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OPERATION: DESERT LEARN

OVERVIEW:  This is a set of lessons developed on the desert as one of the seven major biomes on Earth.  Students will travel from the blazing hot sand dunes of the Sahara, to the cold Gobi desert, to the rugged beauty of the American Mojave desert.  Students will become familiar with what factors contribute to the creation of deserts, and where the deserts are located.  They will learn what adaptations both plants and animals have had to make in order to survive in such harsh extremes of climate.  The technology part of each lesson provides the children with pictures of the different types of deserts, and gives them practice in using the computer as a tool for graphing, creating webs, and is integral to the teaching of this unit.  Additional biome units that I have produced can be found at http://teachersnetwork.org/teachnet-lab/ps101/bglasgold/rainforestintro.html (rain forest) and http://teachersnetwork.org/teachnet-lab/ps101/bglasgold/oceanintro.htm (ocean).

STUDENT LEVEL: Grades 3-5

MAJOR GOALS AND INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES:

1.  Students will become familiar with what the desert biome is (Cognitive).

2.  Students will locate the major deserts on Earth. (Cognitive).

3.  Students will become familiar with the different types of deserts. (Cognitive).

4.  Students will become familiar with the vocabulary associated with the desert biome.  (Cognitive).

5.  Students will be able to give an example of a desert food chain and food web. (Cognitive).

6.  Students will become familiar with the adaptations of the desert plants.  (Cognitive).

7.  Students will become familiar with the adaptations of desert animals. (Cognitive).

8.  Students will do hands-on experiments to show the creation of sand and desertification. (Psychomotor).

9.  Students will use technology to enhance their research, create maps, fill-in data sheets, import pictures, create graphs, and create illustrations of food chains. (Cognitive and psychomotor).

10.  Students will appreciate the fragility and the balance of nature needed to keep our deserts from overtaking more of Earth's resources.  (Affective).

TIMELINE:  6 classroom periods (approximately 45 minutes each).

SETTING:  Science classroom, homeroom classroom, computer lab, optional field trips to The American Museum of Natural History, Bronx Zoo, and Botanical Gardens,  and the home computer.

ASSESSMENTS:

1.  Vocabulary data sheet.

2.  Desert maps.

3.  Experiments on sand and desertification.

4.  Research on the desert flora and fauna.

5.  Original stories and myths about the creations of the deserts.

6.  Teacher made tests.

STANDARDS:

1.  Students demonstrate understandings of organisms and their environments.

2.  Students demonstrate understanding of change over time.

3.  Students demonstrate understanding of physical positions on Earth.

4.  Students demonstrate understanding of Earth's biodiversity.

5.  Students will write a report of information.

6.  Students will use scientific notation for writing of experiments.

7.  Students will demonstrate understanding of graphs.

BOOKS/MAGAZINES/VIDEO

FOR STUDENTS:

Troll Book Company: Our Planet: Deserts by Richard Stephen, 1990, Troll Associates

Wonders of the Desert, by Louis Sabin, 1982, Troll Associates

Desert: Eyewitness Video, narrated by Martin Sheen, 1996 BBC Worldwide America

This video "treks across the Earth's most parched places to find some of the greatest stories of adaptation and survival"

National Geographic Magazine has articles on the desert on a regular basis.

FOR TEACHERS:

The Science of Living Things "What is a Biome?"  by Bobbie Kalman, Crabtree Publishing Co. New York, 1998

The Science of Living Things "What are Food Chains and Webs?"  by Bobbie Kalman, Crabtree Publishing Co. 1998

WEB SITES:

http://nces.ed.gov/ncesKids/graphing

This site allows the student to put in the x and y axis, title the graph, and choose the type of graph, and then the graph is made!

http://desertusa.com/desert.html

This site explains the creation of the American deserts and has a talk section where students can exchange questions, ideas, and pictures.

http://ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss5/biome/deserts.html

This site also gives detailed explanations on how a desert is classified according to the amount of precipitation it receives.

http://library.thinkquest.org/28855/des_what.html?tqskip1=1&tqtime=0118

This is an excellent site for research and pictures on the desert.

http://esc20.net/etprojects/formats/webquests/
summer99/northside/great_deserts/dsrttempsample.htm

This site gives a web, that students can create as well, on desert temperatures.  An associated site is a teacher lesson plan on deserts.

http://richmond.edu/~ed344/webunits/biomes/desert.html

This site has information on deserts done by the University of Virginia.  Excellent resource.

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

A familiar site, worked on by students and researchers, very easy for students to understand.

http://surfnetkids.com/games/biomes-mm.htm

This is the home biome page from Surfing the Net with Kids.  This site links you to all biome sites, including games, puzzles, quizzes, and biome facts.  Excellent for elementary students.

http://enchantedlearning.com/biomes

This is a wonderful site with easy to read links.  There are printouts that can be downloaded for the student's use.  There is also a comprehensive listing of hundreds of desert animals. 

EO Laboratory: Mission Biomes

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Laboratory/Biome/

An excellent site with information on every biome.  Children can opt to go on a "mission" and complete tasks using online links and facts.