Mary+McLaughlin

=Unit Plan=

Title

 * Living with the Sonoran Desert

Unit Summary
Each student becomes an expert on one of the animals native to the Sonoran Desert. Students will investigate their animal’s habitat, relative position in the food web, adaptive features and unique behaviors. Once they are an expert, they will fill in a field guide to share with other students in the class and parents on “Parent's Day.” Before “Parent's Day” the students will create a paper mache replica of their animal. Their field guide will be placed with their animal to show other students and parents on “Parent's Day.” As part of this unit the students will also learn about conservation, and the impact of man on the desert environment. Students will create a slide show that will show they know what makes up a healthy desert, how their school and neighborhood has affected the desert and how they can help. This slide show will also be part of “Parent's Day.” Students will also use a digital camera to take pictures of the desert, their paper mache animal, and other desert art work. These pictures along with their written research paper will be displayed on a wiki site. Students will also contribute their ideas for the conservation section of the wiki page.


 * Grade Level:** 2nd Grade


 * Subject Area(s):** Life Science, Writing

Science Learning Students will: •Understand the relationships among living things in their environments •Describe how adaptations help an organism survive in its environment •Understand the relationship between predators and their prey •Identify how some animals gather and store food, defend themselves, and find shelter •Understand the importance of conservation in today’s world
 * Objectives:**

Process and Technology Skills Students will: •Take notes from research information and synthesize information into clear writing •Create presentations using multimedia software •Create a field guide using desktop publishing software •Contribute to a class wiki page

Curriculum-Framing Questions:
Essential Question Unit Questions: Content Questions:
 * What is necessary for life?
 * Why do we need to respect living things?
 * What elements are necessary for life in the Sonoran Desert?
 * What elements are necessary for animals to survive in the Sonoran Desert?
 * What affects survival?
 * How does man affect the desert?
 * List ways in which your animal has adapted to the Sonoran Desert?
 * What niche does your animal occupy?
 * What does your animal look like?
 * What does your animal eat?
 * What does its habitat look like?
 * Who are its enemies?
 * What does a desert environment look like?

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