The document provides information on revisions to science curriculum for 6th graders and high school juniors. For 6th graders, it suggests designing a mock science fair project on prairie dogs to teach the scientific method. It provides an example board layout covering the question, hypothesis, materials, procedures, and conclusions. For juniors, it proposes a textbook insert summarizing a prairie dog study covering its historic range reduction and objectives to assess status, town trends over time, and protection. The insert describes survey methods and findings that plague and lack of protection were main causes for population declines.

1. To: Dr. Eaton
From: Kate Ortopan
Subject: Revision Cover Memo for Sixth Graders and High School Juniors
Date: November 16, 2015
Sixth Grade: Scientific Method and Science Fair Project
Sixth graders language skills are still very basic; according to these writing score samples,
“writing is clear, focused, and with variation in sentence structure; the student should have
control over standard writing convention.” (Official Writing Scoring Guide, 2015) Sentences for
sixth graders still contain basic vocabulary with a maximum of ten to twelve words depending on
the complexity of the sentence. For example, “For thousands of years, people known as the Inuit
have lived in Artic regions.” (Daniel, 2005) This sentence explains a fact about the Inuit people
as simple as possible. Instead of a long definition the word is described with a multitude of facts
to make the word associable with other simplified meanings. The sentence is also clear and easy
to understand with mild variation from the simplistic sentence structure. A few online grammar
worksheets and quizzes are developing the sixth graders abilities to create compound and
complex sentence structure. For example, the website Sixth Grade English with Mr. T, is
designed for sixth graders to identify the complexity of the sentence from these types of
sentences, “simple, compound, complex, independent, dependent.” (Twarek, 2012)
In order for the sixth graders to get the most out of the Prairie Dog study I would suggest the
scientist design a mock science fair project. The sixth graders will be learning around this time
about the scientific method and how to apply it to a science fair project. CPO Focus on Earth
Science, is a sixth grade science textbook that discusses a simplified version of the scientific
method with steps to follow. Bellow I will give an example of how the project would be
designed for the mock science fair project and display board.
Science Fair Project: Board and Display
Panel 1
Question
What is the cause of the decrease in the prairie dog town population?
Hypothesis
Environmental pollution has reduced the current range of the native grassland species, the prairie
dog, and the living community it is related to.
Background Research
The population of the prairie dog towns has reduced quickly. This study will calculate the status
of the prairie dog in this region and identify developments in town coverage and town size over
the past century. To test whether town determination was associated with the area and separation

2. of prairie dog towns. To calculate the protection of the prairie dog towns by comparing locations
of existing towns to those of protected public lands.
Panel 2
Title: The Dynamic Biogeography of the Black-Tailed Prairie Dog
Materials
Maps of Beaver, Texas, and Cimarron counties
Binoculars
Spotting Scope
Measuring Wheel
Calculator
Notebook
Procedure
We got up and packed all of our materials into a backpack and got into our trucks. We used our
maps to find each Prairie Dog town in each of the counties that have signs of a prairie dog
population. Once we reached the Prairie Dog town we calculated the size of each town,
population, and geography surrounding the area and collected the data in our notebooks. We
repeated this procedure for every town we found on the map.
Research Collected
Areas of each Town

3. Strength of Surviving Towns
Panel 3
Conclusion
There were many factors that caused the decrease in the Prairie dog population. We discovered
that in the 18th
and 19th
century that prairie dog populations actually came from the west and
migrated east to the Oklahoma region. The prairie dogs were able to survive better when each
town was isolated from each other. This helped stop the spread of any outbreaks of plague. Only
one county, Cully County, had any record of plague for the prairie dog populations. We also
discovered that the larger the area of the prairie dog towns the larger the prairie dog population.
The prairie dog population form 1989 to 1998 has decreased from 34.3 in area to 10.3 in area.
The main cause of this was not due to lack of isolation or smaller towns but westward human
expansion and advances in agriculture.
Future of the Prairie Dog
The prairie dog populations are decreasing quickly and without help the prairie dog will
eventually become extinct. One way we can help the population is to start protecting the prairie
dog towns. A few number of the towns are being protected currently. If we can come up with

4. conservation and recovery approaches we can help to maintain and reestablish the prairie dog
population. By doing this we can not only save the prairie dogs but we can help protect other
populations of species.
Juniors in High School: Textbook Insert
By this point the juniors will be briefly developing grammar and their lessons will be more
literature based. In this lesson plan, provided by Discovery Education and developed by Ken
Zelasko, the student are learning how to interpret the author’s writing. For example, this lesson
plan was over the Great Gatsby and the main objective was, “Adapting part of a novel into a
dramatic reading makes students more intimate with the author's intentions and craft and part of
a novel may lend itself to various oral interpretations.” (Zelasko, 2015) The juniors will be able
to write and understand longer complex sentences. The sentences will be compound-complex
with a minimum of ten words per sentence. For new vocabulary it will be introduced with a
definition and then further explained in the chapter along with other added new vocabulary. For
example, “A model is any simplification, substitute or stand-in for what you are actually
studying or trying to predict. Models are used because they are convenient substitutes, the way
that a recipe is a convenient aid in cooking.” (Pease et al., 2000) This is an excerpt from a junior
level textbook; the first sentence gives the vocabulary word and a thorough definition. The
second sentence gives an example of the word being described.
I think that the best way to reach juniors with this prairie dog study would be to have a brief
insert of the study in a science text book. In the insert I will discuss briefly the main ideas and
point of the study. From the study I can discusses the key words and condense the study down to
the appropriate level that the juniors will be able to grasp. Below will be an example of an
appropriate junior science level insert.
Insert for Textbook
In a study from 1998, scientists studied the geographical biology of the black-tailed prairie dog, a
burrowing rodent of the squirrel family chiefly of central and western United States plain.
(Merriam-Webster, 2015) Human influence and activities had reduced the current range of this
native grassland species and its associated biotic community to less than 5% of its historic range.
These scientists observed the black-tailed prairie dog’s biogeography range, which is a study of
science that deals with geographical distribution of animals and plants, (Merriam-Webster, 2015)
with three primary objectives. To assess the status of the species in this region and identify
trends in town size and area over the past century, to test whether town persistence was
associated with area and isolation of towns, and to assess the protection status of towns by
comparing locations of extant towns to those of protected public lands.
During summers (mid-May through August) of 1996–1998, these scientists conducted road
surveys for prairie dog towns within the historic range of this species in Oklahoma. In the
panhandle of the state, this included comprehensive surveys along the mile-square grid system of
roads that covers nearly all of that 3-county area (Beaver, Texas, and Cimarron counties). In the
main part of the state, they surveyed roads from all sites across 32 counties where prairie dog
towns had been mapped during surveys conducted in 1988–1989 (J. S. Shackford et al., in litt.).

5. 1988–1989 (J. S. Shackford et al., in litt.). Road surveys were conducted with the observer
driving along roads at about 35 miles per hour until encountering a prairie dog town, a site with a
previously mapped town, or an otherwise appropriate habitat (i.e., a relatively flat area with little
woody vegetation). The observer then stopped the vehicle and used binoculars or a spotting
scope to view the site. If a town was detected, the observer recorded its location and approximate
shape, noted if it was active, and estimated its maximum length and width with a measuring
wheel or odometer, which are both instruments used for measuring the distance travelled by
vehicles.
Black tailed prairie dogs not being isolated from other prairie dog towns and plague amongst this
species were a partial cause of the decline in population. However, there was only one recorded
account of plague in Cully County and a majority of the larger prairie dog towns tend to be
isolated already. The main reason for the decline in population is the lack of protection of the
already existing prairie dog towns. The more isolated and unprotected these towns become over
time the less likely the prairie dogs will be able to survive. The association of many species
along with prairie dog towns are in serious need for development of conservation and recovery
strategies to maintain and reestablish not just growing populations of prairie dogs, but possible
communities of associated species. Few existing towns are protected within the Oklahoma and
Great Plains regions. These areas may hold great promise for conservation and recovery of this
native grassland ecosystem and species.

6. Works Cited
Daniel, L. (2005). Indiana science. New York: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill.
Hughes, M., Sammons, J., Eldridge, P., & Murray, D. (2007). CPO focus on earth science (1st
ed.). Nashua, New Hampshire: CPO Science.
Lomolino, M., & Smith, G. (n.d.). Dynamic Biogeography of Prairie Dog (Cynomys
Ludovicianus) Towns Near The Edge Of Their Range. Journal of Mammalogy, 937-945.
Pease, C., & Bull, J. (2000). Models are the Building Blocks of Science. Retrieved November
21, 2015, from http://www.utexas.edu/courses/bio301d/Topics/Models/Text.html
Science Fair Project Display Boards. (2015). Retrieved November 17, 2015, from
http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_display_board.shtml
Twarek, B. (2012, December 20). 6th Grade English with Mr. T. Retrieved November 20, 2015,
from http://mrtwarek.blogspot.com/2012/12/identifying-sentence-structures.html
Writing Scored Work Samples - Grade 6 - Oregon Department of Education. (2015). Retrieved
November 17, 2015, from http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?id=530
Zelasko, K. (2015). Lesson Plan Library. Retrieved November 21, 2015, from
http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-plans/the-great-gatsby.cfm#cre
(2015). Retrieved November 21, 2015, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/

7. Works Cited
Daniel, L. (2005). Indiana science. New York: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill.
Hughes, M., Sammons, J., Eldridge, P., & Murray, D. (2007). CPO focus on earth science (1st
ed.). Nashua, New Hampshire: CPO Science.
Lomolino, M., & Smith, G. (n.d.). Dynamic Biogeography of Prairie Dog (Cynomys
Ludovicianus) Towns Near The Edge Of Their Range. Journal of Mammalogy, 937-945.
Pease, C., & Bull, J. (2000). Models are the Building Blocks of Science. Retrieved November
21, 2015, from http://www.utexas.edu/courses/bio301d/Topics/Models/Text.html
Science Fair Project Display Boards. (2015). Retrieved November 17, 2015, from
http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_display_board.shtml
Twarek, B. (2012, December 20). 6th Grade English with Mr. T. Retrieved November 20, 2015,
from http://mrtwarek.blogspot.com/2012/12/identifying-sentence-structures.html
Writing Scored Work Samples - Grade 6 - Oregon Department of Education. (2015). Retrieved
November 17, 2015, from http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?id=530
Zelasko, K. (2015). Lesson Plan Library. Retrieved November 21, 2015, from
http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-plans/the-great-gatsby.cfm#cre
(2015). Retrieved November 21, 2015, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/