Lesson 2

Title: Making Graphs

Objective: 

Students will take a virtual field trip to the Everglades, after which they  will categorize the snakes  of the Everglades.  They will make two different graphs.  One graph will represent poisonous and non-poisonous  snakes and the other will represent snakes that live on land and those that live in water.

Materials:

• Computer with Internet access
• Student's Everglades Journal
• Microsoft Word or Works

Activities:

1. Students will visit Everglades Information Network and Everglades Snakes
2. Students will use the online search to look up the snakes of the Everglades.
3. Students will  take notes in their Everglades Journals and they will keep a list  of snakes and their traits.
4. Examples: 
   *The brightly colored, very poisonous, eastern coral snake, with its red, yellow, and black rings and black snout, warns predators - "stay away from me, I'm dangerous."
   *Both the scarlet and scarlet king snake imitate the coral snake in appearance and are found in the same habitat. All three species have red, black and yellow rings, but the scarlet and scarlet king have red snouts. Another difference is that in the coral snake, the red and yellow rings touch. The scarlet and scarlet king snakes have their red and yellow rings separated by black.
   *The Everglades rat snake is brilliant orange with four dark stripes; the corn snake has reddish blotches with a black border in a background of gray, tan, yellow, or orange; and the common yellow rat snake has four black stripes on a bright golden yellow background. It is not poisonous.
   *The striped crayfish snake is considered the best swimming snake in Florida, but you're not likely to see one unless you look carefully among the marsh plants in the northern part of the park. Much more common is the brown water snake which is the most frequently seen snake along the Anhinga Trail. People often mistake it for the poisonous Florida cottonmouth which is found in the same area. The water snake, if cornered or mistreated, will bite - but it is not poisonous. 
   *While most of the snakes living in or near the water are adapted to a fresh water environment, some, like the cottonmouth and mangrove salt marsh snake, can survive in the mangrove swamps and salt water marshes.
5. Students will then compile their list of snakes and categorize them into groups: poisonous, non- poisonous, living on land and living in water.
6. Students will use the spreadsheet application in Works or Word to enter snake data. They will then use this data to create two bar graphs of snakes.  They will use this information to compare the four groups. See  the example below:

                Graph of Everglades Poisonous and Non-Poisonous Snakes

Evaluation: 

Using students' completed graphs, assess students on their ability to construct the graph and interpret the results correctly by comparing data.

Extension: Create a Guide to Everglades Birds and Upload as Web Pages

• Teacher- from local library, check out Peterson's Field Guide to Birds and on Internet book mark: White Pelican, Roseate Spoonbill and Everglades Ecosystem- click an Animal Profiles

• Break students into groups to research the characteristics and lifestyles of the birds of the Everglades and their adaptations.

• Copy video clips, photos and scanned resources

• Organize data into Web pages. Teacher should be familiar with simple Web page design (Claris Homepage, FrontPage, Netscape); talk to school web master.

• Share their findings in oral reports as a warm up; students discuss what to upload

• Proofread, spell check

• Upload information to class Web site

• Use pictures and video from fieldtrip for Web site postings

Homework: Continue to collect information about birds living in other habitats, such as desert or rainforest and compare their characteristics, lifestyles and adaptations using Bird Comparison Table.

Fieldtrip: If school is located near a wetland, bog, marsh or the Everglades, go on a field trip. Take digital photos and videos of animals. Students can also go on a virtual fieldtrip to the Everglades at Everglades National Park .