INTRODUCTION:
You are about to embark on an important mission.  You will travel through deserts, forests, mountains, and oceans of the world.  Your journey will take you to many of Earth's Continents where you will learn and discover new things.  What is the purpose of your mission?

Learn why many species on Earth have become endangered and to educate others about them in order to help preserve the diversity of life on Earth.

You may complete this quest on your own, or in a group of two or three.  Before you begin, you will need to decide who will be responsible for each job below.  If you are working alone, you will be responsible for all of the jobs listed. Choose who will carry out each role of your group carefully.  Make sure each person understands his or her responsibilities.  You may rotate jobs if you wish.

NAVIGATOR - This person is responsible for getting you around the World Wide Web in search of information.

RECORDER - This person will keep a record of your research and take notes..

REPORTER - This member of your party will report back to the teacher and give a progress report telling what you have accomplished so far and report any problems you are having.
 

STARTING OUT
1.  Explore the resources below.  Make a list of fifteen to twenty endangered species.
2.  Choose five endangered species to investigate in detail.
3.  Learn as much as you can about that species.  For example: food requirements, habitat, what countries it lives in, predators, life span, reproduction, climate, and any other interesting facts you discover.
4.  Find out why each of these species is endangered.
5.  Discover if anything is being done to help preserve and protect this species.
 
 

On-Line Resources:

http://www.yahooligans.com/Science_and_Nature/Living_Things/Animals/Endangered_Species/

http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/3785/     Lucky Duck's Endangered Animal Page

http://www.nesarc.org/stlsts.htm      List of endangered species by state

http://www.nesarc.org/act.htm    Endangered Species Act

http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/endangered/endangered.html       Hawaiian Monk Seal

http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/200010270302.html       Black Rhino

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_857000/857124.stm    red panda

http://www.ngnews.com/news/2000/10/10242000/orangutans_3202.asp     orangatan

http://enn.com/news/enn-stories/2000/10/10262000/greatapes_39542.asp    Apes

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/full_coverage/yahooligans/tigers       Tigers

http://www.wnn.or.jp/wnn-asia/a_bird_e/AsiaBird.html      Asian Endangered Species

http://www.conservation.org/Hotspots/report2.htm    primates

http://endangered.fws.gov/    U.S. fish and wildlife service endangered animals

http://abcnews.go.com/onair/WorldNewsSaturday/wnt000701_penguin_feature.html       Penguins
 
 
 

Other Resources:
science textbook
resource materials in Ms. T's room
 
 

PART TWO
Re-examine the data you have collected.  Determine four reasons animals become endangered. Do more research if necessary.  What have your learned about saving endangered species?  Why is it important?  Write a page or two explaining this point of view.  Attempt to persuade others that saving endangered species is an important issue in the world today. Include a section explaining which species you would like to help if you could only choose one.
 

PART THREE
Use the information you have collected to create a Power Point slide show.  The focus of the slide show will be to tell about several species, why they are endangered, and the importance of protecting/saving these endangered species.  Include your persuasive pages from phase two.  This slide show will be presented to the class.

CONCLUSION
After viewing the slide shows, the class will vote on a species to help and formulate a plan for doing helping it.  This plan could involve our class, our team, or our school.