A. Overview of Assignment.

Each participant will gather information and design a Schoolyard Ecology activity for EACH of 2 schoolyard organisms - one plant AND one animal. (You may substitute a fungus for either category, if you wish). You will be allowed to select those 2 organisms yourself, during the Schoolyard "Treasure Hunt Survey" insofar as there is NO overlap among participants. We will avoid duplication of organisms in order to insure that our final workshop activity booklet includes a broad array of common schoolyard organisms in our area.

The final, typed & completely edited submissions are due to the workshop leaders NO LATER THAN 8:30 A.M. ON WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24. We anticipate compiling the submissions and having the "booklet" ready for distribution on the last day of the course, so we will be firm about this due-date!

For EACH of your 2 organisms, write a separate entry, consisting of TWO parts: 1. Schoolyard Organism Natural History, and 2. An Inquiry-based, Outdoor Activity. Use the format that follows.

B. Schoolyard Organism Natural History

Include a title with the name of the organism and YOUR name as the contributor.
Write a short summary of your organism's natural history on the schoolyard. It should be 2-4 short paragraphs. INCLUDE A GOOD, COPIER-REPRODUCIBLE PICTURE OF THE ORGANISM, LESS THAN 1/2 PAGE IN SIZE.

The natural history of your organism will include a description, some biological information about the species on your schoolyard, interactions with other creatures, and how to find it. If you come across library or people resources that are good for this organism, include them in the citation section (see D. below). For example, if you select a spider, not only would you find many good books on spiders, but Dr. Allen Brady of Hope College would be an exceptionally good resource person to help in the identification of spiders and their natural history. In general, you will be addressing these sorts of questions: What is the basic life history of your organism? Where does it live? What time of year is it likely to be found on the schoolyard? Where would you look for it? How can you catch it? Can it be studied without destroying it? What habitats does it require? What does it eat? What does it do during winter? How does it interact with other organisms? Provide some INTERESTING ecological tidbits about the organism (e.g. it parasitizes another organism, it may produce chemicals that are toxic to plants, it feeds only on certain kinds of flowers, etc.).

Your LAST paragraph in this section should be a "bullet statement" of 3 or 4 questions that could provide the basis of a Schoolyard Ecology inquiry. Here is an example of a "Bullet Statement" for Ant Lions: Suggested Activities: How do ant lions dig their pits? What behaviors of the ant lion help in capturing prey? Can small ant lions capture only small prey? Do big ant lions ignore small prey? Can large prey escape more easily from pits than small prey?

And, here is an example of a "Bullet Statement" for mushrooms: Suggested Activities: Are different mushrooms associated with different kinds of trees? Are they more prevalent in moist than in dry sites? Can you map the root system of an isolated tree by mapping the distribution of mushrooms? Can you age a mushroom by the size and number of larvae inside?

C. An Inquiry-based, Outdoor Activity

In a separate section for EACH organism, create an activity plan for ONE inquiry-based activity that can be conducted outdoors. REFER to our institute's criteria for what constitutes an inquiry-based activity. Use the following format:

1. Title and Name of Activity and Organism; Your Name Listed as the Contributor

2. Science Curriculum Objectives Met through this Activity (Teachers - use your own or favorite curriculum; Students - use the MEAP objectives). Include a one-sentence statement of the objective, not just a reference number, please!

3. Ecological Themes Taught through this Activity

4. Appropriate for What Grade Levels

5. Materials Needed, How Much of Each, Where Obtained

6. A detailed Protocol, including the Time Required for each part.

7. Diagrams, if needed.

8. A blank, reproducible, typed/word-processed data sheet, if useful for your activity (for other teachers to photocopy for their students - please include this on a separate sheet of paper).

9. A one-paragraph plan for the "data analysis", visual presentation of data, and/or wrap-up discussion.

D. A Full-Citation Reference for all references for your information in parts B. and C.
Here is an example of a FULL citation (partial citations are unacceptable because they may be unusable by other teachers!)

Braus, J. (ed.) 1988. Ranger Rick's Nature Scope: Incredible Insects. National Wildlife Federation, Washington D.C. (pp. 36-39).

If a reference for your activity is a person's neurological database, then give the name and address or phone number for this person!