Time: 5 50 Minute Class Periods

Hot Topics in Bat Conservation Efforts

By: Jessica Mickey

Grades: 6-8

Time: 5 50 minute class periods

Purpose: to research dangers to bats in the United States and create calls for action toward bat conservation.

Indiana Social Studies Standards

6.1.20Analyze cause-and-effect relationships, keeping in mind multiple causations, including the importance of individuals, ideas, human interests, beliefs, and chance in history.

6.3.8 Identify major biomes of the United States and explain how these are influenced by climate.

6.3.13 Explain the impact of humans on the physical environment in the United States.

6.4.6 Analyze current economic issues in the countries of Europe or the Americas using a variety of information resources.

8.2.5 Compare and contrast the different functions of national and state government within the federal system by analyzing the United States Constitution and the Indiana Constitution.

8.2.9 Explain how citizens can monitor and influence the development and implementation of public policies at local, state and national levels of government.

8.3.7 Using primary and secondary sources, identify ways people modified the physical environment as the United States developed and describe the impacts that resulted.

Indiana English/Language Arts Standards

6.RN.2.1 Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what a text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

6.RN.2.2 Determine how a central idea of a text is conveyed through particular details; provide an objective summary of the text.

6.RN.2.3 Analyze in detail how a idea is introduced, illustrated, and elaborated in a text (e.g., through examples or anecdotes).

6.RN.4.1 Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, distinguishing claims that the author supports with reasons and evidence from claims that are not supported.

6.W.3.1 Write arguments in a variety of forms that Introduce claim(s), using strategies such as textual analysis, comparison/contrast and cause/effect; use an organizational structure to group related ideas that support the argument; support claim(s) with clear reasons and relevant evidence, using credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text; create and maintain a consistent style and tone appropriate to purpose and audience; provide a concluding statement or section that follows from the argument presented.

6.W.4 Plan and develop; draft; revise using appropriate reference materials; rewrite; try a new approach; and edit to produce and strengthen writing that is clear and coherent, with some guidance and support from peers and adults.

6.W.5 Conduct short research assignments and tasks to build knowledge about the research process and the topic under study; formulate a research question (e.g., In what ways did Madame Walker influence Indiana society?); gather relevant information from multiple sources, and annotate sources; assess the credibility of each source; quote or paraphrase the information and conclusions of others; avoid plagiarism and provide basic bibliographic information for sources; and present information, choosing from a variety of formats.

6.W.6.1eWriting simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences; recognizing sentence fragments and run-ons.

6.W.6.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.

7.RN.2.1 Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what a text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

7.RN.2.2 Analyze the development of two or more central ideas over the course of a text; provide a detailed, objective summary of the text.

7.RN.3.2 Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole and to the development of the ideas.

7.RN.4.1 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, noting instances of bias and stereotyping.

7.W.3.1 Write arguments in a variety of forms that introduce claim(s), acknowledge alternate or opposing claims, and use appropriate organizational structures; support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text; establish and maintain a consistent style and tone appropriate to purpose and audience; and provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.

7.W.4 Plan and develop; draft; revise using appropriate reference materials; rewrite; try a new approach; and edit to produce and strengthen writing that is clear and coherent, with some guidance and support from peers and adults.

7.W.5 Conduct short research assignments and tasks to build knowledge about the research process and the topic under study; formulate a research question (e.g., In what ways did Madame Walker influence Indiana society?); gather relevant information from multiple sources, and annotate sources; assess the credibility of each source; quote or paraphrase the information and conclusions of others; avoid plagiarism and provide basic bibliographic information for sources; and present information, choosing from a variety of formats.

7.W.6.1eWriting simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences; recognizing and correcting sentence fragments and run-ons; varying sentence patterns for meaning, reader interest, and style.

7.W.6.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.

8.RN.2.1 Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what a text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

8.RN.2.2 Analyze the development of a central idea over the course of a text, including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide a detailed, objective summary of the text.

8.RN.4.1 Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; recognize when irrelevant evidence is introduced.

8.W.3.1 Write arguments in a variety of forms that introduce claim(s), acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically; support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text; establish and maintain a consistent style and tone appropriate to purpose and audience; provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.

8.W.4 Plan and develop; draft; revise using appropriate reference materials; rewrite; try a new approach; and edit to produce and strengthen writing that is clear and coherent, with some guidance and support from peers and adults.

8.W.5 Conduct short research assignments and tasks to build knowledge about the research process and the topic under study; formulate a research question (e.g., In what ways did Madame Walker influence Indiana society?); gather relevant information from multiple sources, and annotate sources; assess the credibility of each source; quote or paraphrase the information and conclusions of others; avoid plagiarism and provide basic bibliographic information for sources; and present information, choosing from a variety of formats

8.W.6.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.

Indiana Science Standards

6-8.RS.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science texts.

6-8.RS.2 Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; provide an accurate summary of the text distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.

6-8.RS.6 Analyze the author’s purpose in providing an explanation in a text.

6-8.WS.2 Write informative/explanatory texts, including scientific procedures/experiments. Introduce a topic clearly, previewing what is to follow; organize ideas, concepts and information into broader categories as appropriate to achieving purpose; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension. Develop the topic with relevant, well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.Use appropriate and varied transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the explanation or information presented.

6-8.WS.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

6-8.WS.7 Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration.

6-8.WS.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.

6-8.WS.9 Draw evidence from informational texts to support research.

6.3.1 Describe specific relationships (i.e., predator and prey, consumer and producer, and parasite and host) between organisms and determine whether these relationships are competitive or mutually beneficial.

6.3.2 Describe how changes caused by organisms in the habitat where they live can be beneficial or detrimental to themselves or to native plants and animals.

Materials:

-Paper copies of “Bats and White Nose Syndrome” from EcoReporters(

-Paper copies of “US Weighs Endangered Species Listing for 2 Bats Threatened by Disease” from The New York Times (

-Computers/in class books for research

-Copies of Bat Articles Text Features Worksheet

-Copies of news article rubric/questions

Background: Students should have some knowledge about the format of a news article and what text features are.

Procedures:

1)As a class, read the article (online or on paper) “Bats and White Nose Syndrome.”

1. Have students fill out the worksheet attached to look at various features of the news article. Give students about 10 minutes to complete this.
2. Discuss answers aloud with students.

2)As a class, read the article (online or on paper) “US Weighs Endangered Species Listing for 2 Bats Threatened by Disease.”

1. Have students complete the worksheet for this article. Give students about 10 minutes to do this.
2. Once completed, allow students to compare answers with a partner. If students have questions over the worksheet, discuss answers selectively as a class.

3)Make sure students’ names are on their worksheets, and inform them that they will need to keep these worksheets until the end of their mini-research project.

4)Pass out the rubric/project guidelines for mini-research project. Go over the project as a class.

5)Begin research to write a news article about bats and some ecological or health issue affecting bats (one species or multiple) in Indiana.

1. You can allow class time for this research project or make it a homework assignment. The project should take about 4 days (2 for research, 1 for writing, 1 for revising) to complete.
2. The revision stage should take place in class with an exercise for peer-collaboration on the editing process. See for ideas.

Assessments:

-Completed worksheet for news article text features

-Guide for news article

-Written news article

Resources:

(Books)

Name: ______Date: ______

Bat Articles Text Features

Text 1

1)Who are the authors of “Bats and White Nose Syndrome”? ______

2)What is the main idea of this text? ______

3)What evidence do the authors use to support this main idea? ______

4)Identify 2 text features you see in this article and their purposes. ______

5)What do the authors of this article want their readers to do after reading this article? How do you know? ______

Text 2

1)Who is the author of ““US Weighs Endangered Species Listing for 2 Bats Threatened by Disease”? ______

2)What is the main idea of this text? ______

3)What evidence do the authors use to support this main idea? ______

4)Identify 2 text features you see in this article and their purposes. ______

5)What do the authors of this article want their readers to do after reading this article? How do you know? ______

Guidelines/Essential Questions for News Article

1)Conduct research on various risks to Indiana bat populations. You might want to start your research at the following links:

1. (Go to About Bats>Conservation Issues)
2. (What We Do)

2)Choose a bat-related conservation issue(disease, ecological, habitat, etc.). ______

3)What is the primary question you will attempt to answer during your research and in your news article? ______

4)List each of your resources (you need at least 3) with their full MLA citation. Attach any additional resource information on a separate piece of paper and staple to this guide.

*______

*______

*______

5)Explain why the issue you chose in a problem and what the issue is.

______

6)What evidence do you have (from your resources) that supports this is an issue? Attach any additional resource information on a separate piece of paper and staple to this guide.

*______

*______

*______

7)Find/offer at least one quote about this conservation issue from an expert in the field. Make sure you identify the expert’s name and what he/she does professionally as well as the quote.

______

8)What text features (besides title, author’s name, and publication date) will you use? Be sure to provide source credit as necessary. ______

9)What is the main idea of your news article? ______

10)What is your call to action? ______

11)What is the title of your news article? ______

News Article Rubric

Master / Developing / Undeveloped
Questions
____/20 / Each question on the guide is answers fully, correctly, and in complete sentences. / Each question is answered on the guide, but some may not be answered fully, with complete sentences, or with accurate information. / 1-3 questions are left blank. Information may not be presented accurately or in complete sentences.
News Article Content
____/40 / It is clear that each answer from the guide is used appropriately in the article. Additional application information is also present.
Article reads smoothly and is informative.
Article is arranged in the general format of a news article.
At least 3 text features besides title, author name, and date of publication are present.
Article appropriately persuades reader to buy into call to action. / Some answers to questions in the guide may not be clearly used, though nearly all information from the guide is covered. No additional information is present or additional information is clumsy.
Article is readable but choppy or longwinded in parts.
Article is arranged in the general format of a news article.
At least 2 text features besides title, author name, and date of publication are present.
Article attempts to persuade reader to buy into call to action. / All questions from guide are not included, nor is additional information as relative to the topic.
Article does not read smoothly because of excessive choppiness or long-windedness.
Article does not resemble news article format.
Only 1 text feature besides title, author name, and date of publication are present.
Article makes little or no attempt to persuade reader to follow a specific call to action.
News Article Mechanics
____/10 / None to very few grammar, spelling, and/or punctuation issues. / Few repeated grammar, spelling, and/or punctuation issues. / Many grammar, spelling, and punctuation issues.
News Article Organization
____/15 / Article is clearly ordered in a way that makes sense. Conservation issue is identified immediately. Call to action is in the conclusion. Order of main ideas(s) and supporting evidence makes sense. / Article is organized in a way that a reader can read it once and understand what’s going on, but individual parts may be a bit unclear regarding how information is presented. / Article offers the main idea of the chosen conservation issue but may not be clear in how that issue affects bats or can be resolved. Individual sections are confusing.
Peer Review Participation
____/15 / Full participation in peer review process. / Participates in peer review process but not equally with partners(s). / Little to no participation in peer review process.
Total
_____/100