INVITATION

How can we help students sharpen their observational skills? How can we help them use math and language skills to describe and analyze the world they observe? How can we help them understand change in the natural world?

TASKS

Students form groups in which they take on the role of naturalists and closely observe the plants and animals of a selected research site. They collect data on what they observe and try different ways of representing the data. They produce reports on what they observe and how the plants and animals might look and act in the future. The students publish their reports as a project Web site.

TOOLS

Computers; the Internet (optional); iMovie (optional).

AppleWorks; The Cruncher; A Field Trip to the Rainforest Deluxe; Mapmaker's Toolkit; a Web page editor, such as Adobe PageMill or Netscape Composer; World Book Encyclopedia.

Art supplies; English or metric measuring tools; journals.

INTERACTIONS

Students work in small groups throughout the project, with each group member taking on the role of a naturalist. Groups will occasionally come together as a class, and during Phase 4 each group elects a representative to work on a Web site committee. The teacher provides general guidance and facilitates discussion when appropriate. The teacher may need to work with the school or district Web master to post the project Web site.

<STANDARDS

To identify the curriculum standards for your state that correlate to this student project, select the state in the popup menu below and then click the Go button.

SITUATIONS

Students work in the classroom while at the computer and compiling their materials; they work outside at research sites on the school grounds, in the neighborhood, or at parks. If iBook or PowerBook computers are available, students can use them for their outside work. Student groups should visit their research sites regularly, perhaps once a week, over a period of several months. The project is best begun in the spring or early fall in most areas of the country because the most dramatic changes happen at those times; students' ability to do research during the winter will vary according to the local climate.

ASSESSMENT

Groups can assess their progress through Phases 1, 2, and 3 by using a checklist (developed with teacher assistance) containing items such as map of site created; site described with words and pictures; plants identified; plants chosen for tracking over time; plants observed for eight (or more) weeks and numbers put into The Cruncher; The Cruncher numbers used to find averages and changes over time; and changes described in words, pictures, numbers, and graphs.

The teacher can assess groups' reports with the aid of a rubric that addresses the thoroughness of information-collecting and observation, the conceptual grasp of the project (as revealed in the organization and labeling of the information and students' calculations), and the clarity, organization, and accuracy of the information presented.

Teachers can print the reports created by each group and include them in students' portfolios.

All plants and animals around us change as they respond to daily and seasonal changes in their environment. Naturalists observe and record these changes to increase our understanding of living things' needs, characteristics, and relationships among one another.

Students observe the plants and animals in selected research sites (small areas of a park, their neighborhood, or school grounds) and record what they observe in writing, pictures, and quantitative data. Student naturalists begin by observing the plants and animals in their areas and creating visual records of them. Then they look at the growth and change of the plants over a period of time, recording these changes on spreadsheets. Finally, they speculate about the changes that may happen over longer periods of time and publish their ideas and information as reports and as a project Web site.

Phase 1: Looking at nature today

Invite small groups of student naturalists to select research sites: areas several feet square or somewhat larger, containing at least some annual plants and free from frequent visits by human caretakers. Sections of a park or a weedy part of the school grounds are effective sites. Ask students to start observing the plants and animals in their sites and create visual records of them. Using art supplies, as well as the paint tools in AppleWorks, students can create pictures of the trees, shrubs, and flowers at their sites and in the surrounding area. Students can use Mapmaker's Toolkit to create maps of their sites showing the boundaries of the plot and the locations of the largest plants and other features. See the Step-by-Step Card "Starting With a Blank Map in Mapmaker's Toolkit" for assistance. Leaves and twigs can be collected and pasted into record books. Students can research the flora and fauna of their sites using World Book Encyclopedia or plant identification guides for the local area. Students can use the "Searching World Book Encyclopedia" Step-by-Step Card for help with their research.

Phase 2: Looking at nature in numbers

Discuss with the whole class the changing of the seasons, and the changes that plants and animals undergo over time. Then ask the groups of naturalists to go out again to their research sites and look for three or four plants they want to observe over time. Explain that these observations will include collecting quantitative information, information that they can count or measure. Such information could be the number of leaves on a branch, the height of a plant, or the number of flowers on a bush. Then ask groups to measure and record (in numbers, written descriptions, and pictures) as many aspects of their plants as they can.

Phase 3: Looking at nature over time

Ask the groups to create spreadsheets in The Cruncher to record the numbers they've collected from their research sites. Remind students of the importance of clearly labeling each number to indicate what it represents. Students return to their research sites at scheduled periods to make new observations of the plants there, collect new data, and add the data to their spreadsheets. Students can use the spreadsheets to calculate total growth, growth per week or per month, change in the number of leaves on a stem, the average size of leaves, and so on.

When visiting their sites, groups can also record the changes they observe in words and pictures, and they can add to or update their visual records and their samples of leaves and other items. What are the different colors of green that emerge? Are insects eating parts of the plants? Have the weather conditions changed compared to the last visit?

Phase 4: Reporting on findings

Once the groups have collected adequate information, help the naturalists create their reports using AppleWorks to draw and write about their observations. The members of each group should try representing their data in different ways (in tables and in graphs) and they should use it to support written descriptions of the individual plants and the site as a whole. Students can improve their descriptive skills by examining how plants and animals are described and illustrated in the Field Guide of A Field Trip to the Rainforest Deluxe.

Challenge students to draw and write about the ways their sites might have looked in the past and the ways they might look in the future. Are there downed trees that used to be standing? What caused them to fall? Have new seedlings sprouted that will grow? If it's appropriate, naturalists can draw the site as it might have looked before people altered its natural condition.

Groups can publish their work, much as actual scientists would, by making it available to others in the form of a Web site. Each naturalist group uses a Web page editor, such as PageMill or Netscape Composer, to place the text and illustrations from their report into an individual research site Web page. To learn about all the tasks involved in creating a Web site using PageMill, from making the first page to uploading the whole site, students can visit the Web Page Construction Site. For help using Netscape Composer, direct students to the online help system by having them choose Help from the Help menu, then selecting Creating Web Pages from the menu on the left side of the screen.

Then a committee of students, made up of members representing each group, can draw an area map in AppleWorks showing all the research sites and place this map on a main page of the Web site. Finally, the committee can create a "hotspot" link from each research site on the map to its respective page. Students then test the map, its links, and the research site pages by navigating through them using a standard Internet browser. After students know it works and are happy with the way it looks, you can work with your school or district Web master to post the Web site on the local network (intranet) or on the Internet.

Vocabulary: Naturalist, Quantitative, Research Site, Seedling.

Phase 1: Students create maps of their sites in Mapmaker's Toolkit by choosing Use Blank Map from the File menu (when in Find mode) and then using the appropriate drawing tools and stamp icons, such as trees. Icons are placed on the map by dragging them from the toolbar to the desired location on the map.

Phase 1: Students may find information in World Book Encyclopedia about the plants and animals in their study sites by searching on the name of the bio-region in which they live (such as Appalachian Mountains or Great Plains), the name of the kind of vegetation in the area (such as chaparral), the name of the biome (such as coniferous forest), or the generic names of the plants and animals (such as oak or grasshopper).

Phase 1: If a digital camera or video camcorder is available, students can use it to keep visual records of their sites. They should also bring tools for measuring the sizes of their plants. Art supplies can include crayons or markers, paints, or pastels. Students using paints will get better results by painting on heavier paper; students can make sketchpads or booklets of heavyweight paper using brads, staples, or binder clips.

Phase 3: Working with The Cruncher, groups can set up a separate spreadsheet for every plant, with a column for each kind of data they collect and a row for each day they collect the data.

Phase 4: Any graphic or picture to be published on the Web needs to be saved in GIF format (for graphics) or JPEG format (for photos). These formats are universal and Internet-compatible.

Phase 4: As groups begin to construct their Web pages, be sure that all of their pictures and pages are located in a single folder. If they aren't, the links will not work if the files are relocated. The easiest way to organize the files for the Web site is to create a folder on your school's server in which to save all pictures and Web pages.

Phase 4: During the creation of the Web pages, it is important to view them as they will appear using an Internet browser. To do this using PageMill, simply switch to Preview mode. For those using Netscape Composer, save the page, ending its name with ".html" (as in MyPage.html), then click the Navigator icon on the toolbar (the ship's steering wheel).

Phase 4: If using PageMill, to create "hotspot" links (on the map of research sites), first place the map on the PageMill page. Double-click the map, then choose Image from the Edit menu and Rectangle Hotspot from the submenu. Drag the crosshair over the appropriate spot on the image. With the hotspot still selected, choose Make Link from the Edit menu and choose the file to link to.

Phase 4: You don't need to be connected to the Internet or to your school's network to view your project's Web site. To view your project without being connected to a network, place all of the Web pages and graphic files in the same folder on a computer in your classroom. Next, open your Internet browser application and open the Web page with the research site map. Now you can navigate the project's Web site as it is intended.

PREPARATION

Scout research sites at your school, in the neighborhood, or in a nearby park; sites should have a variety of annual plants (flowers or weeds), and should be readily accessible.

If students are new to The Cruncher, you can have them use the tutorials that come with the program to learn about it before they begin the project.

Make copies of the any of the Step-by-Step Cards that students might need in carrying out the tasks.

If using PageMill to create the Web pages, review the sections of the Web Page Construction Site and practice using PageMill so that you can better answer students' questions. Make copies of any of the pages of the Web Page Construction Site that groups may need for guidance in creating or linking Web pages. If using Netscape Composer, you may want to review and print any of the online Help pages that may be useful.

If portable computers are available, have each group bring one to the research site and use it for data-recording, writing, and drawing.

Read poems to the class that help introduce ways of looking at nature. Continue reading nature poetry during work on this project. At the end of the project, you can ask the students to write their own poems describing their relationships to the plants and animals in their research sites.

If it's inconvenient or impossible to visit areas outside the classroom, this project can be easily adapted for use with plants grown indoors. The opportunity for observation in a natural context will be limited, but there is great potential to observe and record the entire plant life cycle, and to test the effects of different environmental factors by growing similar plants in different conditions. You can also adapt this project for use with a school flower or vegetable garden: plant bulbs or seeds and record their growth and development at intervals.

Using metric units for measurements in this project provides a natural "hands-on" context for students to learn more about the metric system.

If a gardener, naturalist, or ranger is available in your area, ask him or her to visit the research sites with the class to answer questions and help guide their observations.

Students in higher grades can expand their data collection to include estimations and averages; for example, naturalists can count the number of plants in a square yard, then extrapolate that amount over a wider area, or use the spreadsheet to calculate the average number of flowers on a stem, the average height of one type of plant, or average weekly plant growth. These students can also create more elaborate reports, including database information and more complex descriptions.

Whether students are using paints, AppleWorks paint tools, or a digital camera or video camcorder to create their visual records, suggest that they work with close-up views, recording one branch or one flower, rather than trying to render the entire area.

You can also ask students to observe and investigate the relationships between plants and the animals that feed on them. How are animals important to the survival or propagation of the plants that they eat?

If students have digital camcorders, they can take footage of the site whenever they visit, and then add titles to the clips, using iMovie, to describe when each shot was taken. For help using iMovie, go to the Desktop Movies in Education Web site.

BOOKS

A Child's Treasury of Animal Verse by Mark Daniel

Keepers of the Animals: Native American Stories and Wildlife Activities for Children by Michael J. Caducto

My Backyard Garden by Carol Lerner

The Random House Book of Poetry for Children by Jack Prelutsky

Walden by Henry David Thoreau

Apple Learning Interchange: Flowers for Kids
http://ali.apple.com/action.lasso?-database=resguide&-response=/ali/resguide_display.html&-op=eq&guidenum=459&-layout=detailed&-search

Brousseau California Flora Pictures
http://dlp.CS.Berkeley.EDU/photos/flora/

Celebrating Wildflowers Coloring Book Page
http://www.nps.gov/plants/color

Scientific American Ask the Experts
http://www.sciam.com/askexpert

Seeds of Change Garden - Activities in Four Seasons
http://www.mnh.si.edu/garden/seasons/

What's It Like Where You Live?
http://mbgnet.mobot.org/sets/rforest/