HOW TO USE THIS SITE
Children are better learners when they are encouraged to ask questions, and then allowed to explore and discover the answers to these questions through hands-on activities. With Florida scrub as its focus, this curriculum provides you, the educator, with some of the tools you need to teach ecology principles and concepts in ways children learn best. By using the activities in this book, you and your students will learn about the scientific method, investigate a very rare and distinctive ecosystem, and become better acquainted with the "real" Florida.

Discovering Florida Scrub is divided into four units, each with one or more sections. Because the concepts presented in this curriculum become more complex with each unit, we highly recommend that you begin with the first unit.

Each unit consists of the following components:
  • Objectives will list ecological concepts included in the unit and the skills students will develop as a result of completing the unit activities.


  • The Introduction and Background Information portions will help you present the units to your class.


  • Outdoor activities are indicated by a symbol of the sun () and require that you take your students to appropriate schoolyard sites or to other accessible scrub sites. All outdoor activities have an indoor component that involves analyzing data collected by your students.


  • Indoor activities are designed for the classroom and are indicated by a light bulb symbol ( ). We suggest that you try these activities before you attempt them with your class.

At the beginning of each activity, the following information is provided:

  1. Concepts will list the ecological principles addressed in each activity.


  3. Skills will list the thinking strategies and manipulative skills used during the process of that activity.


  5. Time needed will state the approximate time required for your class to complete the activity. It does not include prep and set-up time.


  7. Best time of year. While many of the activities can be done throughout the year, some may require a particular season.


  9. Sunshine State Standards.

    10. Each activity will also include:

  10. Materials you will need to complete the activity. Whenever possible, supplies that can be found around your home or school are used. Some materials may need to be ordered.


  12. Instructions for the teacher can be found on bordered pages and includes all the information you will need to complete the activity. If you have not yet taken your students outside for this type of exploration, see Tips on Exploring the Outdoors with Your Students


  14. Student Data Sheets are designed especially for students and are indicated by a watermark and a pencil symbol ( ) on the upper left corner of the page. The distinct type-face and format will be easily recognized. Some activities also include Class Data Worksheets to help you compile student data.


  16. Notes may suggest other ways of doing the activity. For example, you may choose to do some activities several times throughout the year and compare the results.


  18. Results will summarize important scientific concepts and skills covered by the activity.


  20. Further Questions and Activities for Motivated Students, included with some activities, offers challenges for eager students who want more.

At the end of each unit you will find:

  • A Glossary to help you and your students understand terms found within the unit. Words that are bolded will appear in unit glossaries.


  • Questions for Student Evaluation that can be used after completing unit activities to test student knowledge of ecological concepts and science methodology as well as scrub examples included in the unit.


The questions provided range from easy to difficult. We encourage you to select questions that are appropriate for your students and, if necessary, make changes in the questions so they are more useful in your situation.

Please fill out the evaluation form. Any curriculum is a work in progress and is in constant need of refinement and refreshment. We are very interested in your views of how well this curriculum works. Please let us know. We will post teacher feedback along with curriculum updates and changes on our Web site www.archbold-station.org.

Ongoing Assessments can help you evaluate your students’ advances and should be completed during or after each activity. Consider using some of the following ideas:

  1. Stand back and watch individual team members interact. Listen to their comments and observe their behavior. Make a checklist to help you keep track of the desired goals. For example, if you want students to improve skills in teamwork and in the scientific method, your checklist might look like this:


Name Date
Score Objective
  Curious and interested in activity
  Works well with others
  Listens to other team members
  Keeps a positive attitude during activity
  Observes carefully
  Asks questions and looks for answers
  Is able to state hypothesis
  Keeps careful records
  Takes careful measurements
  1. Ask students to evaluate their own team using questions such as:


    1. On a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the best, how well did your team members share ideas?


    3. On a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the best, how well did your team members respect different opinions and help each other learn?


    5. What did you learn from this activity?


  3. Have students make a collection of their papers, drawings, and data sheets. Can you see an improvement over a period of time in their record keeping and involvement?


  5. You can also measure your students’ knowledge and attitude skills with a pre and post-test instrument. The following questions can be used before and after you use this curriculum to look for attitude changes:

    6. Circle the phrase that best describes how you feel about the following statements.

    1. I feel very much at home in the scrub.


    2. Strongly
      Agree      		 Agree Not Sure Disagree Strongly
      Disagree
    3. I do not want to spend any more time learning about scrub.


    4. Strongly
      Agree      		 Agree Not Sure Disagree Strongly
      Disagree
    5. I enjoy learning about Florida scrub best when I am outdoors.


    6. Strongly
      Agree      		 Agree Not Sure Disagree Strongly
      Disagree
    7. We don’t need to protect the scrub because we do not really use it for anything.


    8. Strongly
      Agree      		 Agree Not Sure Disagree Strongly
      Disagree
    9. I like activities that take place in nature.


    10. Strongly
      Agree      		 Agree Not Sure Disagree Strongly
      Disagree

Other references for good ideas on assessment techniques include:

  • Ballas, Jacqua and Kathy Abrams. 1998. Teaching Naturally. Using Environment to Improve Teaching and Learning. An Interdisciplinary Guide to Sunshine State Standards. Florida Department of Education.
  • Hogan, Kathleen. 1994. Eco-Inquiry. Institute of Ecosystem Studies. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co., Dubuque, Iowa.
  • Wolfe, Christopher. 1999. Reaching All Students: Assessing Student Learning. Dragonfly Teacher’s Companion May/June 1999, 5-6.

Field guides are extremely helpful to have in your classroom for student reference. Children seem to especially like the inexpensive, easy-to-use Golden Guides, published by Golden Press, New York Western Publishing Company, Inc. and available in most bookstores. Some of the Golden Guide titles include:

Birds
Butterflies and Moths
Insects
Mammals		 Pond Life
Reptiles and Amphibians
Spiders and Their Kin

An additional paperback series with good color pictures is Florida’s Fabulous ... , published by World Publications, Tampa, Florida. Titles include:

Butterflies: Their Stories, by Thomas Emmel
Insects, by Mark Deyrup.
Land Birds: Their Stories, by Winston Williams
Mammals: Their Stories, by Jerry Lee Gingerich
Reptiles and Amphibians: Their Stories, by Peter Carmichael and Winston Williams
Spiders, by Sam Marshall and G.B. Edwards.
Waterbirds: Their Stories, by Winston Williams

A bibliography provides more information sources for curious educators.

The Florida Scrub Coloring Book (1996) is a good learning tool and is an informative and attractive accompaniment to this curriculum. 

Although this curriculum has a copyright, educators are permitted to photocopy pages for their students. This curriculum is also available on the Internet by visiting the Archbold Biological Station Web site at http://www.archbold-station.org/discoveringflscrub/index.htmlstation.org. Any revisions made to this curriculum after publication can be found on the Internet version.

If you have questions or comments, call the Education Office at Archbold Biological Station in Lake Placid, Florida at 863-465-2571, send us a fax at 863-699-1927, or send an e-mail.

Last revision, 29 March 2004.