Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
Below are lesson resources that target the Science and Engineering Practice Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions.
Desert Vegetative Communities
Image: Matt Lavin - licensed under the CC Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.
Grade Level: 3-5
Performance Expectation Connections:
3-ESS2-1. Represent data in tables and graphical displays to describe typical weather conditions expected during a particular season.
3-ESS2-2. Obtain and combine information to describe climates in different regions of the world.
3-LS3-2. Use evidence to support the explanation that observable traits can be influenced by the environment.
3-LS4-3. Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.
Science and Engineering Practices: Engaging in Argument From Evidence; Analyzing and Interpreting Data; Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions; Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information
Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns; Cause and Effect
Disciplinary Core Ideas: Adaptation; Variation of Traits; Weather and Climate
Possible Guiding Questions: How can Wyoming and Australia have similar vegetation despite their distance apart? How do temperature and precipitation impact plant communities? Why do deserts form in certain locations around the globe? What adaptations do plants have for living in dry, desert-like environments?
Possible Instructional Uses: You may use this phenomenon to investigate several different ideas. You may introduce students to ideas of global climatic conditions that impact the distribution of certain habitats. At a smaller scale, you may have students investigate the range of temperature and precipitation that is characteristic of different biomes. There is also an opportunity to explore various plant adaptations to dry, harsh conditions, explaining the distribution and appearance of various types of plants.
Contributors: Martha Inouye, Clare Gunshanen, Sienna Wessel, Matthew Bisk
Date Uploaded: 1/9/2022
Climate Change in Wyoming
Image: Rick Cummings - licensed under the CC Attribution 2.0 Generic license
Grade Level: 9-12
Performance Expectation Connections:
HS-ESS3-5. Analyze data and the results from global climate models to make an evidence-based forecast of the current rate of global or regional climate change and associated future impacts to Earth systems.
Science and Engineering Practices: Analyzing and Interpreting Data; Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect; Stability and Change
Disciplinary Core Ideas: Global Climate Change
Possible Guiding Questions: What are the current impacts of climate change in Wyoming? How might climate change affect Wyoming's ecosystems in the future? How are the different types of ecosystems in Wyoming responding to climate change? How can past climate data allow us to project Wyoming's future climate?
Possible Instructional Uses: You may use this phenomenon to explore the current and future impacts of climate change in Wyoming. This lesson also provides an opportunity to take a data-driven approach to analyzing climate change and forecasting into the future. This may also serve as a starting point to deeper investigations into how particular species in Wyoming have responded to climate change.
Contributors: Martha Inouye, Clare Gunshanen, Sienna Wessel, Matthew Bisk
Date Uploaded: 1/9/22
Ungulate Range: Vegetation, Habitat, and Climate
Image: Ryan Hagerty/USFWS - licensed under the CC Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
Grade Level: 6-8
Performance Expectation Connections:
MS-LS2-1. Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.
MS-LS1-5. Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms.
MS-LS2-2. Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems.
Science and Engineering Practices: Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions; Analyzing and Interpreting Data
Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns; Cause and Effect
Disciplinary Core Ideas: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems; Growth and Development of Organisms
Possible Guiding Questions: Why do ungulates live in certain habitats? What factors influence whether an animal will live in a specific area? How might vegetation influence ungulate distribution? How might climate influence ungulate distribution? How might ungulate populations respond to differences in their environment (introduction of predator, climate change, etc.)?
Possible Instructional Uses: This lesson may be used to explore the relationship between animals and their habitats. You may choose to approach it from the perspective of vegetation, diet, or climate. This lesson can also serve as a jumping off point for a discussion on human impacts on ungulate populations and the effects of current management plans.
Contributors: Rhiannon Jakopak, Martha Inouye, Clare Gunshanen, Matthew Bisk
Date Uploaded: 2/7/22
Convergent Evolution in Mediterranean Plant Communities
Image: Andreas2009 - licensed under the CC Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license.
Grade Level: 9-12
Performance Expectation Connections:
HS-LS4-4. Construct an explanation based on evidence for how natural selection leads to adaptation of populations.
Science and Engineering Practices: Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect
Disciplinary Core Ideas: Adaptation
Possible Guiding Questions: Why do plants in such different parts of the world look so similar? What are some common adaptations we see in these plants? How do you think plant adaptations are connected to the climate patterns in a region? How might plants benefit from living in certain conditions?
Possible Instructional Uses: You may use this lesson as an introduction into evolutionary patterns, specifically convergent evolution. Students can see that even though these plant communities are far apart, they share similar attributes in climate. Students can begin to make the connection that plants in these regions evolved a similar set of adaptations to these climate conditions. This idea can be extended to other examples of convergent evolution or contrasted with divergent evolution.
Contributors: Daniel Laughlin, Martha Inouye, Clare Gunshanen, Matthew Bisk
Date Uploaded: 5/10/22