Free mini-unit for grades 6-9
EDSS challenges students to become experts on the orangutans and the rainforests of
Borneo by analyzing data and explaining research to their peers. It includes powerful
assessment tools designed to measure achievement across multiple applied math and science
benchmarks.
Day 1
Warm up with a welcome, a keynote address and general facts about orangutans and the rainforest.
Days 2-4
Working in groups of 2+, students study data, read summary reports,
answer study guide questions, enlarge charts and prepare presentations. Twelve data
sets are provided at 3 levels of difficulty.
Days 5-6
Students make presentations, answer questions from class and fill in
"Presentations Check List."
Day 7
Students discuss the data and answer the question: What is Happening to Orangutans?
They also fill in the "Group Self-Evaluation."
The Earth Day Science Symposium is a three year project to
improve science literacy in middle school classrooms. EDSS materials are provided free
to middle-school classrooms through generous funding from the Toyota USA Foundation.
By supporting the Earth Day Science Symposium, the foundation is working to foster
creativity and inquiry, as well as to improve math and science education in schools
across the nation.
