Courtesy of
This web quest was designed for fifth grade
students. They will describe the impact
that a natural event has on plants and animals in the southwest. They will also come up with ways for certain
plants and animals to help them survive particular natural events. It meets many of the standards for the core
subject areas of writing and social studies.
For writing the standards that are used include: Strand 3 Concept 2 PO
1-3 and all of
Courtesy of
The
higher elevations of the state, running diagonally from the southeast to the
northwest, average between 25 and 30 inches of precipitation (rain plus melted
snow) annually, while the desert southwest averages as low as three or four
inches per year. The plateau country in
the northeastern corner of the state receives approximately 10 inches of
precipitation annually. Since vegetation
in this area consists of sagebrush and native grasses, it is used primarily for
grazing. Higher ridges here are covered
with junipers and pinion trees.
WHAT IF……
You and your investigative team of four are going to research a natural
event and its effects on the environment.
Then you will be required to do an oral presentation of your findings
that includes visual aides.
·
What is a drought and can it really occur?
·
How would a drought affect a coyote living in the
desert?
·
Describe the impact that a drought would have on a
certain southwestern wildlife plant.
·
Explain how you would develop a method for the
survival of all the plants and animals that are affected by a drought.
This student will write a summary explaining
what a drought is and whether the group feels that it could really happen in
the
This
student will write a summary explaining how a drought would impact a coyote and
what it would need to survive. Each student is also responsible for creating a
visual aide on their portion and presenting it to the class.
Courtesy of
This student will ask the group to decide which
southwestern plant they are going to research.
Then they will get it approved by the teacher. Once approved, they will explain how a
drought particularly affects that plant and what it needs to survive. Each student is also responsible for creating
a visual aide on their portion and presenting it to the class.
This student will lead the group in
a discussion and finalize one method they would implement to increase the survival
rate of all plants and animals that are affected by a drought. This person will write a summary explaining
the method. Each student is also
responsible for creating a visual aide on their portion and presenting it to
the class.
1) Please revisit the Boyce Thompson Arboretum by
visiting this website Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Home hold down
the control button and click on it.
Familiarize yourself with the plants and animals and their functions
that we just learned about.
2)
As
a group, read the webpage National Weather Service - NWS Flagstaff
(hold down the control button and click on it).
Then discuss the meaning of drought and the effects it has on the
physical environment (plants and animals).
3)
Person 1
needs to begin on its task. Refer to tasks for detailed
information.
4)
Person 2
needs to hold down the control button and click on this website Coyote and read the entire article for understanding. Once Person 2 is done reading the
article they need to complete their task as described under the task section. To gather more information for your summary,
you can visit this site as well: Desert Animal Survival - DesertUSA.
5) 
Person 3
needs to get the group together to
discuss and select the southwestern plant they want to report on. One plant must be selected and APPROVED by
the teacher before Person 3 starts their task. To gather information and help you to select
your plant, you and your group can visit this site: Arizona Highways. You can also use the book titled
6)
Once the plant has been approved, Person 3 needs to hold down the control button and click on
this
7)
Person 4
needs to hold a group discussion and determine/create one method for the survival of all
the plants and animals that are affected by a drought. The entire
group needs to agree on this method and take part in designing it. Once a method has been selected, Person 4
must complete their task as described under the task section.
8)
Once
each person has completed their task, the group needs to compile all four of
the summaries/paragraphs into one paper.
All papers need to be typed. If a
group runs out of time, they can neatly handwrite it but one point will be
deducted. You will only turn in one
paper, with all the paragraphs combined so it flows smoothly, per group.
9)
After
the paper is completed, each person is responsible for preparing their visual
aids and presentations that relate to the task they completed. Refer to the presentation section of this web
quest for ideas on visual aids. These
aren’t the only things you can do…be creative.
You can do or use whatever you want.
10)
Lastly,
each group needs to prepare their presentations so that it flows and there is
no “wasted” time (time where nothing is being said or done). Please make sure you practice eye contact
with the audience, voice tone, and flow (know who goes first, second, third,
and fourth). Each group will present on
the last day that the project is due.
11)
Finally!!!!!! Make sure that you all participate and treat
each other with respect. This is a group
project which also means a group grade.
All grades will be on everyone’s participation and end products. Please resolve all conflicts within your
group and practice problem solving. This
should be a fun and enjoyable project; work cooperatively with your group. But most of all enjoy yourselves and have
fun. Good luck on your endeavors!!!!!
·
Posters
·
Charts
·
3D
Models
·
arboretum.ag.arizona.edu
·
www.arizonahighways.com
·
www.gf.state.az.us/h_f/game_coyote.shtml
·
www.gf.state.az.us/w_c/urban_az_wildlife.shtml
·
www.desertusa.com/survive.html
·
www.desertusa.com/du_plantsurv.html
·
www.wrh.noaa.gov/fgz/science/drought.php?wfo=fgz
·
common flowers
By: Beverly Magley
|
Oral Presentation Rubric: What
If.... |
||||
|
CATEGORY |
4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
|
Speaks
Clearly |
Speaks
clearly and distinctly all (100-95%) the time, and mispronounces no words. |
Speaks clearly
and distinctly all (100-95%) the time, but mispronounces one word. |
Speaks
clearly and distinctly most (94-85%) of the time. Mispronounces no more than
one word. |
Often
mumbles or can not be understood OR mispronounces more than one word. |
|
Preparedness |
Student
is completely prepared and has obviously rehearsed. |
Student
seems pretty prepared but might have needed a couple more rehearsals. |
The
student is somewhat prepared, but it is clear that rehearsal was lacking. |
Student does
not seem at all prepared to present. |
|
Posture
and Eye Contact |
Stands up
straight, looks relaxed and confident. Establishes eye contact with everyone
in the room during the presentation. |
Stands up
straight and establishes eye contact with everyone in the room during the
presentation. |
Sometimes
stands up straight and establishes eye contact. |
Slouches
and/or does not look at people during the presentation. |
|
Content |
Shows a
full understanding of the topic. |
Shows a good
understanding of the topic. |
Shows a
good understanding of parts of the topic. |
Does not
seem to understand the topic very well. |
|
Listens
to Other Presentations |
Listens
intently. Does not make distracting noises or movements. |
Listens
intently but has one distracting noise or movement. |
Sometimes
does not appear to be listening but is not distracting. |
Sometimes
does not appear to be listening and has distracting noises or movements. |
|
|
CATEGORY |
4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
|
Focus on Topic (Content) |
There
is one clear, well-focused topic. Main idea stands out and is supported by
detailed information. |
Main
idea is clear but the supporting information is general. |
Main
idea is somewhat clear but there is a need for more supporting information. |
The
main idea is not clear. There is a seemingly random collection of
information. |
|
Support for Topic (Content) |
Relevant,
telling, quality details give the reader important information that goes
beyond the obvious or predictable. |
Supporting
details and information are relevant, but one key issue or portion of the
storyline is unsupported. |
Supporting
details and information are relevant, but several key issues or portions of
the storyline are unsupported. |
Supporting
details and information are typically unclear or not related to the topic. |
|
Accuracy of Facts (Content) |
All
supportive facts are reported accurately. |
Almost
all supportive facts are reported accurately. |
Most
supportive facts are reported accurately. |
NO
facts are reported OR most are inaccurately reported. |
|
Sequencing (Organization) |
Details
are placed in a logical order and the way they are presented effectively
keeps the interest of the reader. |
Details
are placed in a logical order, but the way in which they are
presented/introduced sometimes makes the writing less interesting. |
Some
details are not in a logical or expected order, and this distracts the
reader. |
Many
details are not in a logical or expected order. There is little sense that
the writing is organized. |
|
Visual |
Complements
the written report, showing details above and beyond what is written |
Complements
the written report, detailing what is written in the report. |
Is
not relevant to the written report. |
No
visual. |
|
Mechanics/ Grammar |
Uses
proper grammar, mechanics and spelling in the paper and on the poster. |
Has
only a few grammar, mechanics and spelling errors in the paper and on the
poster. |
Has
major grammar, mechanics, and spelling errors in the paper and on the poster.
|
No
control of grammar, mechanics, and spelling errors in both paper and on
poster. |
Now that we have discovered the tremendous impacts
that natural events have on the physical environment, think about how humans
would also be affected by a natural event. Would it be different from the results you
found about plants? Would it affect
humans the same way it affected the plants and animals? Would your method you designed help humans as
much as it did the plants and animals?
