Standard 1, Objective 2a: Describe the major world ecosystems (i.e. desert, plain, tropic, tundra, grassland, mountain, forest, wetland)
I chose to do a virtual tour on this topic because by actually being able to travel to these world ecosystems using google earth, the students will be able to more easily grasp the characteristics of each world ecosystem and will better understand where each is located. The terrain and 3-D images that can be seen in a virtual tour will make the ecosystems seem more realistic and will help the concepts being learned to become more concrete in the minds of the students. Using a Google Earth Tour for teaching this concept would be much more beneficial than trying to teach the students about the different world ecosystems using worksheets and textbooks.
| Location | Activity Description | Google Earth Content |
| 1. Desert (North Africa's Sahara Desert) | Show picture and discuss major characteristics of desert ecosystems. Have students write a descriptive journal entry about what they think it would be like to live in a desert. | Picture of the Sahara Desert |
| 2. Mountains (Rocky Mountains) | Have students create a watercolor painting of a mountain range based on the view and pictures of the Rocky Mountains. | Picture and 3-D image of Rocky Mountains; use the Terrain Layer |
| 3. Tundra (Antarctica) | After viewing the picture of the tundra, have the students research basic characteristics of the tundra. Using the information they have gathered, create a class web with tundra in the center and the characteristics of the tundra branching out from the center. | Picture of Tundra |
| 4. Grassland (South American Pampas) | Have students view pictures and talk about the kinds of animals that are found in grasslands all over the world. Play grassland animal bingo to solidify the concepts. | Pictures of South American Pampas and grassland animals |
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