1

Ben Currotto
Clare Smith
Principles of Sustainability
Prof. Tom Wessels
Oct. 24th, 2016
How Do You Belong In Nature?
An interdisciplinary unit exploring environmental science and philosophy
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Table of Contents
Unit Overview p. 1
Objectives p. 1
Assessment Overview p. 1
Unit Calendar p. 2
Lesson Plans p. 3 - 12
Challenge Board p. 12 - 13
Rubric p. 13 - 15
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Unit Overview This unit is a one-month interdisciplinary unit exploring concepts of environmental
science, nature writing and philosophy. This unit is designed for high school upperclassmen and
can be taught within an environmental science, philosophy, or literature course and can be
taught by a team of teachers with interest and/or experience in these areas. Each days lesson
is designed to be 50-60 minutes long.

Objectives Students will explore complex natural systems on the human, ecosystem and
biosphere scales. Using a scientific, literary and philosophical lenses, students will examine how
humans are part of nature, influenced by nature, and how humans impact nature. Topics include
the self, complex systems, feedback loops, self-organization, symbiosis, sense of place,
conservation, population growth curves, temporal and physical scaling, and environmental
responsibility. Students will analyze their own relationship with nature.

Assessment Overview Students will choose 2-3 projects from a Challenge Board of options to
complete a unit portfolio. Options include modeling complex systems, community engagement,
and analytical, creative and reflective writing. Students will have weekly opportunities in class to
work on and receive feedback from teachers and peers on their project progress. For a final
assessment of their participation, classwork, and Challenge Board unit portfolio, students will
receive completed rubrics from three parties: a teacher, a peer, and themselves.
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Unit Calendar

Weekly How Do You Belong In Nature?

theme

Week 1: The I contain What do How do we fit Loops - Feedback

Human multitudes: computers into the Positive and Day
Scale the human tell us about landscape? Negative
microbiome ourselves? Feedback in
-Days 1-5 and - Sense of Complex
American -comparing Place and Systems
Transcenden complex vs Nature
talism linear Writing -Constructive
systems feedback
presentation

Week 2: The What is Whats a Conservation What Feedback

Ecosystem self-organizat parasite good happens Day
Scale ion and why for? -moral when
do we need dilemmas, humans
-Days 6-10 it? -symbiosis: approaches shape an
competition, to ecosystem?
-self-organiza parasitism conservation
tion and -ecosystem
-predator & coevolution disturbances
prey

Week 3: The Human How do How do we The Cosmic Feedback

Biosphere Population humans fit know what Perspective - Day
Scale Growth into the we know Humans in
history of the about the Space
-Days 11-15 -species earth? earth?
growth
curves, -deep time, -origins of life
nested geologic time -what is
systems scale scientific?

Week 4: Challenges Work Day/ Work Day/ Day of Day of

Project and Solutions Feedback Feedback Sharing - Evaluation -
Workshops Day Day Each student students
and Final -visioning can read complete
Sharing process from or written rubric
present evaluations
-Days 16-20 something of a peer and
theyre proud of the course
of
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Lesson Plans

Week 1: The Human Scale

Day 1 I Contain Multitudes - Where does wilderness end and my body begin?
Reading due today: Song of Myself (pp. 28-108) Whitman, W. (2005). Walt
Whitman's Leaves of grass. New York: Penguin Books. Consider reading parts of
this aloud--to yourself, a friend, or someone at home.
Excerpt: I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life
The American Scholar: I Contain Multitudes - Stephanie Bastek. (2016).
Theamericanscholar.org. Retrieved 18 October 2016, from
https://theamericanscholar.org/i-contain-multitudes/#.WAYsOqOZOHo

Intro: American Transcendentalism

19th C. Transcendental Movements divinity in everyday nature and humanity
Song of Myself discussion
What do you notice about this poem that seems unique or surprising?
Walt Whitman revised and re-published this poem numerous times
throughout his life. Why do you think he continued to work on it?
Free write prompt: Imagine yourself as Walt Whitman--describe your microbiome in
his ecstatic Free Verse
Pair-Share: Defend this statement: Each person is a universe.
Introduce challenge board
Introduce evaluation rubric
Exit ticket: Identify 3 everyday things that connect your body to the rest of the
universe. Draw a bubble web showing the connections.

Day 2 What do computers tell us about ourselves?

Reading due today: Ch. 6, How Will We Store What We Learn? from: Benyus, J. M.
(1997). Biomimicry: Innovation inspired by nature. New York: Morrow.

Intro: What Is AI? Video by the BBC

Free write prompt: Do you agree that the worlds most complex system is in your
head...literally? Why or why not?
Defining complex vs. linear systems
Jigsaw definition: Divide the class into three groups. Each group defines and
gives examples of complex systems and linear systems, recording their ideas
on poster paper. Every 5 minutes, have the groups rotate their posters, so
each group adds ideas/comments to the previous groups poster. Keep rotating
until each group has its original poster.
Encourage students to use the Benyus reading while discussing.
Facilitate a 5-minute wrap-up discussion with the whole class.
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Modeling complex vs. linear systems

Groups of 4-5 students invent a game or create a model to illustrate a complex
system or a linear system
Each group presents to the class; the class must guess whether it is linear or
complex
Take a Stand: Computers are like the human brain.
Students respond to the statement, computers are like the human brain, by
choosing a position on a scale of 1-10 (1=yes, computers are just like the
human brain; 10=no, computers are nothing like the human brain). Have
students stand in a horseshoe shape according to their position on the scale
so that they can see each others positions. Inform students that they can
change their mind and and their position at any time.
Have students turn to a neighbor and discuss their position. Then, have pairs
state their position before the group.
Facilitate a discussion, playing devils advocate.
Exit ticket: Can you give an example of a linear system and of a complex system, both
from the natural world?

Day 3 Sense of Place

Reading due today:
Seeing (pp. 16-36) in Dillard, A. (1974). Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. New York:
Harper's Magazine Press.
ream work. Boston: Atlantic Monthly Press.
The Turtle Oliver, M. (1986). D
Tall Ambrosia. (2016). Poetryfoundation.org. Retrieved from
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/52359
In the Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge, Thinking of Rachel Carson by Anthony
Walton and The Bees by Audre Lorde. Dungy, C. (2009). Black nature.
Athens: University of Georgia Press.

Pair Share - with a partner, compare either The Bees and The Turtle or In the
Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge and Tall Ambrosia. Come up with 4 major
take-aways to share with the class.
Seeing discussion
What do you notice about Dillards descriptions?
What techniques does she use to describe or explain the things she observes?
Outside writing (20 minutes) - Choose a spot away from your classmates and sit with
your eyes closed, seeing with your other senses the things happening around you.
Then, with your eyes open, observe your spot for another 3 minutes. Spend the rest
of the class period describing what you saw with eyes closed and eyes open, and
how those perceptions changed.

Day 4 Loops - Positive and Negative Feedback

Reading due today: Watch Feedback loops: How nature gets its rhythms
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inVZoI1AkC8

Do Now: With a partner, consider a feedback loop from your everyday life. Map each
of the variables with arrows showing their influence, and label how each one
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influences the other.

Clapping Game:
In groups of 3, try this:
Player 1: Clap half the number of player 3s claps
Player 2: Clap twice the number of player 1s claps
Player 3: Clap twice the number of player 2s claps
Then, try this:
Player 1: Clap twice the number of player 3s claps
Player 2: Clap twice the number of player 1s claps
Player 3: Clap twice the number of player 2s claps
What did you notice about each scenario
What negative feedback could you add to scenario 1 to prevent claps from
increasing forever?
The Human Body and the Thermostat
As a class, diagram the feedback loops for both systems
How is the human body similar to a home heating system? How is it different?
Best Practices for Constructive Feedback - What do you think is a good way to give
feedback on a classmates work? What do you think is a good way to receive
feedback from a classmate on your own work?
Develop a list of best practices for feedback - student-led, guided by teacher
with support from
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson261/peer.p
df and
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson786/hando
ut.pdf
Exit Ticket - quickly sketch a model of your own learning in this class, with as many
positive and negative feedbacks labeled as you can think of

Day 5 Feedback Day

Spend time working on one of your challenge board projects. Come to class with 3
questions for your peers about how to improve your project.
For the first half of class, students will break into groups of 3 to share progress theyve
made on one of their projects, and receive constructive feedback from the others in
their group - students will use feedback skills learned in previous class.
The second half of class will be set aside for project work, taking into account the
feedback students have received from classmates

Week 2: The Ecosystem Scale

Day 6 What is self-organization and do we need it?

Reading due today: Thinking Like a Mountain from: Leopold, A., Schwartz, C. W., &
Leopold, A. (1968). A Sand County almanac. London, etc.: Oxford University Press.
Assignment due today: Read the intro and complete the graph (Q#1) from the Deer:
iologycorner.com
Predation or Starvation worksheet at B
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Hook: Watch, on mute, BBC Swarm: Natures Incredible Invasions

Free write prompt: What do you think was happening in the video? Did you see
chaos or order and why?
Follow-up: Watch again with sound, B BC Swarm: Natures Incredible Invasions
Discussion question: Did your impression change?
What is self-organization?
In groups of 3, each group has a physical example of self-organization to
analyze: a head of romanesco broccoli, a piece of honeycomb, a shell with
pattern, a tree cookie, etc
Students brainstorm their own definition of self-organization, how it is
illustrated by their object, share-out with whole class
Partner reading review
Pairs write 1-sentence summary of each paragraph of Leopolds essay
Each student circles what they think is Leopolds thesis; share with class
Graphing Activity from Biologycorner.com
Students compare graphs, assigned for HW
Students answer discussion questions in pairs
How would Leopold answer the following questions: Why is death by predators
more natural or "right" than death by starvation? What does Leopold mean
when he says thinking like a mountain?
How are wolves and deer examples of self-organization?
Exit ticket: What are three examples of self-organization within your own body?

Day 7 Whats a parasite good for?

Reading due today: Ch. 4, p. 80-95, The Myth of the Free Market from: Wessels, T.
(2006). The Myth of Progress: Toward a sustainable future. Burlington, VT: University
of Vermont Press.

Intro/Hook: Have students examine soil samples with mycorrhizal fungi

Do Now: Write list of 5 objective observations about the soil samples. Write a list of 5
subjective statements about the soil samples.
Reading review: With a partner, list as many examples of species interactions from
The Myth of Progress as you can (for example, black-capped chickadee and
white-breasted nuthatch). Rotate partners: with the new partner, try to describe/name
the type of interaction between the organisms (for examples, parasitism).
The Red Queen Race: Introduce the coevolution card game. Teacher notes available
here. Student worksheet available h ere.
Materials: Two decks of cards per student group/pair (decks of different colors
to distinguish between the two)
Game overview: One deck represents the host, the other deck the parasite.
Students draw dueling pairs from each deck. If the suits match, the parasite
infects and reproduces. If they do not match, the host stays alive and
reproduces.
Students log outcomes in Google Sheets, teacher can create graphs of gene
frequency during live play, or assign for students to create and analyze as part
of debrief or homework.
Pre-game discussion questions: Who do you think will win the game and
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why? Do you think the gene pool will become simpler or more complex over
time and why?
Post-game outcomes: 1) Coevolution is rapid 2) The most fit individuals can
quickly become least fit when conditions change 3) Genetic diversity persists
over time
Post-game discussion questions: Who won the game, if anyone, and why?
How has your perception of fitness changed? Do parasites benefit the
host--how and when? When did coevolution appear in the game?
Exit Ticket: Write your own definition of coevolution.

Day 8 What is our role in our ecosystem?

Reading due today:
Humanity Does Not Know Nature from Fukuoka, M. (1978). The one-straw
revolution. Emmaus: Rodale Press.
The Community Concept and The Ecological Conscience from Leopold, A.,
Schwartz, C. W., & Leopold, A. (1968). A Sand County almanac. London, etc.:
Oxford University Press.
The Rumblings of an Avalanche from Carson, R., Darling, L., & Darling, L.
(1962). Silent spring. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Free write prompt: What did you notice in your readings about the different voices and
perspectives in conservation? Which voice or perspective resonates most with you,
and why? How might you apply this voice or perspective to a conservation issue you
care about?
Debate: Imagine your town is examining a 100-acre piece of forest and meadow with
a stream running through for potential re-zoning. In groups of 4, debate potential uses
for this plot. Each of you will take one of the four following perspectives:
A developer who would like to construct a commercial space to rent to large
retail corporations, bringing jobs and commerce to your town
A farmer who would like to lease the land to grow rotations of corn and
soybeans for commercial sale
A city planner who would like to create a city park with community garden
space, athletic fields, hiking and jogging trails, and a playground
A non-profit who would like to establish a permanently forested area with
minimal hiking trails and interpretive signage
Debate Debrief:
What role felt the easiest? The hardest?
What responses were most convincing?
Define Conservation: In groups of 3, come up with a definition of conservation based
on last nights readings and our debate.
Debrief - what did you come up with? What did you include? Exclude?
Exit Ticket - Come up with 3 challenges in conservation

Day 9 What happens when humans change an ecosystem?

Reading due today: Ch. 1 The Age Discontinuity from: Wessels, T. (1999). Reading
the forested landscape: A natural history of New England. Woodstock, VT:
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Countryman Press.

Intro: Read aloud Ch. 20 Gluscabi and the Game Animals from Caduto, M. J.,
Bruchac, J., K., & Wood, C. (1988). Keepers of the earth: Native American stories and
environmental activities for children. Golden, CO: Fulcrum.
Free-write: response to reading
Mini field trip: If possible, walk to a location with an old stone wall in the forest.
Otherwise, provide numerous photographs. (A diorama series available h ere).
Give students about 10 minutes to explore the wall and the area around.
Ask students why people build walls/fences. Guide them to the realization that
these were for separating animals from cultivation plots.
Show students a comparison of the Swift River Valley, 1880 vs 2010 available
here. Ask why so much land was cleared. Point out the reversal of proportion
of cleared land versus forested land.
Describe sheep fever and then the move westward.
Discussion: Which aspects of New Englands forested ecosystem were most impacted
in each scenario: Native American cultivation using fire, colonists clearing for
agriculture, or modern land use?
Make a 3-column chart, students brainstorm and compare. Use as review of
ecosystem concepts, relationships between species.
Exit Ticket: Can humans exist within a natural ecosystem? Explain why or why not.

Day 10 Feedback Day

Spend time working on one of your challenge board projects. Come to class with 3
questions for your peers about how to improve your project.
For the first half of class, students will break into groups of 3 to share progress theyve
made on one of their projects, and receive constructive feedback from the others in
their group
The second half of class will be set aside for project work, taking into account the
feedback students have received from classmates

Week 3: The Biosphere Scale

Day 11 How does the human population compare to that of other species?
Reading due today: Watch: Crash Course Ecology - Human Population Growth:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8dkWQVFAoA

Intro/Hook: Watch - World population growth video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khFjdmp9sZk
Free write prompt: What is your reaction to the curve of human population growth on
Earth?
Mystery curves:
In groups, students will look at a handout of several unlabeled growth curves,
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and attempt to label each one from a list of specific species and contexts
Debrief: Why did you think each curve applied to each species? What about a
species makes them more r-selected or k-selected? As a class, list
characteristics of r- and k-selected species.
Pair-Share: Do you think humans are more r-selected or k-selected? What do you
think created such a boom in human population?
Social Ecological Model - On the board, draw 5 concentric circles, labeled in order
from innermost to outermost: self, community, industry/government, society/culture,
environment
Discuss how each of these nested systems impacts decisions we make
How might each of these systems play a role in human population growth or
cessation of growth
Exit Ticket - name 3 choices you could make or actions you could take to lessen
humans impact on the biosphere?

Day 12 How do humans fit into the history of the earth?

Intro/Hook: Watch Geologic Time Music Video
Do Now: Place a bet when life first appeared on earth. Place a bet when early humans
first appeared on earth. Students mark a blank timeline on the board that represents
4.6 billion years of earths history.
Brainstorm 3 questions you have about earths long history. Find a partner and take
10 minutes to explore the interactive infographic D eepTime.info. If you find answers
for your questions, please record them.
Share-out: Each pair shares a question and an answer to their question, found on
DeepTime.info.
Project of the day: Develop your own infographic or song that helps represent deep
time and at least the following events: 1) Earths formation 2) The beginning of life 3)
The beginning of photosynthesis 4) The beginning of multicellular organisms 5) The
beginning of land plants 6) The beginning of animals 7) The beginning of humans
Exit Ticket: What did you learn about human history on planet earth?
Homework due Friday: Complete your infographic/song, or propose how you plan on
extending/incorporating this project info your Challenge Board portfolio.

Day 13 How do we know what we know about earth?

Reading due today:
Prologue of: Shapiro, R. (1987). Origins: A skeptic's guide to the creation of life
on earth. Toronto: Bantam Books.
Article: Ogle, M. (2004). Gaia Theory: Model and Metaphor for the 21st
Century. North American Association for Environmental Education.
http://www.gaiatheory.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/gaiapaper.pdf

Do Now: How do you think life on earth began?

Origins activity: divide class into 7 groups of 2-4 students. Assign each group one of
the tales from the book O rigins (ie, group 1 is assigned Mondays tale, etc)
Materials and notes available h ere. Developed by Nesin and Moffat for the
Mast Conference 1994.
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Each group has 25 minutes to read aloud their tale within their group and draw
a picture on poster paper that summarizes the tale.
Once all groups have completed their posters, reconvene. Each student has
their own 3x7 table to complete during the all-class discussion:

Tales Science Not science Why?

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Each group presents their drawing and gives a verbal summary of their tale.
Give students a couple of minutes of quiet time after each tale so that they can
make notes in their table. Offer students time to share their thoughts after each
tale. Note and point out how their thinking changes as more tales are shared.
Exit Ticket: Free write on The Gaia Paradigm: Read the following passage and
respond in writing.
Viewed from the distance of the moon, the astonishing thing about the earth,
catching the breath, is that it is alive. The photographs show the dry, pounded
surface of the moon in the foreground, dead as an old bone. Aloft, floating free
beneath the moist, gleaming membrane of bright blue sky, is the rising earth,
the only exuberant thing in this part of the cosmos. If you could look long
enough, you would see the swirling of the great drifts of white cloud, covering
and uncovering the half-hidden masses of land. If you had been looking for a
very long, geologic time, you could have seen the continents themselves in
motion, drifting apart on their crustal plates, held afloat by the fire beneath. It
has the organized, self-contained look of a live creature full of information,
marvelously skilled in handling the sun. From The Lives of a Cell. 1974. By
Lewis Thomas

Day 14 Where do humans fit in the cosmos?

Reading due today:
Watch: The Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XH7ZRF6zNoc
Read: SpaceX founder Elon Musk plans to get humans to Mars in six years
from
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/sep/27/elon-musk-spacex-mars
-colony
Read: Could Some Alien Worlds Be More Habitable Than Earth? from
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http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/01/140117-exoplanets-superha
bitable-planets-space-astronomy-science/

Free write: What were your first impressions upon watching The Pale Blue Dot and
reading about superhabitable planets?
Take a Stand: Humans should colonize Mars.
Students respond to the statement, Humans should colonize Mars, by
choosing a position on a scale of 1-10 (10=yes, humans should colonize Mars;
1=no, humans should never colonize Mars). Have students stand in a
horseshoe shape according to their position on the scale so that they can see
each others positions. Inform students that they can change their mind and
and their position at any time.
Have students turn to a neighbor and discuss their position. Then, have pairs
state their position before the group.
Facilitate a discussion, playing devils advocate.
Brainstorm: With a partner, come up with 3 examples of complex systems found
beyond the scope of planet Earth
Exit Ticket: Think of two ways you could incorporate the cosmic perspective into one
or more of your challenge board projects.

Day 15 Feedback Day

Spend time working on one of your challenge board projects. Come to class with 3
questions for your peers about how to improve your project.
For the first third of class, students will break into groups of 3 to share progress
theyve made on one of their projects, and receive constructive feedback from the
others in their group
The second third of class will be set aside for project work, taking into account the
feedback students have received from classmates
The final third of class will be for students to practice using the rubrics and writing
comments. They will choose 2 areas of evaluation of their own work, and complete the
corresponding parts of the rubric.

Week 4: Challenges, Solutions, Workshops, and Sharing

Day 16 Challenges and Solutions

Reading due today: The Great Turning: Reflections on our Moment in History by
Joanna Macy, from http://www.earthlight.org/jmacyessay.html

Free Write: What is your reaction to Joanna Macys idea of The Great Turning? How
do you see yourself contributing to it?
Earth Audit:
Think back to the social ecological model of human systems nested within the
environment, make a list of real world, complex challenges in each of the 5
areas: self, community, industry/government, society/culture, environment
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To determine which challenges wed like to try to solve, each student is given 6
stickers with which to vote, placing them next to issues they care most about
(they can place multiple stickers at the same challenge)
The top 4 issues will be named, and students will organize themselves into 4
groups based on what challenge most interests them
Groups will spend 25 minutes brainstorming 5 real-world approaches to solving
their problem, each solution acting on one of the 5 levels on the social
ecological model
Each group will have 3 minutes to share their solutions
Exit Ticket - On what level do you think you make the most impact? On what level
would you like to have more of an impact?

Day 17 Feedback Day

Spend time working on one of your challenge board projects. Come to class with 3
questions for your peers about how to improve your project.
For the first half of class, students will break into groups of 3 to share progress theyve
made on one of their projects, and receive constructive feedback from the others in
their group
The second half of class will be set aside for project work, taking into account the
feedback students have received from classmates

Day 18 Feedback Day

Spend time working on one of your challenge board projects. Come to class with 3
questions for your peers about how to improve your project.
For the first half of class, students will break into groups of 3 to share progress theyve
made on one of their projects, and receive constructive feedback from the others in
their group
The second half of class will be set aside for project work, taking into account the
feedback students have received from classmates

Day 19 - Day of Sharing

Students will spend this period sharing one of the projects they created from the Challenge
Board

Day 20 - Gallery Expo and Rubric Completion

Students will have all their projects on display. Students will have time to view all projects and
time to complete a rubric evaluating a peer.

Students will choose 2-3 projects from a Challenge Board of options to complete a unit
portfolio for assessment. Students will have weekly opportunities in class to work on and
receive feedback from teachers and peers on their project progress.
Possession Inventory
Make a detailed,
itemized list of
everything you own
(yes, everything)
Write a 2 page reflection
paper about these
possessions, the role
they play in your life, in
your ecosystem, and in
the biosphere.
You Are Here
Create an interpretive
map or exhibit that will
be displayed on your
town green, or another
public place (you will
need to secure
appropriate
permissions!) The goal
of the exhibit is to help a
passerby see how they
are influenced
by/influencing the
environment.
Its Mutual Your Backyard: A
Research a mutualistic
relationship found in
nature. Design a poster
or other visual
representation that
illustrates and explains
how each aspect of this
relationship benefits
each species.
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Challenge Board
Living Biosphere A Cheshire County Graphic Novel
Create whatever you Almanac Write and illustrate a
think needs to happen Over the course of the graphic novel written for
to support multiple month, observe 5 middle-school age kids
generations of spiders seasonal changes in the (at least 10 pages) that
in a clear, sealed activities of organisms tells a story about one
5-gallon container. and systems in your of the following:
local environment. In 5 self-organization, the
short essays (2-3 Gaia Theory, or a
paragraphs each) complex system of your
describe and reflect on choice. You must have
the details of each of a protagonist/hero and
those changes. an antagonist/villain.
Save the ______ Conservation You are a Universe
Write a persuasive Interview Interview Create a song, poem,
essay (2-3 pages) someone whose work story, sculpture,
around a specific involves conservation painting, drawing,
conservation issue of efforts (sustainable performance, video, or
your choice. Imagine farmer, forrester, park some other work of art
that you would be manager, etc.). Be sure with the title You are a
published in the local to ask them at least 10 Universe
newspaper. How would questions related to
you convince readers to conservation,
support your cause? ecosystems, complex
systems, and
sustainability.
Dealing In Nature Choose your own
Field Guide Develop a card game adventure
Develop a field guide for that illustrates a Devise a project around
15 species of principle of one of the concepts from class,
plants/animals that you following: complex then get approval from 2
have found and systems, mutualism, peers and your teacher
identified in your predators and prey,
schools/neighborhoods energy flow in natural
backyard. Include systems. Include
images, how to identify, instructions as well as
interesting facts, explanations of what
relationships between concepts the game
the species and others. illustrates. See Red
Queen Race from Day
7 for inspiration.
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Evaluation Rubric
This rubric will help you measure your progress and success during this unit. Refer to this
rubric every Feedback Friday. At the end of the course, three rubrics will serve as your final
evaluation: one completed by a teacher, one completed by a peer, one completed by you.
Please view the evaluation standards as a spectrum, and indicate where on the spectrum the
area of evaluation falls. Please note that only Excellent parameters are defined. Please fill in
notes regarding the Developing/Incomplete nature of the area of evaluation, if applicable.
Comments and examples are required for each area of evaluation.

Area of Comments &

Evaluation Excellent Developing Incomplete Examples

Class Every day, student

Participation actively listens,
enriches the class
dynamic,
offers thoughtful
ideas and feedback
to teachers and
peers.

In-Class Work Every day, student

stays on task,
makes progress on
their projects,
demonstrates a
positive work ethic.

Project 1: Project is
Presentation/ professional,
Professionalis sophisticated,
m cleanly edited/crafted,
well-organized.

Project 1: Unit material is

Content Depth clearly showcased
and Accuracy and applied in new
ways, scientific
concepts are
 15

accurate and specific,

literary concepts are
engaging.

Project 1: An intensive level

Effort and of effort is clear,
Creativity student challenged
him/herself and took
risks, incorporated
unique, creative
approaches

Project 2: Project is
Presentation/ professional,
Professionalis sophisticated,
m cleanly edited/crafted,
well-organized.

Project 2: Unit material is

Content Depth clearly showcased
and Accuracy and applied in new
ways, scientific
concepts are
accurate and specific,
literary concepts are
engaging.

Project 2: An intensive level

Effort and of effort is clear,
Creativity student challenged
him/herself and took
risks, incorporated
unique, creative
approaches