Undiscovered Biomes
Introduction
You are the chosen ones! You and a group of
your colleagues have been selected to complete a very important mission:
the discovery of a new biome. As scientists, it is your job to locate
information about your new biome and keep a journal of your data to be
sent back to the laboratory. You should focus on recording information
related to the location, climate, animals, plants/vegetation and interesting
facts about the biome. Keep a separate journal entry for each day's
discoveries.
Good Luck! The world is depending on you!
Tasks
Complete the following tasks while working on your
biome
-
Choose the biome you would like to learn about: Grassland,
Desert,
Tundra,
Rain
Forest
-
Research the location of the new biome (where
in the world is it located)
-
Research the climate of the biome
-
Find out what kind of animals call this biome
home
-
Try to discover what plants or vegetation
are native to this biome
-
Locate and describe any interesting facts
that you think the world would like to know
-
Keep a journal log that describes each of the above
items
-
Type the daily journal entries using a word processor
-
Include a title page with at least two pieces of
clip art related to your biome
-
Have a class member take a picture of you and your
colleagues
-
Develop an artifact from your biome (a diorama, a
poster, a brochure, etc.)
Resources
Additional Resources
Explorapedia, Microsoft
The Process
-
You will choose the biome to research from the list
above.
-
Individually, each member of the group will research
using the above resources to locate information about the biome.
You may all look at each web site, or you may divide web sites or data
(such as climate, location, etc.).
-
Decide what information that you have collected you
will use.
-
Get together with your team members and decide who
will complete each area of your research (climate, location, etc.).
-
Begin typing your journal entry on a word processor.
-
Choose a font and a font size for your journal.
Remember, each journal page must be the same size and font.
-
Look for a map in a clip art program or another program
to include with your location page.
-
After all pages are completed on the word processor,
get together with your group and choose some clip art for your title page.
-
Ask a class member to take a picture of your group.
-
Decide what kind of artifact you will create to represent
your biome: brochure, diorama, poster, etc.
-
Begin creating your artifact
Evaluation
You will be evaluated in 2 ways: individually
and as a group. Using two pieces of paper, tell what you think your
individual grade should be. Justify your answer by telling about
things you did to make the project successful. Include ways that
you think you could improve.
Next, tell what grade the group should receive.
Give examples of why the group should receive this grade. Be sure
to tell what you did to contribute to the group and what you can do to
improve.
If you would like to see an example of a rubric for your group grade,
click
here. Click the back button to return to this page.
Conclusion
Now that you have visited an unknown biome you
should be a mini expert on it!! When someone asks where in the world
the biome is located, you should be able to go to a map and show them.
You should also be able to explain what the climate of this biome is and
what kind of animals live there. Your science career is only beginning!
If you would like to try additional activities related to this project,
try one of the ideas below.
Additional Activities
-
Complete the research on a different biome.
Compare and contrast your findings.
-
Create a brochure including the facts from your biome.
Put it in persuasive format.
-
Write a story about how you would spend an additional
day at this location
-
Author a book on animals found in your biome.
Use one of the resource links to capture pictures for your booklet
-
Create a puzzle about items found in your biome from
http://www.apte.com/puzzles
last update 27 December 1999 by:
NMZ