A WebQuest for grades 9-12 (Environmental Science)

Designed by

a

Sheryl J. Turk

CelestePine@aol.com

THE SCENARIO…

You are sitting in a white room with four walls. At the exact same time every day, your “keeper” puts food through the little hole in the wall. You have another hole in the floor, into which you “do your business.” Every so often, your keeper comes into your room and clears out your excrement. One of the walls of your white room is clear glass. All day long, people walk by and stare at you. They observe you, when you’re eating, when you’re sleeping, when you’re going to the bathroom, playing, talking to yourself, grooming yourself, etc. You walk back and forth in your room. You are constantly yearning to run – to play ball, to get the exercise you need to stay sane.

You are all alone. You have no privacy. Your rights to do what you want to do are gone. Your freedom has been revoked. You have been taken from your family, friends, your country, and your natural habitat. Worst of all, you have done nothing wrong. You are entirely innocent.

VS.

VS.

VS.

YOUR JOB…

Ms. Turk has just magically transformed into the Director of the Panther Zoo on Wildcat Boulevard up in the Boogie down Bronx. She is under tremendous pressure from animal rights groups to close down the zoo. They claim that by “caging” innocent animals and putting them on display in an artificially reconstructed habitat is cruel. They say that the animals are displaced from their homes, from their families, from the climate their bodies are adapted to. They say the animals are bored, have gone insane, and are losing or have lost their natural instincts.

The zoo’s director, (Ms. Turk), needs to maintain her public image. One week from today she is scheduled to appear at a news conference, where she will announce whether or not the zoo will continue to stay open – or if it will be closed down. She must make her decision based on the opinions of the public.

YOU REPRESENT THE PUBLIC. YOU must inform the zoo’s director of the reasons why or why not to keep the zoo open. Half of you will take the side of the animal rights group and present your case in the form of a 6-slide power point presentation to the zoo’s director. The other half of you are advocates to keep the zoo open for educational purposes. You too will create and present a 6-slide power point presentation in which you will try and convince the director to keep the zoo open. Keep in mind that pictures tell a thousand words…

HOW TO GET FROM HERE TO THERE…

You will work with the partner assigned to you by Ms. Turk, and will begin preparing your

POWER POINT PRESENTATION by first collecting evidence. For the animal rights advocates: You need to build your case as to why you want the zoo to shut down. You will use the various websites listed below to gather data. In addition to these, you can use https://www.google.com, or any other search engine you are comfortable with. For the folks in favor of keeping the zoo open as an educational resource, you too need to use the websites listed below to gather information in support of your argument.

In both presentations you must address the following issues, and defend your standpoint

accordingly:

• HABITAT RECONSTRUCTION – How accurately do they mimic the species natural habitat?
• CAPTIVE BREEDING PROGRAMS – do they work and where do the animals go once bred?
• CONSERVATION of the SPECIES in a Zoo
• Keeping animals in CAPTIVITY
• ZOOS as an EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE – access to viewing and learning about the live animals
• Protecting the species from POACHING
• REINTRODUCTION of the Species into the “wild”

A. After you complete the search of your issue, you must complete all SIX of the worksheets

listed below, in steps A-F. These worksheets count for 30% of your final grade. Make sure

each and every one of them gets completed by you and your partner = one per group.

B. Before you enter POWERPOINT and try creating your slides, take out a sheet of paper, and

draft up what you want written on each slide. Remember these key points to making a PPT

Presentation:

· PICTURES speak louder than words

· LIMIT the amount of TEXT (words) to 3 or 4 bullets AT MOST per slide

· Try to use dark colored words on light colored backgrounds and light colored words on dark colored backgrounds.

· Make sure your message is loud and clear and GOOD LUCK!!

www.richmond.edu/~ed344/ webquests/zoos/cage.gif

People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals

ANTI- ZOO FACT SHEET

PROBLEMS with ZOOS

The MYTH of Preserving Species in Zoos

VIRTUAL ZOO LIBRARY

BRONX ZOO

WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY

EDUCATION at the BRONX ZOO

SAN DIEGO ZOO

While investigating why to close the zoo or keep it open, you will complete a series of worksheets designed to help you identify the problem, collect evidence, identify the causes of the problem, evaluate a policy to help alleviate the problem, develop solutions, and find the best solution.

A. You and your partner need to print worksheet 1 and read it over. It will help you

clearly define the problem- Worksheet 1.

q Read the World Wide Web pages about the issue you’ve been assigned and answer the questions on worksheet 1.

B. You and your partner need to print the following worksheet and read it. It will help

you collect evidence - Worksheet 2.

q Read the World Wide Web pages about the issue you’ve been assigned and answer the questions on worksheet 2.

C. With your partner you will print the following worksheet and read it to help you

identify the causes of the problem - Worksheet 3.

q Read the World Wide Web pages about the issue you’ve been assigned and answer the questions on worksheet 3.

D. With your partner you will print the following worksheet and read it. I will help you

to evaluate current public policies - Worksheet 4.

q Read the World Wide Web pages about the issue you’ve been assigned and answer the questions on worksheet 4.

E. With your partner you will print the following worksheet and read it. It will help you

to develop your own public policies – Worksheet 5

q Read the World Wide Web pages about the issue you’ve been assigned and answer the questions on worksheet 5.

F. With your partner you will print the following worksheet and it will help you to

choose the best solution – Worksheet 6.

q Read the World Wide Web pages about the issue you’ve been assigned and answer the questions on worksheet 6.

Each student will be evaluated and graded on the following criteria. Note: All of the percentages (%) add up to 200%, which means that this WEBQUEST will count as 2 exams!

ASSIGNMENTS TO BE JUDGED…	IN PROGRESS…KEEP WORKING.	SATISFACTORY	IDEAL	POSSIBLE SCORE	YOUR SCORE
Team Work, Both in the computer lab and debate	Worked collectively with your partner	Worked collectively with your partner, showed maturity and courtesy	Above and beyond satisfactory, showed leadership qualities	30%
Worksheets #1-6	Answered most questions adequately	Answered all questions adequately	Answered all questions adequately, Showed advanced understanding	50%
6-Slide Power Point Presentation on your Topic	Did not address all of the issues or make a very convincing argument	Has all of the required issues in the Presentation, but the PPT is not very convincing	Shows how each required issue is relates to your side, and the PPT is clear and convincing	100%
Presented your PPT to the Zoo Director	Showed up unprepared and Presented the PPT poorly because of this	Showed up well prepared and presented your side clearly and were articulate	Above and beyond well prepared, added a lot to the actual Presentation aside from the computer, great presenter	20%

After viewing the POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS of your peers, each one of you will write an editorial to be published in the ENVIRONMENTAL TIMES newspaper and posted in Ms. Turk’s classroom. This editorial will give an account of what happened at the press conference when the Zoo Director had to choose whether or not to close the facility. Be honest and accurate with the information that you witnessed at the press conference. THIS EDITORIAL MUST tell what the Zoo Director decided to do, and whether or not you agree with her decision and WHY.

Without the support and encouragement of Miss Battah, Mr. DiDonato, and my fabulous TIPS Staff Developer, Bill Mulqueen, this would not have been possible. A very sincere thank-you and a very LOUD “TA-DA! – MISSION ACCOMPLISHED” goes out to all of you. I also wish to acknowledge Joe Montecalvo and Jim Carroll – without you folks, none of this would have been possible. So thank- you and good-nite!

Please note that all of the photos of animals were downloaded from www.google.com in the images section.

S2f Demonstrates an understanding of behavior of organisms.

S4a Demonstrates an understanding of big ideas and unifying concepts.

S4b Demonstrates an understanding of the designed world.

S5a Frames questions to distinguish cause and effect; and identifies or controls

variables.

S5d Proposes, recognizes, analyzes, considers, and critiques alternative explanations;

and distinguishes between fact and opinion.

S5e Identifies problems, proposes and implements solutions; and evaluates the

accuracy, design, and outcomes of investigations.

S5f Works individually and in teams to collect and share information and ideas.

S6a Records and stores data using a variety of formats.

S6d Acquires information from multiple sources.

S6e Recognizes and limits sources of bias in data.

S7a Represents data and results in multiple ways.

S7b Argues from evidence.

S7c Critiques published materials

S7d Explains a scientific concept or procedure to other students.

S7e Communicates in a form suited to the purpose and the audience.

S8b Demonstrates scientific competence by completing fieldwork.

S8d Demonstrates scientific competence by completing secondary research.