Infrared Zoo Lesson 2 Dinner in the Dark

GETTING READY

Pre-requisite Skills for Learners:

Your learners should have the following skills in order to participate efficiently and smoothly in this lesson:

• Ability to work in small collaborative groups of 3-4 students each
  
• Ability to work independent of direct instructor facilitation as the instructor will be wandering the classroom and helping all groups
  
• Ability to communicate findings, reasoning, and work to others
  
• Cognitive ability to recognize patterns that have *not* been introduced/explained before hand
  
• Ability to process information and draw conclusions based on this information
  
• Ability to perform tasks necessary for a individual/group research project

Pre-requisite Content Knowledge for Learners:

Prior to this lesson, learners should be familiar with the following concepts:

• Temperature is a measure of the level of heat.
  
• Heat can move from place to place.
  
• Basic small prey characteristics and familiarity with their natural habitats (optional) The basic differences between warm-blooded and cold-blooded animals

Preparation Work for the Instructor:

1. Print out and make laminated copies of the visible light images from Image Appendix, Image Set 1, Exploring Small Prey Characteristics (Section VII, A) (MS Word file | pdf file) Make enough of each image so that each group will have their own copy.

2. Print out and make laminated copies of the infrared images from Image Appendix, Image Set 2, Color Coding Small Animals (Section VII, B) (MS Word file | pdf file) Make enough of each image so that each group will have their own copy.

3. Gather purple, blue, pink, orange, yellow, and red crayons. Make enough sets for each learning group. Each set should consists of at least 3 crayons: (1) a "cool" color (purple or blue) (2) a pink (3) a "warm" color (orange, red, or yellow). Colored pencils are also a good option.

4. Copy Worksheets, Worksheet 1 (Section VIII, A) (MS Word file | pdf file), and Worksheets, Worksheet 2 (Section VIII, B) (MS Word file | pdf file). This activity requires that each learning group have 1 of each, however individual students may want their own copy.

5. Prepare the Exploring Infrared Image Technology lesson.

6. Review the lesson and brainstorm modifications for your particular set of learners. Have ready some discussion questions and points that you want to cover for the lesson to fit into your existing curriculum and state science standards.

7. Design an evaluation rubric for this lesson based upon your learners, how you have tailored this lesson, and where this lesson falls into your curriculum. We do not provide an "evaluation" activity/rubric in this lesson, but we do provide sample learning goals generic to this lesson "as is".

8. Arrange the classroom for group work. Each group of learners will need to have a desk, table, or floor space to spread pictures out and discuss their group's work without disturbing other groups.

9. (optional) Arrange internet/computer time for your learners for the "extend" portion of this lesson.

Background Knowledge and Resources for the Instructor:

Provided below are some internet resources to help you get a better grasp on infrared light and image technology. Please note that we have compiled a Cool Cosmos Teachers Guide to the Infrared that can be found at: http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/image_galleries/ir_zoo/lessons/background.html.

Infrared Tutorial
http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_classroom/ir_tutorial

Video- Infrared: More Than Your Eyes Can See
http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/videos/more_than_your/

Heat and Temperature
http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_classroom/light_lessons/thermal/

Learn About Warm and Cold-Blooded Animals Using Infrared Images
http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/image_galleries/ir_zoo/coldwarm.html
- This resource is the premise for this lesson. We suggest that you go through this part of our website before the activity in preparation for your learner's questions. It also makes a good wrap-up activity for learners to complete after the activity is finished.

Infrared Application: Animal Studies
http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_classroom/light_lessons/our_world_different_light/animals.html

The Camera That Caught a Leopard
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/leopards/camera.html

Infrared Zoo
http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/image_galleries/ir_zoo/
- Go through the entire zoo to get background information on each animal's infrared signature.

How The Pit Viper Measures Radiation
http://www.exergen.com/industrl/irtc/technotes/technote_019.htm

The Eye Design Book, section on pit vipers
http://www.eyedesignbook.com/ch3/eyech3-f.html#Ryu%20Uchiyama

Hidden Worlds: That Extra Sense
http://www.caledonianrecord.com/pages/hidden_worlds/story/9d05266ca

Seeing Our World in a Different Light
http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_classroom/light_lessons/our_world_different_light/