Project Overview

Curriculum Title:
Mosquito Project: Disease Prevention through Vector Control Unit
 
Grade Levels:  6-10

Timeline: 2.5 weeks

IMPORTANT NOTE: Lesson numbers are done purposefully for those who are completing all of the lesson activities on a 2.5 week timeline.  

Subject/Topic Areas:
Mosquito Life Cycle
Mosquito Egg Data Collection
Community Reporting

Key Words
Mosquitoes, population, data collection, vectors, mosquito-borne diseases, Zika, Gulf Coast, STEAM, wetlands, Louisiana, environment, stagnant water, health concerns, epidemic, pandemic, invasive species, genetic modification, Aedes
 
Curricular Context Summary:
          This curriculum is a portion of a yearlong interdisciplinary STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) elective course intended to be offered to middle school students.  The unit described in this curriculum centers around mosquitoes’ life cycle and health threats.  The ultimate goal of this project is to transform students into citizen scientists who report their data collection to the USDA, mosquito control, and public health officials.  Students will first learn about the mosquito life cycle and the diseases that they can carry.  This portion of the unit will include live observation of the four mosquito life cycle stages.  Next, students will collect mosquito eggs around their homes and school using oviposition cups with germination paper to allow mosquitoes to lay their eggs.  Then students will analyze the eggs they collect and determine their species.  This information will then be reported to the USDA.  Finally students will conduct additional research to determine ways in which we can prevent the growth and reproduction of mosquitoes and mosquito-borne diseases.  Students will use this experience and research to inform their surrounding community on what they can do to improve their own safety from the health threat of mosquitoes.  This curriculum could also be effectively implemented in a middle school math or a life science course (which includes middle school science and high school biology). 
          Louisiana is a land of cities surrounded by levees, wetlands, and water.  As our climate changes, it is essential that the residents of Louisiana adapt to those changes.  With the Zika virus being a threat of when not where, Gulf Coast Residents need to be hyper aware of stagnant water and what they can do to prevent these potential breading sites for mosquitoes and their vector-borne diseases.  Students will not only collect mosquito eggs to analyze the distributions of different mosquito species populations in their region, they will also research and report ways people can alter their environment to decrease the health threat that mosquitoes pose.  I am passionate about the environment and want Louisiana residents to be hyper aware of how the water can affect their health.  This project will not only inspire environmental awareness, but will also inspire students to be active members of their community, and provide students with critical STEAM skills that they can take with them to their future careers. 
 
Rationale:
  • Ideally, the curriculum package will have transferable value for others who teach students about life science.  
  • Teachers at other schools will be able to use the site as a comprehensive resource when planning their own lessons and units on insect populations, and mosquito-borne diseases
  • The work will provide ‘cutting edge’ STEAM inspired plans that will captivate students with the process of data collection, species analysis, and community reporting . 
  • The project may serve as a template for other teachers interested in developing STEAM labs of their own.
  •  The activities involve real-world problems and that mimics the work of professionals
  • The project involves presentation of findings to audiences beyond the classroom.
  • Use of open-ended inquiry, thinking skills and metacognition.
  • Students engage in discourse and social learning in a community of learners.
  • Students direct their own learning in project work.

Objectives: 

LA Standard(s) Addressed:
Science and Engineering Practices 
The eight practices of science and engineering that the Framework identifies as essential for all students to learn and describes in detail are listed below:
1. Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering)
2. Developing and using models
3. Planning and carrying out investigations
4. Analyzing and interpreting data
5. Using mathematics and computational thinking
6. Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering)
7. Engaging in argument from evidence
8. Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information
 
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS): 
MS-LS1-1. Conduct an investigation to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence that meet the goals of an investigation.
MS-LS1-2. Develop and use a model to describe phenomena.
MS-LS1-3. Use an oral and written argument supported by evidence to support or refute an explanation or a model for a phenomenon.
MS-LS1-4. Use argument based on empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support an explanation for how characteristic animal behaviors and specialized plant structures affect the probability of successful reproduction of animals and plants respectively.
MS-LS1-5. Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms.
MS-LS1-6. Construct a scientific explanation based on valid and reliable evidence obtained from sources (including the students’ own experiments) and the assumption that theories and laws that describe the natural world operate today as they did in the past and will continue to do so in the future.
MS-LS1-8. Gather, read, and synthesize information from multiple appropriate sources and assess the credibility, accuracy, and possible bias of each publication and methods used, and describe how they are supported or not supported by evidence.
MS-LS2-1. Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.
MS-LS2-2. Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems.
MS-LS2-3. Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem
MS-LS2-4. Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.
MS-LS2-5. Small changes in one part of a system might cause large changes in another part; Scientific knowledge can describe the consequences of actions but does not necessarily prescribe the decisions that society takes.
MS-LS3-1. Develop and use a model to describe why structural changes to genes (mutations) located on chromosomes may affect proteins and may result in harmful, beneficial, or neutral effects to the structure and function of the organism. [
MS-LS3-2. Develop and use a model to describe why asexual reproduction results in offspring with identical genetic information and sexual reproduction results in offspring with genetic variation.
MS-LS4-3. Analyze displays of pictorial data to compare patterns of similarities in the embryological development across multiple species to identify relationships not evident in the fully formed anatomy.
MS-LS4-4. Construct an explanation based on evidence that describes how genetic variations of traits in a population increase some individuals’ probability of surviving and reproducing in a specific environment.
MS-LS4-5. Gather and synthesize information about the technologies that have changed the way humans influence the inheritance of desired traits in organisms.

ELA/Literacy Standards:  
SL.8.5 Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest. (MS-LS1-2)
RST.6-8.7 Integrate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text with a version of that information expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model, graph, or table). (MS-LS3-1),(MS-LS3-2)
WHST.6-8.1 Write arguments focused on discipline content. (MS-LS1-4)
WHST.6-8.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.(MS-LS4-5)
WHST.6-8.9 Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. (MS-LS1-5)

Mathematics Standards: 
MP.4 Model with mathematics. (MS-LS3-2)
6.SP.A.2 Understand that a set of data collected to answer a statistical question has a distribution which can be described by its center, spread, and overall shape. (MS-LS1-4),(MS-LS1-5)
6.SP.B.4 and 6.SP.B.5 Summarize numerical data sets in relation to their context. (MS-LS1-4),(MS-LS1-5), (MS-LS3-2)

Big Ideas and Enduring Understandings 

Big Idea / Concept:            
Students are transformed into citizen scientists to track the migration of invasive mosquito populations and inform the public of their knowledge gained from this experience.

Enduring Understanding(s):
  1. Describe the mosquito life cycle
  2. Apply the scientific method
  3. Interpret scientific data and evaluate results
  4. Estimate how environmental conditions influence mosquito populations
  5. Identify abiotic and biotic factors that are necessary for the survival of mosquito populations
  6. Describe mosquito borne diseases including Zika, Dengue, Encephalitis, West Nile Virus, Heartworm Disease, Malaria, and Lymphatic Filariasis, and their global impact
  7. Integrate knowledge of the mosquito life cycle to reduce the transmission of mosquito borne diseases
  8. Collaboration with minority peers and surrounding community

What Essential Question(s) will be considered?
EQ1. What are the effects of a STEAM elective class on minority students’ interests in pursuing an inquiry based STEAM career and using their skills in their community?
EQ2. How will collecting mosquito egg samples and sending the qualitative and quantitative data to the USDA motivate students to educate the public about their findings?
EQ3. How will the attitudes of minority females compare to males after their experience with sharing their findings with the community, and mentoring youth?

NEEDED MATERIALS:
​Appropriate technologies and tools:
  • Pens/Pencils/Markers
  • Projector, SmartBoard, or Promethean Board to project presentations and videos
  • Worksheets
  • Student computers with internet connection
  • Oviposition cups
  • Germination paper
  • Plastic water bottles
  • Tape
  • Either cat, fish, or dog food
  • Measuring cups or graduated cylinders
  • Mosquito eggs
  • Optional: glue gun, organza or tulle, cotton balls, sugar, and/or video recording device(s) (camera, tablet, smartphone)
KNOWLEDGE = Content
  • Mosquito life cycle
  • Mosquito-Borne Diseases
  • Prevention of mosquito reproduction as a means to decrease health risks
  • Proper collection and care procedures of mosquito eggs
  • Identification of different mosquito species based on physical characteristics of different stages within mosquitoes’ life cycles
SKILLS = Power verbs
  • Collaborative inquiry driven approach to problem solving
  • Oral and Written communication
  • Community education
DISPOSITIONS = attitude
  • Growth oriented mindset / outside the box thinking
  • Cooperative small group projects
  • Intrinsic motivation
  • Community reporting

Assessment: 

ASSESSMENT:  
What evidence is used to show that students understand?

Formative:
  • Whole group discussion around themes of each lesson.
  • Multiple iterations of projects with daily observations.
  • Multiple CFUs within Nearpod presentations
  • Quiz regarding mosquito life cycle, population distributions, different species of mosquitoes, and procedures for effective egg collection
Summative:
  • Small group presentations of the different mosquito-borne diseases.
  • Students will present final projects about mosquito population distribution, health threats mosquitoes pose to humans, and what can be done to decrease the health threats to their peers for evaluation.
  • Students will also present their findings, experiences, and knowledge to the community

Misconceptions to look out for...

Objectives from 6 Facets + Misconceptions:  
As a result of immersion in this curriculum, students will be able to:

EXPLAIN:         
Students will be able to explain the mosquito life cycle, the symptoms of mosquito borne diseases, how to prevent the contraction of mosquito borne diseases, and how to decrease the spread of mosquito populations that are health threats to humans.

APPLY:             
Students will apply their knowledge of the growth, development, and migration of mosquitos, along with their knowledge of the preferred mosquito breeding environments to present to the public what they can do to reduce the health risk of mosquito borne diseases in their surrounding community.

INTERPRET: 
Students will identify collected mosquito egg samples and determine which mosquito species is being observed.  Students will also be able to identify the signs and symptoms of mosquito borne diseases.  Finally, students will be able to interpret mosquito population maps to make predictions of when and where different mosquito species will be a threat to human health. 

EMPATHIZE: 
Students will gain an enduring understanding of the problems trash and stagnant water pose on the spread of diseases.  Students will also develop a sense of mindfulness about littering in their communities and work to promote awareness.

GAIN PERSPECTIVE: 
Students will understand data collection on a large scale is a task that can be economically feasible if more members of communities globally contribute to the collection of the data.  Minority students will also gain the perspective that they have a contributing voice in their communities, and they can affect positive change. 

GAIN SELF KNOWLEDGE: 
Students will gain knowledge of data collection, species analysis, working in the field, science and engineering practices, and the importance of being proactive in ones community.
 
OVERCOME THE NAÏVE VIEW OF: (Misconceptions)
  • Being surrounded by water means there is nothing that you can do to prevent the spread of mosquito populations.
  • Spraying insecticide is the only way to combat the spread of mosquito borne diseases.
  • Dumping containers with stagnant water out will prevent the growth of mosquitos in said container.
  • Zika virus will not come to or affect first world countries.