1. Rain Forest Animal WebQuest for Third Grade Designed by (Paul Biron) (pbiron@thomastonschools.org)
2. Introduction Welcome to the Rainforest. You have been hired as a Rainforest Animal Expert. There are many people who want to get rid of the beautiful rainforest to make money from the land. Over half of all plant and animal species live in the rainforest. Save the Rainforest Project needs your help to tell these companies about so many of these wonderful creatures and why the rainforest is important to these animals. Your job over the next month will be to research and develop a written report, visual project, and be prepared for an oral presentation about an animal that lives in the rainforest. You will need to explain why your animal needs the rainforest to survive. After choosing the animal in class with your teacher, you will need to follow the steps provided to make your journey a success. You will use non-fiction books, CD-ROMS, and the internet to gain valuable information about your animal. The class will be starting in the library to research and take notes. There are many books available in our school library as well as in your classroom that you will be able to borrow. You will also use the internet for current facts and pictures of your animal for your written report.
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5. Process 1. First you will pick an animal to begin to research. You will need to keep track of all the information you gather in your Science Notebook. 2. Once you have the name of your animal, you will begin to look for information in different sources. You will need to keep track of where you found your information by writing the author, title, and copyright date for each source of information. 3. You will need to find information from at least one book source, a CD-ROM, and a website. We will work in the Library Media Center for five class periods and will have class time too. 4. You will take notes on all the questions listed above in your Social Studies Notebook and any other information on your animal that you think is interesting. 5. Once you have finished gathering information, you will need to write a sloppy copy of your report that will be handed in to your teacher to edit. 6. Your teacher will go over the edited copy with you, then you will work on the final draft. This may be done at home or in the computer center. 7. At home you will work on the visual project of your choice that shows some detail about how your animal lives. 8. Practice your oral presentation with your family. You may use index cards to help you. You may also use computer lab time to work on your computer project. 9. Bring in both written report and visual project by the due date. 10. Each of you will be doing your oral presentations one day that week.
6. Research Here are some Internet sites with information on your animal: Zoom School...Rainforest --Shows you some information on several rainforest animals. Includes pages to print off of rainforest animals. Very Cool Bugs -- Describes many kinds of insects, spiders, and butterflies. Kids' Action: Rainforest Animals -- A page with a few animals and reasons for protecting the rainforest. ZOOM SCHOOL -- Lists a large number of animals and how they grow. Rainforest Live KidZone --Many animals are mentioned with some facts. You can search their page for pictures and facts. Rainforest Explorer --Good selection of animals with facts. Seaworld ..Animal Bytes -- Lots of good animal links! The Wild Ones Index -- Lots of different animals listed! Including bats, tamarinds, leafcutter ants, lemurs, macaws, and jaguars. Kids Explorer: Sounds of the Rainforest --Good selection of animal sounds if you want to add them to your PowerPoint project. Animals of the Rainforest Photos Page --A wonderful place to find pictures of your animal.
7. Evaluation Rubric Project is creative and age-appropriate. Project is finished. Project is incomplete. Project is not related to the rainforest Spends time and creates and age-appropriate project on assigned animal Student covers all material from written report and adds many more details. Student covers all information from written report Student leaves out information from written report. Student does not present material from written report Presents an informative oral presentation to the class Has cover and well illustrated, neatly written or typed report Has no cover or limited illustrations No cover illustrations, report is messy. Has no cover or illustrations and the written report is not readable Hands in written report that is well-presented with a cover and has drawings or pictures Student hands in both assignments on the date they are due Student hands in only one assignment, not both Student turns in both assignments lat. Spends time and creates and age-appropriate project on assigned animal Completes and hands in both a written report and visual assignment Score Excellent 4 Good 3 Developing 2 Not Yet 1
8. Conclusion Once the month long project is completed, the students will have learned not only about their own Rainforest animal and also about many more animals that live in the rainforest. They will hopefully have a better appreciation for why Rainforests need to be saved and not destroyed since so many creatures rely on this tropical ecosystem. KIDS! Have a little more fun on these sites and find out what you can do to help protect the rainforest. Kids' Action Rainforest Workshop Rainforest Animal Quiz Fun and Games in the Rainforest
