The Wild Classroom

By: Donne Elcock

The Wild Classroom is an interactive website that informs readers' about biology concepts and biodiversity. On the website, there is a tab for educators to upload lesson plans and they can also comment on videos. Teachers can use this website as a resource for teaching social studies and science while building a community on-line. This website is easily navigable with well labeled interactive links and fascinating videos to watch.

Upper elementary students will enjoy this website because they get to discover biology concepts and biodiversity at their own pace. Students can take ownership of their own learning. 

 In a geography lesson, I would use this website for the world's biomes. Learning about biomes falls under geography and science. The topics that biomes cover have both geography and science concepts. 

 http://www.thewildclassroom.com/

Use the URL above to get to the home page.

The Home Page:   

To get to the world biomes page, scroll down to the bottom of the home page and click on world biomes on the left-hand side.

How to use The Wild Classroom's Biome Page:

Ways to use The Wild Classroom in the classroom:

This website could be used as a research tool for students in the upper elementary classroom. The teacher can give a brief overview of the world's biomes and then have the students explore the biomes in more depth on this website. The following are ideas of how this website can be applied in the classroom.

1. Presentations

 Students can form groups and choose to study a biome and create a presentation for the class. The teacher can briefly go over each biome, assign groups and have students choose the biome they want to study. After the students are done researching using this website they can create a power point, on-line poster board, or an oral presentation.

2. Create a play or story

The teacher can connect language arts to geography by having the students make an on-line book creating a story around biomes or creating a play inside a certain biome. The students can gather information from The Wild Classroom to put in to their stories. This is a great way for students to be interactive, creative, descriptive, and be able use information at the same time. The teacher can invite families in or create an event so the students can share their work with others outside the classroom.

3. Diorama or Model 

The teacher can have students individually create a diorama or model of a biome to show the class what plants, animals and landforms exist in the biome they choose. This is a great example of a 3-D visual and a way for students to learn. Students can use this website to gather information on what exists in their biome and how the biome should look to create their diorama. When the students are finished, the teacher can have the students put their work on display in the classroom so everyone can walk around and learn about all the different biomes.

Web Links:

http://kids.mongabay.com/lesson_plans/lisa_algee/deforestation.html

This website is a lesson plan about deforestation around the world. It informs students about the statistics, the largest rainforests around the world, the consequences, and ways to help stop deforestation. The lesson plan also includes a quiz and a writing activity for the students to complete. 

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/biomes/   

This website is a great resource teachers. There are plenty of activities, and print outs for teachers to use. Teachers can also use this site to gain information.

 http://www.neok12.com/Ecosystems.htm

This website has a bunch of resources for students. Students get to learn more on this website from videos on the different biomes and they get to play games, puzzles and get the chance to quiz themselves.

http://www.geo.arizona.edu/Antevs/biomes/

This website is full of pictures of the world's biomes for students to get a visual.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7cZ3b6PH2s

This is a great video that covers all the world's biomes. This video would be perfect to show to your class as an introductory.

http://pbskids.org/zoom/activities/sci/biomeinabaggie.html

This is a project that involves creating a biome in a bag. Students get to experiment with how plants grow in different environments. Students can choose how much water to put in and the amount of sun light given so they can observe the changes.

References:

The pictures and information on this wiki about The Wild Classroom were retrieved from http://www.thewildclassroom.com/