Mission: Project Rescue
Teacher Page

The main goal of our group was to design a WebQuest that would interest, challenge and stimulate learners in a creative and engaging way. The WebQuest was created as an assignment at University of Richmond for EDUC 343U, Computers in the Classroom.

For this WebQuest, the police have recovered animals that fell off a truck on the interstate. Officer West needs the students to help him decide where the animals live and what they'll need to survive when they're shipped back to their habitats. All the animals are native to North America.

For this WebQuest, you will divide your students into five teams. Each team will study five different animals and six different habitats. After gathering information, each group will come to a consensus and decide which animal goes to which habitat. The lesson does not end there. Each of the five groups will design a container to ship their animal home. The container must house proper food, water and comforts so that the animal survives the trip. Each group will then present their container to the class.

This lesson was designed for 3rd grade students. It could be used to introduce a unit of science study or as a follow up. It is our hope that this WebQuest will strengthen your students' knowledge of these animals and their habitats.

The students will become investigators and must pick their way through information, decipher it and synthesize it. Many habitats overlap, and the students must not only choose the correct habitat, they must also decide how to get that animal back to its home the most comfortable way possible. They must use collaboration skills, be creative and use their presentation skills.

This lesson is designed to meet the Virginia Standards of Learning.

Life Processes 3.4

"The student will investigate and understand that behavioral and physical adaptations allow animals to respond to life needs. Key concepts include methods of gathering and storing food, finding shelter, defending themselves, and rearing young."

Living Systems: 3.5

 

"The student will investigate and understand relationships among organisms in aquatic and terrestrial food chains. Key concepts include

• producers, consumer, decomposer;
• herbivore, carnivore, omnivore; and
• predator-prey."

Living Systems: 3.6

 

"The student will investigate and understand that environments support a diversity of plants and animals that shared limited resources. Key concepts include

• water-related environments (pond, marshland, swamp, stream, river, and ocean environments);
• dry-land environments (desert, grassland, rain forest, and forest environments); and
• population and community.

 

Oral Language 3.1

 

"The student will use effective communication skills in group activates.

 

• Listen attentively by making eye contact, facing the speaker, asking questions, and paraphrasing what is said.
• Ask and respond to questions from teachers and other group members.
• Explain what has been learned."

Oral Language 3.2

 

"The student will present brief oral reports.

• Speak clearly.
• Use appropriate volume and pitch,
• Speak at an understandable rate.
• Organize ideas sequentially or around major points of information.
• Use clear and specific vocabulary to communicate ideas."

Research 3.10

 

"The student will record information from print and non print resources.

• Use dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other reference books.
• Use videos, interviews, and cassette recording.
• Use available technology.

This lesson is designed to last for several class periods and should take between two to four weeks, depending on the number of students and the number of computers.

Please use the following worksheets for completion of this WebQuest.
Animal Investigation (PDF)
Habitat Investigation (PDF)
Project Rescue - Final Destination (PDF)

Each student will need 5 copies of "Animal Investigation" and 6 copies of "Habitat Investigation". Each group will need 1 copy of "Project Rescue - Final Destination."

It may be helpful to review the Student Process. When forming student groups, it is suggested that you choose students with a variety of skills and motivations. As the facilitator, it will be your role to assign groups, designate computer time and evaluate their progress.

To differentiate this lesson, you might have students create a PowerPoint presentation, create a animal "fun fact" booklet or create another report on endangered species. Perhaps your students can take a field trip and visit some of the real habitats for these animals or donate their fun fact book to a local zoo.

• Computers with Internet access and printers.
• Adobe Acrobat reader to print worksheets (free download link).
• Worksheets provided above.

The evaluation is as follows:

The lesson will engage students in higher level thinking skills and expand their knowledge on animals and habitats. The best elements of this lesson are the creatvity and new knowledge that the students will apply.

Hee Yun's Graphic Collection. (1996, September 12). Korea. Retrieved July 26, 2001,

from the World Wide: http://soback.kornet.nm.kr/~pixeline/heeyun/graphics.html

 

Rubistar. (2001). Hight Plains Regional Technology in Education Consortium. Retrieved July 26, 2001, from the World Wide Web: http://rubistar.4teachers.org/

 

The WebQuest Page. (2001, July 12).Retrieved July 26, 2001, from the World Wide Web: http://edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/

 

Clip Art and photographs courtesy of "© 2001-www.arttoday.com"

 

Files retrieved from the World Wide Web for student research sites on July 26, 2001:

http://www.desertusa.com/aug96/du_krat.html

http://www.lsb.syr.edu/projects/cyberzoo/americanbison.html

http://www.tallgrass.org/buffalo.html

http://www.EnchantedLearning.com/subjects/invertebrates/crustacean/Crayfishprintout.shtml

http://www.mackers.com/crayfish/

http://lsb.syr.edu/projects/cyberzoo/porcupine.html

http://www.proaxis.com/~cwrc/LivingWithWild/WildNatHist/Porcupine.htm

http://chesterfield.k12.va.us/~jdudley/habitats/desert/desert.html

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss5/biome/deserts.html

http://chesterfield.k12.va.us/~jdudley/habitats/rainfor/rain.html

http://www.toucansam.kelloggs.ca/eng/c2p1.htm

http://chesterfield.k12.va.us/~jdudley/habitats/grassland/grass.html

http://mbgnet.mobot.org/sets/grasslnd/def.htm

http://chesterfield.k12.va.us/~jdudley/habitats/ocean/ocean.html

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss5/biome/aquatic.html

http://chesterfield.k12.va.us/~jdudley/habitats/marshsw/mrsw.html

http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/types/swamp.html

http://mbgnet.mobot.org/sets/temp/whats.htm

http://chesterfield.k12.va.us/~jdudley/habitats/forest/forest.html

http://arnica.csustan.edu/esrpp/fkr.html

http://www.defenders.org/kidsplanet/factsheets/manatee.html

http://pelotes.jea.com/Manatee.htm