KWL Chart
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A KWL Chart is a great way to engage students in there learning before, during, and after a unit. At the beginning of the unit students should record their responses to the first two columns of the chart (shown below). The first column is the “know” column where students record what they already know about lobsters or lobster die-off. The second column is the “Want” to know column where students write down questions that they want to learn more about during the unit. This column is also a great place for students to refer back to during the unit, as they learn answers to their questions. Finally, the third column, which stands for “Learn” is a place for students to record what they learned in the unit.
What do I know about lobster die-off in Connecticut?
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What do I want to know about lobster die-off in Connecticut?
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What did I learn about lobster die-off in Connecticut?
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While a KWL chart can be used for individual students it is also a great anchor chart to post in the classroom. After students complete the chart individually teachers can then engage students in a whole group discussion and create a classroom chart that the class can refer back to over the course of the unit.
Temperature of the Long Island Sound
A great way to incorporate mathematics and scientific inquiry skills into this unit is through graphing. Students can utilize graphing as a way to compare the relationship between water temperature and lobster health. Below is a list of average temperatures at the bottom of the Wester Long Island Sound and the data from average lobster landings from 1993-2003.
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Year
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Temperature (degrees Celsius)
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Lobster Landings (average pounds of lobster caught per catch)
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1993
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20.3
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11.6
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1994
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19.2
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10.0
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1995
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19.6
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8.0
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1996
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18.9
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10.0
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1997
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18.9
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19.8
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1998
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19.2
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10.3
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1999
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20.3
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11.3
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2000
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19.9
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6.8
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2001
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20.2
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4.2
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2002
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20.6
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2.7
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2003
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19.3
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4.1
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Students should graph this data using a double line graph. One line will represent the average temperature at the bottom of the sea floor from 1993-2003 and the other line will show the average pounds of lobster caught in a catch from 1993-2003.
Some questions that you could ask students after they have plotted the points on the graph include: Between what years did the number of lobster landings drop the most? Is there a relationship between the number of lobster landings and water temperature? What might have caused the temperature changes at the bottom of the Sound?
Lobster News Report
One activity for students to engage in as a way to summarize their learning throughout the unit is creating a news report performance task. This news report could be in the form of a news broadcast (video), newspaper article (written), or visual display (image). In groups of three to four students should work together to synthesize their knowledge of one of the major possible causes of the lobster die-off in the Long Island Sounds.
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The GRASPS model is great way to frame student performance tasks. GRASPS stands for goal, role, audience, situation, product/performance, and standards.
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And is a way to construct or format performance tasks.
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Goal
The goals section provides a statement of the task and informs students of the goal problem, challenge, or obstacle in the performance task.
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Example: Your goal is to inform locals of the possible causes of the lobster die-off in the Long Island Sound.
Role
The role defines the role of the student in the task and states the job students have.
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Example: You are a news team.
Audience
The audience identifies the target audience within the context of the scenario, such as a client or company.
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Example: You target audience is people that live near the Long Island Sound.
Situation
The situation explains the context of the scenario.
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Example: You need to convince people the lobster die-off is a serious problem.
Product
The product tells students what they will create.
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Example: You will create a news broadcast, newspaper article, or visual image in order to inform local New Haven residents of the
Standards
The standards provide students with a clear picture of success or rubric of how their success on the performance task will be measured.
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Example: You work will be scored based on: knowledge of lobster, the habitat they live in, information about your cause of the lobster die-off.