Why use Asian Carp to discuss ecosystems and invasive species?
BIG Ideas - NGSS
Michigan Science Standard
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Teaching a topic as complex and involved as ecosystems is not an easy task. However, it's one that we science teachers have to take on, as it's one of the core ideas of life science education. One of the ways to make this more relatable to students is to put it into context using a topic that is relevant to them. In the state of Michigan, one example is the threat that Asian Carp present to the Great Lakes. This topic receives a lot of press and is directly related to a major feature of our state that all students are familiar with. Using an invasive species as a central problem in your classroom gives students the chance to look at a real environmental problem facing their region today, in addition to a chance to research (and possibly implement) some of the measures that are taken to get rid of such a species. Furthermore, there is the benefit of teaching students about an ecosystem's interdependence, as many invasive species disrupt these relationships. That being said, below are some resources for teachers to use in a 5E lesson on Ecosystems that centers around Asian Carp, reviews of those resources, and some ideas on how this could be implemented in a cross-curricular lesson for a third grade class.
Why 5E?
The 5E format consists of 5 stages of learning: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate. It can be applied to teach anything from a single concept to an entire unit. The 5E approach is based on the philosophy that students begin with a new topic by considering what they already know about it. The new information is then connected with students prior knowledge to form concepts. We used it here to sort our resources based on when we would introduce it during the unit. More detailed information about the 5E Instructional Model can be found here.
Engage
Michigan Social Studies Grade Level Content Expectations (GLCE)
3P.1.1 Identify public issues in Michigan that influence the daily lives of its citizens.
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This is the hook for our lesson. We picked a game that would interest students and excite them to learn about invasive species. This game is off of the BrainPop website and can be found here. The game starts out by introducing the invasion of Asian Carp within the Great Lakes, and students get to play as the Asian Carp. Throughout the game there are pauses where information pops up about the Carp. The game will grab the attention of students because of its graphics, humor and entertainment. What student doesn't love a game? Once you finish the game as the Asian Carp, you are able to continue the game as a human and work with the community to stop the Asian Carp. Before students start this section we suggest going more in depth with them through other explore and explain activities.There is also a quiz at the bottom with 10 questions focusing on invasive species. Near the end you are able to see the inner daily workings of a town and how the Asian Carp effect the town. This game is something that can be revisited throughout the unit because of its progressive nature.
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| A look at the first part of the game where students play as the Asian Carp. |
Explore
Common Core State Standard
ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.1 Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.10 By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grades 2-3 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
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Students can also explore other invasive species of the world, not just specifically the Asian Carp that are coming into the Great Lakes. One way to explore this is through a TED video lesson on invasive species, what they do to the ecosystems they invade, and how they get there. The TED lesson is embedded below and can also be found here. There is a quiz, discussion, and additional resources provided with this video. You can even create your own lesson on the TED-Ed site to use in your class!
Another resource for students to explore more on the subject is a book entitled Asian Carp (21st Century Skills Library: Animal Invaders). It is a small informational text intended for elementary students interested in learning about the background and impact of Asian Carp. More information can be found on Amazon here.
Having access to a tangible source that they can repeatedly reference will also help students develop questions about the topic. Asian Carp can likely be found at your local library to check out (we found a copies at two of our local libraries), or may even be available for download. There are several ELA standards that can be addressed while using this book. In third grade, students need to be able to answer questions that demonstrate their understanding of the text, and by studying and creating projects from their readings about Asian Carp, they can accomplish this. Another great resource for researching invasive species, or seeing real time distribution of invasive species is the Early Detection & Distribution Mapping System or EDDMaps. These maps can be found here. The University of Georgia hosts this live reporting site, and uses Google Maps to track reported invasive species identifications throughout the United States. The information on all of the invasive species is state-specific, and can be accessed in either list or map form. This source includes all invasive species (plant, mammal, bug, etc.) and can be refined to smaller groups. This is a great site for students to explore as it is not overwhelming, is easy to navigate, and gives authentic and real-time information on the subject they are exploring in this step. Another great real-time exploration activity is an app put out by Ohio State University Extension called the Great Lakes Early Detection Network that allows downloaders to report on invasive species in their area. If you or your students are interested, the app can be found here. The next source is generic information about Asian Carp, where they came from and the problems they pose to the environment, which can be found here. It has some very specific information about the threat these fish pose. While the information is slightly outdated, it is still a good run down of the main points, and it comes from the National Park Service, which could lead to some very interesting questions about how the Asian Carp are affecting humans. Furthermore, as this resource specifically talks about the problem posed to the Mississippi River system and basins in Minnesota, this will also give students a better idea of how pervasive this problem is. This would be a great chance to do some reading with students (at the third grade level, probably just one section for a small group), and get some of the information about the carp from the reading selection. This rather than the teacher lecturing on the subject and allowing the teacher to integrate non-fiction reading into the science lesson. This Scholastic source was actually written by a student at Scholastic News and is a good source of information, as well as a good example to show during the Evaluate stage of your lesson, found here on the Scholastic site.
Explain
In this stage, teachers will help students to clarify information they need to understand for this unit. The students will need to go over important terms (native, non-native, invasive, etc.) and discuss the information they have explored. Teachers will want to make sure that students understand concepts, such as why many invasive species are problems (introduction into environments where there are no checks or balances for that particular species) and how they are brought to the new environment (human introduction). Students can also use this time to ask questions themselves, to discuss amongst themselves what they have found in their research, and share any pertinent information they choose to or want to refine themselves.
Elaborate
Common Core State Standard
ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.6 Distinguish their own point of view from that of the author of a text.
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Within the elaborate process, students propose solutions to the problem the teacher has presented to them. One example of a possible solution to the problem is outlined in this article, which discusses the use of the chinese fishing techniques in an attempt to slow down invasion of Asian Carp in the Great Lakes. Students could outline pros and cons of this solution, including its cost efficiency vs. its effectiveness. As part of the evaluate, I would also ask students to propose a solution themselves. They would use the same pros and cons strategy to evaluate their own idea.
Evaluate
Common Core State Standard
CCSS. ELA-LITERACY.W.3.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.2.A Introduce a topic and group related information together; include illustrations when useful to aiding comprehension.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.2.B Develop the topic with facts, definitions, and details.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.2.C Use linking words and phrases (e.g., also, another, and more, but) to connect ideas within categories of information.
CCSS.ELA.LITERACY.W.3.2D Provide a concluding statement or section.
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For the final project of this lesson plan, we recommend a writing project in the form of a newspaper article. The news report format allows students to share their plan in a comprehensive writing format that is accessible to students and teachers alike, allowing students to articulate their plans for stopping the carp and teachers to assess student learning simultaneously. This lesson plan can be found here. This site is formatted as an entire lesson plan, and thus has additional resources that teachers can use in other parts of the lesson. As this is a press source, it also allows students to come up with some questions of their own to include in the print, as journalists are always asking questions!
Critical Thinking Questions for Teachers to Consider:
- What other invasive species might serve as a good example for teaching ecosystems in a different area? Why should the invasive species be area specific?
- How else could this lesson be expanded? What else could you draw into this unit?
- Would this work better as a long-term unit or a short-term lesson plan? How would you implement it in your classroom?
- What resources by you might be able to add more to this conversation in your classroom? What experts might be able to add more depth to this discussion in your classroom?
- How would you modify this topic to meet standards for a grade other than third? Are there standards from your state you could add to this?
- Would this be possible to modify to use in a special education classroom? How would you do it?
Resources:
Why 5E?
Engage
Explore
Elaborate
Evaluate
Post by Natalie Gervais, Holly Schmidt, Paige Fordice, and Victoria Gallagher
I really liked your article. Although I don't teach third grade, I found the setup of the article very helpful. You all provided numerous resources to help me jump start this process. Great job!
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