SAMPLE LESSON
 San Pedro River

 TITLE: The Story in Color!

 OVERVIEW: Using the Habitat maps for two different dates, students will discover the major changes in habitat types for a selected site.

 SUBJECT AREA: Environmental Science

 GRADE LEVEL: Middle school

 OBJECTIVES:
            To identify habitat patterns and develop habitat appreciation.
            To use modeling in explanation of habitat change.
            To differentiate between habitat types.
            To recognize selected patterns illustrated in designated images.
            To understand the processes involved in habitat change.

STANDARDS: 

            National Geography Standards
                       Essential Element 1.  The World in Spatial Terms
                     Standard 1. How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools and technologies to acquire, process, and report information
                                             from a spatial perspective.
                        Standard 2. How to use mental maps to organize information about people, places , and environments in a spatial context.
                        Standard 3. How to analyze the spatial organization of people, places, and environments on Earth’s surface.

            National Science Standards
                        Content Standard: Unifying Concepts and Processes
                        Standard :   As a result of activities in grades K-12, all students should develop understanding and abilities aligned with the following concepts and                                            processes:
                                          -Systems, orders and organization
                                          -Evidence, models and explorations
                                          -Constancy, change and measurement

             National Math Standards
                      Standard 8. Patterns and Functions
                     The mathematics curriculum should include explorations of patterns and functions so that students can: 
                                    -analyze functional relationships to explain how a change in one quantity results in a change in another.

 CROSS CURRICULAR CONNECTIONS: geography, earth science, life science, mathematics

 PROCESS SKILLS: Observing, communicating, comparing, inferring, classifying

 TIME: Teacher Preparation    1 Hour
           Class time-two 50 minute class periods

 MATERIALS: Teacher-   Background information, photo essay, Skills and Technique sheets for
                                         Skill 1 Map Use, Element 3 Classification of Wetland and Upland Habitats
                                        Skill 3 Visual Recognition, Element 1 comparison of Habitat Maps

                       Student: Habitat map sections- 1984 and  1986, color classification scheme, colored pencils

PROCEDURE: 

            1. Students should brainstorm the definition of wetlands and their benefits.

2. Class discussion of wetland types should follow to identify the students’ expectations of what plants and animals are found in various types of wetlands.

3. The photo essay should be shown to confirm or direct student responses and introduce the Habitat classification scheme.

4. Following distribution of the color scheme and the Habitat maps, students should begin their exploration of the site’s habitats by the coloration process.

NOTE: Students may do each map by themselves or in cooperative groups.  If there are time constraints each student may be assigned the task of coloring one particular year.

             5. After completion of the coloring process, comparisons between the two images should be made by the student group.

            6. Class discussion and question wrap-up.

 ASSESSMENT:

            Student group work should be monitored.

            Completed colored images should be evaluated.

            A student generated chart to illustrate percent of change for selected habitat types

            should be made.

 REFERENCES:

            Geography and GIS Sites www.frw.tuu.nl:80/nicegeo

            GIS in Education danet.wicip.org/gisedu

First National Conference on the Education Applications of Geographic Information     Systems (EdGIS) Report.  (1955).

Looking at Earth.  (1996).  Priscilla Strain & Frederick Engle. Atlanta: Turner Publishing, Inc.