Step Five

STEP FIVE:

Formal Assessment:

-Students will be formally assessed through a quiz including multiple choice questions coming from information found on the student websites. This quiz will also include a response in which the students will be asked to compare the behaviors of a Tarantula Wasp Hawk and Tarantula to another set of animals.

Informal Assessment:

-Students will be assessed based on their participation in the development of a group website. This will be assessed through the use of a rubric.

-Students will be assessed on their Pic Collage.

-Each group will be assessed on their website. This will also be assessed through the use of a rubric.

Step Four

STEP FOUR:

Weekly Plans:

(After initial class discussion/Give One-Get One activity the previous week)

1.       Monday- Students will be put into groups. Each group will be responsible for creating a website that details what a Genus Pepsis is, where it is located, what characteristics this animal has, what their prey is, and what type of relationship they have with their prey. Students will begin to work on their website.

2.       Tuesday- Groups will continue to work together on their websites. Teacher will assist, as needed.

3.       Wednesday- Groups will present their websites to the class to compare findings. We will complete the K-W-L chart as a class after presentations. 

4.       Thursday- Students will individually conduct research on animals who have a similar relationship to a tarantula hawk wasp and a tarantula. As these animals have a symbiotic relationship, I will split up the students between four categories; mutualism, commensalism, parasitism, and neutralism. Each student within each category must pick a set of animals that fits that type of symbiotic relationship. Students will create a Pic Collage of these sets of animals with the use of pictures, drawings, words, and/or symbols in comparison to the relationship between the tarantula hawk wasp and a tarantula.

5.       Friday- Students will be given a quiz with multiple choice questions about Genus Pepsis. They will also be asked to write a response about the pair of animals they researched in comparison to the tarantula hawk wasp and the tarantula. Students will be assessed on the multiple choice quiz/response, group participation, the website, and the Pic Collage.

Step Three

STEP THREE:

--Explanation of how I would introduce the subject to motivate them:

Before allowing them to research the subject, I would begin a whole group discussion about what predictions or previous knowledge they have about Genus Pepsis. After I have given them a little time, I would tell them that Genus Pepsis is a Tarantula Hawk Wasp to see if that gets any more predictions or previous knowledge. I would then get them to fold a piece of paper in half and play “Give One, Get One”. They would write everything they know on the left side, and then trade information with their classmates. At the end of this, we would create a K-W-L class chart about what we Know, what we Want to know, and what we want to Learn. Finally, I would show them a You Tube video in which the Tarantula Wasp Hawk is attacking a Tarantula to capture their interest before breaking the class into equal groups.

--Web Resources/Technology for a multi-media project:

1. Each group will create a website to show the information they have gathered about Genus Pepsis. Groups will then present this website to the class. This website is very user friendly, and allows students to upload videos and pictures. They are able to manipulate the format and text very easily.

http://students.weebly.com/

2. Students will also create a Pic Collage comparing the relationship of a tarantula hawk wasp to that of a different set of animals.

http://www.pic-collage.com

Step Two

STEP TWO:

Outcome Based Statements:

At the end of a one week unit:

1.       Students will be able to define Genus Pepsis.

2.       Students will be able to describe characteristics of Genus Pepsis.

3.       Students will be able to identify natural prey of a Genus Pepsis.

4.       Students will be able to describe the natural habitat and location of a Genus Pepsis.

5.       Students will be able to describe the behaviors of a Genus Pepsis.

6.       Students will be able to compare the relationship between a Genus Pepsis and Tarantula to another pair of animals with a host relationship.
7.   Students will be able to define symbiosis and tell how it applies to a Genus Pepsis.

Research Question(s) for the Class:

1. What is symbiosis? What are the four different types of a symbiotic relationship? What does this type of relationship have to do with a Genus Pepsis?

2. After identifying the prey of a Genus Pepsis, what other animals have a similar relationship to a Genus Pepsis and its prey?

Step One

STEP ONE:

--Initial Questions

1.       Based on my prior knowledge, is Genus Pepsis a type of species?

2.       What is Genus Pepsis?

3.       Why is Genus Pepsis important to our world?

4.       What resources can I use to determine what Genus Pepsis is?

5.       Now that I know Genus Pepsis is a Tarantula Wasp, what other resources can I use to determine more information?

6.       Why is it important for a 7^th grade class to learn about Genus Pepsis?

7.       How can I tie in the information I learned about Tarantula Hawks to motivate and interest my students?

8.       What multi-media aspects can I use to enhance this instructional unit?

--Web Resources:

1.       http://bugguide.net/node/view/3920

2.       http://genuspepsiscwrenn.blogspot.com/

3.       http://irishmank.blogspot.com/2011/06/what-is-genus-pepsis.html

4.       http://www.icr.org/article/6390/

5.       http://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/54027-Pepsis

6.       http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarantula_hawk

7.       http://zipcodezoo.com/Key/Animalia/Pepsis_Genus.asp

8.       http://www.desertusa.com/mag01/sep/papr/thawk.html

9.       http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/elyunque/learning/nature-science/?cid=fsbdev3_042905

10.   http://www.arkinspace.com/2011/09/tathe-tarantula-hawk-ruthless-raptor-of.html

--Videos:

1.       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=287mfv6lbDU

2.       http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=vzJFzNr5YL4&feature=fvwp

3.       http://youtu.be/D56lxph_WlI

4.       http://www.ehow.com/video_4755674_life-cycle-tarantula-wasp.html

--Questions for my students:

1.       What is a Genus Pepsis?

2.       What are the characteristics of Genus Pepsis?

3.       What is a Genus Pepsis’ prey?

4.       Where are Genus Pepsis’ located?

5.       How would you describe the behaviors of a Genus Pepsis?
6.   What is symbiosis, and how does it apply to a Genus Pepsis? 

7.       What other animals have a similar relationship to a Tarantula and a Genus Pepsis?
8.   What are the four different types of a symbiotic relationship, and how are they different from one another?

--Common Core Standards-

1.       CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.2  Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; provide an accurate summary of the text distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.

2.       CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.5 Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole and to an understanding of the topic.

3.       CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.8 Distinguish among facts, reasoned judgment based on research findings, and speculation in a text.