Process

Step 1 - Decision Making Process
    1. You will meet with your group members and decide the role that each group member will fulfill.  Do not forget that the Introduction and Conclusion are the responsibility of ALL of the group members. 
    2. Complete the Research Topic Assignments and return it to your teacher for approval.

Step 2 - Research
    1. Prepare note cards and research your ecosystem - See below for site to use for each occupation.
    2. Each group member takes notes on their own section of the report.
    3. As you research, be aware of information for you introduction and conclusion.
    4. Record the sources you use on a resource sheet.

Step 3 - Organize information and prepare outline.
    1. Organize and group your notes.
    2. Determine if collected information is sufficient and re-research if necessary.
    3. Each person outlines their own sections.
    4. Use the outline model to develop your outline.
    5. Write your introduction and conclusion
    6. Turn in outline.

Step 4 - Rough Draft and Peer Revision
    1. Each group member writes their own section of the report. 
    2. Write the introduction and conclusion as a group.
    3. Peer edit and revise each section of the report.
    4. Turn in the group draft including a title page following the guidelines on the rough draft rubric. 

Step 5 - Decide the following
    1. What posters are needed and who will create them
    2. What maps are needed, what will they show, and who will find them or create them.
    3. What information will be graphed, how will it be graphed, and who will do it.
    4. Who will do the typing of the paper.

Step 6 - Visual Aids and Typing
    1. Three types of graphs - include a climatograph.
    2. Have a world and local map
    3. Share the responsibility of typing.

Step 7 - Oral Presentation
    1. Organize, plan, and rehearse the oral presentation.
    2. Make sure that each group member has a part in the presentation.
    3. Be sure each group member uses visual aids.

Here is a list of possible starting points for your research.  Many of the sites have information about all of the research areas.  You need to make sure you are taking on the role of the scientist that  you have chosen.  If you come across a source that may be helpful to another member of your team, let them know.  Make sure that you have accurately taken down all of the information to write the sources you found the information in.  This list is by no means all encompassing.  This will provide a jumping point for you to continue your research. This list is to be a starting point.  There is no way to address all of the topics in detail in a centralize location.  This list must also be supplemented by book, encyclopedias, etc. so the students can use different research types. 

Geologist/Geographer/Climatologist
BluePlanetBiome.org - Climate
Climate and Biomes
How to read a climatograph - good source for background on making a grraph of your temperature and rainfall data.
World climate data - Find a city in your biome and find the monthly temperatures and rainfall amounts for your biome.
Deciduous Forest climate
Savanna climate information
Rainforest climate data
World's Desert Information
Lake Baikal Info
Rocky Mountain Ecosystems
Andes Mountains
Rocky Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
New Zealand Ecosystem
Galapagos Geology and Climate

Botanist/Soil Scientist
BluePlanetBiomes.org - Planets
Tundra Plants - don't forget about plants adaptations and Soil info
Deciduous Forest Plant and soil information
Desert Plants and Adaptations
Savanna soil information
Savanna plant information
Rainforest soil and plant data
World's Soil Resource maps
Siberian Taiga Plantlife
Andes Plantlife
New Zealand Plants and Animals
General Soil Science

Zoologist
Desert Animals
Tundra Animals
More about Tundra animals and their adaptations
Biome Animals - CyberZoo
BluePlanetbiomes.org - Animals
Deciduous Forest Animal Information
Savanna Animals and adaptations
Siberian Taiga Animal life
Rocky Mountain Animal life
Andes Animal life
New Zealand Plants and Animals
Wildlife of the Galapagos

Environmentalist
Biome Thinkquest - Humans impact information
People and Lake Baikal
Importance of Estuaries
Humans Effects on Estuaries
Rocky Mountain Ecological Problems
Threats to the Galapagos

All Inclusive Sites
EnchantedLearning.com - Most biomes
Biome links
Tundra site
Taiga site
Deciduous Forest Site
World's Rainforests
Tropical Savannas
Temperate Grasslands
World's Deserts
University of Arizona Biome page
University of Puget Sound biome site - info on Geography, Vegetation, Diversity, soil, animal and plant, Human effects.
Deserts USA - Info on Sonoran, Great Basin, Mojave, and Chihuahuan
Chesapeake Bay Estuary
Siberian Taiga
Internet Geography
Missouri Botanical Gardens Comprehensive Biome site
Biome classification system
Wikipedia - scroll down
Comprehensive Estuary Site
Ecoregions in North America
Comprehensive resources for Rocky Mountains
Comprehensive resources for the Alps
Southern Appalachian Mountains and Central Appalachians
Appalachian Mountains - Great Smoky Mountain National Park
Australian Outback Guide
Galapagos Links
Florida Everglades

Berkeley Biome page - Climate animal and plant information. 

As you take your notes, think about how to organize your data. Think about the categories and the subcategories for your section of the report.  Also be aware of information that you might find that could be used for your introduction or conclusion.  Keep an eye out for information for the other members of your group.  Some of the sites that you are looking at have information for all areas of your report.  Make sure you share this information with your team members.

 This webquest is designed for the students to research a whole units worth of information, almost like a self directed study using what they have learned throughout the year.  This unit was designed to combine at least two period a day.  As much cooperation with the other teachers on your team, is suggested.  It is great to pool the expertise of the teachers on the team to make the experience for the students more rewarding and to improve the quality of the product. 

Try to group the students with varying ability levels.  On the other hand, there are some biomes that are easier than the other.  There is a tremendous amount of information about the rainforest.  If you decide to put a few lower ability students in the same group, consider giving them less ambiguous biomes with a great pool of information. 

Variations

Not all of the components need to be completed for this webquest.  Depending on your time constraints, you could just do the presentations and not the final paper.  Depending on the ability level of your students, some of the research could be done outside of class.  Some groups of students are more than willing to do research at home or outside of class.