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Wild About
Animals...
A Web Quest for 4th
Grade (Science)
Designed by
Jessica
Peters
[email protected]
Introduction | Task
| Process | Evaluation
| Conclusion | Credits
| Teacher Page
Introduction
Why
do
bears hibernate in the winter? How can polar bears stay warm in the
cold Arctic air? Some animals have long legs since they travel great
distances across the savannah, while other animals might have humps to
store water as they track across the desert. Today, we are going to
explore the behaviors and body structures of a variety of animals,
which are influenced by their habitats. I want you to
use this web quest to discover the needs, mentioned above, that would
help these animals.
The Task
Earth
supports many different habitats, each of which has distinct features
and distinct animal populations. Animals are adapted to these
conditions in which they live. Each team will produce a report on their
assigned habitat including the following information:
- a physical
description of the habitat.
- examples of the habitat (geographical locations).
- examples and pictures of
animals that
live in the habitat.
- discuss how the animals in
the assigned habitat are adapted for life there through either physical
or behavioral adaptations.
You will explore
the Internet to gain an understanding of how behaviors and body
structures help animals survive in their particular habitat.
The Process
Exploring Animals' Behaviors and Body
Structures:
1. You'll be assigned to a team
of four students to explore the various
habitats provided.
2. You
will explore the web sites
that I have provided along with other resources of your own. Make sure
to list all your resources at the end of your report.
3. You will be exploring your assigned habitat to gain a more in-depth
understanding of the behaviors and body structures of the animals that
live in that particular habitat.
4. Your team should record your findings since you will display them
for your fellow classmates' observation.
5. Here are some ideas to consider when
exploring your assigned habitat:
a. Grasslands: Research the speeds of the animals
that live there.
b. Temperate forest: many trees grow there. Explain
how animals that live there depend on those trees.
c. Tropical rain forest: Keep the three main levels
of the rain forest in mind and find an animal for each level
d.
Polar: research both the polar bear (North) and
the penguin (South Pole).
6. Questions
to consider when researching the animals' behaviors:
a. How did your animal acquire each behavior?
b. Which of your animal's behaviors are learned and
which are instinctual?
c. Are any of your animal's behaviors linked to the
environment or climate in which it is found?
d. Do the animal's body structures help it in any
way?
e. Can animal's instincts and learned behaviors be
related to its environment? Think about this: In order to survive, a
polar bear instinctively goes into "winter sleep" to conserve its
energy when it has gone about two weeks without food, which can be
scarce in the Arctic. Think about other behavior, such as migration,
hibernation, and primate grooming.
7. Your group should prepare a report from your findings with
the name
of the animals, descriptions of the various animals' behaviors and body
structures, and pictures of the animals.
8. From the list you have created about each
animals' behaviors.
Decide if these are behavioral or physical. A polar bear's thick fur,
which protects it from the cold, is an examples of a physical
adaptation. A lizard that "plays dead" to avoid predators is displaying
a behavioral adaptation by displaying a chart like this one in your
report. You should use Microsoft Excel to make this table and insert it
into your report.
Animal
|
Adaptation
|
Effect
|
Behavioral/ Physical
|
Giraffe
|
Long neck
|
Can eat leaves in tall
trees (the parts of plants other animals cannot reach)
|
Physical
|
Bird
|
Flies south in winter
|
Warmth
|
Behavioral
|
Porcupine
|
Sharp, stiff quills
|
Can defend itself against
enemies
|
Physical
|
Dolphin
|
Tail
|
Helps it swim
|
Physical
|
9. For each group, the class will decide if they were right
in their decision on
the basis of the animals' behaviors and body structures, whether that
particular animal truely belongs in that habitat the group assigned it.
Evaluation
You will be evaluated upon the
completion of the report, which should include all aspects meaning a
physical description of the habitat, examples of the habitat
(geographical locations), examples and pictures of animals that live in
the habitat, and discuss how the animals in the assigned habitat are
adapted for life there through either physical or behavioral
adaptations, and presentation. Also, the report will be a common grade
for the entire group and must record all resources/web sites that were
used.
|
Beginning
1
|
Developing
2
|
Accomplished
3
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Exemplary
4
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Score
|
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Physical description of assigned
habitat.
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Vague, lack description
of assigned habitat, reflects beginning level of performance.
|
Mild description
of assigned habitat, reflects development and
movement toward mastery of performance.
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Vivid description
of assigned habitat, reflects mastery of
performance.
|
Specific description
of assigned habitat, reflects the highest
level of performance.
|
|
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An array of animals with pictures.
|
Few animals, NOT great variety of
pictures, reflects a beginning
level of performance.
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Several animals, NOT too many
pictures or not that great of pictures, reflects development and
movement toward mastery of performance.
|
Many animals, several pictures,
reflects mastery of
performance.
|
Great deal of animals with an
assortment of great pictures, reflects the highest
level of performance.
|
|
|
Listed adaptations or body
structures with a table displaying each animal's adaptation as either
behavioral or physical.
|
Few or did not understand the
differences between behavioral and physical, reflects a beginning
level of performance.
|
Several, does not understand the
difference well enough, reflects development and
movement toward mastery of performance.
|
Many, understands the basic
difference between behavioral and physical, reflects mastery of
performance.
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Great deal of adaptations with a
remarkable understanding of the difference between behavioral and
physical, reflects the highest
level of performance.
|
|
|
Report with resources displaying
their knowledge of behaviors and body structures that help
animals survive in a particular habitat.
|
Not well-researched report with
only few resources, reflects a beginning
level of performance.
|
Kind of researched report with
several resources, reflects development and
movement toward mastery of performance.
|
More researched with many
resources, reflects mastery of
performance.
|
Well-researched report with an
array of resources, reflects the highest
level of performance.
|
|
|
Effective presentation and engages
the entire class.
|
NOT prepared or does not understand
how to present research, reflects a beginning
level of performance.
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Kind of prepared but NOT confident
with presenting their research, reflects development and
movement toward mastery of performance.
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More prepared and NOT confident
with presenting material, reflects mastery of
performance.
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Prepared and very confident with
presenting research, reflects the highest
level of performance.
|
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Conclusion
<>You
should have gained an understanding of how to use the Internet, when
researching a topic like animal behaviors and body structures in
various habitats. You also should have learned about other habitats
that they were researched by your classmates. You should have learned
how to use technology to benefit and help you when researching and
documenting your work. When researching future subjects, you can use Google Search and http://www.ask.com as search engines in
order to find an abundant array of web sites.
Credits
& References
Images Were Retrieved from the Following Sites:
http://www.biolumanetics.net/tantalus/pictures/bovistapictures/animals3.jpg
http://www.free-graphics.com/clipart/Animals/Land_Animals/Wild_Animals_Around_World.jpg
http://www.generalsquarters.com/images/party_animals.gif
http://www.greenville.k12...dbunting/animals.gif
http://www.pari.go.jp/english/8-key/8-key.htm
http://www.ioe.mmu.ac.uk/courses/decs/intro.shtml
Some Text Was
Retrieved From the Following Sites:.
http://www.cheetahspot.com
http://www.northolympic.com/onp/index.html
http://www.desertusa.com/animal.html
http://www.pbs.org/edens/manu/index.htm
http://octopus.gma.org/surfing/antarctica
http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/habitats
Last
updated on December 2, 2004. Based on a template from The
WebQuest Page
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