Mysterious Cow Death

Introduction

Farm owner Tod has a farm with many pigs, cows, sheep, horses, and chicken in the Blooming area.  To raise some money for a local charity, he thought it would be a great idea to allow people to come visit his farm and interact with the animals.  While setting up, Tod was concerned that he would not have enough food for the guests to feed the animals because they will be feeding them all day. Instead of ordering through Farm & Food, Tod ordered through Bulk Farm Food.  Also, in preparation, he had put up signs advising those who visit to stay away from the river which is half a mile from the farm. For the last 10 years, the neighbor farmer had been using illegal pesticides which produced and still producing a lot of toxic run off into the river. The water can be dangerous for those who drink or go near it.

Task

The visit was a major success and Tod raised nearly $5,000 for the charity but in the morning, when he went to go check on the animals, all the cows were dead! Tod was shocked and new to call the Local Conservation Department (LCD), to investigate what caused such a terrible tragedy. The LCD had learned of people visiting the farm, Tod ordering food from another company, and the toxic run off in the river nearby.  The LCD decided to hire specialists which include an Environmental Scientist, Veterinarian, and Agronomist because they felt they would be best to investigate and come up with evidence of how each of their areas could have contributed to the cow deaths.

 

Process

  1. Each group member will choose a role to play:
    1. Environmental scientist
    2. Veterinarian
    3. Agronomist
  2. What to investigate?
    1. The Environmental Scientist will investigate how the run off may have contributed to the deaths.
    2. The Veterinarian will investigate how humans visiting may have resulted in the deaths.
    3. The Agronomist will investigate how the food from the new company may have contributed to the cow deaths.
  3. Create a CER for your role (Links Below)
    1. Environmental scientist
    2. Veterinarian
    3. Agronomist
  4. Come together as a group to decide which investigation (Environmental Scientist, Veterinarian, or Agronomist) has the most evidence explaining the cow’s deaths.
  5. Create another CER of why the other investigations are wrong (links for CER above in #3)
    1. Environmental scientist
    2. Veterinarian
    3. Agronomist
  6. You and your group will present to the LCD and Tod (the class),
    1. What you believe caused the deaths
      1. including your CER and the CER of why the other areas of investigation were wrong
      2. Possible areas for further investigation
  7. Ideas for presenting: PPT, poster, speech with notecards, Prezi

 

           

Evaluation