Weeds and Weevils Lesson Plan for 7 th grade

1. Weeds and Weevils Lesson Planfor 7th grade Developed by INSTAAR (Timothy Seastedt, Emily Krall, David Knochel) in collaboration with BVSD teachers Kim Greene and Dan Tomlin at Manhattan Middle School

2. Fitting in with larger goals • Life cycles of plants • Dalmatian Toadflax • Spotted Knapweed • Life cycles of insects • Mencinusjanthinus • Larinusminutus • Interaction between the life cycles of plants and insects

3. Substituting for STC Organisms---From Macro to Micro Lesson 6 The Cabbage White---From Egg to Butterfly • Advantages: • Uses local examples • Eliminates hard to manage development of caterpillar • Eliminates coordination of Fast Plant growth with the caterpillar • Replaces with easy to store and use plant/insect dissection

4. Additional advantages… • Highlights current CU science research • Introduces the environmental threat of non-native invasive species • Discusses the strategies of land management, including biological controls

5. Overview of lesson plan • Lesson 1.1 • Introduction to topic • Lesson 1.2 • Dissection of dandelion • Lesson 1.3 • Review HW assignment • Life cycle card game • Lesson 1.4 • Knapweed and toadflax dissections

6. Lesson 1.1 • Introduce students to the life cycles of plants and insects and how they interact • Venn diagram • Students discuss their findings in table groups • Discuss the area where plant and insect cycles overlap

7. Lesson 1.2 • Introduce term “invasive species” to students • What is an invasive species or weed? • Discuss characteristics of an invasive weed: large seed bank, can survive with few resources, etc. • Dissect dandelions • Identify parts of the plant: root, stem, leaves, flower, seed • Make scientific drawings, give opportunity to look at plant under microscope

9. Lesson 1.3 • Review “invasion of the soil grabbers” homework assignment • Look at graph results on projector, discuss what the graph shows • Life cycle cards • Students put cards in order of insect and plant life cycles • Discuss mistakes that students make and describe correct order

10. Image of Soil Grabbers Homework Graph

12. Lesson 1.4 • Dissect Knapweed seed heads • Find Larinusminutus insects in the seed heads • Identify different stages: • Larvae, pupa, adult • Dissect Dalmatian Toadflax stems • Find Mencinusjanthinus • Identify different stages: • Larvae, pupa, adult

14. Conclusions • Debrief dissections • Reiterate how plants and insects coexist and need each other to survive. Also review life cycles of both. • Discuss the potential negative impacts of biological controls and why these examples are scientifically sound • Tested in a lab for 5 years before introduced, first introduced in a closed environment, host-specific to knapweed and toadflax • Be sure students understand the environmental consequences of invasive species

15. Success rates • Average Pre-test Score: 8.48 • Average Post-test Score: 10.80 • Average Change: 2.33 • Average percent increase in score: 16% • Range: 11% to 23% • Improvements… • Insect life cycles • Adaptions for other grades…

16. Comments from students • What did you learn? • “I learned that invasive plants are steadily rising in growth each year” • “I learned that some insects live in plants.” • “I learned about the insect and plant life cycle.” • “I learned that beetles inside invasive plants are killing the plant and eating the inside.”

17. Contacts • Emily Krall—Outreach Coordinator at INSTAAR • Emily.krall@colorado.edu • Kim Greene—Science teacher at Manhattan Middle School • Kim.greene @bvsd.org • Dan Tomlin—Science teacher at Manhattan Middle School • dan.tomlin@bvsd.org