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Designed by: Jennifer J. Davis School: Caughman Road Elementary

Grade Level: Fourth       Subject(s): Science

Core Curriculum Objective(s):  Identify the characteristics of different environments, such as forests, wetlands, grasslands, deserts, and in polar, temperate and tropical regions.  (II.A.1.a.)

Overview: Students will design and create an exhibit for an animal in a zoo. They will work in pairs to research an environment in which an animal lives. They will try to make the exhibit as 'close to home" as possible. Students will present their exhibit to the class for a grade and have a "biome fair" to teach others what they have learned

Focus/Essential Question(s): When animals are in a zoo, is the environment exactly like the one in which they came? If you were a wild animal, what would it be like where you lived? What is it like where the animal came from? What is the environment like in a tropical forest? a temperate forest? a wetland? a grasslands? the desert? the polar regions?

Time Frame: Four to Five, 45 minute blocks.

Resources/Materials: 
globe 
chalkboard or butcher paper 

materials for research: 
computers with Internet access 
printer and paper 
encyclopedias and/or science research books 

materials for animal exhibits: 
one cardboard box for each pair of students (larger than a shoe box) 
various materials for making exhibits, 
(use materials in your art supplies or have students bring them) such as: construction paper, tissue paper various outdoor materials (sticks, sand, grass, rocks, etc.) crayons, markers, chalk, paint ,brushes, colored pencils modeling clay tape, glue, scissors polyester filling (snow)

 Internet sites: 
www.nearctica.com/ecology/habitats/biomes.htm

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

mbgnet.mobot.org/sets/desert/index.htm 

www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss5/biome/index.html 

redbaron.bishops.ntc.nf.ca/wells/biomes/index.htm 

library.advanced.org/tq-admin/month.cgi 

www.snowcrest.net/geography/slides/biomes/index.html 

www.odu.edu/~bio108n/miniunits/zeta/biomes/biome.html

Culminating Assessment: Student groups will create an exhibit in a cardboard box for an animal in the zoo using various materials . They will need to include evidence of vegetation, temperature, rainfall, terrain, elevation and an animal that lives in the environment in their exhibits. Students will also choose one additional criteria in the exhibit in which they would like to be graded. (ie. presentation, creative use of materials, appearance of exhibit, etc.) Each group and the teacher will use the following rubric for assessing the exhibits.

Zoo exhibit rubric 

Group Members: ________________________ Date: _______ 

(0 points for no evidence, 
1 point for wrong information, 
2 points for correct information evident)

  Average of group's and teacher's points _____ = _____% 24 points = 100 % 

23 points = 96 % 
22 points = 92 % 
21 points = 88 % 
20 points = 83 % 
19 points = 79 % 
18 points = 75 % 
below 17 points = unsuccessful

Instructional Activities: 

Day One 
Introduction to biomes and research Begin lesson by asking students the temperature in which they like to be best. Ask them why they prefer this temperature. Next discuss what type of temperature a polar bear likes best. Ask why the bear prefers this temperature. Explain that we enjoy the temperature where we are because that is the temperature in which we are used to being.

Read aloud the definition of "environment": the circumstances, objects, or conditions by which one is surrounded. Ask the students if temperature is part of their environment, and what other objects and conditions make up the environment.

Ask students, "When animals are in a zoo, is the environment exactly like the one in which they came? If you were a wild animal, what would it be like where you lived?" Have the students suggest animals. Write the animal names on the left side of the chalkboard or butcher paper, and discuss the area of the earth in which they live. On the chalkboard, group the animals that are in similar environments together.

Next discuss the different areas of the earth and what the environment is like in the polar, temperate, and tropical regions. (closer to the equator is warmer and closer to the poles is cooler) Show students the globe and point out these regions.

Ask, "Why do Polar bears live closer to the North Pole than a white tailed deer? Why does a cactus reside in the desert while a mangrove tree lives in the rain forest?" Lead them to discuss that animals and plants live in the environment that best meets their needs. Explain that scientists have classified the similar regions of the earth and we call them biomes. The biomes are similar in temperature and rainfall. Because the temperature and rainfall are similar, there are similar animals and plants in the area. Explain that we need to know characteristics of the different environments so we have a better understanding of the many creatures that reside on the earth.

Write the biomes that you would like students to research on the right side of board or butcher paper. Here are some ideas: tundra, taiga, temperate deciduous forest, tropical rain forest, desert, grassland, savanna, bogs and wetlands, chaparral, aquatic/marine.

Draw lines from the animals suggested earlier to the biome the students think the animal might live.

Ask: "What do you think the environment is like in a tropical forest? a temperate forest? a wetland? a grasslands? the desert? the polar regions?"

Hand out the rubric and explain that the students will be designing a zoo exhibit to make an animal feel "at home". They will design the terrain and can control the temperature and rainfall in their exhibit. Discuss how they can show temperature and rainfall in their exhibit (using a fake thermometer and rain gauge, possibly). Discuss what vegetation is the type of plants that are usually found in an area and terrain is how the land is shaped (mountains, flat land). They will also need to choose an animal that lives in the environment for which they will be designing the exhibit.

Put the students into groups (2-3 in a group) and allow them to choose the environment that they would like to research. Make sure each environment is represented. Hand out the "environmental research" sheets and explain. They will use the Internet, encyclopedias, and science resource books to research their environment.

They may use the following sites to do their research via the Internet: 

www.nearctica.com/ecology/habitats/biomes.htm 

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

mbgnet.mobot.org/sets/desert/index.htm 

www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss5/biome/index.html 

redbaron.bishops.ntc.nf.ca/wells/biomes/index.htm 

library.advanced.org/tq-admin/month.cgi 

www.snowcrest.net/geography/slides/biomes/index.html 

www.odu.edu/~bio108n/miniunits/zeta/biomes/biome.html

Environmental Research (display this sheet on the right side of you exhibit)

Group Members: ___________________________ Date: ___________

1. Environment we are researching: ___________________________ 

2. Animals found there (circle the animal for which your group will build the exhibit):

3. Typical vegetation(plants) found there(you may want to include photos or sketches):

4. Average temperature:

5. Average rainfall:

6. Describe the terrain:

7. Elevation:

8. Include a map showing where this environment is found on the earth. Put the map on the left side of your exhibit.

Day Two(and three if necessary): 
More research and building the exhibits

If more time is needed to do research, allow students to use the Internet, encyclopedias and science resource books.

Have the exhibit materials in a place where students can have access to them. Give each group a box. Tell them to cut the top and one of the sides off. This is where they will design their exhibits. Review the assignment with the students if necessary and allow them to work in their groups to design their exhibit.

Some students may want to print photos of plants and animals off the Internet to put into their exhibit.

Day Three(or four): 
presentations and assessment Students will present their projects to the class. They can use their research information sheets to describe the biome they are presenting.

Day Four (or five): 
Biome Fair Invite other classes to come to your room for a biome fair. Have student's set up exhibits at their desks. Students will tell the other class what they have learned about the environment they researched. Make sure the other class rotates to all exhibits by setting a timer and rotating every two to three minutes.