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To engage students in lesson I show students the following video titled Penguins: Popularity, Peril, and Poop by Dyan deNapoli.

Penguins are odd birds. For one, they cannot fly (but they are amazing swimmers), and, contrary to popular belief, the majority of penguin populations live in warmer regions. But these beloved birds are in danger, with populations declining up to 90%. Dyan deNapoli explains the reasons behind the decline -- and why penguins are like the proverbial canary in the coal mine of our oceans. ( MS-LS2-4. Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations./Stability and Change - Small changes in one part of a system might cause large changes in another part.)

As student watch video they answer the following questions in their interactive notebooks:

1. How many of the 18 penguin species are listed as Near-threatened, Threatened, or Endangered?

a. 8

b. 10

c. 12

d. 15

2. Which four penguin species regularly live and breed in Antarctica?

a. Emperor, King, Chinstrap, Gentoo

b. Emperor, King, Chinstrap, Adélie

c. Emperor, Chinstrap, Gentoo, Adélie

d. Emperor, Chinstrap, Gentoo, Macaroni

3. What percentage of a penguin's life is spent at sea?

a. 50

b. 75

c. 85

d. 90

4. Penguins are negatively impacted by humans in many ways but what are the two main threats to penguins today?

a. Global warming and overfishing

b. Global warming and oil spills

c. Overfishing and introduced predators

d. Overfishing and oil spills

5. Over the last 50-100 years, the population of most penguin species has declined close to _____%.

a. 50

b. 75

c. 80

d. 90

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To engage students in lesson I show students the following video titled Penguins: Popularity, Peril, and Poop by Dyan deNapoli. Penguins are odd birds. For one, they cannot fly (but they are amazing swimmers), and, contrary to popular belief, the majority of penguin populations live in warmer regions.

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On the first presentation day, I post a piece of chart paper for "Presentation sign-ups". This is a numbered list with as many numbers as presenters. I ask one member of each team to sign up. This determines the order in which they present, and keeps moving things along since everyone knows "who goes next".

If there are any other adults in the room, I introduce them and thank them for participating. I explain to the room that after each presentation, there will be a 2 minute writing time. During the writing time, presenting students remain at the front of the room, available to answer questions; audience students must write in response to the following three questions:

1. Why is the animal important to the ecosystem?

2. What human behaviors are a threat to the species?

3. Where the steps presented to take the animal off the threatened / endangered species list realistic? Why/how?

Note to teachers: I have summarized the student's work in a document, which must be downloaded to have access to the links to all the student work. When you visit the student work, notice the different tools used to present the recovery plans. This speaks to the students familiarity with multiple tools and the ability to select what they think will best convey their ideas.

The trick during presentation days is to pay close attention to the clock and keep things moving. If there are still gaps in the student notes after the writing time, I encourage the participants to seek out the presenters and ask any unanswered question.

We conclude presentations on the second day.

In this video I have included some presentation highlights. Watch towards the end when the student realizes that he was too quick to answer the question being posed.

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On the first presentation day, I post a piece of chart paper for "Presentation sign-ups". This is a numbered list with as many numbers as presenters. I ask one member of each team to sign up. This determines the order in which they present, and keeps moving things along since everyone knows "who goes next".

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The Endangered species project is run over the span of at least two weeks and is aimed at addressing the following standards:
NGSS

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-LS2-2. Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems.

MS-LS2-3. Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.

MS-LS2-4. Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.

MS-LS2-5. Evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services.

CCSS ELA/Science Literacy

RST.6-8.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts.

RST.6-8.7 Integrate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text with a version of that information expressed visually.

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

RI.8.8 Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient to support the claims.

WHST.6-8.1 Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

WHST.6-8.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.

WHST.6-8.9 Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

SL.8.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade level topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.

SL.8.4 Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with relevant evidence, sound valid reasoning, and well-chosen details; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.

SL.8.5 Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest.

Students participating in this project are involved in practicing the following Science and Engineering Practices and Crosscutting Concepts:

SP2: Developing and using models - as they gather information and make decisions while creating an infographic.

SP4: Analyze and interpret data - as they research the different topics and analyze the information to come to a consensus.

SP6: Construct explanations and designing solutions - as they explain their ideas and support them using multiple lines of evidence.

SP7: Engage in argument from evidence - as they formulate evidence based on data and collaborate with each other in searching for the best explanation.

SP8: Obtain, evaluate and communicate information - as they present their work, communicating their research and engage in discussions with peers defending their arguments.

As students research an endangered species and determine what has caused to be on the endangered species list, they engage in the following crosscutting concepts:

Patterns:

Patterns can be used to identify cause and effect relationships.

Graphs, charts and images can be used to identify patterns in data .

Cause and effect:

Cause and effect relationships may be used to predict phenomena in natural or designed systems.

Phenomena may have more than one cause.

Energy and matter:

The transfer of energy can be tracked as energy flows through a designed or natural system.

Stability and change:

Small changes in one part of a system might cause large changes in another part.

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Project based learning as a way to promote deeper learning and to develop the skills needed for success in college, career and civic life. Plan your 60 minutes lesson in Science or Human Impact on Earth with helpful tips from Mariana Garcia Serrato

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In this section of the lesson students complete What are our Energy Choices? module from The Concord Consortium.

Learning Objective:

Students will explore the advantages and disadvantages of using renewable and non-renewable sources to generate electricity.

Essential Question:

What sources will supply electricity in the future?

Introduction to Activity:
Electricity generation is faced with a growing number of challenges. Energy sources used to generate electricity need to be available, plentiful and energy-dense while not polluting the air, water or land, and minimizing habitat disruptions. Throughout this module, students explore the advantages and disadvantages of different energy sources for generating electricity and consider the question: what sources will generate our electricity in the future? You will focus on the process of extracting natural gas from shale formations through hydraulic fracturing and run experiments with computational models to investigate how gas is extracted. You will evaluate other energy resources and consider how changes in energy use by individuals are an important part of understanding electricity supply and demand. By the end of the module you will be able to compare the costs and benefits of different sources used for generating electricity.

This module contains five activities, each approximately 45 minutes long.

Activity 1: Electricity Sources and Challenges

Activity 2: Extracting gas from shale

Activity 3: Evaluating natural gas

Activity 4: Evaluating other energy sources

Activity 5: Energy Efficiency

Instruction:

For the purpose of this lesson students complete Activity 4: Evaluating other Energy Resources. (SP4-Analyzing and Interpreting Data)

In this activity, students analyze other energy sources, comparing the costs and benefits of natural gas, coal, biomass, nuclear, wind, hydro, and solar power for generating electricity. Students complete the activity in pairs, using student laptops. Based on the level of the class, you could project the module to navigate students through questions that they might have difficulty with, in particular the data analysis of various graphs presented in module.

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In this section of the lesson students complete What are our Energy Choices? module from The Concord Consortium. Learning Objective: Students will explore the advantages and disadvantages of using renewable and non-renewable sources to generate electricity. Essential Question: What sources will supply electricity in the future?

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In this section of the lesson students read a passage from ReadWorks titled Frogs at Risk.
The non-profit ReadWorks is committed to solving the nation's reading comprehension crisis by giving teachers the research-proven tools and support they need to improve the academic achievement of their students. ReadWorks provides research-based units, lessons, and authentic, leveled non-fiction and literary passages directly to educators online, for free, to be shared broadly. The ReadWorks curriculum is aligned to the Common Core State Standards and the standards of all 50 states. Most importantly, ReadWorks is faithful to the most effective research-proven instructional practices in reading comprehension.
Students use Marking the Text strategy to interact with text.

Directions:

1. Number Paragraphs

2. Circle Key Terms, cited authors, and other essential words or numbers.

3. Underline the author's claims and other information relevant to the reading purpose.

Once students have read text they answer the text dependent questions included in passage set.(RST.6-8.1-Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts.)

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In this section of the lesson students read a passage from ReadWorks titled Frogs at Risk. The non-profit ReadWorks is committed to solving the nation's reading comprehension crisis by giving teachers the research-proven tools and support they need to improve the academic achievement of their students.

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MS-LS2-5: Evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services.

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MS-LS2-4: Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.