Authentic Performance Activities facilitate a student’s understanding of a lesson’s usefulness in real life. They are also an Understanding by Design (UbD) assessment tool. Focus questions act as pre- and post-assessment indicators of the activity’s effectiveness.
Focus Questions:1. Why do we learn about the classification of animals?2. Does knowing which animals are grouped together help you understand those animals a little better?3. How can knowing the classification of animals help the environment, society, tourism, our ability to get a job?4. Is there a connection between this “job” and preserving biodiversity of species?
Authentic Performance
You are a conservation officer hired to make sure snorkelers do not take and sell endangered coral reef animals. When you catch a potential poacher with their illegal catch, you have to classify it for your report. Look at the following coral reef creatures. Using the classification chart below, identify each animal by its Class and Phylum.
As a follow up activity, make a poster warning against collection and identifying coral reef species that might be found while snorkeling. Use the Animals by Classification Index to identify species for your poster.
