• Identify adaptations made by plants and animals to survive in a desert environment.
• Use the Internet to locate information about desert animals.
• Create an illustration and write a sentence using Kid Pix software.

Per class

• Computer with Internet access
  
• VCR and monitor
• LCD projector or computer-to-TV monitor connection
• Overhead projector
• Desert Giant video
• 4 sheets of chart paper
• 2 sentence strip
  
• marker
• bowl of water
• 2 sponges (same size)
  
• CUPS (C: Capitals, U: language usage, P: Punctuation, S: Spelling) poster
  
• volunteers

Per student team/group of 2

• Computer with Internet browser, Inspiration, Kid Pix software installed
• Animal Survival  (View)

Per Student

• Anticipation Guide  (View)
• Cactus Web  (View)

• Ecosystem - a system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their physical environment
• Environment - all things such as, climate and other living things that influence the ability of a plant or animal to survive.
• Adaptation - Change in the behavior of a person or animal in response to its surroundings.
• Expand - To increase the size or volume of an object
• Habitat - the type of environment in which an animal or plant lives.
• Nocturnal - nocturnal animals are more active at night than during the day. These animals sleep during the day, often in a burrow or den
• Diet - the food an animal eats

Set-up Directions:
There are several video clips from Desert Giant that you will use during day 1, so you should
fast forward to the beginning of the introductory segment. Levar is taking a picture. This is
right after the Reading Rainbow symbol. You should have a remote control for the VCR or be
able to stand right next to it during the viewing segments. The initial viewing activity takes
place at the beginning of the video. Prepare a sentence strip with the question: How are the
saguaro cactus and the sponge alike? Make posters of two webs, or create them in Inspiration.
Title one "What Should I Wear to the Desert?" and the other "Saguaro Cactus". Make copies
of the Anticipation Guide, and Cactus Web handouts for each student. You will need to have
ready the sponges and a bowl of water. Write the vocabulary words and definitions onto chart
paper. You can point them out at the beginning of the lesson and then refer back to them
throughout.

Teacher Presentation & Motivation:
Start the lesson with a brief discussion about what students know about the desert. Access prior
knowledge to find out what kids know about deserts by having students complete the Anticipation
Guide. Ask them if they would like to live in a desert. How would it be different than where
they live now?

Activity 1 - What Should I Wear to the Desert?
Ask students what kinds of clothing they would wear if they lived in the desert. Display a
blank web or open a web file in Inspiration. You can title it "What do you think you should
wear in the desert?" Record student ideas. Then display the "What Should You Wear in the
Desert?" web or open the file in Inspiration.  Cue the Desert Giant video where Levar is
taking pictures. It is at the beginning of the tape.

Focus for Media Interaction
Focus for Media Interaction: The focus for media interaction is a specific task to complete and/or information to identify during or after viewing of video segments, Web sites or other multimedia elements.
For this video segment, the focus for media interaction is for the students to
identify what types of clothing should be worn in the desert and why.

Viewing Activities
What will your students be responsible for while viewing this piece of multi-media or video?
Tell students that there are certain types of clothing that Levar suggests are good
for wearing in the desert. You want them to be able to look for and remember
one type of clothing after watching the video segment. PLAY the introductory
segment and PAUSE it when Levar says to lookout for cactus and the very tall
cactus is shown. Ask the students to recall the types of clothing. Record the
information on the web. (Students might share hats, long-sleeved, light color
shirts, long pants, boots, etc.) Now tell students that you want to add details
about why this clothing is worn. REWIND to the beginning of the segment and
REPLAY it. Tell the students to listen for details about why the clothing is
worn. PAUSE after each reason is given and add those details to the web.
Post Viewing Activities
How will students utilize the information they gathered while viewing the multi-media or video?
Ask students if they were surprised about any of the clothing that was shown in
the video. Have them share with a partner and then have a brief discussion about
what was new. They might mention the long-sleeved shirt or long pants.

Activity 2 - The Secrets of the Cactus
Tell students that next they will learn details about some very tricky secrets a cactus uses to
survive in the desert. Get the bowl of water and sponges. You will want to gather students in
an area where they can observe what you are doing. Ask students to observe the sponges.
Verify that they are the same size. Dip one sponge into the water and let students observe the
sponge expand when it soaks up the water. Introduce the vocabulary word; expand - to
increase the size or volume of an object. Tell students that they are going to find out how a
saguaro cactus and a sponge are alike. Fast Forward the video to just after the story reading.
Levar will be standing next to and studying a Saguaro cactus.

Focus for Media Interaction
Focus for Media Interaction: The focus for media interaction is a specific task to complete and/or information to identify during or after viewing of video segments, Web sites or other multimedia elements.
Now the focus for media interaction is for students to explore the sponge-like
abilities of the cactus.
Viewing Activities
What will your students be responsible for while viewing this piece of multi-media or video?
Display the sentence strip with the question: "How are the saguaro cactus and the
sponge alike?" Tell students that they will be using a small piece of the video to
answer this question. Instruct them to raise their hands when they think they can
answer the question. PLAY the segment from Levar standing next to the
Saguaro cactus to the Levar discussing the waxing coat on the outside. PAUSE
the video at this point. It is a short segment so you will need to be quick on the
draw.

Post Viewing Activities
How will students utilize the information they gathered while viewing the multi-media or video?
Discuss the answer to the sponge question. Listen to student responses and as a
group, agree on a sentence to answer the question. Write the answer on the
board or on another sentence strip.

Activity 3 - Cactus II
Tell students that by answering the question, they learned a detail about how the cactus
survives. Place the Cactus Web poster on the board or open the Cactus Web file and display it.
Add the detail to the web about how the cactus' skin expands to hold water. Tell students that
they are going to find more details about the saguaro cactus' survival techniques and add them
to their web.  Pass out the "Cactus Web" handout.

Focus for Media Interaction
Focus for Media Interaction: The focus for media interaction is a specific task to complete and/or information to identify during or after viewing of video segments, Web sites or other multimedia elements.
For this focus for media interaction, students will use the video to collect
details about the cactus.
 
Viewing Activities
What will your students be responsible for while viewing this piece of multi-media or video?
Tell students they will identify additional details about how the cactus survives
to add to their web. REPLAY the video segment of Levar discussing the
Saguaro cactus shown earlier and have students listen for more details about
how the cactus survives.
Post Viewing Activities
How will students utilize the information they gathered while viewing the multi-media or video?
Tell the students to add at least one more detail (including what and why) to
their web independently in the same way as the first detail. Replay the video
segment if necessary.

Activity 4 - Culminating Activity
Ask students to share the detail they added to their webs. Complete the class web together from
their suggestions. Collect the webs and use the webs to assess understanding.

Wrap Up:
Tell students that the next day, they will be learning about how different animals survive in the
harsh desert environment. Ask for some ideas about what kinds of animals live in the desert.
Make a list on chart paper.

Set-up Directions:

Today, you will need to prepare student partner groups. It is best to partner students with more
computer skills with students who have less computer experience. Bookmark the page: MBG
Net http://www.zoomschool.com/subjects/reptiles/lizard/Gilamonster.shtml title it: Gila
Monster on the teacher computer to be used for the modeling part of the lesson. On each
student computer, create a folder in the favorites menu called Desert Animals. Bookmark the
following webpages on all student computers and add them to the Desert Animals folder.
When you add them to the Favorites menu, create the following title for each so the students
will be able to find them easily.
http://www.zoomschool.com/subjects/turtle/Destortprintout.shtml title it: Desert Tortoise
http://www.zoomschool.com/subjects/mammals/cats/bobcat/Bobcatprintout.shtml title it:
Bobcat (used for teacher modeling)
http://www.zoomschool.com/subjects/mammals/peccary/Javelinaprintout.shtml title it:
Javalina
http://www.zoomschool.com/subjects/mammals/rodent/Kangarooratprintout.shtml  title it:
Kangaroo rat
http://www.zoomschool.com/subjects/mammals/rodent/Gerbilprintout.shtml  title it: Gerbil
http://www.zoomschool.com/subjects/mammals/marsupial/Kangaroocoloring.shtml title
it:Kangaroo

Make copies for each student of the "Desert Animal Survival Techniques" handout. Make an
overhead of the "Desert Animal Survival Techniques" handout. You will also need to have
ready the teacher computer projection and an overhead. Cue the Desert Giant video to the
beginning of the story that shows the title page of the book. Decide which students will
research which desert animal. Review the websites again, so that you can pre-assign an animal
to each group to accommodate reading abilities. You might identify each desert animal by a
color and give each partner group a color or the first letter of the animal. If the text is above
your students' reading abilities, you might consider arranging to have volunteers or possibly
older students, read to them. You could also provide students with a highlighted printout of the
animal information.  Have KidPix available for students to create a page for the culminating
slideshow.

Teacher Presentation & Motivation:

Review the previous day's lesson by looking at the two class webs. Have a short discussion on
some of the details they learned about how the cactus survives in the desert. Tell students
that today they will learn about some animals, birds and reptiles that live in the desert. They
will work with a partner to find one detail about how an animal survives in the desert on the
Internet. Review the list of desert animals from the previous day. Tell the students that they
will begin collecting details by viewing a video segment that shows a book called Desert
Giant: The World of the Saguaro Cactus.

- Focus for Media Interaction
The focus for media interaction is a specific task to complete and/or
information to identify during or after viewing of video segments, Web sites or
other multimedia elements.
For this video segment, students will identify different types of animals, birds
and reptiles that live in the Sonoran desert.
 
- Viewing Activities
Tell the students you want them to be able to identify one animal that lives in
the desert that they see in this part of the video. PLAY the video of the reading
of the book. STOP the video after it shows the blossoms and begins to discuss
the fruit and the people.

- Post Viewing Activities
Pass out paper and have students draw a picture of the animal they remember
from the story. Have students share their drawings. (These drawings may be of a
type of bird or a bat.) You could have the class do a gallery walk.

Activity 1 - Choose a Desert Animal
Project the teacher computer for the class. Model how to open the browser and click on
favorites from the menu bar. Open the Desert Animals folder from the favorites menu. Click
on MBG Net
http://www.zoomschool.com/subjects/mammals/cats/bobcat/Bobcatprintout.shtml bookmarked
on the teacher computer. You will be sent to a page with information on the Bobcat. Scroll
down the page to find the text. Read the text out loud and point out where the information
about how the Bobcat survives is located. Be sure to point out the link to Nocturnal animals.
Remind students that nocturnal is one of the vocabulary words. Show the "Desert Animal"
overhead and write the information about nocturnal on it.

Focus for Media Interaction
Focus for Media Interaction: The focus for media interaction is a specific task to complete and/or information to identify during or after viewing of video segments, Web sites or other multimedia elements.
The focus for media interaction is to have students use the Internet to find
information about how different animals survive in the desert.
Viewing Activities
What will your students be responsible for while viewing this piece of multi-media or video?
Have students go to a computer with their partner. Tell them that their job is to
research their particular animal using the Internet sites bookmarked in the
folder. Give each pair a copy of the "Desert Animal Survival Techniques"
handout and tell them to follow the directions to navigate to the Desert Animal
folder. Have them look at the animal they have been assigned and click on it in
the favorites menu. Remind them to look for key words, such as, survive, adapt,
diet, to help them find details. Have them write the details on the "Desert
Animal Survival Techniques" handout. Monitor the student progress and after
ten minutes have different partners share a new fact they've learned. Remind
them to check their sentence(s) for CUPS. (Capital, Usage, Punctuation and
Spelling.)
As partners finish their research and write their detail, check their work.

Activity 2 - Create a KidPix Slideshow

Tell the students that they will now create a picture and write and record their sentence in a Kid
Pix file. Their files will be used to create a slideshow that can be shown to another class or to
parents. Students can open a new file in Kid Pix. They can use the pencil tool to draw the
animal they have been researching. Have them create a text box to type their sentence.
(Younger students might only be able to use the letter stamp tool to write the name of their
animal.) When they are finished, they will need to save their file to a disk or the computer
network. The recording will have to be done one group at a time as you place each file into the
slideshow.  Have the partners read their sentence together as you record. They can practice
reading while they are waiting their turn. Let students participate with the final production of
the slideshow by helping choose music, order of slides, transitions, etc.

Pass out the Anticipation Guide from the first day of the lesson. Complete the After Reading
portion of the Anticipation Guide together. Ask students what they learned about deserts and
the animals that live in them. Have students work with a partner to tell a new fact they learned
about deserts.

Wrap Up:

As a final activity, share this video segment about other animals in the desert with the class.
Fast-forward the video to after the book to the part where Levar is taking pictures of himself
with different cacti. Cue the video to the point after Levar laughs while putting his arm around
a cactus almost as tall as he is.

- Focus for Media Interaction
The focus for media interaction is a specific task to complete and/or
information to identify during or after viewing of video segments, Web sites or
other multimedia elements.
For this video segment, students will identify their favorite desert animal.

- Viewing Activities
Tell students that they are going to look for their favorite desert animals; the
funniest or most interesting animal of the desert and Levar is going to give them
their choices. Play the segment for this activity right after Levar laughs. Stop
the video after you see the Gila Monster.

- Post Viewing Activities
Take a class vote on which animal they thought was the funniest or the most
interesting.