Students practice Looking Closely at a leaf, flower, leg, wing, shell, etc. to really hone their observation skills and see the pieces and parts they wouldn’t otherwise see. Species observation skills gained during this detailed drawing activity will help students tell different species apart when they do their own investigation during the Biodiversity Watershed Experience. This activity may be done as individuals or as a team.
Standards (MLR)
B1. Skills and traits of scientific inquiry. Students plan, conduct, analyze data from, and communicate results of investigations, including simple experiments.
B1e. Use logic, critical reasoning and evidence to develop descriptions, explanations, predictions, and models.
E1. Biodiversity. Students differentiate among organisms based on biological characteristics and identify patterns of similarity.
E1a. Compare physical characteristics that differentiate organisms into groups.
E1c. Explain ways to determine whether organisms are the same species.
Learning Objectives
Students practice forming hypotheses and making observations to test their hypotheses
Students improve scientific observation skills
Students practice communicating their hypotheses and observations with one another and learning through scientific discussions
Students learn how to identify key physical features and adaptations that provide clues about a species’ preferred habitat, prey, and behavior
Materials
Trays of animal and plant specimens (some native and some invasive)
60 minutes (can be adapted for longer time frames with additional discussion/ extensions)
Activity Procedure
This activity is written specifically for marine intertidal species, but can be used with all types of animals and plants from coastal, freshwater, and upland ecosystems. When doing this activity with students, start with a simple and familiar plant or animal (a leaf, a worm). In subsequent rounds move on to a specimen that requires greater attention to detail (a periwinkle shell, a crab carapace).
Students choose a marine intertidal species to examine more closely and place one on your tray.
Ask students to take a minute or so to look at all parts of their species, and write down three or four observations they can make about its physical characteristics.
Have them put their species aside, and draw a picture of it from memory. Have them try to depict or label the characteristics they wrote down.
Ask students to look at their species again and add features they might have missed during the memory drawing, using a different color. Have them make a hypothesis about what habitat their species is adapted for, based on their observations of its physical characteristics.
Now, have students look more closely at their species under a microscope or with a hand lens, and write down any additional observations they can make.
Have them draw their species again, including these new observations, or add to the original drawing using a third color. Ask them to check their hypothesis: Did it change?
Now, ask students to look up their species in a guidebook to identify it. Have them look at the photo/drawing, and read what it says about their species. Have them check their hypothesis again: does it match the description in the book?
Ask students to take a final look at their species to see if they can see anything new after learning a bit more in their reference book.
Have students use a “Turn to Your Neighbor” sharing session to analyze and conclude:
Did you miss anything with your naked eye, or with the microscope?
Did looking more closely help you understand your species? Did it improve your hypothesis about what type of habitat it is adapted for? Could you make a hypothesis about what it likes to eat, or how it protects itself?
Which important details did you miss that are critical for identifying your species, or for telling it apart from a look-alike species?
If you found out your species is invasive, did you see any unique characteristics during your observations that might make it a particularly good invader?
Reflection/Formative Assessment Ideas
Collect written hypotheses, observations, and drawings as part of a student portfolio. They should be arranged in chronological order, from when they started their observations, to when they finished.
Ask students to write a scientific explanation in their scientists’ notebooks of how they used a series of observation strategies and tools to test and modify their hypotheses. They should explain why they modified their hypothesis as they went along (if they changed it), and whether/how the “Turn to Your Neighbor” discussion with their classmates affected their final hypothesis.
Extension Ideas
Use this activity to compare observations of native species and a look-alike non-native species, and test hypotheses about which species is native and which is invasive.
Use this activity as a way for students to observe, identify and catalogue samples of the species they find during field surveys.
Peterson, RT. 1999. Field Guide to the Atlantic Seashore: From the Bay of Fundy to Cape Hatteras. Sagebrush Education Resources.
Watling L, Fegley A, Moring J, and White S. 2003. Life Between the Tides: Marine Plants and Animals of the Northeast. Tillbury House Publishers. Gardiner, ME.
National Audubon Society. 1998. Regional Guide to New England. Alfred A. Knopf. New York.
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Looking Closely
Author(s):
Beth Bisson, Maine Sea Grant;
Sarah Morrisseau, Gulf of Maine Research Institute, Vital Signs Program
Table of Contents
Question(s)
How do you tell different species apart?
Overview
Students practice Looking Closely at a leaf, flower, leg, wing, shell, etc. to really hone their observation skills and see the pieces and parts they wouldn’t otherwise see. Species observation skills gained during this detailed drawing activity will help students tell different species apart when they do their own investigation during the Biodiversity Watershed Experience. This activity may be done as individuals or as a team.
Standards (MLR)
B1. Skills and traits of scientific inquiry. Students plan, conduct, analyze data from, and communicate results of investigations, including simple experiments.
B1e. Use logic, critical reasoning and evidence to develop descriptions, explanations, predictions, and models.
E1. Biodiversity. Students differentiate among organisms based on biological characteristics and identify patterns of similarity.
E1a. Compare physical characteristics that differentiate organisms into groups.
E1c. Explain ways to determine whether organisms are the same species.
Learning Objectives
Materials
Time Needed
60 minutes (can be adapted for longer time frames with additional discussion/ extensions)
Activity Procedure
This activity is written specifically for marine intertidal species, but can be used with all types of animals and plants from coastal, freshwater, and upland ecosystems. When doing this activity with students, start with a simple and familiar plant or animal (a leaf, a worm). In subsequent rounds move on to a specimen that requires greater attention to detail (a periwinkle shell, a crab carapace).
Reflection/Formative Assessment Ideas
Collect written hypotheses, observations, and drawings as part of a student portfolio. They should be arranged in chronological order, from when they started their observations, to when they finished.
Ask students to write a scientific explanation in their scientists’ notebooks of how they used a series of observation strategies and tools to test and modify their hypotheses. They should explain why they modified their hypothesis as they went along (if they changed it), and whether/how the “Turn to Your Neighbor” discussion with their classmates affected their final hypothesis.
Extension Ideas
Use this activity to compare observations of native species and a look-alike non-native species, and test hypotheses about which species is native and which is invasive.
Use this activity as a way for students to observe, identify and catalogue samples of the species they find during field surveys.
Resources
Field Guides:
References
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