Peer Review

ARKive on Tour

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Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:: This material offers a lesson prompt with supplemental media supporting a creative writing activity for students to learn about different habitats, the species that live there and the threats they face. The deliverable from students is both the researching and writing of their own travel article.
Type of Material:: Assignment
Recommended Uses:: The materials would be best suited for initial presentation as an in-class assignment, followed by time to complete the work as homework.
Technical Requirements:: Internet browser to download the materials, and then PowerPoint to display the materials to the class.
Identify Major Learning Goals:: Students will learn about different habitats and how the species found there are adapted to survive as well as conservation efforts. Students then use their research to write a magazine article aimed at communicating the issues covered to the general public. The purpose of the site is to offer a self-contained class activity for 11-14 year olds to conduct research on various animals and geographical habitats and write their findings as a travel journal. The activity teaches basic research principles and can be incorporated into a composition or science class quite easily.
Target Student Population:: The target population for the material itself would be middle school teachers looking to incorporate new assignments and approaches into their curriculum.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:: None.

Rating:
Strengths:: The assignment prompt itself is malleable enough to supplement the curriculum of several different disciplines, to include, English, Science or Journalism classes.
Concerns:: While the target age is listed as 11-14, instructors might have to ramp up the content offered as prerequisite knowledge in order to add the academic rigor necessary for this identified population.

Rating:
Strengths:: Lesson materials provided including plans for creating groups, time on task, habitat locations, setting deadlines, and suggestions for items to be included in writing task. The instructor resources are well-designed, thorough and include clear learning objectives. Since they are created in Microsoft Office products, it would be simple for educators to make edits and changes to the material to better incorporate them into their unique curricula.
Concerns:: While the teaching goal is clearly identified in the material, instructors would have to set clear and age-appropriate learning goals external to this content, and then weave those into the learning objectives offered with the material. This would be necessary so as to give this assignment prompt enough substance to be meaningful within the larger framework of the course.

Rating:
Strengths:: Materials presented in manner that makes it easy for teachers and students complete task. The materials are beautifully designed and would be an excellent complement to any course: online, hybrid, or face-to-face.

Other Issues and Comments:: While these materials are most excellently suited for a face-to-face class, it would be interesting to see how they might be implemented into a fully-online course. Users might need to use an external app to do so (such as NearPod or EduCanon), but doing so would truly broaden the scope of this material.
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