of the principles that support natural selection by completing comprehension questions based on the observations made traveling with Charles Darwin on the HMS Beagle in the form of an authentic journal.
Students will convey an understanding of the how natural selection affects the evolution of organisms by describing ways that species have evolved by natural selection and the physical characteristics that have changed through the process of evolution in the form of a written report.
Students will use multiple processes of technology effectively and productively to plan, conduct research, and collect and analyze data in the form of a journal to make informed decisions in the form of a written report.
Pacing Guide:
This WebQuest is intended to take a full week to complete. Before getting students on the computer, I show them authentic journals that were created from students in previous years. This gives them a visual model of what their team products should look like. It is also an opportunity to build excitement towards towards creating the journal. In order to keep my students well-pace, I set daily goals. For example; the first day's goal was to explain the project, show examples, and have the students complete their map, and begin their first journal entry. The second day's goal was to have students complete journal entries for destinations up to Australia. The third days goal was to complete the remaining journal entries. The fourth day's goal was to make final preparations and submit their team's journal. On the fifth day, the student's take the quiz and begin working on their concluding task based on their level of achievement. I also use this day to show models from previous years to simulate creative thinking from my students. For days six, and seven, students will continue to work on their concluding task at home. All final products including the typed report and illustration/model is due on day eight. Students will present their evolutionary organisms to the class on day 8 and day 9.
Modifications and Differentiation Methods:
Differentiation component: The quiz is used as a formative type of assessment to differentiate students by growth in knowledge. Those students that fully understand the concepts of evolution will complete task B which will enable them to be enriched using creative thought in the design on an evolutionary organisms of the future. Those students that need additional reinforcement will be assigned task A in which they will research an organism that currently exists and describe how it has evolved.
Special Education: The WebQuest has been designed to support students with reading disabilities as well as behavioral disabilities. Audio has been provided to allow the students to be read to. Students are encouraged to use technology to compose their journals. As an alternative to creating a team journal, a pre-made logbook has been created so that students can document manually or by using technology the answers to the questions for each destination. The logbook can also be used towards an individual assignment if necessary.