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Batman vs. Poison Ivy

[A WebQuest on Plant Adaptation]

by Jeff McGowan

Introduction	Task	Process	Resources
Form	Evaluation	Conclusion	Teacher's Info

INTRODUCTION:

Batman's old nemesis, Poison Ivy, has returned once again to reak havoc on Gotham City! She has used her powers to unleash thousands of carnivorous plants, Venus Flytraps, which have mutated to human size and taken over the city. As the Batsignal shines in the Gotham sky, can Batman overcome this latest threat to once again save the city?

TASK:

You are Batman!! Your task as the Caped Crusader is to find information on carnivorous plants that will help you defeat Poison Ivy's mutant Venus Flytraps. Poison Ivy has chosen carnivorous plants because of their aggressiveness and adaptations to their environment, and as Batman you need to learn about these carnivorous plant adaptations in order to stop her evil plan to take over Gotham City.

PROCESS:

Step One - You have asked the Batcomputer to print a list of relevant questions that Batman must answer about these carnivorous plants. Click on the Form link and print the Batcomputer's questions to use as your guide.

Step Two - Visit each of the websites listed under Resources to answer the list of questions provided by the Batcomputer. Each website will help you answer at least one of the questions on the printout. You will need to visit all of the websites to complete all of the questions.

Step Three - Record your answers to all of the Batcomputer's questions directly on the printout. The answers to these questions will give you the information needed to defeat Poison Ivy.

Step Four - On the back of the Batcomputer printout, write a short, 5-6 sentence summary paragraph detailing how you as Batman would use this information to defeat Poison Ivy's mutant Venus Flytraps.

Step Five - Submit your completed Batcomputer printout and summary paragraph to Mr. McGowan for evaluation.

RESOURCES:

Batcomputer printout of relevant questions to answer regarding Venus Flytraps.

Venus Flytrap frequently asked questions.

Gallery of many pictures of carnivorous plants .

History of carnivorous plants - why are some plants carnivorous ?

General information on Venus Flytraps .

Habitat requirements and growing instructions for Venus Flytraps .

Return to Process.

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FORM:

Click here to go to the Batcomputer's questions that Batman needs to answer to defeat Poison Ivy. Print this form and then return to Process to continue the activity.

EVALUATION:

	1 point	2 points	3 points
Accuracy	4 or more questions answered incorrectly.	2-3 questions answered incorrectly.	0 or 1 question answered incorrectly.
Completeness	One or more questions were left blank and no summary paragraph was written.	One or more questions were left blank, but the summary paragraph was written.	All 6 questions are answered and the summary paragraph is written.

Scale:
    6 points =    A
    5 points =     B
    4 points =     C
    3 points =     D
    2 points =     F

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CONCLUSION:

Now that Batman has the information needed to defeat Poison Ivy and her mutant Venus Flytraps, jump into the Batmobile and put your plan into action! Gotham City will be saved by the Caped Crusader once again!!

By completing this activity, you have examined plant adaptations using a carnivorous plant, the Venus Flytrap, as one example. By learning about the Venus Flytrap, you have learned how and why plants adapt, and what advantage adaptation gives them over other plants.

TEACHER'S INFO:

This simplified WebQuest activity was designed to fullfill one requirement for EDF 302 - Applied Instructional Technology at California University of Pennsylvania.

It is intended for 9th grade introductory Biology students as part of a unit on Plant Biology. The WebQuest was designed to expose students to plant adaptations, possible reasons why plants adapt, and the advantage they gain from adaptation. This activity also utilizes problem solving and critical thinking skills by having students use the new information learned to write a summary paragraph detailing one possible solution to the problem presented in the WebQuest activity.

Students should work individually on this WebQuest, however, it could also be adapted for use in a small group (2-3 student) format. Student work will be collected and graded using the Evaluation Rubric and scale above. If used for an actual class, the Rubric would be expanded to allow for closer evaluation of student's answers to the questions and also their critical thinking skills/problem solving skills in the summary paragraph.

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