BIOMES & VANISHING SPECIES PROJECT

In this wiki, the introductory biology students at Donelson Christian Academy will attempt to 1) understand the different biomes where organisms live, 2) identify the characteristics of each of these biomes, 3) understand the features of each biome that make it unique and suitable for the organisms living within, 4) identify the organisms that are found in the biome, 5) identify an endangered species found in the biome, 6) describe the characteristics of the endangered species (including unique characteristics), 7) discuss reasons why they are endangered, and 8) pose possible solutions for the problems leading to the organisms endangerment.

Visit the pages that our students have created to learn about the Biomes of the world.

Directions:

Students will work in groups for the Biomes research.  They will be assigned to a specific biome and will identify the following characteristics:

                 1.  Name of the Biome

                 2.  Climate within your biome

                 3.  Countries within your biome

                 4.  Listing of plants found within your biome

                 5.  Listing of animals found within your biome

                 6.  Listing of any other organisms found within your biome

                 7.  Geological features found within your biome

                 8.  Any other unique features about your biome

                         * Include information that would effect OTHER biomes if destroyed (e.g. - Taiga is a place for tundra animals to winter.)

• Include any pictures or details that may be helpful to those people visiting our project wiki.
• Be sure to save your page in the folder for your class.
• Make sure that you list all websites you pulled information from at the bottom of your group wiki page.

For the Vanishing Species portion of the project, each student will work individually to identify an endangered organism from their assigned biome.  They will do this by following the instructions below.

                 1.  You will go to the endangered species list using the link at the sidebar and choose an organism that lives in your biome.

                 2.  Research your chosen organism to address points #5 - 8 in the introductory paragraph above.

                              a) Be sure to address features of the species such as food selection, predators, prey, reproduction, unique characteristics, etc.

                 3.  Start a new page for your organism within the folder for your class.

                              a) Be sure to put your name on the page and what class period you attend.

                              b) Also, be sure to place a link to your endangered species on the page created for your biome.

                 4.  Include any pictures or details that may be helpful to those people visiting our project wiki.

                 5.  Be sure to save your page in the folder for your class.

                 6.  Make sure that you list all websites you pulled information from at the bottom of your individual wiki page.

For examples of a good Biomes / Vanishing Species Project wiki page, look in the "Samples" folder in the sidebar at the pages created by Mrs. Townsend and Mr. Sanders.  Also, use the information you were giving on the first day of the project.  If you have lost your information, follow the Biomes Project Link and/or the Vanishing Species Link to retrieve another copy of this information.  Finally, the rubrics for both portions of the project can be found by clicking on the Rubrics page on the Sidebar.