WELCOME TO THE BIOMES WEBQUEST:

Introduction

A biome is a major geographical region, composed of plants and animals that are adapted to the region's physical environment, including weather and climate.  The biomes that will be studied in this Webquest are: 


Desert, Temperate Grassland, Tropical Rainforest, Taiga, Temperate Forest, Ocean, Wetland, Freshwater, Chaparral, Temperate Rainforest and Tundra.

Task

You will be assigned with your group the job of researching one of these biomes.  You are a member of the "Chamber of Commerce" for your biome.  Your job is to provide information about your biome and enlighten people about the what kind of things they can see there.  You can work individually or in teams of 2.  Find out the following information about your biome:

BIOME QUESTIONS:

  • Climate and Weather (annual high & low temps, average precipitation, types of weather)
  • Animals  (important endangered and non-endangered species, top predators of the area, important animals that local populations depend on)
  • Vegetation (major trees, shrubs, plants, crops, important plants local populations depend on)
  • Topography (mountains, rivers, forests, grasslands, mix of many? )
  • Geographic Location (Latitude, major countries where biome is found, map showing location)
  • Places of interest (attractions, places that people interested in nature might want to see, key landmarks)
  • Importance of biome to world (what might happen if your biome didn't exist?)

Process

Visit the web resources to find information about your biome.  Record your information on the Biome Project Note Sheet as you go. 

As you research, you may begin to work on an power point presentation or other approved presentation technique to provide information about your biome and to encourage people to visit your biome.  Your presentation will be given to your classmates and shouldn't take more than five minutes.  Classmates will take notes on your presentation to prepare for their assessment.  Each member of the team should be responsible for at least two slides in the presentation.  The presentation should consist of:

Powerpoint Slide Arrangement...

  • A title slide with the name of your biome, alternate names to your biome, and the team members
  • A slide telling & showing where the biome is located
  • A climate/weather slide
  • A slide (or slides) about major animals w/pictures
  • A slide (or slides) about vegetation w/pictures
  • A slide about major topography
  • Slides showing/describing places of interest
  • A slide (or slides) answering the importance of your biome
  • A bibliographic slide citing your sources
  • (Photos should accompany all data on all slides to help support information and gain interest in topic)

Once you have created your presentation, you will need to decide how you will present it.  Divide up the presentation information and practice before you present to the whole class.  

Resources

Use the resources below, or try your luck on the web searching using Google...

General Information

http://www.mbgnet.net/sets/index.htm


http://www.allaboutnature.com/biomes/pond/pondlife.shtml

http://rmhs.dist214.k12.il.us/classes/lepbilscience/biome.html

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

http://www.runet.edu/~swoodwar/CLASSES/GEOG235/biomes/intro.html
     (If you get a window asking for a password, click on "Cancel")

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

http//www.fi.edu/tfi/units/life/habitat/habitat.html

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss5/biome/index.html

http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/B/Biomes.html

http://www.worldbiomes.com/

Citing Sources

http://www.classroom.com/community/connection/howto/citeresources.jhtml

http://www.yahooligans.com/tg/citation.html 

Maps

http://www.graphicmaps.com/clipart.htm

Specific Biomes

DESERTS

http://miragemall.com/desertjpegs/imagesf.htm

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

http://www.desertusa.com/life.html 

http://mbgnet.mobot.org/sets/desert/ 

http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/desert.htm

What's it like in Desert Biomes: http://www.mbgnet.net/sets/desert/index.htm

World Biomes: Deserts:  http://www.worldbiomes.com/biomes_desert.htm

TEMPERATE GRASSLANDS

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss5/biome/grasslan.html

http://mbgnet.mobot.org/sets/grasslnd/ 

http://www.naturegrid.org.uk/grassland/ 

http://library.thinkquest.org/11353/grassland.htm 

http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/grasslands.htm

TROPICAL RAIN FOREST

http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/rainforest.htm

http://www.shs.org/rainforest/rainforest.html

http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/modules/ecosystems_biomes/biomes_tropical_forests_page_1.html

http://www.cln.org/themes/tropical_rainforests.html

http://www.hesd.k12.ca.us/resource/biomes/rain.htm

TAIGA

http://www.cln.org/themes/tropical_rainforests.html

http://www.hesd.k12.ca.us/resource/biomes/rain.htm
http://www.runet.edu/~swoodwar/CLASSES/GEOG235/biomes/taiga/taiga.html

http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/taiga.htm

http://www.radford.edu/~swoodwar/CLASSES/GEOG235/biomes/taiga/taiga.html

http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/msese/earthsysflr/taiga.html

http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu/nceas-web/kids/biomes/taiga.htm

TUNDRA

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss5/biome/tundra.html

http://www.radford.edu/~swoodwar/CLASSES/GEOG235/biomes/tundra/tundra.html

http://www.thinkquest.org/library/site_sum.html?tname=C0113340&url=C0113340/text/biomes/biomes.tundra.html

http://ths.sps.lane.edu/biomes/tundra3/tundra3.html

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/biomes/tundra/tundra.shtml

TEMPERATE FOREST

http://library.thinkquest.org/C0113340/main.php%3fsection=biomes&topic=tempforest?tqskip1=1

http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/nwep8c.htm

http://www.snowcrest.net/freemanl/world/biomes/temp.htm

http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/k4/biomes/Boverview2.html

http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/deciduous_forest.htm

OCEANS

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/marine.php

http://www.worldbiomes.com/biomes_aquatic.htm

http://www.aresearchguide.com/biomes.html#aquatic

http://www.thewildclassroom.com/biomes/MARINE.html


FRESHWATER LAKES, PONDS & STREAMS

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/freshwater.php

http://kids.nceas.ucsb.edu/biomes/freshwater.html

http://www.kidcyber.com.au/topics/biomewater.htm

http://www.eoearth.org/article/Freshwater_biomes


CHAPARRAL

http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/chaparral.htm

http://www2.kpr.edu.on.ca/cdciw/biomes/chaparral.htm

http://www.mdia.org/plant_communities/hard_chaparral.htm

http://www.mdia.org/plant_communities/soft_chaparral.htm

FRESHWATER WETLANDS

http://kids.nceas.ucsb.edu/biomes/freshwaterwetlands.html

http://www.thewildclassroom.com/biomes/wetlands.html

http://www.mbgnet.net/fresh/wetlands/index.htm

http://42explore.com/wetland.htm

http://www.geography4kids.com/files/water_wetlands.html

CORAL REEFS

http://kids.nceas.ucsb.edu/biomes/coralreef.html

http://www.coral-reef-info.com/coral-reef-biome.html

http://www.coralrealm.com/

http://www.coral-reef-info.com/

TEMPERATE RAIN FOREST
http://www.marietta.edu/~biol/biomes/temprain.htm

http://www.world-builders.org/lessons/less/biomes/rainforest/temp_rain/temprain.htmlhttp://www.melodyshaw.com/files/TempRain.pdf
http://relly19.tripod.com/
http://www.nps.gov/olym/naturescience/temperate-rain-forests.htm

Evaluation
Picture
Mr. Smitka - Roseville High School
Roseville, MI 48066