Build A Virtual biome

Your fourth quarter project is a group project. You and your TeamMates will be assigned one of the terrestrial biomes to explore and report back to the class on. There are many things you can do to have a good report, but some will be required.

1. Poster/montage/collage that will hang from the ceiling. I will supply the foam-core backing (approximately 15x20 in.) Design and create a visual display about your biome that will cover both sides of the foam-core. This display should be a visual distillation of your biome. In other words, when you look at it, it should make you think of the biome it represents. This is time for your creativity to surface!!

I have some supplies such as background paper, markers and magazines to cut up for pictures. You can add anything that you can fasten in place to it to make it really special! (Since this display will hang from the ceiling, make sure that things are not too heavy and will not fall off.)

2. Design a Power-Point presentation that will be presented to the class during the last week of classes. We will assign dates as the time gets closer. You will be responsible for presenting and discussing the information your project displays. The presentation must be informative. Graphs, pictures, tables, etc. are appropriate for this part of your project. You will use the power-point presentation as a visual background to discuss your biome's characteristics. You may not read from your presentation.

Be sure to use good public speaking skills. Prepare your talk ahead of time. Assign each TeamMate a role so the work is evenly distributed. All TeamMates must participate in the oral power-point presentation.

You will have class time to work on your montage. If your group is efficient, you will also get some of the research and construction of your power-point presentation done at the same time. Be sure that all group members are working efficiently and with purpose. I will be observing and evaluating your progress. If a team member has a lower grade than the rest of the team, that person did not pull his weight. Your project must be completed by the last week before finals, because you will be presenting it to the class during that last week.

Required parts of the presentation are:

1. An introductory page locating your biome on the world map.

2. Typical ecosystems and communities that are found in your biome. Be sure this includes the climax community or dominant plant type that the biome is named for.

3. The year-round climate of your biome as represented by a graph of the monthly average temperature and rainfall for a city in your biome.

4. A food web of typical plants and animals in your biome.

5. Density dependent limiting factors of organisms in the biome and how they affect the populations. Include major predator-prey relationships and other symbiotic relationships in the biome.

6. Density independent factors affecting the populations in the biome.

7. Problems cause by the presence of humans in the biome.

8. Any other interesting facts about your biome-this is the place to wow us with your incredible research skills and get high points!!

9. A "works cited" page listing all the URL's of the sites you used in MLA citation form, and the MLA citations of any paper publications used.

10. An outline of your talk, with details! This is to be submitted at the time of your talk. Make sure that it is complete and typed. Who is saying what? Be sure that each person has an approximately equal speaking part.

You are, of course, not limited by these requirements. This also does not mean that one page must be used for each requirement. Some may not need a whole page and can be clumped, others will need more than one page. Use your judgment.

Helpful Hints!!!

Do you want to get the highest grade possible for your work?

Some hints for giving a good presentation are:

Do not read from your slides. Explain them instead.
Do not read from your note cards, either. (Or hide your face in them!)
Point to what you are talking about on the slide.
Speak loudly enough for everyone to hear you.
Stand facing your audience, not the presentation.
The PowerPoint presentation will be controlled by a member of the group, but that person also must do their part of the speaking.
Do not wiggle or fidget or use “Ummm”. Look at your audience.
Know what the terms you will be using mean before you use them. Rehearse!!
Be able to pronounce the names of plants, animals and places that you use.
Convert all Celsius measurements to Fahrenheit, and give both values. The same with measurements. Convert metric to English and give both. (for example, "The temperature range is from 0 degrees Celsius, or 32 degrees Fahrenheit to.........").
Each person in the group must give part of the presentation. Everyone will talk. It is up to teammates to prepare each other for this presentation.

Projects will be graded according to the grading rubric for content and presentation.