Project Wormwood

A WebQuest project created by Pamela Lamb, Bill Pressgrove, and David Scarbo October 2002

Pamela Lamb – pamela.lamb@sfdr-cisd.org

Bill Pressgrove – William.pressgrove@sfdr-cisd.org

David Scarbo –   david.scarbo@sfdr-cisd.org

 

 

Introduction | Task | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion | Credits

Introduction

Wormwood is the name given to an asteroid that has been discovered 1.8 million miles from earth and heading toward the planet with the estimated impact time of one year.  You and your companions are a team assigned to find a suitable location that will support life with the least difficulty after the impact. 

Task

          You are a member of the Project Wormwood Relocation (PoWeR) team.  It will be the team’s responsibility to analyze the climate, environment, terrain, and soil which is required to sustain life with the minimal human effort.  Your team will also need to chart the route of travel that presents the fewest obstacles to arriving at the chosen area. This project will be a PowerPoint presentation given to the PWR executives to enable them to make a decision on where to relocate their community.

 

Process and Guidance

Process:

 

          The PWR team will consist of four members.  Each member will assume the responsibility of researching the various aspects of this project and presenting the information to the Executive Council.  The Team members consist of a meteorologist, environmentalist, geographer, and agronomist.

 

Guidance:

 

·        You will be assigned to a team to find a location that will be suitable to support life and rejuvenate a dying planet.

·        Each member of the team will assume one of the four roles as described.

·        Each member will explore resources to collect and correlate information for a PowerPoint presentation.

 

Team Members:

 

Meteorologist

The meteorologist is responsible for finding a climate that will be hospitable to human, animal, and vegetable life and allow for the production of both food and clothing.

            

 

Environmentalist

 

The environmentalist ensures that the quality of the environment will not be hostile to human activity.  They will check for radiation, air and water quality, and other possible elements of toxicity.

Geographer

The geographer will evaluate the site to ensure that it will require the least amount of landscaping to plant crops and provides a hospitable terrain for animal life.  They will also need to plan the route to be taken from your present location to the new location.

 

Agronomist

The agronomist will be responsible for checking out the soil type so that the crops will grow with the least cultivation and fertilization.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Evaluation

 

      The evaluation of this project will be the rubric from the following website:

http://www.uni.edu/profdev/rubrics/pptrubric.html

 

Conclusion

 

          When you have finished the PoWeR Project, you will have an understanding of the important role geography plays in the everyday lives of humanity.  You will have gained an understanding of how the environment, climate, topography, and soil types interrelate to sustain life on this planet. 

 

 

Credits & References

Pictures:

Asteroid collision: http://geocities.com/asteroids_us/pics.html

Geography Sites:

Education Planet: http://www.educationplanet.com/search/Geography_and_Countries

The Globe Program: http://www.globe.gov/fsl/welcome.html?lang=en&nav=1

Environment Sites:

EnviroLink: http://www.envirolink.org/index.html

Environmental Protection Agency: http://www.epa.gov/students/

Enature.com: http://www.enature.com

Meteorogical Sites:

WeatherStats.net: http://www.weatherstats.net

JAWF Climate Information: http://www.usda.gov/oce/waob/jawf/climate/climate

Agricultural Sites:

USDA: http://www.usda.gov

Web-agri: http://www.web-agri.com

General Sites:

DiscoverySchool.com: http://school.discovery.com

Encyclopedia Britannica Online: http://school.eb.com

 

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Last updated on (October 31, 2002). Based on a template from The WebQuest Page