Amazon Rainforest Webquest

Teacher's Guide

Designed by: Aja Appel
aja.appel@pacific.edu

Image provided courtesy of Eric Appel

Introduction

The Amazon Rainforest Webquest was designed as part of my "Supporting Learning with Technology" course at Pacific University. I plan on teaching this lesson during my Student Teaching experience in March 2007. This lesson is designed to be the final lesson taught in a unit on the Amazon Rainforest. Previous lessons in this unit have covered food webs, geography of the Amazon River Basis, tropcial forest biomes, and rainforest destruction.

This lesson will give students the opportunity to do some in-depth research about the Amazon rainforest and specific animals that live in this habitat. Students will also be exploring ways that humans use the rainforest and how humans are destroying these forests that we rely so heavily upon. Students will need to synthesize the information they find and come up with a solution for how we can stop rainforest destruction. More specifically, they need to develop a solution that they can actually implement.

Learners

This lesson plan is a social studies and science lesson for sixth-grade students. In terms of social studies students are exploring human interaction with the environment and the consequences of these interactions. For science students will be studying the anatomy of organisms, food chain interactions, and the tropical forest biome. This lesson would also be effective for students in middle school.

In order to do this project students need to have some basic knowledge about how to navigate the Internet. They also need to know how to keep organized notes of their research information and their sources.

Curriculum Standards

Social Studies Standards

Analyze the consequences of human interactions with the Amazon Rainforest
Design a plan for helping to prevent rainforest destruction

Science Standards

Research and interpret information about the Amazon Rainforest
Describe factors that influence or change the balance of animal populations in their environment
Identify specific features of an animal that have allowed it to adapt to life in the rainforest

Thinking and Communication Skills

Think critically about real-world issues
Express their ideas and/or thoughts through an original art piece
Present their research findings to an audience of their peers
Teamwork, communication, and problem-solving in a small group environment

The Process

This project involves students doing research using the WebQuest and then working in teams to present their research to the class by creating an informational project and giving a presentation. Since this lesson is a WebQuest every student will need access to a computer. I would recommend reserving the computer lab for a length of three hours for research time, spread out over 3-6 days. Some groups will need access to the computer lab to create their final project if their project is a report, PowerPoint presentation, brochure, newspaper, etc. These groups will need at least two more hours in the computer lab. Obviously this interdisciplinary lesson will span over a few days. This lesson plan requires little preparation or set-up time. The teacher's main role in this lesson is facilitating and the lesson can be carried out by a novice teacher. No special teacher skills are required for this lesson. It helps, however, if the teacher is able to ask stimulating questions and encourage students to think critically about this important issue.

First assign students into teams of three. I recommend that you carefully assign students to groups to ensure that students who may need extra help are paired with students who are able to provide this help.
Take the class to the computer lab and give them time to individually explore different species of animals who live in the rainforest. As students are exploring they should be jotting down notes about what animals they might like to research and interesting information that they find. During this time students are simply browsing and exploring different websites about the rainforest and animals who live there. The teacher should be answering questions when needed and possibly stimulating thinking by asking students about their ideas and about information they have found.
Rainforest Animals
Rainforest Photos
After this individual exploration time, give groups a chance to meet and decide which animal they would like to focus their campaign on. Every group in class must have a different animal. Group members should work together to decide how they would like to research and present their project. Final projects will need to include some way of displaying their research findings (this can be a report, a concept map, a PowerPoint presentation, a brochure, a newspaper, etc.) and a visual of the animal (such as a poster, painting, large-scale drawing, etc.) Groups should also decide on which role each person would like to have. The roles are primary zoologist, environmentalist, and campaign manager. The roles are described below. During this time the teacher is facilitating and answering questions. The students are negotiating group roles and making important group decisions. The teacher may need to step in and help groups that are having difficulties with group dynamics or group decision-making.
- Primary Zoologist - Researches information about the animal including how it looks, where it exists in the food chain, what features it has that has allowed it to adapt to life in the rainforest, characteristics of the animal, what it eats, its behaviors, and other interesting facts about this animal.
  Rainforest Animals
- Environmentalist - Researches information about the rainforest in which the animal lives. Includes information about why its habitat is being destroyed and how the rainforest benefits humans.
  Rainforest Information
  Importance of Rainforests
  Rainforest Destruction
- Campaign Manager - Focuses on where the campaign will go and how we can save this animal. How can people at home help save the rainforest and this animal? The plan that each group comes up with for saving the rainforest must include something that is possible for students to implement (something students can actually do that will make a difference). Campaign Manager may also focus on what the government and corporations can do to help stop rainforest destruction.
  Possible Solutions
Students need access to the computer lab to begin their research. Students should be individually researching information related to their roles. As students research they should be taking notes and keeping their notes organized. Students can organize their notes by using fact sheets, outlines, index cards, flow charts, summary tables, concept maps, etc. In the final project students will need to cite their sources so remind them to keep accurate records of where they are finding their information. If students are having trouble keeping their notes organized show them how to use index cards or a concept map.
After the research is complete, or a few times during the research process, give students a chance to meet with their groups to share what they've learned. Essentially students should be teaching their group everything they've learned through their research. Next, group members will work together to compile their information to create a final project. This project can be a report, a detailed concept map, a PowerPoint presentation, a brochure, a newspaper, or another teacher-approved means of presenting the information. The project must include information about the animal, where it lives, what it eats, its size, and features it has that has allowed it to adapt to life in the rainforest. The project must also include detailed information about why its rainforest habitat is being destroyed. Your project will explain HOW and WHY we should save the rainforest and this particular animal. For the final project some groups will need access to a computer to create a PowerPoint slideshow or a report. Other groups may not need access to a computer to create their final project. I would recommend scheduling time in the computer lab, but also having tables avaible for students who need a space to work.
Next students will create a visual representation of their animal. The visual representation should be some form of art; a drawing, painting, sculpture, etc. Encourage students to be creative and express their thoughts and/or ideas about their animal in an original way.
Give students time to practice their final presentation. All of the groups will be presenting during the grant awards ceremony. Each group will have 10 minutes to present and every zoologist should have an opportunity to speak during their group�s presentation.
The Grant Awards Ceremony should be a fun, exciting activity where students are able to share everything they've learned and show the projects that they've worked so hard on. Set aside about 15 mintues per group. This would be an excellent opportunity to invite parents in to watch the ceremony. You could even have snacks and beverages. After each group presents ask students questions about their research and the information they've presented to ensure understanding. Also allow other students to ask questions, give feedback, and make comments. Then present each group with a pretend check (the grant money) for them to use in their campaign.

Resources

Computer Lab (Each student needs access to a computer)
Poster board for groups who need it
Art supplies: colored pencils, markers, crayons, pencils, paint, clay (optional)
Index cards or other method for notetaking
Snacks for grant awards ceremony (optional)

Evaluation

After students complete their projects and give their presentations they will have the opportunity to submit a self-evaluation to the teacher. This gives students a chance to give input on what grade they feel that they deserve. The teacher should then take into account the students' self-evaluations and comments when grading the project and presentation. The rubric below should help with grading. Taking into account the students' self-evaluations, determine what score they have earned for each of the four objectives in the rubric. Give students a score of 2,3,4, or 5 in each of the four areas. Then add up these four scores for a total rubric score. Since the entire project will be worth 100 points in my class I will be multiplying the rubric scores by five. For example, if a student receive all 4s, their rubric score would be 4+4+4+4=16. 16 X 5=80. So that student would receive 80 points out of 100, or 80% on the project.

I would consider this lesson a success if students learn to think critically about the impact humans have on the environment. I would hope that this lesson inspires students to implement their plan to save the rainforest. Maybe some students will take the project a step further and actually write those letters to our government about saving the rainforest. Or maybe the whole class feels passionately about this topic and would like to start a class project to save the rainforest. That would incredible!

	Beginning 2	Developing 3	Accomplished 4	Exemplary 5
Analyzed the consequences of human impact on the Amazon Rainforest	Project and presentation do not include information about the consequences of human impact on the Amazon Rainforest	Project and presentation contain minimal information about the consequences. The topic is touched on briefly, but not explored in-depth and the group has difficulty answering questions about these consequences after their presentation.	The group has some in-depth information and presents that information to the class. They are able to answer questions about their anaylsis but may not be able to provide detailed evidence to back up their answers.	It's evident that he group has clearly explored this topic in-depth. The group is able to answer questions about human impact on the rainforest and provide solid evidence to support their answers.
Project and Presentation	Missing significant amount of information about animal and rainforest.	Both project and presentation contain minimal information about animal and rainforest. Project may lack originality and/or insight.	Both project and presentation contain a variety of information about the animal and its rainforest habitat. Project is original and conveys the intended information.	Project and presentation contain ample amount of DETAILED information about the animal and rainforest. Project is exceptionally creative and effective at conveying the information.
Plan for helping prevent rainforest destruction	Neither the project nor the presentation contain a plan or a solution	There is a plan but it doesn't seem to be well-thoughtout and/or is missing details.	There is a well-thoughtout plan with a detailed description of that plan.	This group not only has a plan, but has taken steps to implement their plan to stop/decrease rainforest destruction.
Art Work	No visual aid accompanies the project or the presentation	There is a visual aid but it lacks details. Art provides little information to the audience about their animal and may lack originality.	There is a detailed piece of art that conveys information about their particular animal. The art is creative and original	The art piece expressives exemplary creativity and originality. It not only conveys information about the animal, but it may also elicit deep thought/emotion from viewers.

Conclusion

There were many purposes for this project. Through research and exploration students will develop a deeper understanding of the consequences of human interaction with the rainforest. Students will also learn about a variety of species that inhabit the Amazon Rainforest. But animals aren�t the only ones who rely on the rainforest for their existence; so do we. It is my hope that students will take their new knowledge about the rainforest and their compassion into the world to make a difference for all of the inhabitants of the earth.

Encourage your students to keep up with news and current events that are happening in rainforests around the world. Here are a few sites that are continually updated wtih new stories and information regarding endangered species, rainforest conservation, and rainforest destruction. You could recommend that interested students visit these sites to find information. These sites could also be excellent resources for you. The articles on these sites could be printed off and used as classroom material for social studies, reading, math, writing, and/or science. These articles also have the potential to spark some interesting discussions in your classroom.

Rainforest Current Events

If you have students who are particularly passionate about saving the rainforest, direct them to the websites below. These sites have information about how kids can make a difference by writing letters to governments and/or corportations, by educating younger kids about how they can help protect our rainforests, by doing fundraisers, and by eating less meat. Encourage students to pick a project they're interested in and actually implement it.

Rainforest Projects and Ways to Get Involved

Credits & References

Mongabay Rainforest Website
The WebQuest Site

Thanks to Mark Bailey for teaching me how to design a WebQuest.

A special thanks to Eric Appel for rewriting the template code and helping me overcome technical difficulties.