Observe, Wonder, Link to Life (An Owl Pellet Experiment) By: Misty Corum, Cayce Wood, Sharon Frith, Deborah Leake, Laurie Erickson

Unit Summary Students will learn about owls, owl pellets, where pellets originate and the impact that owls have on the food chain. They will also investigate the relationships between owls and other animals in a food web. Students should be able to explain how materials are recycled in nature and how scientists know what an owl actually eats. Students will then synthesize owl pellet information with what they have learned about the environmental impact on ecosystems.

Curriculum-Framing Questions Essential Question What role do owls and owl pellets play in the interaction of ecosystems, food chains and food webs? Unit Questions How does a scientist know what an animal eats? How do we compare ecosystems and how animals interact with their environment? How do we identify and analyze the functions of organisms within an ecosystem? (producers, consumers, decomposers) What is a predator/prey relationship?

Content Questions -What do you know about owls and their eating habits? What do you wonder about owls. (KWL Chart) -What are the characteristics of owls? (habitat, diet, life cycle, behavioral traits) -What is an owl’s niche? (habitat, niche, biome, ecosystems, food chain, food web, communities, populations, species ) -What is the relationship between predator and prey? (What is an owl’s role? What are herbivores, carnivores and omnivores?) -What role do producers, consumers, and decomposers play in food chains? (Where are owls?) -What is a food web? (Where would an owl be?) -What would happen to food chains and food webs if an owls population increased/decreased? (limiting factors in ecosystems) -How do owls produce owl pellets? -What is inside an owl pellet?

Picking Apart Pellets This project will help my students develop 21st century skills by: Collaborating with peers. Analyzing data about owls and owl pellets. Solving problems and making decisions about their experiment. Communicating with others via KidBlog.

Gauging Student Needs Assessment Purpose of the Assessment To gather information about what students already know and what they wonder about owls. What I want to learn from my students? I want to find out what they already know about the Unit Questions and what they know about conducting research. How I have tried to promote higher-order thinking? I ask students to find relationships and draw conclusions about the interconnectedness of ecosystems and owls. How the assessment information helps me and my students plan for upcoming activities in the unit? If students have misconceptions about how to conduct research, I can provide scaffolds. If students have different levels of understanding about the importance of an owls role in ecosystems, I can provide various resources. We will revisit this assessment throughout the unit for students to add their knowledge.

Our Goals for the Course Find ways for students to become more engaged in the science curriculum. Promote community learning. Encourage active participation and constructive dialogue. Integrate technology in effective ways.

Goals for Students To work in successful collaborative groups. To become more engaged in the Science curriculum. To become active learners. Learn about different kinds of technology to aid in their learning and show what they’ve learned.