Postcards From the Edge
An Internet WebQuest on Endangered Species

created by Mrs. Grim
Cockeysville Middle School

Introduction | The Task | The Process | Conclusion |


Introduction
'Endangered Species are like fire alarms. They tell us about problems in our home we call Earth. If we listen to their alarm calls, they could help us improve our lives and the health of our planet.' (USGS Biological Resources, 2000) As citizens of our planet Earth we must learn ways to reverse what we are doing to our environment and create solutions to preserve habitat.

Hundreds of Species are dying out each year due to many different causes. Some of these causes are environmental, human caused, natural selection, and changes over time to the species(evolution). Extinction has already taken over 500 species from the United States alone. Plants such as the beautiful Sexton Mountain mariposa lily, and animals like the colorful and once-abundant Carolina parakeet are gone forever and will never be seen by human eyes again. Scientists believe species are becoming extinct at the rate of 1 every 15 minutes...100 each day...4,000-6,000 each year. Some estimates indicate that as much as one fifth of all the species on earth today will have vanished by the end of the century. For species that are threatened or endangered there is still time!

Task
You are an researcher, author, and graphic designer and your editor has given you your first assignment. You are to research an Endangered or Threatened Species from Maryland and create a postcard about your organism. You will use your postcard to teach people about your endangered or threatened species. You will educate others about what kind of organism your species is, what is the cause of their status, and what can be done to increase their population. You will use your postcard to present information about your organism to the class. Finally, all of the postcards will be combined into a book.

Process
As you complete your task record your research on the 'Postcards From the Edge' organizer.

Phase 1 - Background Information
These sites are important because they will provide basic information about the topic as a whole. Everyone should explore these sites. You may 'google your organism' after you have explored the other links.


Phase 2 - Roles
Each student has been assigned a particular organism that is either threatened or endangered in Maryland. To Gather your required information follow the basic steps below.


1. Everyone will be a Biologist, an Ecologist, and a Graphic Designer!

2. Read through the sites designated for you. Remember to check out links within a site.

3. You may also use any book resources from the school library.

4. Remember to cite the URL of the page, the book, or article you take information from on your 'Postcards From the Edge' organizer.

Biologist:

As the Biologist you will do research on the endangered species you have been assigned for the project. You will do research on the following:

Description of the organism- what is it?
Physical Description- what doe sit look like?
Description of type of area where your organism lives? (That’s its habitat.) Where is it found in Maryland?
What things does it need to survive? (What does it eat? How does it fit into the food web?)

Ecologist:

As an Ecologist you will do research about your organism and its status as threatened or endangered. You will do research on the following:

What are the specific causes of your organisms status of threatened or endangered?
What organizations are helping the species?
How are they helping- what plans are in place to increase the population of your organism?
How will a population decrease affect humans?

Graphic Designer:

As the graphic designer your role is to decide the layout for your postcard. You need to:

Determine which facts will go on the card.
Decide on an picture for the card.


Phase 3 - Reaching Consensus
Use information, pictures, facts, opinions, etc. from the web sites and books you explored to create your postcard. Remember you will use your postcard as a visual aid to present information about your organism to teh class and all of the postcards will be compiled to make a class book about endangered and threatened species in Maryland.

Conclusion
Congratulations! You have completed your Endangered Species “Postcards From the Edge” Web Quest! Your research and postcard helps you to understand what an endangered species is. Your research also should have lead you to some of the causes for these species becoming threatened or endangered. You have taken your basic knowledge and applied it to a particular species from Maryland. You have found out about the habitat, where your animal is located in the food web, and what it needs to survive. You have also found out about the organizations that are helping your organism and how they are doing this. With all this new information you have gathered, think about what you can do to help threatened and endangered species.

created by Filamentality Content by Mrs. Grim, jgrim2@bcps.org
http://www.kn.att.com/wired/fil/pages/webendangerjg.html
Last revised Mon May 12 8:19:12 US/Pacific 2008