by C. Akerley
Introduction | Task | Resources
| Process | Evaluation | Conclusion
Introduction
You wake up one morning and discover you have changed! You are
not a human anymore! You are an animal. You get out of bed but find you cannot
walk on 2 feet but need to use all four. You try to open the refrigerator to
get a drink of milk but your new paws will not let you.
You are still thinking like a human but obviously cannot act like one. You look
in the hall mirror and almost pass out. You have never seen anything like yourself
before – you are not real. Your mother comes down the stairs and you open
your mouth to speak but a growl comes out instead. Your mother runs screaming
back upstairs to get your father. You realize that you better run yourself because
your mom is telling your dad to get the gun.
The Task
You need to figure out what kind of creature you are and where
you should be and fast.
Your job is to research the world’s biomes and choose one in which you
are adapted to live. You must then identify 5 adaptations that you possess that
help you survive in that biome. Also, you must figure out how you interact with
5 other animals or plants to help you survive.
Resources
World
Biomes is a site that lists and describes in great detail all of the biomes
in the world.
Another site that describes biomes is More
Biomes.
The Amazing
Animal Senses site lists many different animals and how their senses are
adapted so they can survive.
To read about some Super Senses that animals have, check
this website.
Try this site to see how someone created a web
detailing the different senses.
If you would like to see some specific
animal senses that are pretty amazing, look at this one.
More Cool
Animal Senses.
You will need to go to some of these search engines and search for more information
about the animal that you are.
Google.ca Yahoo.ca
Altavista.ca Askjeeves.com
The Process 
1. First you will choose a biome and research all about it. You
will need to hand in a description of the biome (1/2 a typed page) that includes
climate, geography, plant and animal life.
2. Now figure out 5 adaptations (a variation of structure or behaviour that
aids an organism’s survival in a particular environment) that real animals
in your biome have that help them to survive. Hand in a description of 5 adaptations
explaining how each of them helps the animal to survive.
3. Now, you need to take a look at yourself and see what adaptations you have
that help you to survive in your biome. Draw a diagram (on blank 81/2x11 paper)
describing yourself with 5 adaptations. Think about how you obtain food, capture
prey, protect yourself from your environment and from enemies and how your senses
work.
4. Quick, you have a predator chasing you. You need to figure out your place
in your biome. Are you everyone’s prey or are you more of a predator?
You need to describe and hand in your interactions with 5 other animals or plants
in your biome.
5. Oh no, one of your important senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch)
has been damaged (probably by that predator that was chasing you). Now what
do you do? Describe and hand in how you would be able to survive without this
important sense.
6. Finally, you are comfortable in your new body meaning that you are actually
surviving – finding food and not being eaten by others. Create a diagram
displaying your organism showing how each of your sensory organs works and the
adaptations that are specific to your biome (showing how each adaptation functions
in the environment in which you live). Hand in your labeled poster showing a
clear colorful and neat drawing of your organism and all its adaptations including
detailed drawings of each sense organ. Writing should include how each sense
organ detects stimuli and how it works and also how each sense organ helps you
adapt to your environment.
| Biome description | /10 |
| Five Adaptations of 'real' animals | /5 |
| Organism design - sketch that includes adaptations | /5 |
| Organism's characteristics and description of why they will important to your organism. | /10 |
Prey or predator description |
/10 |
| Loss of sense description | /10 |
Poster - overall use of colour, organization and neatness -drawing of organism - details and labels -sense organ diagrams and descrption ( 5 each) -original and creative organism |
/10 /10 /25 /5 |
Conclusion
So now that you have figured out what you are and how you can survive, the next
problem is how do you change back to a human and get back home. Good luck!
Last updated March 22, 1999
Based on a template from The Webquest Page.
