Staying Alive - A WebQuest on Endangered Animals

Teacher

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This web quest was designed to bring an awareness of how many endangered animals we have right here in North America. It was made for a 3rd or 4th grade science class. My goal for the students is for them to understand that if we do not take care of our environment now, and do what's best for it, we will lose these endangered animals and they will become extinct. They need to understand that what we do today will affect our tomorrow. We need to build a future where people can live in harmony with nature.

A. Goals and Objectives:

Students will identify the needs of animals
Students will describe how some animals meet their needs
Students will observe and infer how certain adaptations help animals survive
Students will investigate an endangered species
Students will have a better understanding of how the environment effects animals
Students will have a better understanding of the personal responsibility for ones decisions of taking care of the environment and the consequences that follow
Students will create a diorama of the endangered animal and its habitat
Students will write an essay about the animal that they researched

B. Curriculum Standards:

STANDARD 5.5 (Characteristics of Life) All students will gain an understanding of the structure, characteristics, and basic needs of organisms and will investigate the diversity of life.

STANDARD 5.10 (Environmental Studies) All students will develop an understanding of the environment as a system of interdependent components affected by human activity and natural phenomena

STANDARD 6.1 (Social Studies Skills) All students will utilize historical thinking, problem solving, and research skills to maximize their understanding of civics, history, geography, and economics

STANDARD 6.2 (Civics) All students will know, understand and appreciate the values and principles of American democracy and the rights, responsibilities, and roles of a citizen in the nation and the world.

STANDARD 8.1 (Computer and information literacy ) All students will use computer applications to gather and organize information and to solve problems.

STANDARD 3.1 (Reading) All students will understand and apply the knowledge of sounds, letters, and words in written English to become independent and fluent readers, and will read a variety of materials and texts with fluency and comprehension.

STANDARD 3.2 (Writing) All students will write in clear, concise, organized language that varies in content and form for different audiences and purposes.

STANDARD 3.3 (Speaking) All students will speak in clear, concise, organized language that varies in content and form for different audiences and purposes.

STANDARD 3.4 (Listening) All students will listen actively to information from a variety of sources in a variety of situations.

STANDARD 3.5 (Viewing and media literacy) All students will access, view, evaluate, and respond to print, nonprint, and electronic texts and resources.

Web sites for Endangered Animals Web quest

1. http://www.enchantedlearning.com/coloring/endangered.shtml

"Endangered Animal Printouts." Enchanted Learning. 2007. 29 Jan. 2008

<http://www.enchantedlearning.com/coloring/endangered.shtml>.

Animal Coloring Pages

2. http://ecos.fws.gov/tess_public/SpeciesReport.do?groups=A&listingType=L&mapstatus=1

(1/30/2008). Retrieved January 30, 2008, from USFWS Threatened and Endangered SpeciesSystem Web site: http://ecos.fws.gov/tess_public/SpeciesReport.do?groups=A&listingType=L&mapstatus=1

USFWS Threatened and Endangered Species System

3. http://ecos.fws.gov/tess_public/SummaryStatistics.do

Retrieved January 30, 2008, from General Statistics for Endangered Species Web site: http://ecos.fws.gov/tess_public/SummaryStatistics.do

Statistics For Endangered Species

4. http://www.kidsplanet.org/factsheets/map.html

Fact Sheets. Retrieved January 30, 2008, from ESpecies Fact Sheets Web site: http://www.kidsplanet.org/factsheets/map.html

North American Endangered Animals

5. http://www.amnh.org/nationalcenter/Endangered/index.html

Retrieved January 30, 2008, from AMNH-Expedition: Endangered Web site: http://www.amnh.org/nationalcenter/Endangered/index.html

Outline help

6. http://kids.yahoo.com/animals

Retrieved January 30, 2008, from Animals-facts, pictures and information Web site: http://kids.yahoo.com/animals