The Wetlands pcMEL

Below are links to resources that will help students use the Wetlands pcMEL and learn more about the competing views of wetlands.

Overview

This article provides an introduction to the Wetlands pcMEL plus suggestions from classroom use including implementation advice, insights into the lines of evidence that challenge students' thinking, and the rationale for using MEL diagrams to address socio-scientific issues that focus on value to society.

Wetlands: Good or Bad? (Acrobat (PDF) 388kB Jun4 18)

Next Generation Science Standards Performance Expectations

HS-ESS3-5: Earth and Human Activity

• Create a computational simulation to illustrate the relationship among the management of natural resources, the sustainability of human populations, and biodiversity.

HS-ESS3-4: Earth and Human Activity

• Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces impacts of human activities on natural systems.

The Models

Model A: Wetlands provide ecosystem services that contribute to human welfare and help sustain the biosphere.
Model B: Wetlands are a nuisance to humans and provide little overall environmental benefit.

Student Handouts

• Wetlands Model Plausibility Ratings (Acrobat (PDF) 39kB May6 24)
• Wetlands MEL – Diagram (Acrobat (PDF) 122kB May6 24)
• Explanation Task (Acrobat (PDF) 52kB May6 24)

Lines of Evidence

Evidence #1: Wetlands play a role in the global cycles of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur. Wetlands change these nutrients into different forms necessary to continue their global cycles.
Evidence #2: Flooding is a natural occurrence in low-lying areas and wetlands are places where floodwaters can collect.
Evidence #3: Wetlands contribute 70 percent of global atmospheric methane from natural sources.
Evidence #4: Many wetlands are located in rapidly developing areas of the country.

Student Handouts

• Wetlands pcMEL – Evidence Texts Color (Acrobat (PDF) 1.7MB Jul8 24)
• Wetlands pcMEL – Evidence Texts BW (Acrobat (PDF) 746kB Jul8 24)

Lateral Reading (LR) Resources

What does it mean for a source to be credible? Why should we investigate whether a source is credible before we read it? How do we decide whether online sources are credible? Use lateral reading to find out.

Use lateral reading to evaluate the credibility of two sources related to wetlands.

This LR Activity connects to Evidence #3 above: Wetlands contribute 70 percent of global atmospheric methane from natural sources.

Use the LR Guiding Questions to evaluate the credibility of each source.

• LR Guiding Questions (Acrobat (PDF) 28kB Jun8 23)
• Source #1: Tropical wetlands and methane - WCSSP case study
  Show me information about the source
  Hide
  More credible. The Met Office is the UK's national weather service provider. They provide predictions at shorter (e.g., daily weather) and longer term (e.g., climate change) scales.
• Source #2: Is climate science really real? Depends on who's behind it
  Show me information about the source
  Hide
  Less credible. Beef is a special-interest magazine covering the international cattle industry, written to a target audience of cattle farmers and other internal business stakeholders. Published by Informa PLC, a large British publishing business.

Lateral Reading Lesson Materials

Other Resources

This Plausibility Ranking Task (PRT), which may be completed prior to using any MELs, helps students to understand the role of evidence in supporting or refuting models.

• Plausibility Ranking Task (Acrobat (PDF) 76kB May6 24)

Virtual MEL

The Google Drive folder below contains MEL resource documents in the Google formats. In order to maximize the flexibility of our activities, the MEL Project Team wanted to make more resources compatible with virtual settings. We have made our MEL scaffolds available in Google formats, so that they can be copied, modified, and uploaded more easily on a variety of platforms and devices. Please note that to access all the materials for each MEL scaffold, you will need a Google account. View the README file first.

• README First Instructions & FAQ (Acrobat (PDF) 70kB May24 21)
• Virtual Wetlands MEL Resource Documents in Google Drive

Digital Resources

This site from the EPA, Wetlands Protection and Restoration, helps individuals learn about wetlands, understand the science of wetlands, find out how the EPA, state, and tribal government efforts are protecting wetlands and how individuals can become involved in preserving this natural resource.

The National Wetlands Inventory from the U.S. FIsh and Wildlife Service hosts an online mapping tool, the Wetlands Mapper. It shows the locations of America's wetlands. It integrates digital map data along with other resources to produce current information on the status, extent, characteristics and functions of wetlands, riparian, and deepwater habitats.

What is a Wetland? defines "wetland" and provides a brief description of how NOAA classifies wetlands (e.g. ocean, estuary, river, lake, and marsh).

The USGS Wetland and Aquatic Research Center (WARC) conducts relevant and objective research, develops new approaches and technologies, and disseminates scientific information needed to understand, manage, conserve, and restore wetlands and other aquatic and coastal ecosystems and their associated plant and animal communities throughout the nation and the world.

The Status and Trends of Wetlands in the Conterminous United States 2009 to 2019 report provides the extent of wetlands in 2019, as well as changes in wetland area and type between 2009 and 2019 for the contiguous United States. It highlights the importance of wetlands in providing ecosystem services, as well as the effects of wetland loss, gain, and change in type.