Introduction

Did you know that many animals are able to live successfully in the desert? The desert is full of many wonderful animals that have adapted to living with very little water and to surviving intense heat. The adventure you are going on will help you understand some of those animals and how they adapt to this harsh environment.

Tasks

First-----Decide which Desert Dweller you want to know more about.

Birds Gambel Quail Hummingbird Red Tailed Hawk Turkey Vulture Roadrunner Reptiles Rattlesnake Gila Monster Desert Tortoise Desert Iguana Insects & Spiders Scorpion Tarantula Black Widow

Mammals Mountain Lion Javelina Coyote White Tailed Deer Big Horn Sheep Bobcat Mexican Gray Wolf Black Bear Ring Tailed Cat Jack Rabbit Prairie Dog Coati Skunk

Second-----Using the links listed under Resources gather the following information on your Desert Dweller.

***Physical description
***Habitat/Environment
***Diet
***Survival skills or techniques
***Unusual characteristics, behaviors, adaptations
***Friends/Enemies
***Groups/Alone

Third------Compare/Contrast how your desert dweller is alike and different from other desert dweller.

Fourth-----Print a picture to color or down load a picture of your desert dweller.


Resources---Click on link to find out more about your Desert Dweller

Desert USA
Enchanted Learning Animals
Arizona Fish & Animals
Southwest Wildlife
Arizona Desert Museum

Evaluation

Your desert dweller information will be presented to the class. Make sure your presentation includes the answers to the following questions.

• What does your desert dweller look like?
• What does the environment or habitat where your animal lives look like?
• What does your dweller eat?
• How has your animal learned to adapt and survive in the desert?
• Did you learn any fun or unusual facts about your dweller?
• Does your animal prefer to live alone or in a group?
• How does your animal compare (likenesses vs. differences) with the animal that you found out about with a partner?
• Show a picture of your desert dweller, either a real one or one that you can color, that you have taken off the Internet.

Conclusion

It is amazing how many animals have learned to live successfully in the very harsh environment of the Sonoran Desert. Hopefully, you learned not only about your desert dweller, but how to successfully use the Internet as a valuable tool for searching out information about a topic. After you gathered that data you have used your computer skills to help you organize and present that information using a visual, effectively.

Reflection

On a scale of one to five, with five being the highest, rank how you think and feel about your desert dweller presentation in the following areas.

Knowledge---How much do think you learned about your animal?

Organization of Presentation---Did you logically and creatively organize your knowledge of your desert dweller and present it in an interesting way.
Visual---Were you able to download a picture of your dweller?

Presentation Skills---Did you speak clearly and effectively communicate the important or interesting aspects of your animal?

Teamwork---Did you work effectively and pleasantly with your partner to do your animal comparisons?

Other thoughts about your presentation or your computer skills.

Extensions

• Take a field trip to the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum, Tucson, Arizona
• Investigate more about the desert by reading Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Book of Answers by David Wentworth or America's Deserts: Guide to Plants and Animals
• Other suggested readings
  Holes by Louis Sachar
  The Three Little Javelinas by Susan Lovell
  The Tortoise and the Jackrabbit by Susan Lovell
  Roadrunner's Dance by David Diaz
  Robert the Quail by Margaret Stranger
• Create a desert dweller by using the Crafts for Kids Who Are Wild About Deserts by Kathy Ross
• Have a desert picnic or snack using cactus or prickly pear jelly, mesquite crackers or chips and other products that come from the desert

Notes To Teacher
Arizona Science Standards
Standard 1: Science as an Inquiry
1SC-E1 Identify a question, formulate a hypothesis, control and manipulate variables, devise experiments, predict outcomes, compare and analyze results, and defend conclusion.
1SC-E3 Organize and present data gathered from their own experiences.
Standard 4: Life Science
4SC-E7 Explain and model the interaction and interdependence of living and non-living components with ecosystems, including the adaptation of plants and animals to their environment.

Arizona Technology Standards
Standard 1: Fundamental Operations and Concepts
1T-E1 Communicate about technology using developmentally and appropriate technology terms.
Standard 2: Social, Ethical and Human Issues
2T-E1 Discuss basic issues related to responsible use of technology and information and describe personal consequences of inappropriate use.
Standard 3: Productivity Tools
3T-E1 Use formatting capabilities of technology tools for communicating and illustrating.
3T-2E Use a variety of technology tools for data collection and analysis.
3T_E3 Publish and present information using technology tools.
Standard 4: Technology Communication Tools
4T-E2 Use technology tools for individual and collaborative writing, communications, and publishing activities to create curricular related products for audiences inside and outside the classroom.
4T-E3 Collaboratively use telecommunications and online resources.

Arizona Writing Standards
Standard 2: Writing
W-E5 Write a report that . . . develops a topic with appropriate facts, details, examples and descriptions from a variety of cited sources.
W-E8 Demonstrate research skills, using reference materials such as a dictionary, encyclopedia and thesaurus to complete effectively, a variety of writing tasks.