Teacher: Ilene Kanoff

VRP Site: Newark Street School

Grades: 7-8

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Unit Title: Up, Down and Dirty: Exploring Birds and Amphibians in the Victory Bog

VRP Goals: This unit fits in nicely with the VRP Curriculum of Place as students study local birds and amphibians found in a nearby bog.

Goals:

• Assess students’ s prior knowledge of birds

• Learn how to use a field guide for birds as well as observing them via binoculars

• Gain an understanding of the role of bogs and their inhabitants, specifically the Victory Bog

• Participate in a project in which each student studies a particular amphibian and presents the learning to the class

• Observe how a university researcher works in the field and participate in Gray Jay tracking

• Perform data collection for the State of Vermont

• Develop a methodology for keeping track of visits to the bog

Focusing questions:

• How are birds classified, by what characteristics?

• What information is provided in a field guide and how might we use that information to identify local birds?

• What types of amphibians inhabited our local world and how might they be identified?

• What is a bog and what role does it play in sustaining birds and amphibians?

• How do scientists and researchers keep track of the work they do in the field?

Activities:

• Group work on assessment of prior knowledge

• Practice activities (in class) on using field guide to identify birds

• Internet and book research on amphibians culminating in written project and oral presentation

• Reading about the Victory Bog as well as excerpts from Charles W. Johnson’s Bogs of the Northeast

• Field trips (2) to the Victory Bog

Vermont Standards:

7.2 Investigation

7.13 Organisms, Evolution and Interdependence

4.6 Understanding Place

1.5 Writing

1.19 Research

2.1 Questioning/Problem Solving

Assessment project:

Each student will complete a naturalist field guide for both birds and amphibians. In addition, they will include some information about types of vegetation found in the Victory Bog.

Timeline:

Week 1: Assessment of prior knowledge about birds, use of field guide and binoculars

Week 2: Gain an understanding of birds as an indicator of environmental health; learn about bogs and their vegetation, specifically the Victory Bog; first trip to Victory Bog using the field guide, binoculars and filling in student naturalist field book; meet Dr. William Barnard (professor and Gray Jay researcher) at the bog

Week 3: Review of bird findings at the Victory Bog; begin researching amphibians

Week 4: Finish researching amphibians, complete project and give oral presentations

Week 5: Second trip to Victory Bog to study amphibians; perform recording for Jim Andrews, State of Vermont; finish field guide

Ilene Kanoff

Newark Street School

Grades 7-8