Galapagos Educator Guide

Teacher’s Resource Guide Teacher’s Resource Guide to Acknowledgments A Teacher’s Resource Guide to Galapagos was cre SCIENCE AND CURRICULUM ADVISORS: ated by the National Science Teachers Dr. Carole Baldwin, Smithsonian Institution, Association, Special Publications, 1840 Wilson Washington, DC Blvd., Arlington, VA 22201-3000, with funding Sue Cassidy, Bishop McNamara High School, generously provided by the National Science Forestville, MD Foundation and the Smithsonian Institution. Dr. Robert Hoffmann, Smithsonian Institution, This material copyright © 2000 Smithsonian Washington, DC Institution and Imax Ltd. All rights reserved. Sue Mander, Imax Ltd., Toronto, Canada IMAX® and AN IMAX EXPERIENCE® are registered trademarks of Imax Corporation. Laura McKie, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC WRITER: Richard Benz, Wickliffe High School, Dr. David Pawson, Smithsonian Institution, Wickliffe, OH Washington, DC EDITOR: Erin Miller, National Science Teachers Sharon Radford, Paideia School, Atlanta, GA Association Dr. Irwin Slesnick, Western Washington DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL PUBLICATIONS: University, Bellingham, WA Shirley Watt Ireton, National Science Teachers Dr. John Weld, Oklahoma State University, Association Stillwater, OK Dr. Don Wilson, Smithsonian Institution, Table of Contents Washington, DC Sponsored by America Online Inc., the Introduction for Teachers . 3 Smithsonian Institution and Imax Ltd. present in Film Synopsis . 3 association with the National Science Foundation, Pre-Screening Discussion . 3 a Mandalay Media Arts production Galapagos. Where in the World? . 4 Adventuring in the Archipelago . 5 EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Laurence P. Adventuring in Your Own Backyard . 8 O’Reilly, Andrew Gellis, Peter Guber, Barry Clark How Did Life Get to the Galápagos? . 10 PRODUCERS/DIRECTORS: Al Giddings and Current Events in the Ocean . 11 David Clark Hot Side Hot, Cool Side Cool . 16 WRITERS: Barry Clark and David Clark Modern-Day Darwins . 19 Why Do Species Change? . 21 DIRECTOR OF UNDERWATER Biodiversity of the Galápagos . 22 PHOTOGRAPHY: Al Giddings Galápagos Adaptations . 26 DIRECTORS OF TOPSIDE PHOTOGRAPHY: Natural Selection: The “How” of Evolution . 29 Reed Smoot and Andrew Kitzanuk Glossary . 31 NARRATOR: Kenneth Branagh Resources . 32 MUSIC COMPOSER AND PRODUCER: Mark Isham 2 TEACHER’S RESOURCE GUIDE TO GALAPAGOS Resources Introduction for teachers Pre-Screening Discussion This Teacher’s Resource Guide is intended as a Before visiting the film, familiarize your students classroom supplement for middle-school grades, with Darwin’s role as the first person to publish and is consistent with the National Science the theory that new species originated from other Education Standards. Designed in conjunction species through evolution driven by natural selec with the IMAX® film Galapagos, this guide pro tion (see the Resources section for further reading vides background information to the teacher on suggestions). Darwin’s ideas were prompted by his the subjects of Galápagos geography, geology, trip to the Galápagos, which makes these islands ecology, and evolution. Use the Guide to plan for an important landmark in scientific history. post-viewing discussions and activities. The mate The first section of this teacher’s guide, “Where in rial is intended for flexible use, and teachers may the World?” can be used either as pre-screening modify and duplicate the copyrighted materials to or post-screening activities. As pre-visit exercises, suit their students’ needs. We especially recom they introduce students to the location of the mend for photocopying the pages marked islands and the importance of observation to the “student section.” These activities may be modi scientific process. This allows them to better fied for elementary students. understand the work performed by the scientists Film Synopsis in the film. Follow Smithsonian marine biologist Dr. Carole A pre-visit discussion of some of the unusual ani Baldwin as she retraces the steps of evolutionary mals shown in the film will stimulate your pioneer Charles Darwin on his epic voyage to the students’ interest. Visit the Galapagos Web site at Galápagos Islands. With the help of modern tech http://pubs.nsta.org/galapagos/ for pictures and nology, students experience the spectacle and information about some of these creatures, and abundance of wildlife both on land and beneath instruct your students to look for them in the film. the waters of the islands. The age-old powers of This Web site also provides details on how the observation, combined with cameras, scuba gear, activities meet the National Science Education submersibles, and robot arms, allow today’s scien Standards. tists to extend their research to an undersea world that was far beyond the reach of Darwin when he visited the islands more than 160 years ago. Students observe the variety of life—from families of sea lions and schools of sharks to trudging tortoises and impish iguanas—that demonstrates how the Galápagos’ island geogra phy and isolation from the mainland contributes to the evolution of species found nowhere else on Earth. TEACHER’S RESOURCE GUIDE TO GALAPAGOS 3 Where In the World? This archipelago consists of ten principal islands, of which five exceed the others in size. They are situated under the Equator, and between five and six hundred miles west … of the coast of America. They are all formed of volcanic rocks...Considering that these islands are placed directly under the equator, the climate is far from being excessively hot; this seems chiefly caused by the singularly low temperature of the surround ing water, brought here by the great southern Polar current. (Darwin, 1845) So, where in the world are these islands that graphic position and isolation of the Galápagos Darwin described as “A little world within itself”? are the key to the island group’s natural history. To understand why the Galápagos Archipelago is The Galápagos Archipelago, or island group, con renowned as a laboratory of evolution and adap sists of 13 large islands, six smaller islands, and a tation, we must understand a little about the great number of small volcanic islets or “rocca.” relationship of life forms to location. Your stu These islands in the eastern Pacific Ocean are dents will learn how absolute location of the approximately 960 km (600 miles) west of main islands compares with relative location, and dis land Ecuador in South America, situated along cover how isolated the Galápagos Islands are the Equator. They lie almost directly south of from the rest of the world. Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. The geo- Aboard the HMS Beagle, Darwin traveled west from the coast of South America in 1835, and At the time Darwin wrote his journal, he referred to the arrived off the coast of San Cristóbal on islands by their English names. Because the islands are a September 17. part of Ecuador, we have changed Darwin’s quotes to “In the morning we landed on San Cristóbal reflect the modern, Spanish names, and to avoid further confusion, we updated Island which, like the others, rises with a tame the spelling of certain words. and rounded outline, broken here and there by scattered hillocks, the remains of former craters.” The Beagle explored the Galápagos Islands from September 15 through October 20, 1835. During this time Darwin landed on at least six of the larger islands, starting at San Cristóbal and end ing at Pinta Island. The Beagle left the Galápagos and sailed toward Tahiti on October 20. 4 TEACHER’S RESOURCE GUIDE TO GALAPAGOS Adventuring in the Archipelago Teacher Section Objective the Galápagos in relation to mainland Ecuador (see map on the inside back cover). To learn basic mapping skills and understand the difference between absolute and relative location. After completing this exercise, students should Materials know where the Galápagos Islands are located, and they should understand their position in both • globe absolute and relative terms. • map of your country • local map with latitude and longitude Suppose you live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. You could • copies of maps on the inside-front and choose Washington, DC as your comparison city, the same inside-back covers distance on your piece of string. Your students would describe Milwaukee as being approximately 1,600 kilome- • copies of pages 6–7 ters northwest of Washington or 200 km almost due north • string of Chicago. These are relative locations. The absolute loca- • pencil tion of Milwaukee is approximately Latitude 48° N, 88° W. Locate the Galápagos Islands on a globe, and measure the distance to the coast of Ecuador In this activity the students will follow Darwin’s using a piece of string. Now take that same piece Galápagos adventures by locating some of his of string and place one end on your hometown, landing sites in the archipelago. Make copies of and find a city that is the same distance from you the Galápagos Islands map from the inside front as the Galápagos are from the mainland. Ask cover and of Darwin’s quotes on pages 6–7, and your students how they think animals and plants distribute to each student. Each site will be intro located in that city would get to yours. Imagine duced by a short quote from Darwin’s journals or the two cities are separated by water, and inform from The Voyage of the Beagle. The absolute posi your students that these plants and animals don’t tions (latitude and longitude) are listed after each swim! This will be dealt with later in the teacher’s quote. The students should read the quote, note guide, but it will get your students thinking about the absolute position and find the site on the map the problems of colonizing a far-off island. of the Galápagos Islands. When they find the site they should mark it with a small dot and list the Now, using a map of your country, ask your stu date from the quote. (As an added element, stu dents to describe their hometown’s location in dents can calculate the mileage between stops, relative terms compared to the other city identified and add that to the map.) When all the sites have above.

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