Stop! At this point we ask that your students take the formative assessment probe before facilitation of this element. The formative assessment probe is located on the hidden RSD website for teachers.

Awesome Amphibians! What’s the Problem?

Ready, Set, Discover – Program Elements Series of Events Ready, Set, Discover – Program Elements Meet the Problem (at the school) Wild Wise Program and Zoo Exploration (at Woodland Park Zoo) 3. Wild Wise Outdoor Exploration (at a local park) Sharing Solutions (at the school) Visiting WPZ with family and friends Over the next five months we are going to be working with the Woodland Park Zoo to research amphibian health and conservation in this region. This list represents the steps that you will go through in order to gain the information needed to solve the problem at hand, but more on that in just a second.

Why are we working with Woodland Park Zoo? What does WPZ have to do with amphibians? Local projects Global projects Species survival plan Connecting the community to conservation efforts Why is the zoo asking your classroom for help? Great question. WPZ provided these materials to introduce you to a problem they need your help solving. Washington is having a hard time finding ways to keep amphibians, such as frogs, healthy in our region. You are about to receive more information on this issue, but I wanted to give you an overview as to why WPZ helps amphibian populations. Zoo’s play many roles. You are probably familiar with the typical zoo experience of going and seeing animals from all around the world with your family or friends, but do you know zoos do a lot more then keep animals? They breed animals to keep their populations up and prevent them from going extinct. They also work with organizations all around the world to help protect the habitats (explain habitats if they have not covered them in school) that animals at the zoo came from. From Tigers in Malaysia to snow leopard habitat in Mongolia WPZ helps its international partners preserve both habitat for and populations of threatened species.

Introduction to the Problem While you read the letter from Woodland Park Zoo please pay special attention to the following: What is the problem? How do you know this is a problem? Who is responsible for solving this problem? What is your job? You are about to recieve some important information... Today we are going to start an exciting learning adventure that will help us understand amphibians, like frogs and salamanders, and the habitats they live in. This adventure will take us to Woodland Park Zoo and allow us to talk with community leaders about what we find. We will start off with reading a letter that the zoo wrote specially to ask for your help. While reading, pay special attention to the questions asked on this slide.

Meet the Problem Letter Dear Kent School District students, Washington's wetlands are quickly disappearing, and with them our native amphibians, such as frogs and toads.  According to the Department of Ecology in Washington state, wetlands cover approximately 938,000 acres in Washington State, or about 2 percent of the state's total land. Since the 1780s, Washington State has lost 31% of its wetland areas, from 1.35 million acres to 938,000 acres. Wetlands are critical to our native amphibians and the overall health of our watersheds. Once common and widespread in the wetlands of the Puget Sound area, Oregon spotted frogs are now endangered in Washington state and were recently listed as endangered under the Federal Endangered Species Act. Woodland Park Zoo’s Amphibian Conservation Citizen Science projects aims to help identify where populations of amphibians live in Washington state in an effort to further understand their numbers and needs. Woodland Park Zoo believes that the powerful combination of local action and federal protection will build a better future not only for this amphibian, but for many other wetland species. On a global scale, more than 1,900 species of frogs, toads and salamanders — fully 30 percent of the world’s amphibians — are at risk of becoming extinct. In order to save the world’s amphibians, we need to quickly learn more about their needs. The future of amphibians isn't just in the hands of scientists and government officials; you can play an important role in saving this important group of animals.   Woodland Park Zoo is asking you to learn more about our native amphibians and design a model or real life example of an ideal amphibian habitat. We also hope to hear your recommendations on how we, as a region, can take action to help native amphibian species thrive. In order to accomplish this you will need to understand many ethical and environmental issues related to amphibian and human interactions in our community. Sincerely, Woodland Park Zoo

What do you Already Know? What do you know about this issue? Species: Location: Problem: Our role: Knowledge you already had: Now that you have read the letter, let’s make a list of what we know and what we need to know or find out. Starting with what we know, can anyone help me fill in these first four questions? Now that we have identified some of the basic elements of the problem, let’s make a list of other information we gained through the letter or knew prior to watching the video.

What do you need to learn in order to solve this problem? What do you Need to Know? What do you need to learn in order to solve this problem? 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Now that we have made a list of things that we know about this issue, let’s make a list of things that we still need to find out.

While watching the video pay attention to the following: Meet the Problem Video While watching the video pay attention to the following: What is the problem? What evidence do you have? Why should you care? What is your job? Great work! We have begun the process of identifying what we know and need to know. Woodland Park Zoo has also prepared a video for us. While we watch this video we need to pay special attention to the following (see slide).

What do you know now? What do you know? Do you need to expand on any of these topics? Species: Location: Problem: Our role: What further information did you gain? Now that we have gained more insight on the problem we have been asked to solve, let’s revisit our Knows and Need to Knows. Have we gained any further insight into the first four questions? If so, fill them in now. What other information did you gain while watching the video?

What further information do you need to solve this problem? What do you Need to Know? What further information do you need to solve this problem? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Let’s review the things we still need to learn about. Have we answered any of our previous Need to Knows? Can we add any new things we should learn about?

Discussion After reading through the letter and reviewing the video you have compiled a great list of things you already know and things you need to research. Your teacher will continue to guide you through the next steps of solving this problem. We look forward to working with you on this problem and meeting you at Woodland Park Zoo! That concludes your research for the day. You will now create your “problem statement” and plan out your methods for gathering the information you need. After that, you will present to your peers what you have found thus far. You will also create questions to ask the zoo when you visit. The staff at the zoo is very knowledgeable and are a great resource for you during your research. Thank you for helping Woodland Park Zoo solve this tough problem!

Woodland Park Zoo saves animals and their habitats through conservation leadership and engaging experiences, inspiring people to learn, care and act.

www.zoo.org