Welcome to Project Life
Adventure in the Forest
1. A Team of High School Environmentalists will lead you through team building activities.
a. Discover your prior forest knowledge.
b. Build forest vocabulary. You must know the proper terms to communicate as an expert field guide.
c. Visit the websites, What is it Like Where You Live? and take a Nature Walk through an electronic forest. Identify and record several plants you believe to found in your environment. Keep a forest journal to record your findings.
d. In your groups, identify the differences between a Pitch Pine & White Pine, a White Oak and Black Oak. Classify your plants as deciduous or coniferous.
e. Draw a diagram of the forest layers... label each layer and include what you find in each layer
f. For more Forest Fun ....Explore the Fantastic Forest.
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2. The Forest Habitat is home to many plants and animals. In your groups, investigate a Forest Biome Box, and answer the following questions in your forest journals.
a. What do the objects have to do with the forest?
b. What can these objects tell us about?
c. Visit the websites Aliens Explore Earth and Mammals,Mammals, Mammals.
d. Discuss the following questions in your group and be prepared to share your findings with the class.
What makes a mammal a mammal?
Define these terms: carnivore, herbivore, omnivore
What category do humans belong?
e. Observe and investigate mammal adaptations through a LIVE MAMMAL LABRATORY.
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3. All living things have a life cycle. Visit the Life Cycles webpage to learn more about forest mammals, reptiles, birds, amphibians, and insects.
a. Visit the website North American Gypsy Moth.
b. Identify the different stages of the gypsy moth's life cycle.
c. Observe and Investigate with a LIVE GYPSY MOTH LAB.
D. Visit these awesome sites to learn more about:
USE THE GLOSSARY TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE FOREST ANIMAL!!
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4. Soil....What is it good for? What is it made from?
a. Visit the Soil website to learn more.
b. Participate in the Hands-on Soil Lab and learn about the different soil layers.
c. Answer the following question in your group... What is a decomposer?
d. Make your own decomposing experiment.
5. Participate in the field lesson at your local National Forest. Using what you have learned, create a field guide for forest explorers.
a.) Each of you needs to decide on a particular animal from the forest habitat. As soon as you know what animal you are going to research, let me know. Everyone must choose a different animal.
b.) Information to look for includes name, type, outer covering, locomotion, appendages, habitat, food, adaptations, size, color, etc. Also, find a picture of your animal.
c.) After you have written your rough draft, put your picture and information on a Field Guide Assignment Sheet.
Resources
* Aliens Explore Earth is a great source for plants and animals.
* The Fantastic Forest is a fun interactice site.
* What's it like where you live? Temperate forest resource.
* Mammals, Mammals, Mammals.. great resource for all animals.
* Life Cycles... source for investigation of many different life cycles.
* North American Gypsy Moth... great investigation site.
* Soil... all there is to know.
Conclusion
Through the combined efforts of each member of your group, you have learned stategies for studying a complex problem - the conservation of ponds, woodlands, and the salt marsh on Cape Cod. You have analyzed all of the complex information that you have found either on the Internet or a field trip. A Five Point Action Plan was then formulated. It is this Action Plan which your group will give to the EPA as an effective solution for the conservaion of these habitats. Finally, you will include this Action Plan in your Field Guide .