This lesson contains multiple taking informed action options. One is directly related to the Solution Plan Project; the other is not, though completing it would still help your students progress towards completing the project. If you are treating this lesson as a stand-alone entity (rather than teaching it along with other lessons in the Protecting Nebraska Waters curriculum), or if your students are not completing the Solution Plan Project, you should choose Option 1. In making your decision, you should also keep in mind how much time you want to dedicate to this assessment, as well as which option is the most natural “next step” in your students’ learning, regardless of whether or not they are completing the Solution Plan Project. 

In this activity, the students will present their macroinvertebrate sampling data (and any other data they collected at their testing site) to interested stakeholders.

1. Quick write: Explain to your students that they will be presenting their data to stakeholders (people who have an interest in a particular issue). Then, have them write in response to the following prompts: 

• What would be our goal(s) in sharing our data? 

• Who do you think we should share our data with?

• How do you think we should share our data? 

2. Class discussion: Have a class discussion about the prompts listed above. By the end of the conversation, the students should have a plan for how they want to share their data, and with whom.

3. Work time: Give the students time to work on whatever they will be using to give their presentations. You may want them to work in small groups for this part of the activity. 

4. Presentations: Have your students take turns presenting what they created. While their classmates are giving presentations, the rest of the class should be taking notes. Depending on the circumstances, you may be able to have different groups of students present to different groups of stakeholders, but if this is not possible, take a vote to decide what the class will ultimately share with stakeholders. 

5. Taking informed action: Have your students present their findings to relevant stakeholder groups. If you choose to do so before returning to your testing site for retesting (or perhaps before testing other local bodies of water), you can request feedback regarding how the students could improve and/or expand their data. 

In this activity, the students will write about what this lesson has to do with their Solution Plan Project. 

Have your students write in response to the following prompts: 

• Take a look at the macroinvertebrate sampling data you and your classmates collected. What conclusions can you draw from it? Be sure to back up your ideas with evidence. 
• What does our macroinvertebrate sampling data suggest about how the water quality problems at our testing site should be addressed? 
• How does our macroinvertebrate sampling data compare to the other data we collected using different water testing methods? 
• If you were going to present our findings to an audience of stakeholders…
• Who would you want to present to, and why? Give multiple ideas. 
• How would you do it? 
• What would your overarching goal(s) be in doing so?
• In general, what are your key takeaways from this lesson (regarding the forward progress of your solution plan project)?