1. Wonders of the Water: Thematic Learning with the Mississippi River Heath E. Capello University of Mississippi January 27, 2006

2. So you have Questions…  What’s the big idea?  How can thematic learning help me?  How do I apply this information?

3. The Idea

4. Why Study the Mississippi River?  Its Pervasiveness

5. The Father of Waters http://www.epa.gov/msbasin/culture.htm

6. The Father of Waters  River Length: 3,705 km (2,302 mi)  Basin Area: 3.2 million km 2 (1.2 million mi 2 ) or 41% of the conterminous United States  Population along the Mississippi Corridor: 12 million people live in the 125 counties parishes.  Amount of water discharged to the Gulf: 612,000 ft 3 /s (4.6 million gal/s) (EPA 2003)

7. Why Study the Mississippi River?  Its Pervasiveness  Its Location

8. Location, Location, Location  Mississippi  Opportunity to have students learn more about something that is a part of their state and history  Environmental stewardship and watershed awareness

9. Why Study the Mississippi River?  Its Pervasiveness  Its Location  The Environment

10. A watershed in trouble  Watershed – the entire surface drainage area that contributes water to a river or lake.  Tributary – a body of water that contributes materials to a larger body

11. A watershed in trouble

12.  Hypoxia  Wetland loss  Water quality  Navigation and channelization

13. The Theme

14. Why use Thematic Learning?  Wiggins and McTighe (1998) –Is it worth being familiar with? –Is it important to know and do? –Does it create “enduring” understanding?  Tomkins –Integrate across curricular areas to explore and explain the answer to questions

15. Why use Thematic Learning?  Provides students with a familiar base  Adds comfort to challenging material  Integrates core subjects  Allows students to draw connections between related materials  Opens eyes to the big picture  Acts as a foundation for critical thinking and inquiry based learning

16. The Application

17. Brainstorming 1. 1.Problem statement 2. 2.Think Time 3. 3.Brainstorming 4. 4.Think Time 5. 5.Reflection 6. 6. Conclusion Use role assignments to divide labor and reduce chaos.

18. Today’s Two Activities  What’s in your Watershed?  Fun with Phytoplankton

19. What’s in your Watershed?  Science  Geography  Stewardship

20. Fun with Phytoplankton  Biology  Mathematics  Physics

21. Extensions: Gulf Hypoxia / http://www.smm.org/deadzone/causes/ http://www.epa.gov/msbasin/taskforce/hypoxia.htm

22. Extensions: Aquatic Food Web http://www.mindfully.org/Food/Food-Web.gif

23. Extensions: Technology  Have students create a PowerPoint that answers some of the following questions: –What are some of the most important environmental concerns about the river? –What are some of the literature, music, and art that has been inspired by the river? –What historical events have occurred along the river?

24. Useful Websites  General Biology: http://www.kensbiorefs.com/index.ht ml  Mississippi River and Hypoxia: –http://www.epa.gov/msbasin/ –http://www.smm.org/deadzone/top.html  Science and Math Projects: –http://smartweed.olemiss.edu/nmgk8/

25. Sources and Acknowledgements  The Environmental Protection Agency. 2005 July 28. Mississippi River Basin & Gulf of Mexico hypoxia Culture/History. Accessed 2006 January 19..  National Research Council. 1992. Restoration of Aquatic Ecosystems. Washington D.C.: National Academy Press.  Michelsen, Merridee. 2004. Personal communication.  Wiggins, G. and J. McTighe. 1998. Understanding by Design. Alexandria, VA:Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.  Smith, Jennifer. 2004. Personal communication.

26. What questions do you have? hecapell@olemiss.edu