The Arizona STEM Acceleration Project

Survival on Zorg

Interstellar Emergency: Survival on ZORG

A 9-12 grade STEAM lesson

Adam Hardy

June 16th, 2023

Notes for teachers

This lesson is taught over 2 days but can be lengthened depending on your students needs.

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This lesson is highly imaginative, so feel free to change the conditions as desired.

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There is a drawing/painting component to this lesson that can be emphasized for an art class.

List of Materials

• Paper
• Watercolors, colored pencils
• tips on writing field notes:�https://www.usu.edu/herbarium/education/learning-about-plants/field-notes

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Other Dimensions

Science and Engineering Practices

• ask questions and define problems
• plan and carry out investigations
• construct explanations and design solutions
• engage in argument from evidence
• obtain, evaluate and communicate information

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Art Practices

• Generate and conceptualize artistic work.
• Organize and develop artistic ideas and work.
• Refine and complete artistic work.

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Science Standards

Plus HS+B.L4U1.2 Engage in argument from evidence that changes in environmental conditions or human interventions may change species diversity in an ecosystem.

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Core Ideas

L2: Organisms require a supply of energy and materials for which they often depend on, or compete with, other organisms.

E2: The Earth and our solar system are a very small part of one of many galaxies within the Universe.

Objectives:

Learn about field notes and what information biologists record

Practice problem-solving in teams

Practice imaginative drawing

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Agenda (lesson time)

Day 1:

Introduction and driving questions (10 minutes)

How to write a field note (10 minutes)

Brainstorm activity and sketching (15 minutes)

Write field notes (25 minutes)

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Day 2:

Assign groups and distribute field notes (5 minutes)

Introduce the Five Survival Principles (10 minutes)

Group survival plan (30 minutes)

Share out (15 minutes)

Intro/Driving Question/Opening

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It is the year 2124. You are all part of a research expedition exploring habitable planets in our galaxy. Your instruments are damaged in a solar storm and your ship crash lands on an unexplored planet, ZORG! Zorg is a desert planet with extreme temperatures, difficult access to water, and violent electromagnetic storms. Despite this, Zorg is home to many carbon-based organisms which are adapted to survive. Your job is to catalog these lifeforms and find a way to use them to keep your team alive on Zorg.

Questions to consider:

How do organisms in Arizona thrive in the desert?�What adaptations might help organisms thrive on Zorg?�How might those adaptations be useful to humans?

FIELD NOTE EXAMPLES

FIELD NOTE EXAMPLES

4 Essentials for a Field Note

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1. Note writer’s name and the date of observation
2. Description of Specimen (including colored drawing)
1. size
2. senses (color, texture, taste, smell, sound, etc)
3. Description of Location
• directions on how to get to where you collected your sample (coordinates, landmarks, etc)
4. Description of Habitat
• physical habitat - the type of soil, rocks, slope, elevation, aspect, moisture/water
• biological habitat - what else is living nearby

Hands-on Activity Instructions

DAY 1

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• Brainstorm activity-
• Invite students to picture Zorg and what they might see there. The following are some questions for discussion and exploration. Expand on these as desired:
• What are some characteristics of unique plants and animals on Earth?
• What conditions exist on Zorg and how might organisms evolve in response?
• Is your organism dangerous, edible, medicinal, useful? How does it interact with its surroundings?
• Invite students to sketch 3 ideas with brief descriptions (2 minutes each).
• Share with peers and choose 1 idea to develop.

Field Note-

• Students draw their alien organism and write a field note using information from the examples above.

Hands-on Activity Instructions

DAY 2

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• Divide students into groups of 4
• Shuffle field notes submitted prior and distribute at least 4 to each group (if teaching multiple classes, you may combine all field notes across classes to provide more variety)
• Students read field notes and work together to make a plan for how they might survive with the organisms described in the note. If organisms pose threats, it will be important for students to include protections from such organisms in their survival plan. The survival plan must address five principle needs of survival.

5 Principle Needs for Survival:

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1-Shelter: protection from the elements (weather, dangerous organisms, etc)

2- Water: consistent and reliable source of clean water (or with methods to clean the water)

3- Fire: Use for cooking, protection, tool-making, warmth

4- Food: reliable source of good nutrition

5- Medicine: clean and dress wounds, remedies for illness or exposure to toxins

Assessment

Items completed:

• A complete field journal entry for an alien organism found on Zorg. Must include 4 essentials for field notes
• A team survival plan that finds a use for each organism within the group. Must address five principles of survival (Shelter, water, fire, food, medicine)

Differentiation

Provide a field note template for students to fill out as a worksheet.

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Provide a survival guide template for students to fill out.

Remediation

Extension/Enrichment

Scramble the notes and explore how survival methods might look different with different sets of organisms.

Explore interactions between organisms and design an ecological system for Zorg.