Andrew Conley EDC 448 9/27/12 Unit:Taxonomy

 How does taxonomy aid us in our understanding of the natural world?  How do we, as humans fit into this organization?  If you were to discover a new species how would you go about classifying it?  How does Taxonomy help us understand evolution?

 Kaskel, A., P. J. Hummer, and L. Daniel. Biology:an everyday experience. USA: McGraw-Hill, Print.  Flesch-Kincaid grade score:13  Flesch-Kincaid reading ease score:32  This textbook is a fairly difficult yet informative resource for students. The reading ease score is 32 which is comparable to a Harvard law review. However because the grade score is 13, then this book would be useful for seniors in high school as it is slightly above their reading level so it still offers a challenge. Along with the text there are many colorful pictures and interactive experiments that help draw the reader in. It is highly structured and goes through the easier concepts first. The language is plain English yet there are technical terms within the text, however there are also definitions accompanying the vocabulary.

 This interesting collection of every medicinal plant in North America is helpful for distinguishing characteristics of plants for use in taxonomy. Each main idea is in bold, such as the description of the plant, and is followed by information relating to that topic. Each plant is separated into groups by geographic area and has smooth transitions between each plant. It is however a technical manual so some of the language is difficult albeit in plain English. Reading this text requires an understanding of scientific language and an understanding of organization.  Meuninck, jim. A Falcon Guide:Medicinal Plants of North America. 1st. Guilford: The Globe Pequot Press, Print.

 This is less of a text and more of a catalogue of species accompanied with color photographs. It is highly organized, grouping birds by type and habitat. The text portion is not difficult to understand and it includes in depth descriptions of each bird, their habitat, their call signs and range. It is a fairly easy to read text and is mostly used for its pictures.  Bull, J. Field guide to birds. new york: Alfred A. Knopf, inc, Print.

 This is a very simple visual reference book of hundreds of different species of fish, accompanied by helpful descriptive information on each fish. The book itself is organized by species and contains information of distribution, size, behavior, diet, etc.  Jennings, Greg. 500 Freshwater Aquarium Fish. Buffalo: Firefly Books Ltd., Print.

 This website is an online version of the Kimball biology textbook series, it is accessible on all different kinds of technology so is helpful for students who cannot bring their books home to study. It is a highly organized site, with many links leading to the information included within the textbook. The language however is slightly advanced so I would recommend this for higher level high school courses. It also has colorful pictures and graphical representations of the Taxonomic structure.  Kimball, John. Kimball's Biogy Pages. The Saylor Foundation, 9/20/2012. Web. 27 Sep

 This website includes a visual representation of a classic biology lab, the fetal pig dissection. This could be used as a supplement to lab or even a replacement lab for squeamish students. Each section has its own link organized by the process you follow through dissection. The site itself was developed by Whitman College so it includes complex vocabulary and scientific language that must be accompanied by prior knowledge. It is for this reason that it should be used for upper level classes, such as AP.  Knight, Thomas. "Virtual Fetal Pig Dissection." Whitman College. Whitman College Biology Department, 5/2011. Web. 27 Sep

 This “rap” was made by a new science teacher at Crenshaw High School in South Central L.A. This could be used to instill the order of taxonomic organization. It is a simple rap but it still contains viable information and is quite catchy! This could be used as a short clip during the introduction of taxonomy to help with memorization.  Culhane, T.H. Classification Rap Video. Youtube, South Central, L.A.. Web. 27 Sep  ?v=6jAGOibTMuU ?v=6jAGOibTMuU

 This online National Geographic article is about Carl Linnaeus the creator of our current form of classification. It offers historical information about his life and how he came up with the taxonomic process. It is a fairly easy to read article however some vocabulary is difficult. A background knowledge of scientific language is needed.  Quammen, David. "The Name Giver." Passion for Order : 5. Web. 27 Sep

 This website is a tool for students to use to play educational games on many aspects of biology and other subjects. This specific site includes flash cards, matching games, crosswords, etc. all pertaining to taxonomy. Students will enjoy the interactive games and still be able to learn in the process. It is very simple and could be used by any student studying taxonomy.  Hubschman, Debbie. Chapter 18:Classification. N.d. Interactive. QuiaWeb. 27 Sep

 This blog contains numerous scientific articles. This specific one pertains to Linneaus classification and how it pertains to evolution. More it explains how to make a cladogram (family tree) for an organism. This site will be helpful for the creation of visual representations of classification. Cladograms are notoriously hard to make so this website is extremely helpful. It contains easy to understand language however the content could be difficult to those without a background knowledge of evolution. I would go over with my class how to do this and then mention this site should they need extra help.  "Diagramming Evolution, or How to read a Cladogram."Paleocave Blog. Wordpress, Web. Web. 27 Sep