Subject	Science, Language Arts
Topic	Wetlands- definition, characteristics, pictures
Skills	Writing, Collaboration, Technology Skills
Level	5th
Time	1 to 2 weeks
Objectives	Purpose: -Learn what a wetland is and be able to identify major characteristics of wetlands by gathering information from the internet and other classroom sources. Objectives: The student will -obtain a basic understanding of what a wetland is -identify the basic characteristics of wetlands, including the types of plants and animals that live there -predict why wetlands may be important to humans -write a song and create a slide show concerning wetlands
Instructional Materials	Textbook, Other books related to wetlands, Internet, Computer- Kid Pix, Markers, Crayons, and Paper for drawing
Background Information	-The children will learn the basic definition and characteristics of wetlands, it is important at the beginning to share ideas of what wetlands before getting started. - Check out this page What is a Wetland?.   An additional source for introductory information is  Discover Canada's Wetlands - Chapter 1: Introduction. Draw a picture of what you think a wetlands looks like, make sure to include all the different plants and animals in your drawing. -This activity can be used in a larger unit discussing the different ecosystems and environments around the world.
Procedure	1. Arrange the students into groups of about 4 to 5. 2. As a group, the students should research about the wetlands focusing on: a definition, major characteristics, and the animal and plantlife in wetlands.  The websites to look on: What Is A Wetland? During their research, the children should keep a daily journal.  In this journal, the children should record what they researched that day and one new thing they learned. 3. The students should: write a song with the information gathered (at least 6 lines long); put each line onto a slide using Kid Pix and hand illustrate at least 3 of the slides; import at least 2 pictures off the internet (good source:  View Graphics Menu).  The daily journals the students kept should help them with the writing of their song. 4. The students should present their song and slide show to the class.
Evaluation	See rubric
Extension	Visit a wetland/watch a movie or video- observe the plant and animal life, the sounds of the wetland, the smells, the soil, and other important information seen in the wetland.  As an activity, allow the children to draw another picture of the wetland and see if their original picture, drawn in the opening activity, is somewhat accurate. Have a group discussion- have students predict why wetlands may be important to humans.  After brainstorming, allow students to follow-up and research on the importance of wetlands.  All the information gathered can be used as a study guide for the children when preparing for a test.  The students could e-mail an expert, find statistics, or any other valuable information. Students can take their daily journals and adapt them into a story.  The journal can become their "diary" of the things they saw and experienced while traveling through the wetlands.  Each day should be dated and include a story integrating their research or the fact they learned that day.  The students should be allowed to present them to the class.
Standards  (The Texas TEKS for 5th grade)	The student should: Language Arts: - compose original texts, applying the conventions of written language, including capitalization, punctuation, and penmanship, to communicate clearly; - write for a variety of audiences and purposes, and in a variety of forms; Science: - know how to use a variety of tools and methods to conduct science inquiry; - know that adaptations may increase the survival of members of a species; Fine Arts: - develop and organize ideas from the environment; Music: - create and arrange music within specified guidelines.

Other Teacher Resources to use in the classroom:
      Introduction to Wetlands An Online source including many activities for your children to do.  Many of the activities are hands on and include observations of various kinds.  Just scroll down the page and look under the Things To Do category.
     Habitat Hints for Backyard This website has ideas for building your own wetland as well as helpful hints in their creation.  Click on any environment and the find steps to building your own wetland including all the materials you will need.
 
 
 

Grading Rubric
 

	Poor	Good	Excellent	Grade
Picture	no picture	drew picture but without plants and animals	drew a picture with plants and animals included
Journal	1 or fewer days written in journal	wrote 3 days or less	wrote in the journal daily
Song	no song	3 lines in the song or less	6 lines included in the song
Slide Show	1 or fewer slides	less than 3 illustrations or 2 imported pictures	3 illustrations and 2 imports included
Presentation	did not present	presented either the slide show or the song	presented both the slide show and the song
Cooperation	not cooperative, did not participate in group	had some difficulties working in a group	worked well with others
Use of Time	used class time poorly	used class time efficiently some of the time	worked efficiently all of the time

 

Experiments to do:
1) In the classroom, keep two plants- a cattail and an other plant (an ivy).  Keep both the plants waterlogged and in a window sill.  Record what is seen.  How long do the plants live?  What are the different characteristics of the plants- why did one survive and one did not?

2) A.  Collect soil samples from both wetlands and regular ground.  Compare the two samples.
    B.  Have two cups of soil.  Waterlog one and leave the other alone.  Record what happens to the soils
Hint: Wetlands soil is normally gray to black.  Regular soil is normally different shades of brown.