Backward Design Lesson Implementation

Last week I taught a group of four "student" volunteers.  I had three ex-students and my son (an interesting combination when trying to get something done over the summer).  In my lesson I asked the students to describe the ecosystem (abiotic and biotic factors) in a part of the intercoastal waterway (the turning basin in the Port of Palm Beach).  This was a lesson based on the principle of guided inquiry, where I gave them materials but they had to plan the lab, accomplish it, and analyze the results.  Given this is during the summer, I had to forego the testing and multimedia presentation that I had planned on giving in this lesson, as it was the lesson took about 4 hours to accomplish.  Students decided to use nitrogen, dissolved oxygen, phosphates, nitrogen, potassium, temperature, salinity, secci depth, a bottom dart, and forel ule for the aboitic factors and water column description.  They used a Niskin bottle for collection.  They also accomplished a video survey at different depths for the critters and a plankton trawl for the net plankton.  They forgot the fact that many autotrophs in the ocean are too small for the plankton net and had a hard time finding the right amount of primary producers (and detritus as DOM) for the consumers present.  After I reminded them about this their data lined up pretty good.  I think I need to cover this a little better in the form of a mini-laboratory when I get to lessons on the littoral and estuary zones to help them out with this point in the future.  Overall I think the students had a good time and seemed to hit my goals: planning a experiment, accomplishing it with scientifically acceptable procedures, and communication of the results.  While doing this they were able to describe a sub littoral community in the Lake Worth Lagoon.