Introduction

Students will investigate a variety of internet websites that will provide them with the background knowledge with which to analyze, synthesize and evaluate historical, scientific, environmental and literary issues on the American bald eagle.

Students will explain the ways in which scientific knowledge is useful and also limited when applied to social issues such as environmental protection. (B.8.6)

Students will locate, organize and use relevant information to understand an issue of public concern. (C.8.7)

Students will use computers to acquire, organize, analyze and communicate information from various on-line sources like web pages and listervs. (E.8.1)

Students will conduct research and inquiry on self-selected or assigned topics, issues or problems and use an appropraite form to communicate their findings. (F.8.1)

The Quest

The American bald eagle has been the emblem of the United States since its founding years in 1782. Despite its disappearance over the years, we, as a society, have made a concerted effort to save the bald eagle. There are historical, environmental, educational and literary levels on which information on the American bald eagle can be gathered by the investigative student.

You will:

Visit resource sites on the American bald eagle.
Gather scientific information on the bald eagle.
Demonstrate your understanding by writing a poem.
Construct a comparison and contrast of several mythologies.
Develop a press release on a community celebration day.
Take a culminating test on your knowledge of the bald eagle.

The Process and Resources

In this Webquest you will be working together with a group of three students in your class. Each group will complete a series of questions. As a member of the group, you will explore Webpages from sites all over the world which care about the American bald eagle. Because these are real webpages you are taping into, not things just made for schools, the reading level might challenge you. Feel free to use the online Webster dictionary or one in your clasroom.

Phase 1 - Background: Something for Everyone

Using the Internet information, answer the questions listed under each subtopic as part of your background knowledge. Use your creativity and logic to answer these questions.

• American Bald Eagle History - Name three casues of death to the bald eagle. In what year was the Bald Eagle Protection Act passed?
• American Bald Eagle- Where to View - In what states do you find the largest population of bald ealges? Why is there a preponderence of eagles found near the Chilkat River in Haines, Alaska?
• American Bald Eagle- An American Emblem - Why did Benjamin Franklin not want the bald eagle as the national emblem? In what year was the bald eagle chosen as the national emblem?
• American Bald Eagle Eating Habits - Summarize the bald eagle's eating habits.
• American Bald Eagle- Reintroduction - What are the major factors for the reintroduction of the bald eagle? Define the word 'endangered.'
• American Bald Eagle Science Facts - Describe the basic habitat of the bald eagle.
• American Bald Eagle- 'Silent Spring' by Rachel Carson - What chemcial was Rachel Carson researching when she decided to write her book 'Silent Spring.'
• American Bald Eagle Poems - Write a poem about the American bald eagle in the form of a limerick (aabba).
• American Bald Eagle Mythology & Folklore - Compare and contrast the representation of the bald eagle in two mythologies (Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Norse and Celtic).
• American Bald Eagle Environment - What would happen if the bald eagle was to disappear from the top of the food chain?
• American Bald Eagle-American Eagle Day - Use the information in this link to develop a press release for your community to celebrate American Eagle Day.
• American Bald Eagle Environmental Education - Describe how the bald eagle utilizes thermal energy to fly.
• American Bald Eagle Soaring City Slickers - Explain why the bald eagle is making a comeback in the Hudson River Valley, seventy miles from New York City.
• American Bald Eagle Federal Wildlife Laws and Governing Agencies - Define three reasons for listing the bald eagle as an endangered species.
• American Bald Eagle Legends - Click on save the bald eagle game and take the test to see if you can save the bald eagle. Score 80% or higher and then you will be an American eagle expert.

Phase 2 - Looking Deeper from Different Perspectives

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Work in groups of three to answer the questions to the links in the Webquest.

2. Describe how you are going to collect your information and notes. Record the information in a notebook.

3. Collect research on each link.

4. Use the recent lesson information on limericks to write your own limerick on the bald eagle.

5. Create a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the mythologies choosen to represent the bald eagle.

6. Use the APA format to write a press release on the bald eagle from your community.

Phase 3 - Debating, Discussing, and Reaching Consensus

You have all learned about a different aspect of the American Bald Eagle. Now groups members come back to the larger WebQuest team with expertise gained by searching from one perspective. You must all now answer the Task/Quest as a group. Each of you will bring a certain viewpoint ot he answer: some of you will agree and others will disagree. Use information, pictures, movies, facts, opinions, etc. from the Webpages you explored to convince your teammates that your viewpoint is important and should be part of your team's answer to the Task/Quest. Your Webquest team should write out an answer that everyone on hte team can live with.

Phase 4 - Real World Feedback

You and your teammates have learned a lot by dividing up into different roles. Now's the time to put your learning into a letter you'll send out for real world feedback. Together you will write a letter that contains opinions, information, and perspectives that you've gained. Here's the process:

1. Begin your letter with a statement of who you are and why you are writing your message to this particular person or organization.

2. Give background information that shows you understand the topic.

STATE THE TASK / QUEST(ION) AND YOUR GROUP'S ANSWER.

3. Each person in your group should write a paragraph that gives two good reasons supporting the group's opinion. Make sure to be specific in both the information (like where you got it from on the Web) and the reasoning (why the information proves your group's point).

4. Have each person on the team proofread the message. Use correct letter format and make sure you have correctly addressed the email message. Use the link below to make contact. Send your message and make sure your teacher gets a copy.

Your Contact is: the designated contact

Conclusion

So we now know that the whole picture of the bald eagle is greater the sum of its parts. It's more complex than any one part represents. Good work! From what you've learned, do you and your fellow students think that we have done the appropriate thing to save the bald eagle? If so, what do you think you and your community can do to continue to maintain the bald eagle as more than just a symbol of our American society? How would you compare the near extinction of the bald eagle with the extinction of the dinosaur? What other parts of American Bald Eagle could still be explored? Remember, learning never stops.