WebQuest

Designed for Students with Special Needs

Mr. L. Murphy

A.E. Stevenson High School

The web of life:

Why is it being destroyed? How can we protect it?

I. Introduction:

Our planet has an abundance of plant and animal life.  Each species is active either directly or indirectly with each other forming an intricate but delicate web of life.  Unfortunately, many scientists fear that a great number of species are vanishing, and at an alarming rate.  Should we be concerned?  If so, what can we do to protect it?

II. Task:

Your task as a scientist is to describe some of the variety of problems causing harm and destruction to so many plant and animal species throughout the world. 

A. You will be working in groups of three to five students. 

B. You will print a report of at least three to four pages using the Public Policy Analyst (PPA) http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal//ppa/intro.html.

C. Your team will use general internet resources as well as specific available resources (below) to do your research.  Organize the information on the worksheets provided as attachment A to this.

D. Your group will provide an oral presentation using the PPA.  You will choose a member of your group to speak in front of the class.  Your group presentation will speak as if he or she is addressing the members of the World Wildlife Fund which has the ability to make changes in public policy regarding the environment.

III. Process:

A. The students will be divided into groups of three to five.  Each group member will take a topic below to research and will use the following links to help you.

1. Define the Problem

2. Gathering the Evidence

3. Identify the Causes

4. Evaluate the Policy

5. Develop Solutions

6. Select the Best Solution

Habitat Destruction

Threat of Global Warming

Human Population Growth

Extinction of Species

B. What can humans do to protect earth’s ecosystem and reduce the destruction of our environment?

1. Use worksheet #1 to define and describe two of the above six problems.

2. Use worksheet #2 to determine the cause of each problem.

3. As a group use worksheet #5 to develop solutions and polices for each problem.

C. Your oral presentation will contain the title of your research project, the complete name of each individual of the individuals in your group, and possible solutions for each problem.

IV. Evaluation:

Each member of your group must turn in a completed paper answering two of the six segments provided in the process.  Seventy five percent of your grade is for your completed paper and twenty five percent is for your original research that you presented to the group.

Rubric for Written Report

Web of Life Written Presentation

Name: ________________________

Teacher: Mr. Murphy

Criteria

Points

	4	3	2	1
Introduction/ Topic	Student(s) properly generate questions and or problems around a topic.	Student(s) generate questions and or problems.	Student(s) require prompts to generate questions and or problems.	Questions or problems are teacher generated.	____
Conclusions Reached	Numerous detailed conclusions are reached from the evidence offered.	Several detailed conclusions are reached from the evidence offered.	Some detailed conclusions are reached from the evidence offered.	A conclusion is made from the evidence offered.	____
Information Gathering	Information is gathered from multiple electronic and non-electronic sources and cited properly.	Information is gathered from multiple electronic and non-electronic sources.	Information is gathered from limited electronic and non-electronic sources.	Information is gathered from non-electronic or electronic sources only.	____
Summary Paragraph	Well organized, demonstrates logical sequencing and sentence structure.	Well organized, but demonstrates illogical sequencing or sentence structure.	Well organized, but demonstrates illogical sequencing and sentence structure.	Weakly organized.	____
Punctuation, Capitalization, & Spelling	Punctuation and capitalization are correct.	There is one error in punctuation and/or capitalization.	There are two or three errors in punctuation and/or capitalization.	There are four or more errors in punctuation and/or capitalization.	____
				Total---->	____

Teacher Comments:

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Provided by TeAch-nology.com- The Web Portal For Educators! (www.teach-nology.com)

Rubric for Oral Presentation

Web of Life Oral Presentation

Name: ________________________

Teacher: Mr. Murphy

Date Submitted: ____________

Title of Work: ___________________

Criteria

Points

	4	3	2	1
Body Language	Movements seemed fluid and helped the audience visualize.	Made movements or gestures that enhanced articulation.	Very little movement or descriptive gestures.	No movement or descriptive gestures.	____
Eye Contact	Holds attention of entire audience with the use of direct eye contact.	Consistent use of direct eye contact with audience.	Displayed minimal eye contact with audience.	No eye contact with audience.	____
Introduction and Closure	Student delivers open and closing remarks that capture the attention of the audience and set the mood.	Student displays clear introductory or closing remarks.	Student clearly uses either an introductory or closing remark, but not both.	Student does not display clear introductory or closing remarks.	____
Pacing	Good use of drama and student meets apportioned time interval.	Delivery is patterned, but does not meet apportioned time interval.	Delivery is in bursts and does not meet apportioned time interval.	Delivery is either too quick or too slow to meet apportioned time interval.	____
Poise	Student displays relaxed, self-confident nature about self, with no mistakes.	Makes minor mistakes, but quickly recovers from them; displays little or no tension.	Displays mild tension; has trouble recovering from mistakes.	Tension and nervousness is obvious; has trouble recovering from mistakes.	____
Voice	Use of fluid speech and inflection maintains the interest of the audience.	Satisfactory use of inflection, but does not consistently use fluid speech.	Displays some level of inflection throughout delivery.	Consistently uses a monotone voice.	____
				Total---->	____

VI. Standards Addressed

Standard 4 - Science

Students will understand and apply scientific concepts, principles, and theories pertaining to the physical setting and living environment and recognize the historical development of ideas in science.

Social Studies Standard-Geography

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the geography of the interdependent world in which we live-local, national, and global-including the distribution of people, places, and environments over the Earth's surface

V. Conclusion:

Your paper should demonstrate knowledge gained about our world’s problems, the causes of those problems, and the possible solutions to those environmental problems.  It should encourage the reader to have an increased awareness and appreciation for the biosphere in which we live. 

Attachment A

Research Worksheets

Directions:

Use the following charts to gather and organize the information for your paper. 

Subject	Problem	Solution
Habitat Destruction How does it effect wild life and environment?
Alien Species How are foreign species harmful to native species?
Over Population What are the effects of overcrowding in an environment?

Global Warming

How is the rise in the world’s temperature harmful to the environment?

Depletion of Resources

How is this harmful to the human population of the planet?

Species Extinction

How are the species we can not bring back harmful to life on earth?