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Notes for Teachers

This lesson is a real-life example about the consequences of climate change and global warming.

It has been assumed that cacti should be able to adapt to high temperatures, but recent Phoenix temperatures have dispelled these assumptions.

Students can view the damage on the saguaros throughout their neighborhood as the tall cacti are collapsing near the roots.

List of Materials

Chromebooks for research
Science notebooks for research notes and vocabulary
Screen for presentations
Cell phone cameras for photos of collapsed cacti
Large white poster paper for anchor charts for presentations

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Standards 8th Grade

Science: 8.E1U3.8 Construct and support an argument about how human consumption of limited resources impacts the biosphere. ● Human activities have significantly altered the biosphere, sometimes damaging or destroying natural habitats and causing extinction of many other species. But changes to Earth’s environment can have different impacts (negative and positive) for different living things.

Arizona Educational Technology Standards:

Standard 6. Creative Communicator - Students communicate clearly and express themselves creatively for a variety of purposes using the platforms, tools, styles, formats and digital media appropriate to their goals.

Standards 7th Grade

7.L1U1.11 Construct an explanation for how organisms maintain internal stability and evaluate the effect of the external factors on organisms’ internal stability. ● Organisms respond to stimuli from their environment and actively maintain their internal environment.

Language Arts:

8.W.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.

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Objectives:

Students will investigate the factors contributing to the decline of Saguaro cacti in Phoenix, Arizona.

They will analyze the environmental challenges saguaro face due to persistent warmer temperatures.

Students will also propose potential solutions to help conserve these desert plants.

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Agenda: Days 1-2 Days 3-4

Start with the basic ecological information about the saguaro.

Students will research this in teams of four and create anchor charts highlighting the quick facts.

Include a drawing or drawings of saguaros showing arms and possibly flowers.

Students will now research why saguaros are dying in the Phoenix area.

Create a graph showing the increase in temperatures in Phoenix over the last ten years.

Explain the vocabulary concepts of:

climate change
heat island
drought/precipitation

Days 5-6

Group presentations

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Intro/Driving Question/Opening

Why are our saguaros dying and can anything be done to save them?

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Hands-on Activity Instructions

Assigned groups
Step-by-step instructions for anchor charts will be posted on screen.
Instruct each group to research the current state of Saguaro cacti in Phoenix, focusing on factors that may be contributing to their decline.
Students should include visuals, charts, or graphs to enhance their presentations.
Each group should include at least one news story in their presentation about the problem.
Include at least two photos in your presentation.

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Assessment

Students can be graded for their group’s presentation.

Students can also be asked to write about the question “Can our saguaros survive climate change?,” and include evidence using the Claim- Evidence- Reasoning format.

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Differentiation

Special Education students and English Language Learners are partnered with other students in 4 person groups.

Students divide up assigned tasks based on gifts and abilities. (They do this naturally on their own. I rarely have to intervene.)

Remediation

Extension/Enrichment

Students could create a report on why saguaros in Tucson are not dying as frequently as Phoenix saguaros to gather more data and information on the two different ecosystems.

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