Isopod_Teacher.doc - Cornell Science Inquiry Partnerships...

Cornell Science Inquiry Partnerships Cornell University
The Wonderful World of Isopods
Teacher’s Guide
by Shannon B. Olsson, CSIP Graduate Teaching Fellow, Cornell University
Objective: Students will utilize inquiry skills to observe isopod behavior and develop and
test hypotheses concerning that behavior.
Subject: Biology/Life Science
Audience: AP or High School (Version One) and Middle School (5
th
-8
th
grade) (Version
Two)
Time Required: 1 Full Period
Background
This activity allows students to design and carry out an experiment related to animal
behavior. Originally a rather “cookbook” AP Biology lab (AP Biology Laboratory Manual,
Edition D), it has been modified to incorporate more student driven discovery and learning.
Versions have been created for both high school (and AP) and middle school classrooms.
Pillbugs (also known as sowbugs or roly-polys) and woodlice are types of crustaceans
known as isopods. Related to shrimp and crabs, these crustaceans live on land, mostly in
leaf litter and soil, and use gills for respiration. They feed on decaying material as well as
algae, moss, and bark. Isopods have two eyes, two pairs of antennae, and seven pairs of
legs.
In this activity, students will observe isopods and generate questions about the behaviors
they observe. They will then create hypotheses based on these questions and develop
methods to test them. Following their experiments, the students must interpret their results
and generate conclusions from their experiments.
Learning Objectives
1) Students will observe animal behavior and generate questions based on their
observations.
2) Students will generate relevant hypotheses from their observations.
3) Students will create appropriate testing procedures including variables and controls
to test their hypotheses.
4) Students with perform experiments to test their animal behavior hypotheses.

Cornell Science Inquiry Partnerships Cornell University
5) Students will analyze the results of their experiments and generate appropriate
conclusions about the behaviors they observed.
NYS Science Education Standards Addressed
1) Standard 1: (High School and Middle School): Key Idea 1: The central purpose
of scientific inquiry is to develop explanations of natural phenomena in a
continuing, creative process. Key Idea 2: Beyond the use of reasoning and
consensus, scientific inquiry involves the testing of proposed explanations
involving the use of conventional techniques and procedures and usually requiring
considerable ingenuity. Key Idea 3: The observations made while testing proposed
explanations, when analyzed using conventional and invented methods, provide
new insights into phenomena.