If I Were A Fish
The purpose of this unit plan is to have students formulate a testable hypothesis about fish swimming preference and sediment type. Then, students will design an experiment with appropriate controls and variables, collect and record quantitative and qualitative data, analyze data to draw conclusions supported by evidence, communicate scientific findings effectively, and relate sediment type to ecological niches and fish habitat.
Overview
Students investigate whether sediment type influences the direction a fish chooses to swim. After a video on stream sediments and a discussion of habitat, niche, and sediment runoff, groups of three to four design an experiment with different sediments in sections of a tank, naming variables, control, constants, hypothesis, and data plan. The teacher reviews each design for rigor and ethical treatment of the fish. Students record behavior and time spent in each sediment, share data in a gallery walk, and consider what-if variations. Each group then presents a Claim, Evidence, Reasoning report using slides or a poster, assessed with a rubric.
Lesson Objectives
- Formulate a testable hypothesis about fish swimming preference and sediment type.
- Design an experiment with appropriate controls and variables.
- Collect and record quantitative and qualitative data.
- Analyze data to draw conclusions supported by evidence.
- Communicate scientific findings effectively.
- Relate sediment type to ecological niches and fish habitat.
Standards
NGSS · 3
- HS-LS2-2Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics: Use mathematical representations to support and revise explanations based on evidence about factors affecting biodiversity and populations in ecosystems of different scales.
- HS-LS2-6Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics: Evaluate the claims, evidence, and reasoning that the complex interactions in ecosystems maintain relatively consistent numbers and types of organisms in stable conditions, but changing conditions may result in a new ecosystem.
- HS-LS2-7Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics: Design, evaluate, and refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment and biodiversity.*
CCSS Math · 7
- HSN-Q.A.1Use units as a way to understand problems and to guide the solution of multi-step problems; choose and interpret units consistently in formulas; choose and interpret the scale and the origin in graphs and data displays.
- HSN-Q.A.2Define appropriate quantities for the purpose of descriptive modeling.
- HSN-Q.A.3Choose a level of accuracy appropriate to limitations on measurement when reporting quantities.
- HSS-ID.A.1Represent data with plots on the real number line (dot plots, histograms, and box plots).
- HSS-ID.A.2Use statistics appropriate to the shape of the data distribution to compare center (median, mean) and spread (interquartile range, standard deviation) of two or more different data sets.
- HSS-ID.A.3Interpret differences in shape, center, and spread in the context of the data sets, accounting for possible effects of extreme data points (outliers).
- HSS-ID.A.4Use the mean and standard deviation of a data set to fit it to a normal distribution and to estimate population percentages. Recognize that there are data sets for which such a procedure is not appropriate. Use calculators, spreadsheets, and tables to estimate areas under the normal curve.
CCSS ELA · 2
- W.9-10.2Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
- W.9-10.2.bDevelop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience's knowledge of the topic.