Biome WebQuest Area of Study: Ecosystems /Animal adaptations and survival A habitat is any place where a particular animal or plant lives. Examples of a habitat include a lake, a desert, or a forest. Descriptions of environments using temperature and rainfall are used to group habitats together. Animals, which live within a same-species group, and occupy an area at the same time, are part of a population. Populations of different plants and animals interact with each other, and together, these populations form communities. Plants and animals in a particular ecological community, or biome, must be adapted to the same living conditions so they can all survive. Many populations can live in the same area because each species fills a specific role in the community. Each plant and animal has its own roll in the ecological community, and is important in some way to the survival of the other. Introduction: Hello students! Travel with your friends on this exciting journey around the world. Select an ecosystem to visit and learn about the animals that live there. You may even come across endangered species. After each stop around the world your group will create a field guide on the species of your liking from each biome. TASK - Your Mission As A Student: You have been chosen to journey around the world stopping on each continent to discover interesting animals, their habitats and the treats they face. Some animals you will be researching have uncertain futures. They are endangered! You will do your own research on each ecosystem’s animals. Your assignment is to complete field guide notes describing the ecosystem and an animal. Are you ready now to accept your mission? Yes! Where will your first stop be? Process: Step 1: Choose an ecosystem. You must research one animal from one ecosystem. Step 2: Print Field Notes. You must have field notes on the ecosystem and your animal. Using your field notes, you will create a field guide. Print pictures of your animals and cut them out to paste in your guide. Step 3: Play Food Web Game: http://www.gould.edu.au/foodwebs/kids_web.htm Step 4: Write a story using your notes. You will describe your life as an animal in this ecosystem. Are you a predator or prey? Describe your animal accurately. Biomes of the World Rainforest Asia ★ South America ★ Africa http://www.mbgnet.net/sets/rforest/index.htm http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/rnfrst_animal_page.htm Tundra Artic http://www.mbgnet.net/sets/tundra/index.htm http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/tundra_animal_page.htm Taiga Europe ★ Asia ★ N. America http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/taiga_animal_page.htm http://www.mbgnet.net/sets/taiga/index.htm Desert Africa ★ Australia ★ North America http://www.mbgnet.net/sets/grasslnd/index.htm http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/desert_animal_page.htm http://www.livingdesert.org/animals/gila_monster.asp Grasslands Africa ★ N. & S. America ★ Asia http:// www.mbgnet.net/sets/grasslnd/ index.htm www.hamiltonnature.org/habitats/grasslands/grass_animals.htm http://www.defenders.org/wildlife_and_habitat/wildlife/bison.php Deciduous Forest North America ★ Europe ★ Asia http://www.eagles.org/moreabout.html http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/deciduous_animal_page.htm http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/yellowstone-otters/introduction/2103/ http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/in-the-valley-of-the-wolves/interactive-mapwhere-yellowstone-wolves-roam/228/ http://www.wwfmaps.org/ http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/finder/giantpanda/panda.html Extended Activities Activities, puzzles and worksheets: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/biomes/ Games, activities, homework help: http://www.ecokids.ca/pub/kids_home.cfm Build a Prairie: http://www.bellmuseum.org/distancelearning/prairie/build/ Show what you know – build a food web: http://teacher.scholastic.com/ACTIVITIES/explorer/ecosystems/be_an_explorer/map/for m_wildcats.htm Extended Activity Our wonderful froggy friends are disappearing! Frogs are very sensitive to environmental changes. The rapid lost of many species of frogs is a sure sign that something is going very wrong on our planet. Every day new species of frogs disappear from our planet forever. Meet some of the interesting fellows whose plight has been noted. http://allaboutfrogs.org/info/save/enda http://www.pca.state.mn.us/hot/frogs.htmlngere http://www.amphibians.org./d.ht http://www.im.nbs.gov/amphibs.htmlml Name _______________________ Date_____________ Field Notes Animal Name ________________________________________________________________ Physical description –be sure to include adaptations Behavior Description of Habitat Diet Is this animal a carnivore, herbivore, omnivore, scavenger, or decomposer? Scoring Rubric Trait 4 3 2 1 Ideas and Content Ideas are clear and original. Main ideas fully develop the topic. Main ideas are supported with relevant facts, details, examples, and explanations. Ideas are clear and mostly original. Main ideas support the topic without repetition. Main ideas are supported with relevant details and facts. Partially addresses prompt. Ideas partially clear. Ideas are unoriginal. Main ideas support topic with some repetition and few relevant details. Ideas are unclear. The writing repeats information or presents information as a list rather than in paragraphs. There is no elaboration Completely off topic. Organization Includes multiple sentences with an appropriate introductory sentence. Supporting sentences have relevant facts and details to develop the main ideas. Includes a concluding summary sentence. The writing flows smoothly. Transitional words are used to add interest. Sentence length and structure are varied. The writing has minimal errors that do not distract from meaning. Writes two or less sentences. Main ideas and supporting details are not well organized within the paragraphs. The beginning is somewhat week. The writing is partially organized but is confusing in parts. There is no real beginning to the paper The writing lacks organization and is confusing. The ideas aren’t connected. Facts are copied and not restated in own words. The writing moves along smoothly. There is a variety of sentence structure. Some transitional words are used. The writing has some errors , but mistakes rarely detract from meaning. The writing moves along but may sound repetitive. Little variety in sentence structure. The writing is mechanical or awkward. There is no sentence variety. The writing has some errors in capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and usage, and mistakes may cause some confusion. The writing has many errors in capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and usage, and mistakes affect understanding. Sentence Fluency Conventions BiomeWebquest Created by: Shawn Holman, edited by Erin Dennis and made available for free through www.teacherspayteachers.com