Ecosystems

Introduction

What is an ecosystem?

What are the different types of ecosystems? How do living things survive in an ecosystem? In this webquest, you and a partner will investigate an ecosystem and create a Power Point presentation to present your ecosystem to the class.

Task

You and a partner will choose one ecosystem to investigate. Both of you need to become experts on the ecosystem by doing research using the Internet. We will be working on this project all week.

Process

Day1: We will have a brief discussion and power point presentation about ecosystems.

You and your assigned partner will then use a graphic organizer to make a web of different ecosystems. Start thinking about which ecosystem you would like to become an expert on.

Day 2-3: Once you have completed the web you and your partner will choose 1 ecosystem you would like to introduce to the class. Once you have chosen your ecosystem, you and your partner will use the Internet sites provided to research them. You should look for the following information:

The name of the ecosystem?
Where on the planet is the ecosystem?
The living and nonliving things?
What the animals eat?
Where the animals live (land, water, both)?
Any interesting facts you find about the ecosystem!

Day 4-5: Make sure you record your information. When you are done researching you and your partner will put the infromation into a power point presentation. You will present your power point presentation on day 5. Your presentation should be at least 5 minutes long and include:

A title page with the tour guides' names on it
At least 1 picture of each ecosystem
At least 5 of the questions listed above answered and organized
At least 1 interesting fact about the ecosystem
Different backgrounds and colors
At least 5 Internet sources

Have fun and be creative!

Helpful Websites

www.awf.org/wildlives/

www.bergen.org/AAST/Projects/ES/AP/africa.html

www.oaklandzoo.org/atoz/africa.html

www.kidsplanet.org/factsheets/map.html

www.kidsgeo.com/geography-for-kids/0164-ecosystems.php

http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/msese/earthsysflr/biomes.html

http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/nwepecosystems.htm

Evaluation

Points possible	o	1-2	3-4	5
Graphic organizer Web	Student did not do a web.	Student created a web on the wrong topics.	Student created a web with few ideas and no pictures.	Student created a web with sufficient ideas ad pictures.
Internet Resources	0 Internet sources were used.	1-2 Internet sources were used.	3-4 Internet sources were used.	5 or more Internet sources were used.
Presentation	Did not answer any of the 5 questions and did not include an interesting fact. None of the requirements were met.	Answered some of the questions but did not include an interesting fact. Only some of the requiremnets were met.	Answered most of the questions and provided an interesting fact. Most of the requirements were met.	Answered all of the questions and included an interesting fact. All of the requirements were met.
Total Points Possible	0	3-6	9-12	15

Conclusion

Congratulations! You are all expert ecosystem tour guides. I hope everyone enjoyed our ecosystem tour. For more fun and interesting activities and information check out these websites: