Meet Dr. Jovan! – Vol. 1 No. 9
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Natural Inquirer Readers for students in grades K-2 focus on a scientist and their research. In this Reader, students will meet Dr. Jovan and learn about her research with moss and what moss tells us about air pollution!
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Highlights
- Meet a Scientist
- Try This! Activity
- Glossary
- Critical Thinking Questions
- Coloring Page
- Part of the Woodsy Owl Reader Series
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Natural Inquirer Readers for students in grades K-2 focus on a scientist and their research. In this Reader, students meet Dr. Jovan and learn about her research with moss and...Meet Dr. Jovan!
Natural Inquirer Readers for students in grades K-2 focus on a scientist and their research. In this Reader, students meet Dr. Jovan and learn about her research with moss and...
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Scientists ask questions about many small things found in nature, the way Dr. Jovan asked questions about moss. Small things, like plants, rocks, soil, or animals, can tell scientists a...Try This! – Meet Dr. Jovan!
Scientists ask questions about many small things found in nature, the way Dr. Jovan asked questions about moss. Small things, like plants, rocks, soil, or animals, can tell scientists a... -
Can You Spot It? Coloring Page Can you spot the moss? Color in the moss as you find it. Then color in the rest of the scene!
Glossary
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Sarah Jovan
My favorite science experience was conducting field work in Interior Alaska where moss and lichens rule the land. The sheer size and diversity of these organisms in that landscape was...View Profile
Lessons
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In this lesson, students play bingo while becoming acquainted with sight words from the Natural Inquirer Reader Series. Materials: Natural Inquirer Reader Series (choose one Reader for each day you...Lesson Plan – Reader BINGO
In this lesson, students play bingo while becoming acquainted with sight words from the Natural Inquirer Reader Series. Materials: Natural Inquirer Reader Series (choose one Reader for each day you... -
In this lesson plan, you will use the visual thinking strategy to elicit prior knowledge from students before reading a Natural Inquirer Reader. After reading the article, you will use...Lesson Plan – Visual Thinking Strategy and Picture Description Strategy
In this lesson plan, you will use the visual thinking strategy to elicit prior knowledge from students before reading a Natural Inquirer Reader. After reading the article, you will use... -
Use the “Take Two” strategy to encourage students to share their personal experiences and outside knowledge regarding topics presented in the text. This lesson plan can be used with any...Lesson Plan – Take Two
Use the “Take Two” strategy to encourage students to share their personal experiences and outside knowledge regarding topics presented in the text. This lesson plan can be used with any... -
Get students moving and listening closely by using “pop ups.” Assign students words from a text, and as you read, students “pop up” (jump out of their seat, then sit...Lesson Plan – Pop ups
Get students moving and listening closely by using “pop ups.” Assign students words from a text, and as you read, students “pop up” (jump out of their seat, then sit... -
Use the Observations-Wonderings-Learnings (OWL) graphic organizer to connect students to a topic and draw out prior knowledge and questions for future exploration. This lesson plan can be used with any...Lesson Plan – OWL
Use the Observations-Wonderings-Learnings (OWL) graphic organizer to connect students to a topic and draw out prior knowledge and questions for future exploration. This lesson plan can be used with any... -
Gauge students’ prior knowledge and knowledge gain by doing true/false questions before and after a Reader. Materials: A Natural Inquirer Reader The anticipation guide that corresponds to your chosen Reader...Lesson Plan – Anticipation Guide
Gauge students’ prior knowledge and knowledge gain by doing true/false questions before and after a Reader. Materials: A Natural Inquirer Reader The anticipation guide that corresponds to your chosen Reader...
Related Resources from The Natural Inquirer
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In this lesson plan, students will explore the differences between fiction and nonfiction using a Venn diagram to visualize their comparison. Students will use a variety of nonfiction texts (like...Lesson Plan – Fiction and Nonfiction Lesson Map (Reader Strategies Series)
In this lesson plan, students will explore the differences between fiction and nonfiction using a Venn diagram to visualize their comparison. Students will use a variety of nonfiction texts (like... -
Natural Inquirer Readers for students in grades K-2 focus on a scientist and their research. In this Reader, students meet Dr. Lara Roman who studies urban trees.Meet Dr. Roman! – Vol. 1 No. 8
Natural Inquirer Readers for students in grades K-2 focus on a scientist and their research. In this Reader, students meet Dr. Lara Roman who studies urban trees. -
Natural Inquirer Readers for students in grades K-2 focus on a scientist and their research. In this Reader, readers meet Dr. Ge Sun who studies land use in the Southern...Meet Dr. Sun! – Vol. 1 No. 2
Natural Inquirer Readers for students in grades K-2 focus on a scientist and their research. In this Reader, readers meet Dr. Ge Sun who studies land use in the Southern...
Additional Resources
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Using an epiphytic moss to identify previously unknown sources of atmospheric cadmium pollution
Urban networks of air-quality monitors are often too widely spaced to identify sources of air pollutants, especially if they do not disperse far from emission sources. The objectives of this study were to test the use of moss bio-indicators to develop a fine-scale map of atmospherically-derived cadmium and to identify the sources of cadmium in a complex urban setting. We collected 346 samples of the moss Orthotrichum lyellii from deciduous trees in December, 2013 using a modified randomized grid-based sampling strategy across Portland, Oregon. We estimated a spatial linear model of moss cadmium levels and predicted cadmium on a 50 m grid across the city. Cadmium levels in moss were positively correlated with proximity to two stained-glass manufacturers, proximity to the Oregon–Washington border, and percent industrial land in a 500 m buffer, and negatively correlated with percent residential land in a 500 m buffer. The maps showed very high concentrations of cadmium around the two stained-glass manufacturers, neither of which were known to environmental regulators as cadmium emitters. In addition, in response to our findings, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality placed an instrumental monitor 120 m from the larger stained-glass manufacturer in October, 2015. The monthly average atmospheric cadmium concentration was 29.4 ng/m3, which is 49 times higher than Oregon's benchmark of 0.6 ng/m3, and high enough to pose a health risk from even short-term exposure. Both stained-glass manufacturers voluntarily stopped using cadmium after the monitoring results were made public, and the monthly average cadmium levels precipitously dropped to 1.1 ng/m3 for stained-glass manufacturer #1 and 0.67 ng/m3 for stained-glass manufacturer #2.Visit Research Article -
Elemental atmospheric pollution assessment via moss-based measurements in Portland, Oregon
Mosses accumulate pollutants from the atmosphere and can serve as an inexpensive screening tool for mapping air quality and guiding the placement of monitoring instruments. We measured 22 elements using 346 moss samples collected across Portland, Oregon, in December 2013. Our objectives were to develop citywide maps showing concentrations of each element in moss and identify potential air pollution “hotspots.” We used simple dot maps, histograms, and summary statistics to describe the distribution of each element. Fifteen metals had highly right-skewed distributions, indicating high metal concentrations (relative to concentrations mea-sured in our dataset) in moss at one or more locations. These metals included high-priority toxics such as cadmium, nickel, lead, and arsenic. Past research shows that element concentrations in moss reflect atmospheric concentrations, although the strength of these relationships varies by element and is unknown for the elements we sampled. Therefore, atmospheric concentrations would need to be measured by an air quality monitor in order to determine whether hotspots suggested by the moss indicator are problematic or pose a health risk. We provide the raw data for all elements we measured to enable scientists, regulators, and citizens to further investigate the importance and possible sources of moss-identified hotspots.Visit Research Article -
Woodsy Owl
Woody Owl, the beloved owl icon for environmental conservation for the USDA Forest Service, was officially introduced on September 15, 1971. He is most famous for the motto “Give a hoot – don’t pollute!” While Woodsy Owl was designed as a mentor and inspiration for children and provide them with information and advice to help them appreciate nature, his message is more relevant today than ever, and to an even wider audience.Visit Website