Project Based Learning Activity: Alive in the Desert

This project integrates elements of science, math, ELA, social studies, and creativity into a student-driven final product. It will combine students’ imagination, creativity, and problem solving skills as they travel through deserts.

***THIS RESOURCE IS NOW DIGITAL for DISTANCE LEARNING***

See below for more details on using it with Google Slides.

There are 16 activities for students to complete. Each page involves a problem or idea they must solve, recreate, or answer. Pages can vary from writing, math, map skills, real-world application, research, and problem solving/decision making skills.

7, 8 The Expedition

The cover and then an informational page for students to know they’ll be traveling to a desert.

9 Pack your bags

Students pick 8 items they will need on their trip (and tell why).

10 What Do You Know

A page to activate prior knowledge about deserts.

11 A Deserted World

Students identify some of the major deserts located around the world.

12 Desert Supplies

Students have a budget and must pick supplies they want to take for the trip.

13, 14 Animal inventory

Students select animals they found on their trip. Then they will create a chart to show comparisons between the kinds of animals.

15-18 Desert Animals

Three pages with areas for students to research animals (fence fox, gila monster, meerkat, camel, kangaroo rat, and rattlesnake). Plus, a blank sheet so they may select their own animals.

19 Adaptation Survival

Students research how camels, snakes, and chuckwallas use adaptations to survive in the desert.

20 Adaptation Chain

Students pick their own animal, research where it is on the food chain, and learn how it survives.

21 Animal App

Students create an app based on an animal of their choosing.

22-24 Desert Geography

Students draw and define 12 landforms found in deserts, over three pages.

25 Journals

Students write four journal entries to scenarios they encountered during their trip.

26 Insect Inquiry

Students “discover” a new bug in the desert.

27 Mapping the Trip

Students map out their trip by including landforms, animals, and trails they used.

28 Magazine Media

Students create a magazine cover based on their expedition.

29, 30 Problem Solver

Students answer six questions about the desert, most are open-ended.

As students work through each page, they will make their own decisions and choose the outcomes based on information they learn. By the end, all students will have completed the project, but each version will be based on the creator’s imagination, creativity, and knowledge base.

***THIS RESOURCE IS NOW DIGITAL!***

ACCESSING THIS DIGITAL RESOURCE

There are two pdf files included in the zip file. To access the digital file for Google Slide open the file with the title "digital" in it. Then click the hyperlink included on the first page (inside the yellow box) to access the file online.

What you need to get started:

1. Download Link for the Google Slide Product

2. Have access to the Internet and a Google Account. (FREE)

3. Open the file on your own Google Drive and engage while in the edit mode.

4. Printer access to print out the finished product. (OPTIONAL).

Beginning your Google Slides Project:

Before you begin editing/filling in your project, it is VERY important to first make a copy of the file, on your own Google Drive.

Once you make a copy of the original file it will enable you to edit it and make any changes.

After creating a copy of the resource you can decide which slides you would like to include and which ones to delete before you assign this as an assignment.

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All pages can be geared towards multiple grade levels, although for some younger students the teacher may need to give more explicit instructions.

Students may choose to use multiple resources to complete each page. They might even choose to work with a partner, but you get final say on that.

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