Share-a-thon!

Handout

6th Mass Extinction

According to the Center for Biological Diversity, "as many as 30 to 50 percent of all species are possibly heading toward extinction by mid-century." Engage your students to make a difference!

• ​Racing Extinction documentary about 6th Mass Extinction; film clips & high school curriculum here
• Endangered Species Recovery Plan
• Student-created newsletters featuring species (template) (example - not finished yet)

Seeds

Think beyond genetics! Think food security. Create resilience.  Over 90% of commercial varieties that were available 100 years ago are extinct. The preservation of crop biodiversity will happen in our home gardens & schools. Connect seed saving & breeding throughout your curriculum to preserve heirlooms of the past and breed heirlooms of the future. 

• Create a seed library 
• ​​Breed a new variety
• ​Citizen Science trialing or breeding

Climate Change

• Drawdown: Climate Action Now! Unit
• Drawdown: Climate Action Now! Individual Plans
• Climate Change for Teachers Resources 

Zero Waste

• Engineering for Good - Plastic Solutions from KQED
• Zero Waste October - monthlong challenge

Tiny Homes

Engineering Task includes:

• ​Budget
• Blueprint
• LEED Certification
  
• Product testing 
• Report (Claim-Evidence-Reason)

Roundtables

Engineering for Good

Three-Dimensional Academic Conversations

Learn strategies on how to organize your units around Engineering for Good to address the human impact on natural systems. Explore projects that use the engineering design process to define issues, brainstorm solutions, and implement ideas to solve issues from waste, water scarcity, climate change to the sixth mass extinction.

Resources

• #EngineeringForGood Unit Organizer​​
• Big Aha! (Driving Question) for unit: One response needs to relate to a Cross Cutting Concept 
• ​Big Aha! Support
• ​Beefy Resilient Grex Dry Bush Bean - Plant Breeding
• Racing Extinction - documentary on the 6th mass extinction; also includes a high school curriculum with clips to sections of the video that you can use in your classroom
• Endangered Species Recovery Plan 
• Tiny Home Project -Thermal Energy Engineering Task
• Drawdown: Climate Action Plan

Examples

Big Ahas!

Students make connections between the Big Aha! question and key concepts.

Students explain photosynthesis through the lens of carbon sequestration and global warming.

Incorporate three-dimensional strategies and rubrics into your lessons to help students build models, argue using evidence, develop explanations, and analyze anchor texts. Engage students in making connections between anchor texts and cross cutting concepts and broaden their explanations to embed cross cutting concepts and science and engineering practices throughout their notebook.

Rubrics

• Academic Conversations Rubric
• Claim-Evidence-Reason Rubric  (Self-assessment sheet)
• Talk to Text Rubric
• Interactive Science Notebook Rubric
• Modeling Rubric
  
  

Examples 

• Weather Summative Task Model: Hottest, Driest, Wettest, Coldest, Sunniest, or Windiest?  (Summative Task page) 
• Graphic Notes for Anchor Texts: key points, annotated diagram, relevant Cross Cutting Concept, & summary ​

Annotating "Earth is on brink of a sixth mass extinction, scientists say, and it’s humans’ fault," an anchor text. Students make connections between the text and Cross Cutting Concepts.

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Other Resources

• Sentence Starter Table Tents
• Science & Engineering Practices for Interactive Science Notebook
• Cross Cutting Concepts for Interactive Science Notebook
• Cross Cutting Concept Questions
• Cross Cutting Concept Cards

Recommended Reading
Academic Conversations by Jeff Zwiers and Marie Crawford