Endangered Species

Pat Sarvis GSL 520 Computer Assisted Language Learning

Summer 2002

A Multimedia Encyclopedia Exploration Activity

Student Pages

So…let’s begin!

Open Encarta 97 by double-clicking the icon on your desktop

Let’s start with a guided tour. From the opening screen choose Media Features, then click on Guided Tours, and then Endangered Species. This screen opens.

Multimedia Exploration of Endangered Species

Remember, at any time in this program, you can click these arrows to return to previous screens.

Click Next to scroll through each screen in this Guided Tour.

Exploration (cont.)

Browse through the 17 screens of this guided tour. Skim the articles and enjoy the media (some have video or sound as well).

When finished, click on Features on the Menu bar. From the drop down menu, click Media Features, and then choose Collages. When the collage screen opens, choose Biodiversity.

Scroll through the collage. When your mouse passes over some pictures, you’ll hear the sound of the animal, or see its name. You can also choose to read some of the related articles.

Black Rhinoceros Snow LeopardGorilla

Click on the title, Biodiversity, and read the short essay to give you an overview of this concept.

Exploration (cont.)Click the X in the upper right corner until you return to the opening screen. Click Encyclopedia Articles and a screen like the following opens.

Let’s use Pinpointer, the search mechanism in Encarta, to find out about some endangered species that may not have been included in the Guided Tour or Collage.

Click Find to open Pinpointer.

Type the name of a particular animal in the dialog box, or click Word Search and type “endangered species.”

Research Phase

Now it’s time for you and your partner to decide which animal you will focus on. Make sure when you choose your animal that you have pictures and enough information to be able to describe it and make a convincing argument to the Grant Committee on its behalf.

Armadillo

Wombat

Siberian Tiger

Flying Fox

Macaw

Rattle Snake

Research (cont.)

Find all the information you can about your chosen animal. Read and take notes of the important or interesting facts, especially those which answer your research questions. You can use paper and pencil, or the note card feature of this software.

From Features on the Menu bar, click Tools, and then choose Notemark.

You can type your notes here and the program saves them for you. Click OK when you’re finished and then you can click the notepad on the upper right menu bar to open them again on any page.

Using Encarta’s Dictionary

Remember, you can double-click on most words within the articles and the dictionary screen opens and displays the meaning of the word.

Write a Description of the Animal

Using both the text and media from the articles, and the notes you’ve taken, describe your animal in your own words in an MS Word document.

Tell what kind of animal it is (reptile, mammal, etc.)

Tell what it looks like and where it lives

Explain why this animal is endangered (for example, decreasing habitat, over-hunting, etc.)

Tell any other interesting facts you found out about the animal

What can be done to help this animal species to survive?

You may want to use the Thesaurus to help find some words to make your writing more vivid.

Power Point Presentation

Each pair of students will present their findings using power point. There should be a minimum of 8 slides. Include text, pictures, sound, and video if you wish.

Your presentation should include the following points:

A description and picture of the animal

A description of where in the world the animal lives. Including a map might help your audience.

Explain the problems that the animal is facing. What are the factors that have led to its endangered status?

Why should we help this animal to survive? Why is it important in our world?

What are some steps that can be taken to help the animal survive?

Power Point Tutorial

Power Point Presentation (cont.)

Remember that you must present a solid case to the Grant Committee (your classmates). Use facts to support your reasons why this animal deserves to be helped.

You will use the LCD projector as you present your case using power point slides to the Grant Committee.

               

Grizzly BearKoala

Using the Thesaurus in Microsoft Word

1. Highlight the word you want to change.

2. From the Tools menu, point to Language, and click Thesaurus.

3. Choose the right meaning sense of the word.

4. Choose a word you think would be good – you might ask a friend or check a dictionary to see if the meaning fits.

5. Click Replace and the word will be changed in your document.