Oregon High Desert WebQest Home

A WebQuest about the Oregon High Desert
For the OES Fifth Grade
May 2005

Part I. Introduction:

One can find lots of information on the web about California's high desert, but Oregon with its magnificent high desert is left out. Nobody knows about our high desert. We need to change this by creating information on the web about our high desert.

OES needs your help in preparing a web quest about the high desert of Eastern Oregon. This new webquest will be used to help future generations of fifth graders learn about the high desert before they go to Camp Hancock. Your help is also needed to create other web pages about our high desert so that anyone who is interested can learn about it.

Your job will be to gather information about the high desert of Oregon. You will gather some of the information using this webquest, and you will gather more next week while at Camp Hancock.

After you return from Camp Hancock we will create websites and a new webquest about the Oregon High Desert.

Credits for you: The new web quest and other websites on the Oregon high desert will have your class listed as the sponsors of it.

Part II. The Quest:

First you will become a high desert expert using online resources.

Later at Hancock you will use your experiences in the field and the information from the Hancock instructors to increase your expertise. You will be encouraged to make notes and take photos on both information you hear and your observations in the field. Each hiking group will be provided with a digital camera to take photos.

Finally you will share your information back at OES so that it can be used in the new webquest. Then the whole world can learn about our high desert!

III. Pre-Hancock Process:

A. Before you visit Camp Hancock:

* To start your group will research the websites below and take notes on what you learn.
* Next you will share your notes with your teacher.
* The class will be divided into small groups. Each group will research one focus of the desert.

The different focuses that will be researched on the web are:

A. What is a Biome?
B. What is a desert, a high desert (also called a rain shadow desert?
C. Desert animals and plants
D. Endangered high desert.

* Once all research has been completed, each group will write the results of what they have gathered in their group.
* The results will be shared with the rest of the class, and then given to your teacher.

Part IV. Pre-Hancock Internet Resources:

Everyone should look at these to see a high desert looks like:

High Desert 360 degree view one
High Desert 360 degree view two
Hancock Ecology Study - click on the first picture and then on the right arrows:
Hancock Geology Paleontology Study - click on the first picture and then click on the right arrows:

1. What is a Biome? What is the desert biome?

The World's Biomes - take a look at each of the world's five biomes:
The Desert Biome -good:
The Desert Biome What part of the earth's surface is covered by deserts? What are summers like in the semiarid desert? How do the cool nights help the plants and animals?
How little rainfall must an area have to be considered a desert?
Convert the cm of rain to inches - type the cm in the enter length box, and click on Convert to inches:

2. What is a desert? What is a high desert? Another word for High Desert is Rain Shadow Desert. Yet another is semiarid desert

What a desert is
Great Basin Desert - similar to Oregon high desert:
High Desert Defined.
Rain Shadow Desert Defined
What is a desert?
Desert USA contains all kinds of resources about the southwest desert. Click on what is a desert? Click on Animals and plants

3. Desert Plants and Animals

Semiarid Desert How do animals stay cool in the daytime? How do the cool nights help the animals?
Desert plant survival - Note: the concepts are good, but the plants are southwestern desert plants. Different plants grow in Oregon's high desert. At Hancock learn some of Oregon's plants
Desert animal survival techniques Note: the concepts are good, but the animals are southwestern desert animals. Some animals in Oregon's high desert are different. Learn about them at Hancock.

4. Endangered High Desert

What is the major threat to millions of acres of high desert lands?
What is the mission of the Oregon Natural Desert Association?
List three imperiled species of animals in the high desert. Write a hypothesis for why they are imperiled.
Why are salmon, steelhead, and trout at risk in the John Day River that flows near Camp Hancock?

5. Rocks and Minerals

No searches here - we will add information to this at Hancock.

Part V. At Hancock:

Gather information on your daily hikes. Before each hike, your Hancock field instructor will give you information on the subject of the day. Take notes on the information that you can use to add to the web quest and websites for the world to use. Be sure to tell what the subject for each day is, such as Ecology, Geology, Paleontaology, etc. On the hikes use your group's digital camera to take photos of points of interest.

During cabin time finish your notes for use back at school.

Part VI. After Hancock:

Back at school have a classroom discussion to compare notes and photos. Give the notes and photos to your teacher. Then Mr. Paff will use them to create the new webquest and websites for the world on the Oregon High Desert.

Part VII. Self-Evaluation Questions for Students:

What did you personally contribute to this new knowledge?

What did you learn?

What questions of yours are unanswered?

How did this experience change your opinion of the desert? Be specific.

Why is it important to respect and preserve the desert?

Part VIII. Conclusion:

Congratulations! You have worked hard to complete this webquest and to provide a body of knowledge for others. Now your work will be published on the web for the world to use as a resource in learning about Oregon's High Desert.