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My BEST
Science Activity Title: Digging in a
Bone Pile Teacher: Peggy
Moates Grade Level: Fifth |
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Objective:
- The student will use an owl pellet to
experience an archeological dig.
- The student will identify bones of
small rodents.
- The student will classify bones
according to type.
- The student will construct a graph using
Excel to show the number of bones found in an owl pellet according to type
of rodent and number of bones.
- The student will observe different
bones by making small scientific sketches
- The students will write a descriptive
paragraph sharing their experience in lab the day they had to “dig in a
bone pile.”
- The student will use mean and median
to compare the favorite food of a barn owl.
Describe the activity below.
Introduction:
After studying the skeletal and digestive systems, students
will dissect an owl pellet. You tell the
students that for next class period, you plan to take them on an archeological
dig. The day of the class, you give them
the mystery object and discuss what they think may possibly be in the foil
wrapped object. They guess, then, you
tell them that today’s archeological dig will take place at their desk. After the “I thought we were going on a field
trip sighs”, you explain that this lab activity will remind them of going on a
dig to find artifacts. The lab will last
approximately three 45 minute class periods.
Discuss the digestive process of an owl.
Explain what the object in front of them is. They open the foil and find a glob of
something which causes the girls to “Oh, no, I’m not touching that.” And the boys to explain, what they are
looking at is….when you interrupt and talk about the ability of an owl to
digest food. They calm down and you
continue to show them a bone identification chart, lab tools, and plan for
digging.
The lab session continues with the students absorbed with
the treasures they find in their owl pellets.
After the dig is complete, the bones are classified according to kind of
animals and type of bone.
Materials Needed:
For Student
Owl Pellet for each student
Probes, magnifying glass, tweezers, plastic baggies, paper towels, a bone identification lab sheet
For Teacher
Poster from Carolina Biological of The Barn Owl and its digestive cycle
Lab time set up for the students to use Excel for constructing a graph
Art and writing materials for sketches and writing
Lesson:
After explaining to the students about the digestive process of a barn owl, continue to tell them what they may fine during their dig. Remind them that the pellet is clean, but safety must be practiced because of the flying fur. Describe how to identify the type of rodent the bones belong to by using the Bone Identification Chart. Instruct the students to make drawings in their Science Journals of favorite bones. Extend the lesson with a classification activity using Excel to create a graph of the types of bones each student found. Share the graphs in class discussion comparing total numbers and kinds of bones found. Use the statistics from the classroom graphs to find the mean and median of the rodent and type of bone found the most. End the activity with a writing activity.
Evaluation:
Rubric, work sheet, and math problems
Helpful Website:
http://www.kidwings.com/owlpellets/index.htm
org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Science/Animals/ANM0045.html
- http://www.42explore.com/owls.htm
- http://www.glencoe.com/sec/science/cgi-bin/splitwindowlab.cgi?top=http://www.glencoe.com/sec/science/toplab.html&link=http://www.froguts.com
Click Owl Pellet Demo
*This is a cross
curricular activity.
Science, Social
Studies, Technology, Math, Writing, and Art