This lesson is appropriate for grades 9-12. It could be adapted for grades 5-8.
Students should have a Science Journal for making observations and completing the activities suggested on-screen. If needed, print out copies of the prompting questions for the students to reduce the need for scrolling at the computer. Journal expectations and layout should be clear to the students.
This lesson has three parts that can be addressed at different times. The ocean color graphic interpretation is straight-forward. It is useful in teaching students to interpret and draw conclusions from graphic data.
Moving on to the land mass graphic and answering the prompting questions will reinforce the skills taught with the ocean graphic.
The rain forest and desert portion of the lesson will lead students to consider the factors affecting climate and resulting plant productivity on a global scale.
If you can find large posters or maps which use color keys as the basis for interpretation, put them up in the room and guide the students through interpretive activities using these visual tools before going to the computer.
Students should be familiar with:
The Science Journal is the major assessment tool. Students can assess the content of their journals from criteria established by the teacher.
The use of Venn diagrams to compare and contrast is a good class or small group activity in this lesson. Characteristics of rainforests and deserts can be listed with those common features included in the overlap area of the diagram.
The predictions that the students make from reading the graphics can be shared orally with the entire class and discussed. Emphasis should not be made on the "correctness" of the predictions, but on whether they are drawn logically from the material presented and can be defended in view of evidence from other students.
This lesson lends itself to being used after teaching geography or as review of geography.
Environmental issues dealing with the pollution and use of the world's oceans as well as rain forests and encroaching deserts are naturally connected here.