Rainforest Adventure

A WebQuery for 4th Grade

Designed by

Heidi Clum
clumh@cwu.edu

rainforest   parrots   tree frog   tiger   rainforest flower  

Introduction | Task | Process | Resources | Evaluation | Conclusion

Introduction

The rainforest is a huge place, full of a variety of plants and animals. The local researchers have spent many months learning about the different creatures of the rainforest and recording their observations. Yesterday, however, a huge storm came and destroyed all of the research they had collected. So this is where you come in. They asked me to have you all help them out by learning about a specific rainforest animal or plant and present that information to them. Since all of their  information was destroyed, the researchers need you to help them remember what each plant or animal looks like, where they are found, what they obtain to stay alive, and any other interesting facts that you feel they should know about. They are in a tough place and need our assistance. Are you willing to play the role of a researcher and help our friends out?

Task

Your task is to learn about a specific rainforest plant or animal, write a paper about what you have learned, and finally create a model of that animal or plant.
Let's break this apart so that you are able to understand each section well.

First: The selection of the plant or animal
Second: Researching your animal or plant- You are in charge of knowing all about your animal or plant.
You must include but are not limited to:        

Animals:                                                                                                               
Plants:
Once you have gathered your data, you will put it all together and write a two-page paper about your plant or animal. Remember our goal is to learn about these animals and plants so that we can help out our Rainforest research friends. This is an important job; let's do our best!

Third:  Creating the model
This is where you get to use your creativity to create a replica of the plant or animal you researched. It does need to be accurate, but you are able to use any materials you would like. Here are a few examples:
Your reports and models will be presented to the class. I am very excited to see what you all do!

The Process

What do you know about that plant or animal already?

Why don’t you check and see if that’s correct.

Have you learned anything new about that plant or animal?

Something is missing here…can you tell me what that is?

Have you covered all of the points?

What do you think about this?

Have you looked at other sources?

Check the rubric. It will tell you what I am looking for.

What is that saying?

Can you elaborate a little more? Remember you are the expert!

Have you found anything that makes this animal special or unique?

Resources 

Evaluation

You will be graded on two sections of this project. The first evaluation will be based on how well the paper was written. The following elements must be included.

Animals:                                                                                                               
Plants:
The second evaluation will be on your plant or animal replicas. The needed items will be listed in the rubric.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You guys did a great job! The researchers were very grateful to receive all of your information and models! They were amazed by the creativity, skill, and time that was put into each project. You all were very detailed researchers and did an excellent job of finding out everything you could about your plants and animals! Nice work students!
A few things to consider after:

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