What is a Puppy Drum?
What is its classification?
What does it eat?

What do you know about these beautiful swimmers? What gives them their name? How many are there? How long have they been here? Write three questions in your notebook.

Scenario #1

You are taking on the role of City Engineer for Hampton.  Downtown Hampton is up for renovation.  As we know, the city is built on concrete, allowing storm water to runoff to the nearest drainage area.  Whatever pollutants it picks up will be transported to the James River and Chesapeake Bay.

You are tasked to redesign the city to help prevent this storm water runoff from negatively impacting the environment.

Task:
With a partner, redesign Hampton or build your own city to prevent storm water runoff.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:
1. What will happen to precipitation on the streets of the city?
2. What will happen to precipitation on buildings?
3. What can you do with the water?
4. What can you do to ensure the precipitation makes it to the ground water?

Scenario #2

You are working for the Environmental Protection Agency.  The city of Lynchburg, Virginia calls you up to come and visit to assess the impact of the oil spill on the local environment.

When you arrive, you realize the spill was a lot worse than you had expected. You take a hike down the James River to find signs of oil all over the place.  Worried about the impacts this spill may have down river, on the Chesapeake, and the Eastern Coast, you decide to form a team to build a solution to collect the oil and clean it from the environment.

Task:
Design a solution to collect the oil from the spill, preventing further spreading down the James River.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:
1. What do you know about water and oil? Do they mix? 
2. What has been done in the past to clean up oil spills?
3. What impacts will the oil spill have on the ecosystem?
4. What can you do to help the flora and fauna from the ill effects of oil pollution?

There's an Emergency!!!

After reading the article and watching the video, answer the following questions:
1. What happened? Where did it happen?
2. Who is involved?
3. What resources do you need in order to develop a better understanding of what occurred?
4. What impacts does this disaster have on us in Hampton?  How do you know?
5. What impacts does this disaster have on the Chesapeake Bay?
6. Do a little research, where and when have oil spills negatively impacted local ecosystems?  What was done to clean up the mess?  What steps were taken to prevent spills from occurring again?

Your presentation must include:
- Where you might find this biome on Earth
- Special seasons or yearly cycles
- Unique characteristics
- Unique plants and animals
- Specific adaptations of plants and animals to allow them to survive best in your biome
- Temperature range of biome (C)
- Amount of annual precipitation (m)
- Interesting facts about your biome
- Any questions you still have about your biome (at least one)

Provided below are a list of words or phrases to guide your research.

- Teamwork and cooperation


- Alpha and omega


- Family devotion

- Group loyalty
- Hierarchy, or status in society

- Child (pup) rearing


- Sharing of wealth (food)

After completing your research, you and your research team must create a comparison-and-contrast chart showing what you have learned from your research about the similarities and differences between a wolf pack and a human social group.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Discuss how wolves have been portrayed in literature and mythology. How might these portraits have affected our current beliefs about wolves?

2. Compare and contrast the wolf pack family and community with the human family and community. What characteristics do they have in common, and how do they differ?

3. Compare and contrast the characteristics of wolf pups and dog pups. What observable traits of the wolf pups are indicators of adult wolf behavior? Do wolf pups make good pets? What about hybrid pups (half wolf and half dog)?

4. Describe how positions may change in a wolf pack hierarchy. Compare this to human behavior. Consider family, school, and work situations.

5. Analyze the impact the near destruction of wolf populations in North America has had on its prey populations (e.g., deer, elk, antelope), and other related species in their environment. (For example, in Yellowstone National Park, the removal of wolves has increased the elk, antelope, and deer populations, increasing the destruction of vegetation and habitat—thereby decreasing other herbivorous species such as beaver and rabbit. [source: Playing God in Yellowstone by Alston Chase, 1987]).

6. How do humans decide whether and how to reestablish wolf populations in the wild?