rainfo

A WebQuest for 5th Grade (Science)

Designed by:

Myra Washington

Introduction

The year is 3015 and you are living in the Space Center on the Moon. Modern technology has allowed you and your whole fifth grade class to travel to the moon for some hands on study. The trip was scheduled to last four (4) days. The purpose of the trip was to study the hole in the ozone layer from the moon. Your class has been given many awards and recognition for your work on other science problems. It’s no wonder your class was chosen for this expedition.

When your class arrives you learn that man has destroyed all the rainforests. Now you, your 19 other classmates and your teacher, Miss. Howard must figure out what went wrong. What caused the ultimate destruction of the rainforests, how could it have been prevented, and what is the impact of this destruction? With these questions, you and your classmates began your study.

The class is divided into 4 groups with 5 students in each group. Your group names are as follows:

Group 1 – Doctors. Your function is to investigate some of the medical discoveries made using plants and animals of the rain forest.

Group 2 – Terminators. Your function is to investigate some of the causes of destruction to the rainforest.

Group 3 – Greenpeace. Your function is to investigate the benefits of the rainforest and the effects on the environment.

Group 4 – Detectives. Your function is to research the types of animals, plants and bio-features of the rainforest, such as the climate.

Miss. Howard will conduct research of space and analyze whether or not the same type of destruction that happened on Earth could happen in Space. You will have two days to finish your set tasks and report back to the group for analysis.

The Task

Once the rain forests were looked upon as majestic and untouched by its ever changing surrounding. Now that people are living longer, the need for more room for farmland and human habitat has taken precedent and we have resorted to destroying the natural wonders of the world for self-gain.

Each group is to investigate and design a plan or a product that would be used as a starting point to control and hopefully reverse some of the destruction caused by man. The product(s) you design, newsletters, new ways to recycle, will be taken back to Earth and presented to the House and Senate.

Also with your analysis, please include a comparison study, for your area of interest, showing data before the massive use of technology and current. How have some of the new technology, new pesticides and the extinction of some animals effected our environment? Did these changes bring about more acid rains? Is recycling really doing all it should to help the problem or is it also contributing to it.

How you present your material is up to you. Some suggestions would be a video, a web page, report, etc. If possible, include some arguments for both the pros and cons and your views on this issue.

The Process

Now that you have been divided into groups, it may be best if each group retreat into different direction of the space center. Doctors will go North, Terminators, South, Greenpeace, East, Detectives, West, and Miss. Howard, center, which will also be the meeting place once all information has been gathered.

The following Web sites has been selected for each groups. Please review each site and gather as much information as you can to create your report. If possible, charts and pictures will help us all to understand any confusing points.

Organize your information starting with the first stage to the end destruction.

http://www.greenpeace.org/~forests/

http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Canopy/5974/

http://www.ontheline.org.uk/explore/nature/trfindex.htm

http://www.webdirectory.com/Science/Agriculture/Forestry/Rain_Forests/

http://www.cocori.com/library/eco/naturcat.htm

http://ladb.unm.edu/retanet/plans/sci/rain.html

http://ca.yahoo.com/Science/Ecology/Ecosystems/Forests/Rain_Forests/

http://passporttoknowledge.com/rainforest/main.html

http://kids.earth.nasa.gov/

http://www.rainforest.org/

http://www.medicine.org/

Evaluation

Well written with correct spelling
Assignment completed on time
Information in sequence
Analysis based on facts
Presentation clear and precise

Total Points (100)

Conclusion

Upon your return to Earth, you should be able to evaluate yourself to make sure that you are doing what you can to preserve the Earth. You are the future and how you treat the Earth today will determine rather or not your tomorrow will be safe or if there is a tomorrow.

Below are some additional websites. The first one is from a group of scientists who are concerned with the environment and reasons why they would like to preserve it. The second is a site that has many definitions of commonly used terms. I thought they might be of some help to you. Enjoy your trip home. I will eagerly be awaiting your findings.

http://www.ucsusa.org/resources/warning.html

http://www.edf.org/Earth2Kids/Rain_glossary.html

Credits & References

http://kids.msfc.nasa.gov/

(space shuttle image)

www.trancemedia.net

(spaceship)