Dendros in the Classroom

[JWerner]

I wanted to take the time to share with all a current project of mine. As many of you know, I teach 5th grade. Math and Science are favorite subject of mine. In Washington, every year, more and more is expected of our students. I'm sure this is the same of all states with George leading the way with his 'No Child Left Behind' plan. Previously our school district emphasis has been reading, math and writing. However, now science has been added to this emphasis. State standardized tests have been created, grade level expectations rewritten and increased student performance is expected. Unfortunately our district is not as 'on-board' as I'd like. We have no science curriculum. We do have aged science kits, but they do not aligned, content wise, with the new grade level expectations. In the Spring, our district science director sent me to the state teachers convention to represent our school district. I attended science meetings for four days, learning of the new science expectations. A great deal of fifth grade science involves the scientific method and solution designing. While sitting there listening..errr daydreaming, I though, as one that breeds dendrobates, much of that I already do! This was the beginning of a project to will take a great deal of time to develop. In a nutshell, eggs, tad and frogs have been donated to this project. Experiments will be conducted to outline the scientific method, learn the various variables, understand correct procedure writing, learn to write and undersand data tables and properly write conclusional citing data as support. Students will also journal write and develop procedural writings from things such as tank design to tadpole water changes. All aspects of the hobby will be utilized in the teachings. Within the Solution Designs portion, students will be asked to conduct research. I will be directing them to the Beginners section on Dendro. Please take the time to help out. this information they will use in on-going classroom projects.
Experiment results or project updates will be posted here. I would like to thank Phil Tan, Todd Kelley, Darren Meyer, John Gibeau, Marty Krol and Dave and Erin McLay for their gernerous contributions to help get this project up and running. It is because of them that my students will get to experience science, that it doesn't come from a book or a grey plastic box.

[Ridge]

Great to see your efforts! I wish you were here teaching my 5th grader! Just as a thought and I don't know the technicalities in this, but maybe the moderators could create a special forum here for student inquiries so that we can insure that if a basic question is posted that it is given a proper answer. Ridge[/i]

[Scott]

I spent half the day last Friday talking with 6th Graders (4 groups of them) about PDFs, the Amazon, Feeder Insects, etc.

I have 4 or 5 canned sequences that I talk about. Compare the amount of eggs you see local frogs lay, and tell me why they lay so many in comparison to PDF frogs in the Amazon. Things like this.

The rest of the time I just "riff" on the questions the students ask. That is always (sincerely) a lot of fun. You never know what they'll come up with.

For instance - when a Poisoned Dart from a Blow Gun is used to bring down a monkey - why is the monkey not considered contaminated by the poison?

Excellent question - wish I knew the answer!

JW - there are soooo many threads available to work with, especially when you start comparing local animals to the tropical animals.

I know you well enough to know you'll have fun with it.

s

[Alan Zimmerman]

Originally Posted by Scott

For instance - when a Poisoned Dart from a Blow Gun is used to bring down a monkey - why is the monkey not considered contaminated by the poison?
s

IIRC the poison is inactivated by the heat of cooking the food prey.

Alan

I vaguely recall someone talking about birds that had the same type of toxins in their flesh (from eating beatles, that are consumed by pdfs?) and when these birds were eaten by people they had a numbing/intoxicating effect. I assume the birds were cooked. Maybe it has to do with the amount? (or both?).


-Tad

[Darks!de]

Yeah Tad, the bird is the Pitohui. There are a few species of it located in Papua New Guinea and they range in toxicity. They obtain the poison (batrachotoxin) from beetles called choresine beetles and store it in their feathers. The Batrachotoxin is the same found in these birds as is found in several species of dart frogs, they beetles also inhabit both places, however it is not know if the beetles themselves produce the toxin, or get it from yet another source (i.e. plants).

Luke

[Alan Zimmerman]

Here is a published papaer on the toxins with some observation on toxin behavior and potency.

http://www.asanltr.com/ASANews-99/995frogs.htm

Alan

[andersonii85]

Originally Posted by Alan Zimmerman

IIRC the poison is inactivated by the heat of cooking the food prey.

Alan

Alan, Scott, et al.,

Just to let you know- when a primate is hit with a dart that has been coated with poison it is circulated throughout the animals body. As a result, it greatly diminishes the amount of poison ingested. The amount needed in order to kill a primate is less than the amount to kill a man.The native S.A. tribes don't eat the area that had been directly hit by the dart as they know that the strongest concentration of the toxins will be there. FYI- the poison is not denatured by cooking as it is not protein based.

-Justin