Surviving in the Sonoran desert:
Then and now.
Courtesy of americansouthwest. net
Developed by:
Mike Bridschge
Mike.bridschge@cgelem.k12.az.us
This is a middle school science
project.
This project will require a visit to
the
courtesy of pittmeadows.com Tommy-store.com Autoweb.net
Introduction:
Imagine living in an area with no
stores or restaurants to buy food or clothes; no cars to take you where you
want to go; no air conditioning or even coolers. How would you eat? What would
you eat? How would you travel? What would you do for fun? Early inhabitants of
this area were faced with these questions. They had to find food to eat, make
their own clothes, and do many things by hand that is now done by machines.
Sound fun? Not really!
Surviving in an environment can sometimes be a challenge for organisms
trying to do so. Surviving in the Sonoran desert can be
especially challenging. In order to survive, an organism must sometimes change
the way they behave. In
this web quest we will explore ways that people in this area have changed that
allowed them to survive for hundreds of years in an unfriendly environment. We will
focus on how providing food for an increasing population has changed.
Task:
In order
for an organism to survive it is sometimes necessary for the organism to change
the way they do things. In this assignment you are to discover the ways humans
and technology have changed over time to continue to live in the unfriendly
Questions:
·
How did early people obtain
food?
·
What change in
behavior/technology caused them to settle in one area?
·
How has this change in behavior/technology continued to
change as population increases?
·
Why are these changes in behavior/technology necessary for
large populations to survive?
Student
Roles:
Courtesy of www.nps.gov
Person 1:
Responsible for researching and presenting information on how behavior/technology for obtaining food had changed from early Indians to the early United States (1700’s-1800). Be sure to include changes that allowed for an increased population. Use the links provided to find info. Read the links with the assignment in mind.
Person 2:
Responsible for researching and
presenting information on how early Indians from this area obtained food. Be sure to 
include changes that allowed an increased population. Use
the links provided to find info. Read the links with the assignment in
mind.
Courtesy of
http://www.historylink101.com
Person 3:
Responsible for researching and presenting information on how modern people in this area obtain food. Be sure to include changes that allow for an increased population. Use the links provided to find info. Read the links with the assignment in mind.
Courtesy of www.hrntractors.com
Directions:
As a
group you are to research various websites and visit a local museum to gather information on how
inhabitants of this area have had to change in order to survive. Although the
focus is providing food, it is acceptable to include other aspects of everyday
life. This may include housing, transportation, etc. Show how
farming/technology has changed over time to feed an increasing population. Once research has been completed
individually, you will come together as a group and compare/analyze your
information. As a group decide how the information will be presented. Each
person will be responsible for creating/presenting their part of the project. You
will need to be creative, neat, and colorful. Extra credit may be given for
projects that make models of equipment or ones that are very creative. You will
be graded using the rubric found below.
Presentation
Options:
·
Oral presentation
·
Book
·
Poster
·
Power Point
·
Flow Chart
Resources:
·
http://www.historylink101.com/lessons/farm-city/story-of-farming.htm
·
http://www.desertusa.com/ind1/ind_new/ind8.html
·
http://www.connerprairie.org/historyonline/agimp.html
·
http://matrixbookstore.biz/farm_facts.htm
·
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blfarm1.htm http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/fieldday/kids/equipment/equipment.htm http://www.deere.com/en_US/ProductCatalog/FR/category/FR_TRACTORS.html
Evaluation/Grading Criteria:
You will be graded on participation, gathering accurate information
and on how creative you are at presenting it. Each student will be grades
individually on their own part of the project. No group grade will be given.
You are solely responsible for your own grade even though this is a group
project.
|
CATEGORY |
4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
|
Participation |
Used
time well in lab and focused attention on the project. |
Used
time pretty well. Stayed focused on the project most of the time. |
Did
the project but did not appear very interested. Focus was lost on several
occasions. |
Participation
was minimal OR student was hostile about participating. |
|
Components of the report |
All
required elements are present and additional elements that add to the report
(e.g., thoughtful comments, graphics) have been added. |
All
required elements are present. |
One
required element is missing, but additional elements that add to the report
(e.g., thoughtful comments, graphics) have been added. |
Several
required elements are missing. |
|
Background Sources |
Several
reputable background sources were used and cited correctly. Material is
translated into student's own words. |
A
few reputable background sources are used and cited correctly. Material is translated
into student's own words. |
A
few background sources are used and cited correctly, but some are not
reputable sources. Material is translated into student's own words. |
Material
is directly copied rather than put into students own words and/or background
sources are cited incorrectly. |
When doing an assignment like this you may encounter
other questions or problems. What questions or problem do you encounter? Was it
hard as a group to stay focused on the topic since there were so many other
changes over the given time frame?
Take a few minutes to briefly discuss the following questions.
1. In looking back at your project, what other
aspects of surviving in the desert have caused people to change the way they do
things?
2. Think about how farming equipment has changed over
years. How is this similar to how living organisms may “evolve”
over time?
3. Think about living in the desert hundreds of years ago. Do you think modern people could survive today using the methods used back then? Why/Why not?