Ecotourism:Exploring Ecosystems through Travel

OVERVIEW In this lesson students will explore the diversity of six distinct ecosystems. They will use non-fiction trade books & websites to explore plants, wildlife, & other distinguishing features for these places.Students will create a travel brochure that highlights what they have learned about various ecosystems. Student teams will present brochures to the class.

Skills addressed:• Summarize information.

• Comprehend, analyze & evaluate multiple sources of information.

• Interpret visual media. • Synthesize information from multiple sources into one document.

• Make connections between new information & prior knowledge.

• Participate in group activities.

Standards Met:ELA RI.5.9RI.5.75.W.15.W.2d

SCIENCE5.L.2.1-5.L.2.3

SOCIAL STUDIES5.G.1.2

Technology5.TT.1.15.TT.1.35.RP.1.1

Web sites: • All About Rainforests http://www.zoomschool.com/subjects/rainforest/

• Rainforest Live! http://www.rainforestlive.org.uk/index.cfm?Articleid=208 • What’s It Like Where You Live? http://mbgnet.mobot.org/sets/rforest/ • Tropical Rainforests http://www.bagheera.com/inthewild/spot_sprain.htm

•Grassland Ecosystem Profile: http://www.pbs.org/earthonedge/ecosystems/grasslands1.html • Ask Earl http://yahooligans.yahoo.com/content/ask_earl/20010309.html

•Build-A-Prairiehttp://www.bellmuseum.org/distancelearning/prairie/build/tb1.html

• Grasslands http://www.bellmuseum.org/distancelearning/prairie/build/tb1.html

• The Aquatic Biome http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss5/biome/aquatic.html

Activity One- Set the Stage: In this initial activity, discuss the two major types of ecosystems (aquatic& terrestrial) & how they are divided into increasingly more specific categories (Slide 6).

Ask students to infer the ecosystem based on the animals presented in the slideshow (Slides 7-12) The goal of the activity is to stimulate students' interest in exploring the diverse ecosystems by asking them to use clues to make predictions.

Tell the class that they are going to learn more about these six ecosystems.

Ecosystems

Aquatic

SaltOcean

Salt MarshEstuaries

FreshPondLakesRivers

Terrestrial Forests DeciduousRain

Grasslands SavannahPrairie

Which Ecosystem?

Which Ecosystem?

Which Ecosystem?

Which Ecosystem?

Which Ecosystem?

Which Ecosystem?

Activity 2:Divide the class into six groups.

Provide students with the following scenario:

“You are a travel agent for “Explore Your World Travel Company”, a eco-tourism company that helps people plan vacations to locations around the world in order to learn more about different ecosystems. Your job is to collaborate with your team to create an electronic travel brochure in response to a letter from a potential client.”

Provide each group its assigned letter (Slides 15-21)& a list of Internet resources & non-fiction trade books.

Have the group divide the labor out among themselves in order to get the job done.

Travel Agents:Your task:

Research to find information about the ecosystem.

Create an electronic travel brochure to email to the client information about the biotic & abiotic factors in the ecosystem. You may use Power Point, Prezi, or Glogster.

Include:•Food web including labels identifying producers, consumers, decomposers•Map•Pictures•Persuasive paragraph giving at least 3 reasons they should visit•Positive & Negative Human Impact on the ecosystem

Dear EekoTravel Agent: My name is Ella Ongtooguk. I live in Barrow, Alaska, with my parents & my two brothers. I am in the fifth grade. Barrow is the northernmost settlement in Alaska. It is 340 miles north of the Artic Circle!

My family wants to surprise my oldest brother Sam with a college graduation trip to a tropical rainforest. I would like your help in planning this trip. Everyone in my family is very interested in conservation, & we would like to learn everything we can about the rainforest before we travel. Can you send us information?

We want to learn about the plants, the animals, the climate & the problems of this unique ecosystem. We know that there are rainforests all over the world. Could you send us a map of locations so we can decide which one to visit?

In Barrow it is below freezing over 300 days during the year, & in the summer the average temperature is 40 degrees. I think we would greatly enjoy our experience in the tropical rainforest.

Thank you for your help. Sincerely, Ella Ongtooguk

Dear EekoTravel Agent: I would like to visit a prairie park. I started a Web site with prairie photographs & would like to add to my collection. Some of the photographs I already have include prairie dogs, pronghorns & the sweet coneflower plant.

I know that in the United States, the wild prairie has mostly disappeared & that only a few spots of wild prairie remain. Most have been converted to commercial farms. Could you send me a map of prairie locations in the United States?

I will be traveling with my grandpa. He wants me to see this ecosystem, because he has memories of it from his own childhood. Can you send me information about food webs? I want to see how the animals in my photos are connected.

Thank you, Edward

Dear EekoTravel Agent: I have never seen the ocean, & my grandmother has decided to take my sister & me on a trip this summer to see this wonderful sight.

The aquatic ecosystem is so diverse that we had a hard time deciding where to go. We've decided that we want to see the Atlantic Ocean near the Carribean.

I did a report in my fifth grade class on clown fish, & my sister loves sea horses.

Please send us any information you can find on this ecosystem. Thanks, Maria Elena

Dear Eeko Travel agent:

My family lives near Yellowstone National Park, so we love to be outside. We have camped in the mountains & on prairies, but one place we have never been to is an estuary!

My cousin, Leah, lives on the coast of North Carolina & tells me that they have lots of estuaries there. I am trying to convince my parents to take me there for summer break, but I need more information to make my case.

What does the food web look like in an estuary? I really don’t know what kinds of plants & animals we can expect to see.

Any information you could provide would be great!Sincerely,Haven Sanchez

Dear Eeko Travel agent:I am a New York City native who has always wanted to see the country. My best friend always talks about going camping & fishing near her grandma’s pond in Tennessee. I think that it would be fun to do!

I am amazed by the abundance of plants & wildlife that live in the pond ecosystem. Since much of my life is filled with crowded streets, I try to spend my vacations in quieter places.

Before I take a trip, I try to learn as much as I can about ponds. I want to be sure I have the right equipment for camping & fishing!

Please send me as much information about this ecosystem as you can find.

Thanks, Joe Miller

Dear Eeko Travel agent:Aloha!I was hoping that you would be able to help me plan a vacation for my family.

We live on the big island of Hawaii. We are surrounded by the Pacific Ocean & enjoy being outside. We surf, swim, & hike every weekend.

I would love to surprise my children by bringing them to the main land of the United States to visit North Carolina’s Deciduous Forest! My children have never seen the leaves turn colors & fall off of the trees!Could you please send me some information about the forest? I would like to prepare my children for what kinds of plants & animals they will see there.

Thanks for your help!Ailani Kameia