Unit of Study Table of Contents

Project Elements Page

Unit of Study Asssessment of Content Knowledge 1
Advancing Content Knowledge 3
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Connections 5
Unit of Study and Common Core 8
Phenomena in the NGSS Classroom and UoS Connections 9
Concept Map 11
Presentation 12
Unit Reflection 42
SCI 431 Unit of Study Curricula Content Review
DUE: Tuesday, October 16 to Canvas; also print a copy to have with you in class over the next several weeks.

For this online session, you will extensively explore and review the Unit of Study that you chose.

Here are the instructions for this session:

1. Locate your unit of study on the EEI or FOSS website.

For FOSS: see directions linked below on our Canvas homepage for setting up an account and accessing the
“locked” resources.
For EEI: remember to access the teacher manual materials the access code is teacheei
If you are having trouble downloading the full guide, try using a different web browser. I have been successful
with Google Chrome.

2. Read through the entire unit and look at all of the materials. Leave yourself some time to do this part…there
are a LOT of materials. You should be familiar with both the teacher resources as well as the student resources.
Read through both what the teacher would read in planning to teach as well as the student reading assignments.
Also look at the supporting materials. On the response sheet (next page) list the key content or focal topics for
your unit.

3. Review the unit of study for the purposes of assessing you level of understanding with the science content.
Using the response sheet (below), indicate your level for the content conveyed in the unit if study according to
the categories below.

Proficient Understanding … I know this content well

Moderate Understanding … I need to refresh this content
Little Understanding … I need to study this content

For each cell in the table below, use keywords, phrases, or short sentences in the category you believe best
reflects your level of understanding. Include enough detail to use in conversation and for further study in future
assignments. Work to have listings in each category.

4. After completing this task, upload a copy to Canvas and bring a printed copy to class with you to reference
during the next several weeks.

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Sci 431 – Unit of Study Assessment of Content Knowledge
Unit Name: The Dynamic Nature of rivers Your Name: Hannah Macanas

Key content or main ideas in this unit

Natural River Systems

- How water moves
-How surrounding landscapes influence the movement/directionality of rivers
-How rivers affect surrounding landscape
- How water transports sediment (erosion, deposition)
- How precipitation, flooding, and drought affects rivers/streams

How Humans benefit from Rivers,

-Transportation (for humans and animals)
- Food Source
-Agricultural

How humans utilize and manipulate these systems (exploitation of natural resources)
-Aqueducts

Proficient Understanding … I know this content well

How Humans benefit from Rivers,

-Transportation (for humans and animals)
- Food Source
-Agricultural

Moderate Understanding … I need to refresh this content

Natural River Systems

- How water moves
-How surrounding landscapes influence the movement/directionality of rivers
-How rivers affect surrounding landscape
- How water transports sediment (erosion, deposition)
- How precipitation, flooding, and drought affects rivers/streams

How humans utilize and manipulate these systems (exploitation of natural resources)
-Aqueducts

Little Understanding … I need to study this content

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Hannah Macanas
SCI 431
White, Van Sickle
October 23, 2018

Advancing Content Knowledge

Question A: Did the teacher resources help you with your content knowledge? Describe
what and how. What about the student resources?

EEI’s units are incredibly thorough. I generally have a pretty strong grasp on the topics

presented in this unit of Rivers, so most of this information is review for me. However, the

organization is great, so I know for other units that I might not be so familiar with, it will be

relatively easy for me to navigate. However, the section on erosion has a great real-life practical

example (finding the safest spot along the river to build a house) that I never would have

thought to incorporate on a lesson about erosion. The examples and descriptions in the

Teacher’s Manual were very clear and informative, and the visual aids that go along with them

are also very helpful.

Question B: What question(s) do you have or what would you like to know more about
regarding related content (not pedagogy) in preparing to teach the unit? Choose at least one
content question.

I personally feel headwaters are an import aspect of rivers that often get overlooked.

How did headwaters form, how are they sustained and what significance does it play on the

dynamics of rivers? Also emphasizing just what a watershed is might be beneficial.

Question C: What outside resources did you find and access? List. What additional content
knowledge did you advance for yourself via study of these additional resources?

Headwaters:

https://www.watereducation.org/aquapedia-background/headwaters

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 Information about headwaters. Headwaters don’t necessarily dictate the strength and

flow of a river. Headwaters are often sustained through melted ice and snow.

Watersheds:

I have some material from an environmental science class that goes in depth into

watersheds, and how to use a topographic map to locate watershed boundaries (ENVS 308:

Ecotopia)

Question D: Briefly describe your phenomena ideas.

This lesson has a little experiment that demonstrates the amount of energy needed

from water to move sediment of different sizes. This is demonstrated by placing different types

of pebbles or sand in a water bottles, filling them up, and then disturbing them and noticing

how the sediment reacts within each bottle.

If teaching this lesson in Humboldt County, we are so lucky to have so many different

and dynamic rivers right here in our backyard! I would definitely take advantage of that! I could

perhaps bring in different soil/sediment samples and we could use those in the above

experiment, or perhaps try to have them guess which river the samples are from, or what part

of the river, etc.

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Hannah Macanas
SCI 431
October 30, 2018

NGSS Connections

1. Which NGSS standards are strongly addressed in your UoS, list and describe connection.

MS-
Develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth's materials and the flow of
ESS2-1.
energy that drives this process.

This unit will have students study models of river systems and learn that the
changing and recycling of Earth’s materials through weathering,
sedimentation, and deposition has a direct effect on ecosystems.

MS- Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing
ESS3-3. a human impact on the environment.

This unit will have students evaluate historical solutions to meet the human
need for fresh water and arable soil for agriculture. Then have them use that
knowledge to assess the impacts of future solutions on both human
populations and riparian habitats in and around a river system.

MS-
Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human
ESS3-4.
population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth's
systems.

This unit will have students study how human habitats have thrived near river
systems for thousands of years, and that they continue to do so, often with
negative consequences on multiple natural systems.

MS- Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient
ETS1-1. precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant
scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural

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 environment that may limit possible solutions.

This unit will have students study information that considers how rivers benefit
humans and the consequences of damage due to flooding and erosion, and to
use multiple criteria, including long-term consequences, to evaluate an
engineering design solution.

2. Are there examples of three dimensional learning connecting a DCI, SEP, and CCC? If so,
describe and explain how all three dimensions are included. If not, clearly state the missing
dimension(s) and make some suggestions of how the lesson might be modified to incorporate
all three dimensions. It might be useful to review the NGSS slides from class and think back
to our building standards exercise.

Yes, all three dimensions are present throughout this unit. For example, Disciplinary

Core Ideas include Earth’s Materials and Systems, specifically referring to rivers as systems and

the materials include the different sediments present in rivers and how the energy from the

river connects to other things. Another DCI is Human Impacts on Earth’s Systems, which is

addressed by talking about how humans utilize rivers (transportation, food, etc.) as well as how

the directly impact them (dams, hydro power plants, etc.). Another DCI is Defining and

Delimiting Engineering Problems which can be addressed by having students consider the

dynamics of rivers, erosion, etc. when considering building designs or construction placement.

Crosscutting Concepts are also present in this unit. For example, when students examine

the cyclical nature of rivers and their relationship to the ecosystem, as well as how rivers

change over time, they will be exploring the cross cutting concept of Stability and Change. Also,

when studying the human impact on rivers, students will be exploring the crosscutting concept

of Cause and Effect as well as the Influence of Engineering, Technology, and Science on Society

and the Natural World.

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 Finally, this unit also includes Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs). The SEPs Asking

Questions and Defining Problems and Engaging in Argument from Evidence are both addressed

in this unit. By having students consider the relationships between humans and rivers, we can

implement these SEP by having students identify problems associated with these relationships

as well as posing questions and potential solutions. Students can then argue the associated

benefits and challenges. Lastly, the SEP Developing and Using Models can be incorporated by

having students study and then create their own model of a deltas to enhance their knowledge

of sedimentation, erosion and deposition.

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Hannah Macanas
SCI 431
October 30, 2018

Common Core Connections

a) What unit of study did you focus on (title and grade)?

The Dynamic Nature of Rivers (EEI) (Grades 6-8)
b) What CCSS did you choose to look at?
W.6.1: Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
c) Which Lessons in the UoS have a correlation to the CCSS you chose?
California Connection
Lesson 3: Benefits Rivers Bring Us
Lesson 4: Ebb and Flow: River’s Changing Courses

d) Looking at one lesson only, describe what the teacher is asking students to do that aligns

with the CCSS you chose.

Lesson 3: Benefits Rivers Bring Us

In this lesson, students read about and explore how rivers benefit humans. After filling

out worksheets and doing additional research, students are then asked to write a short piece

explaining how we benefit from rivers and support their claims with evidence they have

gathered from the unit.

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Hannah Macanas
SCI 431
November 6, 2018

Phenomena in the NGSS Classroom and UoS Connections

1. For each of the phenomena above, list a couple observations and a couple of questions
about the phenomena you are viewing.

Plants:
Observation: One is clearly less vibrant than the other.

Question: How long have they been doing the experiment?

Are other variables being controlled, like water and room temperature?
What else do plants need besides light?
Car Collision:
Observation: Some cars crash and stay on the ground. Some flip in the air.
Some cars crash into other cars, some crash into unmoving objects.
Questions: What makes some cars flip?
What causes people to crash into stationary objects?

Sun Size:
Observation: A billion times bigger?!
Question: Where are these large starts located?
Who discovered them and when?
What kinds of planets revolve around these stars, if any?

2. For each of the above identify one grade level Performance Expectation (PE) and Disciplinary
Core Idea (DCI) that this phenomena could be used to help teach.

Plant
PE: 3-LS1-1. Develop models to describe that organisms have unique and diverse life cycles
but all have in common birth, growth, reproduction, and death.

DCI: LS1.B: GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF ORGANISMS

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Car Collision
PE: 4-PS3-3. Ask questions and predict outcomes about the changes in energy that occur
when objects collide.

PS3.C: Relationship Between Energy and Forces: When objects collide, the contact forces
transfer energy so as to change the objects’ motions.

DCI: PS2A: FORCES AND MOTION

Sun Size
PE: 5-ESS1-1. Support an argument that differences in the apparent brightness of the sun
compared to other stars is due to their relative distances from the Earth.

DCI: ESS1A: THE UNIVERSE AND ITS STARS

3. Think about your Unit of Study. Look through your own images on your phone or images
online and find one that you might use in the classroom as a phenomena in conjunction with
your Unit of Study. Do this individually, there will be a chance to share your phenomena with
partners or others in class next week.
a. Share a copy of the image or video link
Ucayali River, Peru

b. When in your unit of study would this phenomena be used?

This Phenomena would be used throughout lesson 4, “Ebb and Flow: River’s changing
course”
c. Explain how this phenomena could be used to further student learning with your unit of
study. Be sure to make direct connections with the content in your unit of study.
This shows a real life example of how a river changes its course and that the banks of
the rivers are sometimes unsafe places to dwell or build on. There is a lesson where students
will look at different parts of the river and try to decide where it would be best to build a new
structure, and where it would be very unwise. This could go along with that to give them a real
life example of how much the banks of rivers change.

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Hannah Macanas
SCI 431
Julie Van Sickle
December 9, 2018

Unit of Study: Project Reflection

This project was a wonderful to get familiar with the curriculum we might be working

with in the future. I worked on this project with a partner, and we had selected a California

Education and the Environment Initiative (EEI) curriculum. The unit we selected, The Dynamic

Nature of Rivers was geared towards middle school. I was excited going into the project

because I am familiar with and have a fascination with rivers and water.

As a future elementary school teacher, I have always been a little nervous about

needing to know so much about everything in order to be an effective teacher. This project

took a little bit of that pressure off. If there does happen to be a subject I’m not super familiar

with, curriculum like EEI provide teachers with supporting information, visual aids, and links to

resources for you to be able to gather any additional information that you may need.

This project was also valuable by showing just how easy it is to incorporate different

subjects across contexts and still be able to meet state standards. This is exciting because it

provides opportunity to break out of the traditional mold and provide students with an

engaging, dynamic, yet well-rounded education.

While looking into this unit, I realized just how much potential there is when delving in

to new material. I also realized how easy it could be to incorporate local connections with the

provided curriculum. It is important to make these local connections so students have the

opportunity to apply what they have learned to the world that they are a part of. I believe that

is the best way to solidify new knowledge.

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 The actual process of conducting the investigation into this unit was relatively simple.

Each piece of the project that was assigned fell in line with the way EEI set up their unit. It was

really easy to follow and pick apart the things that were helpful, and the areas in which I may

need more professional development and outside resources. In hindsight, I almost wish I had

chosen a topic that I knew less about, to see just how helpful it would have been to use when

jumping into unfamiliar content.

Overall, I feel my partner and I did a good job at understanding the layout and content

of the EEI curriculum. Our presentation went well and I felt confident during the presentation. If

I could have changed something, I probably would have explained the individual units/lessons a

little more in-depth, and the connecting standards a little less.

I will definitely continue to explore EEI curriculum and find ways to incorporate it into

my future classroom. There are so many tools and fun ideas that should fit nicely with both

NGSS and Common Core standards. The content presented by EEI may also pair nicely with

other curriculum like FOSS that will likely be adopted by schools and districts that I’ll work in.

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