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Establishing Need for More Reliable Data and Information and Prior Knowledge of Tags

1. Begin by asking groups of students to discuss where they left off with their revision of 8.1.H3: My Shark Encounter Claim Chart in Lesson 8.3: Fisher Logs. Have a brief class discussion to reflect on the following (recalling fossil evidence and fisher logs):
   1. What do we understand about sharks?
   2. What do we not understand about sharks?
   3. What additional information is eventually needed to build a strong explanation to address the question (part of the anchoring phenomenon): Are there really more shark encounters now than in the past?
2. This discussion should yield students establishing need for more reliable data (relevant and sufficient) to be able to address the anchoring phenomenon (How else can we gather modern information on white sharks to explain the phenomenon that numerous reports suggest an increase in white shark encounters in the United States in recent years and the public is worried?). If not, probe students by asking targeted questions to elicit these ideas and remind students as to what the anchoring phenomenon is for struggling students as needed.
3. Ideally some students will suggest studying sharks in some way, like a census count from the shore (using a lifeguard tower), a boat, or a drone. Although scientists still use these methods, many today are relying on data from tags. If students don’t mention the ability to tag and track a shark, ask questions such as, “How do you think scientists monitor or count other animals?” and “If a lost dog was caught, how would we know who it’s owners were?” and “Think of animals that you might have heard about in the news that come into neighborhoods that are next to an undeveloped area, like mountain lions or bears. We sometimes hear those animals referred to with a name like ‘P-22’; how do they know it’s P-22? If P-22 has a tag, how did it get that?” This should yield discussions about microchips and tags. Shift the conversation back to sharks and ask, “Assuming scientists can tag a shark, what sorts of structures can scientists use to get a tag in a shark?”
4. Introduce the idea that a group of scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution have used a very high tech device to track white sharks; it is called the REMUS SharkCam. Queue up the video REMUS SharkCam: The Hunter and the Hunted and instruct students to record as many observations and questions as they can in their Science Notebook while watching the video, then play the video.
   1. Expected student responses include:
   Observations

   Questions

   • The tracker is being bitten or attacked.
   • A shark snuck up on it and bit the mid-end section.
   • The sharks are territorial.
   • REMUS has six cameras.
   • REMUS is made of tough material.
   • The tracker is following the shark.
   • The shark sees the tracker.
   • The shark is bothered by the tracker.

   • Why did the shark feel threatened by the tracker?
   • How is REMUS made?
   • Would the same thing happen if it was a human?
   • Why did the shark attack the tracker?
   • Is the shark attracted to REMUS?
   • How does the tracker know where the shark is?
5. Play the video again and make sure to emphasize that the goal of the REMUS was to film and track white sharks in their environment. Instruct students to keep this in mind while watching the video again and list any other observations or questions they have in their Science Notebook. Ask students to reference 8.1.H4: Crosscutting Concepts for Middle School Students and to add to their observations and questions as well as generate two statements or questions informed by the On-Target column for cause and effect.
   1. Expected student responses include:
   Cause and Effect Statements

   • I think the shark is bothered by REMUS because of REMUS’s movement. So when any object is moving in the water I predict sharks will bite it.
   • Another cause that might help explain the phenomenon is that sharks will bite anything.
   • I predict the tracker has a way to follow the shark because most animals we follow have tags or microchips.
   • REMUS swims in the water (is that a cause?) and there’s a pattern of sharks consistently attacking REMUS.
   • I’m not confident I have enough information to make a cause and effect statement. I would want to know more about how REMUS is working and how white sharks know REMUS is in the water.

Should the Public Be Worried? Gathering Information on White Shark Adaptations to Sense Their Environment and Locate Food

6. In Step 6 and Step 7, the class will reflect on observations, questions, and cause and effect statements and identify those that would help build understanding of the anchoring phenomenon: Numerous reports suggest an increase in white shark encounters in the United States in recent years and the public is worried.
   1. To begin, work with students to tease the phenomenon into its two distinct parts and discuss what is known vs. unknown. This is intended to help students with sensemaking of the phenomenon.
      1. Ask students to identify which observations or questions generated while watching the REMUS SharkCam video would relate to this part of the phenomenon. Using the example given above, they would likely identify some of the following:
      Observations
      Questions
      • The tracker is being bitten or attacked.
      • A shark snuck up on it and bit the mid-end section.
      • The sharks are territorial.
      • REMUS has six cameras.
      • REMUS is made of tough material.
      • The tracker is following the shark.
      • The shark sees the tracker.
      • The shark is bothered by the tracker.
      • Why did the shark feel threatened by the tracker?
      • How is REMUS made?
      • Would the same thing happen if it was a human?
      • Why did the shark attack the tracker?
      • Is the shark attracted to REMUS?
      • How does the tracker know where the shark is?
      
      
      Cause and Effect Statements
      • I think the shark is bothered by REMUS because of REMUS’s movement. So when any object is moving in the water I predict sharks will bite it.
      • Another cause that might help explain the phenomenon is that sharks will bite anything.
      • I predict the tracker has a way to follow the shark because most animals we follow have tags or microchips.
      • REMUS swims in the water (is that a cause?) and there’s a pattern of sharks consistently attacking REMUS.
      • I’m not confident I have enough information to make a cause and effect statement. I would want to know more about how REMUS is working and how white sharks know REMUS is in the water.
      2. Given these observations, questions, and statements–and what we know about sharks–are these fears substantiated? Our research so far has only given us very general information on sharks. Ask students: “What would we need to know in order to determine if our fears of being attacked by a white shark reflect what scientists know about sharks? What else might help answer these questions you have identified?” Have a brief conversation to solicit student ideas about what we would need to know (for example, what do sharks usually eat?; how would a shark know if a human was in the water?; are humans a part of the white shark diet?).
      3. Guide students to focus on two key aspects of white sharks that will address their questions and the fear portion of the phenomenon: senses and feeding behavior.
         1. To begin, ask students to have a brief group discussion about what they can remember about senses and what is meant by feeding behavior.
            1. Regarding senses, encourage students to think of humans or other animals they may be familiar with. What are some examples of senses? What is their purpose/why are they important?
            2. Regarding feeding behavior, it might be best to direct students to think of animals they are very familiar with (like dogs) as well as animals that don’t live with or interact with humans. (Consider predatory animals in their natural habitat that would be familiar to your students, such as mountain lions, hawks, orcas, etc.) How would you define feeding behavior? What is the purpose of the behavior? What are some key differences, and why is the feeding behavior of animals in their natural habitat so different from humans and animals that are dependent on humans?
   2. Point out that sharks are adapted to life in the water, humans are adapted to life on land (and offer an example of another animal that may have been discussed by students). Regardless, each has traits that support successful survival and reproduction in their respective environments. Ask students to recall what they know about successful survival and reproduction as well as adaptations and help clarify that understanding. Provide some examples of human adaptations to serve as a contrast. (These should be traits such as the presence of true hair, mammary glands that produce milk, opposable thumbs, broadened hip bones that allow for walking upright, etc.)

   TEACHER NOTE

   It’s not terribly important to the storyline to spend a lot of time on senses or feeding behavior at this point, especially since students in the next part will be formally recording their prior knowledge. The discussion here is simply meant to get ideas flowing to help with the next part. By the end of the lesson, students should come to the understanding that the dominant sense of sharks is different from that of humans as a result of selection acting out in the environment it lives in, and animals (that do not rely on humans) tend to be opportunistic feeders. This is all intended to help dispel some myths the public holds about white sharks.

   Should students want to do more research on the electroreceptors for sharks, this will help inform them for the next lesson and offer a way to encourage highly motivated students.

   3. Distribute 8.4.H1: Understanding White Sharks and instruct students to answer questions 1–3 on page 1, Senses, using only their prior knowledge.
   4. Work with the class to fill out the table, comparing human and white shark sensory adaptations. Instruct students to list adaptations in the order of most relied upon/used to least. It’s advisable to use humans as an example first; ask students to identify human senses and list them in order from most to least relied upon. Students might order human senses as vision (primary), hearing, touch, smell, and taste. When discussing sharks, students might say that sharks also rely on vision as their primary sensory adaptation simply because humans do. This is a great opportunity to clear up this misconception; remind students of the discussion they had about how animals who do not live with humans and who live in the water are adapted for living in a different environment. Do not lead further than this, as the research students will do later should clear up inaccurate preconceptions. Allow students to share their ideas on the order of shark senses. This order can be debatable for students; return to this AFTER they have done further research. The order of senses on which white sharks rely is (approximately) electroreception, touch/lateral line, smell, taste, vision, hearing.
   5. Instruct students to work, individually or in pairs, on an Internet enabled device to visit the websites suggested on the various pages of 8.4.H1: Understanding White Sharks and answer the remaining questions. Circulate the classroom and help students with their research; encourage motivated students to dive deeper into the websites if they’re curious about learning more about sharks. (Some of the websites have amazing videos that illustrate shark behavior, but also list the challenges of observing them without disturbing their natural behavior.) Provide additional text support and sentence frames for students struggling with language; allow students to co-construct responses to questions, and/or provide additional time.
   6. For each section of 8.4.H1: Understanding White Sharks where a new website is used, ask students to evaluate the website using the source check for the section (at the bottom of the page).
   7. Ask students to share individually with their group what they have learned and then ask each group to share a unique key finding with the class. Revisit student answers to the sensory comparison chart in 8.4.H1: Understanding White Sharks, Senses (page 8.4.16) and verify that students understand that the order in which white sharks rely on senses, circumstance dependent, is (approximately) electroreception (most relied on), touch/lateral line, smell, taste, vision, hearing (least relied on).
   8. Ask students to reflect on their responses and to think back to the “public worry” portion of the phenomenon. They should have a brief discussion about it and make notes in their Science Notebook. Given what they now know about white shark senses and feeding behavior, ask
      1. Would a white shark know a human is in its environment? What is your evidence for this?
      2. Consider what was shared regarding white shark feeding behavior; were there any patterns in the research/data that could establish a cause and effect relationship?
      3. If a white shark knows a human is in its environment, does it matter? Consider feeding behavior. What do white sharks, at different age classes, eat? What is your evidence for this?
      4. Thinking of a worried member of the public, what claim would you make to communicate to the public about white shark senses and feeding behavior? Is your evidence adequate for supporting this claim?

How Do Trackers Work to Ultimately Help Us Build Understanding about White Shark Population Size?

7. Ask students to revisit their observations and questions after watching the REMUS SharkCam video and identify those that would help build understanding of the first part of the phenomenon: is there an increase in the white shark population? How could a tracking device, such as REMUS, help us address this part of the phenomenon?
   1. Ask students to identify which observations, questions, or statements generated would relate to this part of the phenomenon. In the example given, they would likely identify the following:
      Observations

      Questions

      • The tracker is being bitten or attacked.
      • A shark snuck up on it and bit the mid-end section.
      • The sharks are territorial.
      • REMUS has six cameras.
      • REMUS is made of tough material.
      • The tracker is following the shark.
      • The shark sees the tracker.
      • The shark is bothered by the tracker.

      • Why did the shark feel threatened by the tracker?
      • How is REMUS made?
      • Would the same thing happen if it was a human?
      • Why did the shark attack the tracker?
      • Is the shark attracted to REMUS?
      • How does the tracker know where the shark is?
      
      
      Cause and Effect Statements

      • I think the shark is bothered by REMUS because of REMUS’s movement. So when any object is moving in the water I predict sharks will bite it.
      • Another cause that might help explain the phenomenon is that sharks will bite anything.
      • I predict the tracker has a way to follow the shark because most animals we follow have tags or microchips.
      • REMUS swims in the water (is that a cause?) and there’s a pattern of sharks consistently attacking REMUS.
      • I’m not confident I have enough information to make a cause and effect statement. I would want to know more about how REMUS is working and how white sharks know REMUS is in the water.
   2. Give students the opportunity to explore their questions around REMUS by researching at http://www.whoi.edu/osl/sharkcam and keeping track of information in their Science Notebook. Once again, circulate the classroom and help students with their research. Encourage motivated students to dive deeper into the website if they’re curious about learning more about REMUS. Provide additional text support and sentence frames for students struggling with language; allow students to co-construct responses to questions, and/or provide additional time. Following the research phase, ask each group in the class to target a different key question, observation, or statement, and share what they learned. Offer a way for the groups to share key findings for the class.

      An example of a key finding is:
      
      Cause and Effect Statement: I predict the tracker has a way to follow the shark because most animals we follow have tags or microchips.
      
      Trackers are able to follow tagged sharks. Our research showed that there is a transponder tag attached to a shark and the vehicle (REMUS) is programmed to communicate with that tag. There is an Omni-directional Ultra Short Base Line (OUSBL) that uses sound waves to communicate with the transponder.

   3. At some point, connect this research to the work done earlier on senses by asking students to work in groups and think back to their white shark research. Ask, “Which part(s) of REMUS do you think stimulated the white shark’s senses and resulted in an attack on REMUS?” Share and discuss with the whole class.

      Expected student response:
      
      The Smithsonian Ocean Portal website makes me think that the white shark sensed both the GPS navigation and communication systems using electroreception, and that resulted in an attack on REMUS.

   4. Ask students to identify any remaining questions they have in their Science Notebook and inform them that these will be explored in the coming days.

      Expected student responses:
      
      How does REMUS use sound waves to communicate with the transponder?
      
      Does the shark use its electro-reception to sense the navigation and communication systems of REMUS?
      
      What senses is the shark using to home in on REMUS?

Revisiting Claims Chart

8. As groups finish, ask them to revisit 8.1.H3: My Shark Encounter Claim Chart from Lessons 8.1–8.3 and add any new information that could be used to support any of the claims and subsequent evidence and reasoning.