A Teaching Enquiry with Mysteries Incorporated lesson plan to introduce Gradual Release of Responsibility and Enquiry Science Teaching

1. 1
Mammoths
Teaching Enquiry with Mysteries Incorporated

2. 2
Why did
mammoths
become
extinct?
Engage Explore Explain Extend Evaluate

3. 3
Could any of these have caused
the extinction of mammoths?
 more predators
 not enough food
 change in climate
 increase in numbers of humans
Engage Explore Explain Extend Evaluate

4. 4
Working Scientifically Big Idea
4
In this activity you will:
Use evidence to support or refute explanations
for why mammoths became extinct
Critique arguments
Evolution
Explain how a change in the
environment can leave a species
less well adapted which may lead
to extinction
Secret objective!
Click to reveal the science behind the mystery

5. 5
explanation 1
Climate change
explanation 2
Human hunters
There are two explanations
which can explain how
mammoths became extinct.
or
We can use evidence
to decide which is more
probable.
Engage Explore Explain Extend Evaluate

6. 6
Why did mammoths become extinct?
Which explanation
fits best?
Explanation 1
Climate Change
Explanation 2
Human Hunters
Evidence
Use the lifeline to from the scientists.consider the evidence
Engage Explore Explain Extend Evaluate
6

7. 7
Engage Explore Explain Extend Evaluate
Latest research news...
Number of large
mammal extinctions
few lots
Temperature change
small
change
big
change
Prof. Svenning

8. 8How long ago humans arrived
Engage Explore Explain Extend Evaluate
Number of large
mammal extinctions
few lots
15,000 years
250,000 years
1 million years
2 million years

9. 9
The human hunters
explanation
Animals may be adapted
to avoid becoming the
prey of familiar predators.
If a new predator arrives animals
may not be adapted to survive.
In the worst cases this can
lead to extinction.
Engage Explore Explain Extend Evaluate
Reveal
the secret
objective!

10. 10
The climate explanation
Animals are adapted to live
in a specific environment.
If the climate changes the
environment will also change.
If the animal is unable to adapt
then the species may become
extinct. 10
Engage Explore Explain Extend Evaluate

11. 11
Why did mammoths
become extinct?
Scientists still
cannot agree!
More studies are
adding to the evidence
for BOTH explanations.
Engage Explore Explain Extend Evaluate

12. 12
Blue whales
are at
risk from
extinction.
Suggest possible reasons why.
Engage Explore Explain Extend Evaluate

13. Student sheets
Sheet no. Title Notes
SS1 Dr Jean Clottes 1 in colour for conference
SS2 Nigel Larkin 1 in colour for conference
SS3 Changes is Earth’s average
temperature
1 in colour for conference
SS4 Prof Jim Meed 1 in colour for conference
SS5 Dr Barbara Silva 1 in colour for conference
Mammoths
Student sheets
Mammoths

14. Student sheetsSS1
Dr Jean Clottes,
French Ministry of Culture
Mammoths appear
in a lot of cave art.
Some people think
this cave drawing
looks like a
mammoth trap, but
I think it’s unlikely.
Evidence: Cave paintings
Humans may have trapped mammoths

15. Student sheetsSS2
Nigel Larkin,
Curator of Geology, UK
This mammoth
toe bone and
hand axe were
found together.
Evidence: Archaeological remains
Humans may have used tools to cut up mammoths.

16. Student sheetsSS3
Thousands of years ago
recent changes in Earth’s
average temperature.Hotter
Colder
Changes in Earth’s average temperature
Evidence: Climate data
The Earth’s climate
warmed suddenly.
50 40 30 20 10 0
last ice age
now

17. Student sheetsSS4
Professor Jim Mead,
USA
This mammoth’s
dung shows that
90% of its food
was grass and
10% other plants.
If mammoths
were like modern
elephants, they
would need 200 kg
of grass a day.
Evidence: Fossilized dung
Mammoths depended upon grass for food.

18. Student sheets
Dr Barbara Silva,
UK
The climate has a big
effect on what grows
in different parts of the
world.
We use fossils and pollen
to identify the plants
that grew in the past,
and then deduce what
the climate was like.
Cold, dry climate
Warmer, wetter
climate
Evidence: Pollen
In cold dry climates grass is the main species of
plant but in warmer wetter climates trees take over.
SS5