discussion

Post ID: 3496647

NOTE: This post is slightly different than previous posts, and you must read the instructions in order to know what to do.

Purpose

The purpose of the discussion post is to provide an opportunity for you to research scientific topics, learn to communicate complex topics to others, and connect what you are learning in class to events in real life. We have been studying animal diversity and their evolutionary history in this unit. In the post, you will explore the World Wildlife organization website and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) website and report on an endangered species.

This topic supports the Module Outcome:

MO3.3 Recognize adaptations associated with the nine major phyla in the animal kingdom (CO3)
MO3.4 Use an organism's characteristics to classify it into one of the nine major phyla of the animal kingdom (CO3)

Skills

Compose summary statements regarding the article you read and in replying to your classmate's topics
Paraphrase information: Your post should be in your own words as you must paraphrase information from website gained during the research component of the activity.

Knowledge

Learning about your chosen topic
Expanding your knowledge by reading and posting to your classmate's topics

Task

Post

In this unit, we are studying animal diversity and their evolutionary history. .

For the post, you will explore the World Wildlife organization website and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) website to identify an endangered animal species. At the IUCN website, you may use the search function to narrow your choices down to a specific group. For example, if you type in Hagfish, it will pull up all of the known hagfish and then you can choose one based on criteria below.
Once you have chosen your endangered species, you should research the species and report the following information in your post as a 5-4-3-2-1 analysis. Instead of a 3-2-1, it requires a few extra steps.
1. 1. You will provide the common name, scientific name (genus and species), animal phyla it belongs to, and its endangered status. This may be either Vulnerable (VU), Endangered (EN), or Critically Endangered (CR), but identify which applies to your species. Identify what is the cause of it being on the list-for example, is it hunted? habitat destruction? This information will be used for the 5 part of the analysis.
    1. The five items to list
      1. The common name is....
      2. The scientific name is....
      3. It belongs to the animal phyla....
      4. It is (choose Vulnerable (VU), Endangered (EN), or Critically Endangered (CR)) based on your research.
      5. It is endangered due to....
  2. Connect the species to the animal diversity information we've been studying in class. This information will be used for the 4 part of the analysis.
    1. List the animal features they exhibit: Are they part of eumetazoa or parazoa? bilateria or radiata? deuterostome or protostome? ecdysozoa or lophotrochozoa or neither?
    2. What features do they have- segmentation, exoskeleton, feathers, wings, jointed appendages, long cylindrical bodies (tubes like a worm)
    3. If they are a chordate, identify which of the adaptations it exhibits: cranium, vertebrae, jaws, lung precursors or lungs, cartilage or bony skeleton, limbs, amnion, hair, mammary glands
      1. The four items to list that connect to our Chapter 21 material:
        The four animal features associated with this species are.... (you must use the list of terms above for this section)
  3. The 3-2-1 analysis used in previous posts.
    1. Identify the three things you learned about your species and why they are of value to you.
    2. Identify things that surprised you about the species and why
    3. Identify one question you still have about the species
    4. Your post should be formatted as follows:
      1. I learned that......and it is of value to me because.....
      2. I learned that......and it is of value to me because.....
      3. I learned that......and it is of value to me because.....
      4. I was surprised that....because...
      5. I was surprised that...because...
      6. One question I have is....

After reading and studying the website and your textbook, post in the Discussion area. You will do this by using the "Start a New Thread" button.
Your post should be at least five paragraphs or sections in length with each paragraphs or sections addressing one of the five prompts listed below. Each paragraph should be at least four sentences.
1. Paragraph one: List five items identifying what species you investigated.
2. Paragraph two: List four features and tie it to our course material in Chapter 21
3. Paragraph three:Identify the three things you learned about your species and why they are of value to you.
4. Paragraph four: Identify things that surprised you about the species and why
5. Paragraph five: Identify one question you still have about the species

Reply

Read your classmate's post and reply.
Use the "Reply to Thread" button when you have chosen the discussion post you wish to comment on.
In your response to a classmate's post, you should provide positive feedback about the topic. Your reply should be at least two sentences. See Criteria for Success.

Criteria for Success

You will report to the class in your discussion post about an endangered animal species with the three prompts listed below. The discussion post is worth 20 points and is part of your Discussion grade in the course. The response to the prompts and fulfilling the expected writing requirements for the prompts is 15 points, while your response to a classmate's post and meeting expected writing requirements is worth 5 points.

Important Note: You are expected to paraphrase information you gathered during the research component of this activity and submit the work in your own words. If it is determined that information in the post was submitted by copy and paste from resources or the product of someone other than yourself, then paperwork related to academic dishonesty will be submitted to the Vice President of Academic Affairs and a grade of zero (0) for the assignment or F for the course will be given.

In your post, you should address five items, each item should be covered in a separate paragraph and each paragraph should have at a minimum three sentences. Expectation: five sections each with a minimum of three sentences.
1. Five prompts (3 points each prompt)
  1. Your post should be at least five paragraphs or sections in length with each paragraphs or sections addressing one of the five prompts listed below. Each paragraph should be at least three sentences. See detailed description under Task section above.
    1. Paragraph one: List five items identifying what species you investigated.
    2. Paragraph two: List four features and tie it to our course material in Chapter 21
    3. Paragraph three: Identify the three things you learned about your species and why they are of value to you.
    4. Paragraph four: Identify things that surprised you about the species and why
    5. Paragraph five: Identify one question you still have about the species
In your response to a classmate's post, you should provide positive feedback about the topic and raise a question you have about the species. Your response should be a minimum of two complete sentences based on expectations listed below.
1. Response requirements (5 points)
  1. In at least two sentences you should provide positive feedback about their post. Examples of how this can be accomplished: This can be in the form of expressing your interest in the species, connecting it to the species you researched, and/or connecting the species to any previous knowledge you had about it. You may also raise a question you have about the species they reported on.
  2. Credit for the response will not be given for simply stating "Interesting animal", "I agree", "Nice post", "No, I don' t agree" or similar statements.