Performance-Based Instructional Task: Integrated Tested and Non-Tested Content Grade: 6-8

Students engage in the preparation phase of a student service learning project. They read materials provided by the teacher and use the Internet to learn more about riparian forest buffers, and to examine the importance of these buffers to their local community environment. Students use the information to create a riparian forest buffer checklist and evaluate a potential reforestation site. They decide if the class will replant the area as a student service learning project and, individually, write a letter to the local forester informing him/her about the decision.


	Outcome Activity Match
	Teacher Directions
	Materials Required
	Estimated Time
	Student Booklet (113k Acrobat)
	Assessment Information

	Science:
	#1 Concepts of Science: Physical Science
	#2 Nature of Science
	#3 Habits of Mind
	#6 Applications of Science
	Social Studies:
	#3 Geography
	#4 Economics
	Writing:
	Writing to Inform
	Library Media Skills:
	Outcome #4
	Service Learning:
	Preparation
	Action

Activities	Outcomes/Indicators
Activity 1A	#1 Concepts of Science Humans have a major impact on the living and non-living environment. #3 Geography Evaluate ways humans modify their physical setting to meet economic needs and the resulting changes in quality of life.
Activities 1B & C	#4 Economics Analyze the impact of technological change and resource use in promoting economic growth in the United States.
Activity 1D	#3 Habits of Mind Analyze scientific findings or claims evaluating the adequacy of the supporting evidence.
Activity 1E	#3 Habits of Mind Demonstrate a willingness to ask questions in order to clarify understanding.
Activity 2A	Outcome #4 (Library Media Skills) Use a variety of sources to acquire information.
Activity 2B	#3 Habits of Mind Analyze scientific findings or claims evaluating the adequacy of the supporting evidence. Writing to Inform Demonstrate ability to write effectively to inform by developing and organizing facts to convey information. In this way, students will create meaning for themselves and others. Outcome #4 (Library Media Skills) Use a variety of sources to acquire information.
Activity 2C	#3 Habits of Mind Demonstrate a willingness to modify one's ideas based on additional evidence and/or the ideas of others.
Activity 3A	#3 Habits of Mind Demonstrate a willingness to modify one's ideas based on additional evidence and/or the ideas of others.
Activity 3B	#3 Habits of Mind Demonstrate a willingness to ask questions in order to clarify understanding.
Activities 3C & D	#3 Habits of Mind Demonstrate a willingness to modify one's ideas based on additional evidence and/or the ideas of others.
Activity 4	#3 Habits of Mind Analyze scientific findings or claims evaluating the adequacy of the supporting evidence.
Activity 5A	#3 Habits of Mind Analyze scientific findings or claims evaluating the adequacy of the supporting evidence.
Activity 5B	#6 Applications of Science Take a position relative to an issue that affects society and use your knowledge of science to defend that position.
Activity 5C	#2 Nature of Science Generate a consensus based on data.
Activity 6	Writing to Inform Demonstrate ability to write effectively to inform by developing and organizing facts to convey information. In this way, students will create meaning for themselves and others.

Note: Activities 1 through 3 constitute the preparation phase of a service learning project. Activity 4 can be considered an action phase. If students decide to plant a riparian forest buffer at the site they visited, or another site, they could complete the action and reflection phases. By appropriate completion of all three phases of the service learning project, students could earn hours for credit.

Introduction.
Distribute Student Booklets and read the Introduction with the students.

Activities 1 & 2.
Distribute individual student copies of the Stream ReLeaf brochure excerpt found in the Teacher's Resources.

These activities require the students to gain new information about riparian forest buffers by accessing the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Web Page on the Internet. Your directions to students will depend on the availability of computers with Internet access. Options include:

Students may work alone, in pairs, or in small groups to research the sites.
Download information from the Internet and duplicate to share with students.
Some students may download information from their home Internet-connected computer.

Activity 3.
Divide the class into groups of 4. Copy and distribute to each student the “Fact Sheet” found in the Teacher's Resources. Students will use the information they have learned and the “Fact Sheet” to create a checklist. As an option, you may also wish to show the video, Riparian Forest Buffers: The Link Between Land and Water. After the groups have constructed their checklists, share the sample checklist found in the Teacher's Resources (see Materials Required). Then you and the students may select from the following options.

Have each group present its checklist to the class or another group for peer review. The group can revise and then use its checklist to evaluate the potential reforestation site.
Have each group present its checklist to the class, then have the class construct one checklist to be used by all groups.
Have each group use its checklist on a schoolyard site or, as homework, a community site, then revise it. Then you may follow either of the options above.

Activity 4.
The students will visit the site of a proposed reforestation project and use their checklists to evaluate the suitability of the site for a student service learning project. You will need to make preparations for the site visit as necessary. The following options are offered in selecting an appropriate site.

The students may suggest and evaluate potential sites based on experience or by using a map.
You may choose the site with assistance from the following resources:
- State or local forestry office
- Office of Planning and Zoning
Your schoolyard may be a potential site. If a riparian area is not visible, get a blueprint of the site from the principal or school maintenance department to review.

In planning the site visit, contact the landowner, plan for student safety, and consider special instructions the students may need to follow.

Activity 5.
After the students have visited the site and completed their evaluations, each group must make a decision as to whether or not this site should be replanted as a service learning project, and present it's decision to the class. The class must then make a decision based on the evaluations of each group.

Activity 6.
Students complete this activity individually.

Other Teacher Resources.

Fact Sheets:
“Riparian Forest Buffers in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed”
“Stream Corridor Protection and Restoration”

Available Publications:
Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay (1996, June). Report seeks 1,200 more miles of streamside forests. Bay Journal, 6 (4).

To request a copy of any of the above three documents, contact:

Riparian Buffer Initiative Coordinator
Chesapeake Bay Program
410 Severn Avenue, Suite 109
Annapolis, MD 21402
1-800 YOUR BAY
FAX: (410) 267-5777

Video:
Riparian Forest Buffers: The Link Between Land and Water. Prepared by the University of Maryland Cooperative Extension Service (1996).

This 21 minute video serves as an introduction to the concept of forest buffers and how they benefit the environment. Copies of the video are currently available from the University of Maryland Cooperative Extension Service or from your local forester.

Funding:
The Chesapeake Bay Trust provides grants to community groups and schools to help them complete Chesapeake Bay protection and restoration projects. Their web site is:

http://www2.ari.net/home/cbt/

They may also be reached by telephone at (410) 974-2941.

For each student, individual copies of:

Excerpt from Stream ReLeaf brochure (in the Teacher's Resources)

Fact sheet, “Stream ReLeaf: Planting Maryland's Streamsides”
Copy of “Sample Riparian Forest Buffer Checklist”
Access to computer and Internet
Measuring tape or ruler for each group
Tree key or field guide that identifies native trees and shrubs (optional)
Forest Riparian Buffers: The Link Between Land and Water (optional video, see Other Teacher Resources)

The total time required for students to complete this task is 4 hours. This estimate does not include transportation time to and from the reforestation site in Activity 4. The time required for specific activities is as follows:

	Activity 1:		40 minutes
	Activity 2:		60 minutes
	Activity 3:		50 minutes
	Activity 4:		20 minutes for site visit, plus transportation time
	Activity 5:		20 minutes
	Activity 6:		50 minutes

Rationale.
You may want to focus on particular activities to evaluate student progress on a certain indicator and outcome. For the purposes of this exemplar task, sample scoring tools are provided for Activities 1A, 2B and 5B. The scoring tools should be shared and discussed with the students prior to and at the end of the activity.

Activity 1, Step A. Use information from the Stream ReLeaf resource to describe ways the local environment will improve as a result of a riparian forest buffer planting.

This activity addresses Science Outcome #1, Concepts of Science, and Social Studies Outcome #3, Geography. Responses are gauged on a 0 - 2 scoring tool.
Scoring Tool: The response indicates the student's ability to evaluate the ways individuals and groups interact with each other and their environment, and the resulting changes in quality of life.
	2:	The response cites two or more ideas to support how the local environment will improve.
	1:	The response cites one idea to support how the local environment will improve.
	0:	All other responses.
Answer Cue: Possible answers include:
	•	more fish species
	•	a greater variety of wildlife
	•	reduced pesticide, fertilizers and other pollutants in water
	•	improved water quality
	•	improved wildlife habitat

Activity 2, Step B. List the address of the Internet site you think provided the best information about riparian forest buffers. Then, use information from the web site to explain why you would recommend it to another student.

This activity addresses Science Outcome #3, Habits of Mind, and Library Media Skills, Outcome #4. Responses are gauged on a 0 - 2 scoring tool. In addition, this activity addresses the Writing Outcome, Writing to Inform, and may be scored with the Writing to Inform Rule, a 0 - 2 scale.
Scoring Tool: This response indicates the student's ability to use a variety of sources and analyze the scientific adequacy of the supporting evidence.
	2:	The response designates a choice of web site and includes information from the Internet site selected to explain why it would be recommended to another student.
	1:	The response designates a choice of web site and indicates a general understanding of information from the Internet site chosen, but no details to support why it would be recommended to another student.
	0:	All other responses.
Sample Response:
	I think the best web site is http://www.dnr.state.md.us/forests/publications/buffers.html. It is written by the state forestry people and is just about riparian forest buffers. It has many chart graphs and photos that help you understand the importance of riparian forests.

Activity 5, Step B. On the lines below, state your decision and provide at least two scientific facts from your chart and checklist to support your decision.

This activity addresses Science Outcome #6, Applications of Science. Responses are gauged on a 0 - 3 scoring tool.
Scoring Tool: This response demonstrates the student's ability to use the knowledge of science to take a position for or against planting the potential riparian forest buffer site and defend this position.
	3:	The response states a position and includes 2 scientific facts used in explanation/defense.
	2:	The response states a position and includes 1 scientific fact used in explanation/defense.
	1:	The response states a position but includes no scientific facts used in explanation/defense.
	0:	All other responses.
Sample Answer:
	I think we should not replant this site. The reasons I think that are because the trees already extend 50 feet from the shore and there is more than one kind of tree at the site. Also, this site is not easy for our class to get to. I think we should find another site.

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