Deserts of the World
Introduction
As members of the global community, we must increase our understanding of the
desert regions of the world. Today the relationships among peoples in desert
environments affect environmental protection, world food supplies, agribusiness,
and cultural and biodiversity. Comparing and contrasting our own desert
communities with other desert regions is a first step to solving many of the
world's environmental, food and diversity problems. By completing this quest you
will have gained great insight into our world's desert environments.
Background Information
These are the Deserts
of the World:
- North American Deserts: Great Basin, Mohave, Sonoran, Chihuahuan
- South American Deserts: Peruvian, Atacama, Patagonian
- African Deserts: Sahara, Negev, Namib, Kalahari,
- Middle East Deserts: Jordanian, Arabian, Rub'al-Khali
- Asian Deserts: Kara Kum, Kyzyl Kum, Takla Makn, Gobi
- Australian Deserts: Great Sandy, Gibson, Great Victoria, Simpson
- Arctic Deserts
The Task
The Chief Curator of the Chihuahuan Museum of Natural History and Science has
selected your team to create an interactive exhibit comparing the Chihuahuan
Desert to other desert areas of the world for their Children's Museum. Your task
is to inform the public of the differences and similarities of the desert
habitats. Your display will include information about the flora, fauna, people,
and the environment.
1. Divide into groups of seven: Each group will have 2
Horticulturists, 2 Zoologists, 2 Anthropologists, and 1 Curator. Each group will
be responsible for gathering information on the Chihuahuan Desert and one other
desert, then creating an interactive exhibit for children such as; plays, games,
displays, maps, storytelling, graphs, multimedia presentations, art, music,
dance and cooking.
Horticulturists:
Tip: Remember, one of you will be researching the Chihuahuan Desert
and the other person will research the selected desert.
- Compare and contrast five species of plants.
- What are the four main foods of your area?
- What unique planting techniques are used in the area?
- How did the native people use agriculture in the area?
- How did the native people make use of water?
- Describe plant adaptations to desert survival.
- What plants would you find during a walk in the area?
- What plants are used for medicinal purposes?
- Create an appealing name for your display that would capture the interest
of children such as: Bug Detectives for the Entomologists.
- Relate your findings to the environment.
- The curator will be responsible for coordinating the interactive exhibit.
Zoologists:
Tip: Remember, one of you will be researching the Chihuahuan Desert
and the other person will research the selected desert.
- Classify the desert animal kingdom into groups: insects, fish, reptiles,
mammals, domesticated animals, birds, and amphibians.
- Highlight the most interesting animal in each animal group.
- How do animals survive in a desert?
- What adaptations have animals made to survive in the desert?
- Are any animals of the desert threatened or endangered? Give examples and
tell why.
- Describe a desert food chain.
- Create an appealing name for your display that would capture the interest
of children such as: Bug Detectives for the Entomologists.
- Relate your findings to the environment.
- The curator will be responsible for coordinating the interactive exhibit.
Anthropologists:
Tip: Remember, one of you will be researching the Chihuahuan Desert
and the other person will research the selected desert
- Who are the native people?
- Who are the present day peoples of the desert?
- Summarize the history of the area.
- What are the celebrations, festivals, or events related to desert living?
- Describe the shelters, lifestyles, and clothing of the desert.
- Share any native folklore of the desert.
- What are man-made environmental problems in the desert?
- Describe past or present art, music, and recreation.
- Create an appealing name for your display that would capture the interest
of children such as: Bug Detectives for the Entomologists.
- Relate your findings to the environment.
- The curator will be responsible for coordinating the interactive exhibit.
Online Resources
Offline Resources
- Eyewitness Book: Desert by Miranda Macquitty
- Gathering the Desert by Gary Paul Nabhan
- Growing Desert Plants from Windowsill to Garden by Theodore B.
Hodoba
- In the Desert by Q.L.Pearce and W.J. Pearce
- A Desert Scrapbook by Virginia Wright-Frierson
- Desert Legend by Gary Paul Nabhan
- Desert Life by Alice Jablonsky
- The Desert is my Mother by Pat Mora
- Deserts by James A. MacMahon
- The Desert Classroom laserdisk by New Mexico State University
- Survivors in the Sand video by New Mexico State University
The Process
- Your team of experts will compare and contrast horticulture,
anthropology,and animal life from the Chihuahuan Desert and another desert of
the world.
- Each team will consist of a minimum of: 2 Horticulturists, 2
Anthropologists, and 2 Zoologists. (Tip:One expert will research the
Chihuahuan Desert and the other expert will research the selected desert.)
Make sure you have assigned one Curator to each group who will coordinate the
interactive display.
- Teams are to gather information from online and off line resources for
their particular groups.
- Bookmark additional online resources.
- Teams are to decide what product they will create for their aspect of the
interactive exhibit such as: maps, storytelling, and games.
- Analyze and compile your findings and create your exhibit as a team.
Learning Advice
Be sure to keep track of your findings in a portfolio or a word processing
document and save them on a diskette. As a researcher always be aware of the
ethnic perspective of the information and data you gather.
Evaluation
It is recommended that the instructor utilize the Summative Assessment Scoring
Rubric for this Desert Webquest.
Conclusion
Now that you have a deeper understanding of the world's deserts you are ready
to contribute to solutions to the problems of environmental preservation, world
hunger, and cultural/biodiversity. You are now ready to synthesize and evaluate
different perspectives of native cultures of the deserts. To extend your
learning of the deserts of the world you may want to: Interview local policy makers, consult with
experts, communicate with other desert schools, plant gardens representative
of the various deserts you have studied.
This page was written by: Jennifer Holmes,
Cissy Lujan-Pincomb, cpincomb@lcps.k12.nm.us , Miriam Martinez.
Adapted for offline use. For the original WebQuest go to:
http://ddl.nmsu.edu/kids/webquests/wqdesertworlds_k.html