STANDARDS-BASED UNIT PLANNING
UNIT TITLE: U a mau ke’ea o ka’aina I ka pono PREPARED BY: Linda Wong,George Bradley, Shawn Horiuchi & Keeman Wong SCHOOL: Haha’ione El
PURPOSE/ESSENTIAL QUESTION: To promote personal responsibility for our aina – Hawai’i__
CURRICULUM AREA(S): Science, Social Studies, Language Arts GRADE(S): 6th Grade DURATION: 6 weeks
GENERAL LEARNER OUTCOMES
- the ability to be responsible for one’s own learning
- the understanding that it is essential for human beings to work together
- the ability to be involved in complex thinking and problem solving
- the ability to recognize and produce quality performance and quality products
CONTENT STANDARDS AND BENCHMARKS
SCIENCE – HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES
Malama I Ka Aina: Sustainability- Students make decisions needed to sustain life on Earth now and for future generations by considering the limited resources and fragile environmental conditions.
- Conservation of Resources – Explain how methods for obtaining and using resources such as water, minerals and fossil fuel have consequences on the environment.
- Illustrate and explain the relationship among producers, consumers, and decomposers.
- Give examples of conservation of matter where matter is transferred within and among living organisms and their physical environment.
Relating the Nature of Technology to Science
- Students use the problem-solving process to address current issues involving human adaptations in the environment.
- Identify an issue, analyze information to identify alternative solutions; apply criteria for evaluation; select and carry out steps for the alternative solution ;Evaluation. (see p. 19 of Science Stds.)
- Composing Processes - Use writing processes and strategies appropriately and as needed to construct meaning and communicate effectively.
Develop and support a thesis or stance using information from a variety of resources.
- Diversity – Understand diversity in language, perspective, and culture in order to craft texts that represent diverse thinking and expression.
- Use writing to consider, explore , and analyze issues of diversity in language, perspective, and culture
- Students demonstrate stewardship of earth’s resources through the understanding of society and the physical environment.
- Analyze the distribution of natural resources, variations of physical systems, natural hazards, and positive and negative environmental impacts in different parts of the world, and engage in an environmental care-taking action/project.
Driving Questions:
- What will we need to do to sustain life on earth now & for our future?
- How does man & technology effect and impact Hawaii’s natural environment?
- What solution(s) will help our environment sustain life?
- Earth (specifically, Hawaii), our home, provides us with what we need to survive.
- We need to become knowledgeable of our resources and make wise choices to conserve them.
- There are consequences in our “actions” and “inactions”.
- We need to make a commitment to preserve our environment.
Hawaii State Department of Education, Standards Alliance 9/00
BUILDING THE BACKGROUND
LEARNING OUTCOMES/BENCHMARKS / LEARNING EXPERIENCES / ASSESSMENT- Interpret text through dramatization
- Awareness of diverse perspectives
- Students will research and evaluate potential positive and negative effects from constructing a dam on a river.
- Students role play individuals representing differing perspectives and concerns related to a complex issue.
arguments, questions
- Interpretation
- Thesis/take a stance
- support
- Ideas
- Awareness of perspectives
- voice
(science)
- ask questions and describe the wonderings of the world around us
- Interpret text through dramatization, writing or art
- Conservation of Resources – Explain how methods for obtaining and using resources such as water, minerals and fossil fuel have consequences on the environment.
- Illustrate and explain the relationship among producers, consumers, and decomposers.
- Give examples of conservation of matter where matter is transferred within and among living organisms and their physical environment.
- H.W. & in class – students will look for, write about, and discuss current
i.e. oil spills, oil prices, CA power shortage, video on Hiroshima bombing,
National Geographic articles, videos
- K.W. – what students Know and what they Want to know about the conditions of our earth.
- Read as a class and discuss pages 553-554 on conserving energy
-problems with air, water, land
- Group read & teach sections of various cycles (water, air, etc.) & ecosystems from the old red science book (p. 7-31 & 32-42)
- Living Machine
- What it is
- How it works – bioremediation using natural processes to regenerate/recycle
- Students bring in soda bottles and will build one of the following”think bottles”: decomposition, terraqua, ecocolumn (ea. Student is given a handout for each)
- 5w’s and H on issues
- Performance assess
-by teacher & peers
- Observation log
- Reflection essay
- (
Hawaii State Department of Education, Standards Alliance 9/00
DEEPENING THE UNDERSTANDING
LEARNING OUTCOMES/BENCHMARKS / LEARNING EXPERIENCES / ASSESSMENT(science)
- Conservation of Resources – Explain how methods for obtaining and using resources such as water, minerals and fossil fuel have consequences on the environment.
- Illustrate and explain the relationship among producers, consumers, and decomposers.
- Give examples of conservation of matter where matter is transferred within and among living organisms and their physical environment.
- Continued experimentation with “think bottles”
- once the ecosystem is set up, how will pollutants effect its status?
- focus in on researching LOCAL environmental issues
- HW/mini research – bring in articles on current issues (TV, interview, internet, paper, magazines, etc.)
island
- Field Trip – Beach clean up, visit Makua valley, power plant, aquifers, waste management, pumping station, sewage treatment plant at Sandy Beach, H-power, Wahiawa bioremediation video taken by last year’s student council.
- Observation log
- Reflection essay
Transition:
Hawaii State Department of Education, Standards Alliance 9/00
APPLYING THE LEARNING
LEARNING OUTCOMES/BENCHMARKS / LEARNING EXPERIENCES / ASSESSMENT(GLO)
- the ability to recognize and produce quality performance and quality products
- Develop and support a thesis or stance using information from variety of resources.
- Use writing to consider, explore and analyze issues of diversity in language, perspective and culture
- To identify an issue, analyze the info. to identify alternative solutions; apply criteria for evaluation; select and carry out steps for the alternative solution; evaluate their own alternative solution
- Analyze + &- environmental impacts in different parts of the world, and engage in an environmental care-taking action/project
- Students will reserch a particular problem effecting the sustainability of life in Hawaii (teachers will provide a topic list, although students will not be beholden to it).
(individually or in pairs – if in pairs, papers must be written individually)
- a persuasive letter (presenting both pros and cons) and their personal opinion on the issue
- provide a conclusion based on a possible/suitable recommendation
- present report at a symposium with a display board and field questions
- provide a solution
Culminating Activity: Symposium
- Students will display and present proposals to teacher & classmates (invite community, business members or representatives from environmental groups etc.)
- Students must also prepare to ask questions, participate in questioning and be prepared to answer questions.
- Define prob & thesis (Environmental impact statement)
- Elements of a persuasive speech and report
- Historical impact
- Applicable solution
- Sources:
- 1 interview from a notable source
knowledgeable elder who
saw the changes
- 3 cited documents
- Teacher evaluation of the required elements based on standards on a rubric for persuasive papers, artistic display, reflection/interpretation and oral presentation
- Peer evaluations based on presentation
Hawaii State Department of Education, Standards Alliance 9/00
READINGS / ADDITIONAL RESOURCESREADING (in class):
The World –Past and Present text by HBJ
The New Exploring Science text by / Teacher Gathered Resources:
Traditional:
Aquatic by Project Wild
Technological:
Ahupua’a Action Alliance (Lynette Hi’ilani Cruz) refer to
Carl Evensen
e-mail:
Ahupua’a Action Alliance (Stephen Kubota)
e-mail:READING (independently):
The World –Past and Present text by HBJ
The New Exploring Science text by
To Dam or Not to Dam adapted from Aquatic – Project Wild
Handouts from the Keiki Science Living Machines & Ecocolumns Workshop / Student Gathered Resources:
Areas of the Unit to Evaluate:
- Performance of Students
- Scaffolding of Activities
- Teaching/Learning Strategies
- Assessment
- Overall (Content, Pace, Length)
- Implications for next unit of work
- Students who experienced difficulties
- Students who experienced success
- Reasons for difficulties/successes
- Adaptations for next unit of work
Hawaii State Department of Education, Standards Alliance 9/00