Lesson Six - Create Your Own Critter Guide

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Donna Waters
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1 39 Lesson Six - reate Your Own ritter uide Objective: ime: Materials: Students learn to use organizational features of printed text to find information, discern main ideas, and create pages for a critter guide. ach student conducts research, and uses the information in future lessons. 45 minutes whole class instruction 45 minutes independent work time sample of a plant or animal field guide ritter ards from the ritter atalog dvanced preparation: Make a teacher copy of pages 40 and 41, and consider ritter roup ssignments before class. Make student copies of the Worksheet titled ritter uide Worksheet (2 per student) and Fairy Shrimp ritter ard (or use overhead). rocedure: 1. Discuss the purpose of field guides. 2. Show an example of a field guide. Discuss the types of information presented. 3. ass out blank ritter uide Worksheets and copies of the ritter ard for Fairy Shrimp. 4. Introduce the ritter uide Worksheet. xplain the following: ommon name he name most people use for critter Scientific name he name scientists use for critter (in Latin) abitat Where the critter lives Size MIOscopic (need microscope to see, mm), MOscopic (need hand lens to see, 0.25 mm 50 mm), O does not require magnification, 50 mm up Description What the critter generally looks like Life cycle Stages of life (see example worksheets) Food web What the critter eats. What eats the critter. 5. omplete Fairy Shrimp ritter uide Worksheet together. s students suggest answers, write the information on the overhead worksheet. Monitor students work. 6. Discuss how to best present critical information in a limited space. 7. ssign critters and record student names on a copy of the ritter uide able of ontents sheet according to the ritter roup ssignments sheet suggestions. Keep in mind: critter assignments will determine groups for field trips (note color codes) several students must complete two critter worksheets to cover all 38 animals (see recommended pairs on ritter roup ssignments eacher age.) more advanced students should be assigned the critters identified as being more difficult less advanced students should study a reptile or mammal. 6. ass out ritter ards and another blank ritter uide Worksheet to each student. 9. ssist students as they independently complete ritter uide Worksheet for their critter. 10. ompile all student pages into a ritter uide for the classroom. Use the ritter uide able of ontents sheet for the able of ontents. valuation/xtensions: Students complete ritter uide Worksheet for their critter(s). Students can use information from the ritter ards to create riddles, pop-up books, or 20 questions to quiz other students about their critters.

2 ritter roup ssignments Yellow roup he Flatworms 4 rotozoa * 21 iger Salamander 28 Vole 9 opepod 31 Mallard 32 Burrowing Owl 7 Flatworm 37 ed-winged Blackbird * 26 Jackrabbit 12 adpole Shrimp 24 opher Snake 33 reat orned Owl 7b Water Mite Orange roup he Fairy Shrimp 2 Bacteria * 18 Bull Frog 27 ocket opher 35 Killdeer * 17 Solitary BBee 25 oyote 11 Seed Shrimp 20 Western Spadefoot 34 ed-tailed awk 10 Fairy Shrimp + 8 lam Shrimp 29 reat Blue eron 3 Detritus + reen roup he Water Fleas 1 lgae * 16 Mosquito 19 horus Frog 5 otifer 15 Dragonfly 23 arter Snake 13 Water Flea 14 quatic Beetles 22 King Snake 6 quatic Snail 36 Meadowlark * 30 reat gret Species shown in bold typeface tend to have more complex accounts than other species. + he student assigned the Fairy Shrimp should also be assigned Detritus. * In each olor roup, two species are marked with an asterisk; one is a form of microlife (rotozoa, Bacteria or lgae), the other is a bird. he pair should be assigned to one student in each olor roup. Due to the critical role of microlife in the food web, these student experts will receive special attention during future classroom activities. ertain students might particularly benefit from this opportunity. 40

3 41 ritter uide able of ontents OU SUBOU SIS SSINMN lgae 1. Bacteria 2. Microlife Detritus 3. rotozoa 4. otifers 5. Non-arthropods quatic Snail 6. Flatworms 7. carinans Water Mite 7b. lam Shrimp 8. opepod 9. Fairy Shrimp 10. rustaceans Invertebrates Seed Shrimp 11. adpole Shrimp 12. Water Flea 13. quatic Beetles 14. Insects Dragonfly & Damselfly 15. Mosquito 16. Solitary Bee 17. Bull Frog 18. mphibians acific horus Frog 19. Western Spadefoot 20. iger Salamander 21. alifornia King Snake 22. eptiles arter Snake 23. opher Snake 24. arnivores oyote 25. erbivores Black-tailed Jackrabbit 26. Mammals Botta s ocket opher 27. odents alifornia Vole 28. Wading Birds reat Blue eron 29. reat gret 30. Ducks & Waterfowl Mallard 31. Burrowing Owl 32. Birds aptors reat orned Owl 33. ed-tailed awk 34. Killdeer 35. Small Birds Meadowlark 36. ed-winged Blackbird 37.

42 Mather Field Vernal ools Ken Davis common name scientific names phylum subphylum class order habitat size Fairy Shrimp Linderiella occidentalis Branchinecta lindahli and other species rthropoda

hey have a long, narrow body with 11 pairs of paddle-like legs. Females have a brood pouch which holds eggs located directly behind the legs.

4 42 Mather Field Vernal ools Ken Davis common name scientific names phylum subphylum class order habitat size Fairy Shrimp Linderiella occidentalis Branchinecta lindahli and other species rthropoda rustacea Branchiopoda nostraca vernal pools mm long description fun facts life cycle ecology conservation investigate Fairy Shrimp are pale-colored (normally gray-white) and transparent. hey have a long, narrow body with 11 pairs of paddle-like legs. Females have a brood pouch which holds eggs located directly behind the legs. he Fairy Shrimp that inhabit vernal pools are very small, but some species of Fairy Shrimp are huge. One species, Branchinecta gigas, lives in muddy, plant-less, desert lakes, and can grow to 150 mm. hat's about the size of a hot dog! Fairy Shrimp cysts hatch as soon as there is water in the vernal pools. Individuals grow quickly and can reach maturity in days depending upon species and the pool conditions. fter the adults mate, cysts begin to develop in the female's brood pouch. Once the cysts are fully formed, they are released and sink to the vernal pool bottom. he female may mate again and repeat the process. single female can produce several hundred cysts during one season. he cysts usually remain dormant until the next year's rain, but they can last for decades. Fairy Shrimp suck water through filters and eat the particles that they strain out of the water. hese include bacteria, algae, protozoa, rotifers, and detritus. Fairy Shrimp are a main food source for many creatures. hey are eaten by adpole Shrimp, Backswimmers, aquatic beetles, aquatic insect larvae, tadpoles, toads, salamanders, Killdeer, and ducks. Branchinecta lynchi is listed as a hreatened species. It is found in the entral Valley and a few places in the oast anges where it occurs in only certain types of vernal pools. It may be threatened by extinction due to loss of its vernal pool habitat through development and new agriculture. Linderiella occidentalis is the most common of alifornia's vernal pool Fairy Shrimps. Linderiella occidentalis is the only species of Fairy Shrimp that has red eyes. ll other species have black eyes. See if you can find the red eyes on shrimp in the field.

5 43 Name: ritter uide Worksheet ritter #: ommon Name: Scientific Name: abitat: Size: Micro: Macro: Other: Description: S U D N W O K S Life ycle & Food Web Life Stages What I eat What eats me Fun Facts:

DO NOW: Invertebrate POP Quiz. Sit Quietly and clear off your desk/table of everything EXCEPT and blank piece of white lined paper and a pen/pencil.

DO NOW: Invertebrate POP Quiz. Sit Quietly and clear off your desk/table of everything EXCEPT and blank piece of white lined paper and a pen/pencil. DO NOW: Invertebrate POP Quiz Sit Quietly and clear off your desk/table of everything EXCEPT and blank piece of white lined paper and a pen/pencil. DO NOW: Invertebrate POP Quiz Question 1: What is an