by Mona Johnson, Bautista Creek Elementary
This WebQuest is designed to address geography (continents), science (data collection, and terminology) and language arts (vocabulary, comprehension and written/oral language conventions as well as development of the Safari Guide for presentation). I have included standards from both 1st and 3rd grades to demonstrate the grade range although standards spiral so it may adapted for other levels. Students will work either alone or in groups to identify all seven continents then travel to each continent to identify 2 native animals and record data on each animal. Students also need to have a picture/drawing of each animal to include in their Safari Guides. Each student will create a Safari Guide which includes all data collected, drawings/pictures, etc. to present and share with their classmates.
Teacher Introduction
This WebQuest was designed to be a fun adventure for your students. It addresses standards for primary elementary students but can be modified for older students as well as for ELL and students with special needs. Students are asked to become explorers and take a trip around the world, stopping at each of the seven continents, to collect native animals. Students may work in groups or individually. They are to collect 2 animals from each continent and fill-in a data/fact sheet for each one addressing: habitat, food source, and whether the animal is a carnivore, omnivore or herbivore and what that means. They may also include any fun facts or things they find interesting about the animals. Students should print or draw a picture of each animal (I have included a site that has coloring pages of the animals but they will need to be printed). After they have visited the sites and collected their information and pictures, they will need to put it all together in a Safari Guide that they will present to the class. The group will design their own Safari Guides but need to include all of the components. I'm sure they will have fun with this mission since I had so much fun putting it together. Good luck and have fun Explorers!