Pathfinders+LIS+5250


===**6th grade, ecosystems and populations-Our sixth grade students study different ecosystems and the populations that make up those ecosystems. The ecosystems they study include desert, tundra, forest, rainforest, grasslands, ponds/lakes, and wetlands.** === ==   ==

__**GLE Standards** __
4 Changes in Ecosystems and Interactions of Organisms with their Environments [| http://dese.mo.gov/divimprove/curriculum/GLE/documents/cur-sc-bio-cle-1108.pdf]

4.1 Organisms are interdependent with one another and with their environment 4.1.a All populations living together within a community interact with one another and with their environment in order to survive and maintain a balanced ecosystem 4.1.b Living organisms have the capacity to produce populations of infinite size, but environments and resources are finite 4.1.c All organisms, including humans, and their activities cause changes in their environment that affect the ecosystem 4.1.d The diversity of species within an ecosystem is affected by changes in the environment, which can be caused by other organisms or outside processes. 4.2 Matter and energy flow through the ecosystem 4.2.a As energy flows through the ecosystem, all organisms capture a portion of that energy and transform it to a form they can use

**eThemes [] **
I found eThemes pretty easy to use, I really like being able to narrow my search immediately by grade. After narrowing by grade level I could see what topics they had information on and it was really easy to locate the websites I needed after that.

[|Desert] Habitat - This website includes names and places for most of the major deserts in the world. It also includes names and links to various animals living in those deserts. Also has some basic information on desert climate and characteristics.

[|Ponds and Lakes] - This website includes pond and lake characteristics as well as examples of several well know pond/lake ecosystems. Has extra links to more pond/lake information and includes some pictures of how the great lakes look from space.

<span style="color: #af2f09; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|Wetland] Habitat - This website includes wetland characteristics and lists the animals found in wetlands. It also includes other links to wetlands information and also gives information on several well know wetland habitats.

**<span style="color: #af2f09; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">ipl2 [] **
<span style="color: #af2f09; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">This site was fairly easy to use and had some good navigational tools. You can narrow your search by category and theme but it doesn't have the grade level categories that I liked about the last site. This just means that you have to really look into each site to make sure it can actually be used by the grade level that needs it.

<span style="color: #af2f09; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|Okanogan National Forest] <span style="color: #af2f09; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|Tongass National Forest] <span style="color: #af2f09; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|Sequoia National Forest] All three of these sites provide information on a specific national forest including wildlife, location, maps, educational resources, and general informaiton.

<span style="color: #af2f09; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|Tundra] Habitat - This site includes information on specific tundra habitats including arctic and alpine tundras. Also includes descriptions and lists of common animals found in these tundras. Website includes pictures of each type of tundra.

<span style="color: #af2f09; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|Grassland] Habitat - The website includes pictures and information on several types of grassland habitats. Also includes animals native to grasslands and pictures of different types of grassland habitats. (This site also includes links to other habitats and could be used for several different topics.)

**<span style="color: #af2f09; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Sweet Search [] **
<span style="color: #af2f09; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Similar to ipl2 when it comes to search results. Hard to sort through what you need because of the lack of grade level info. Harder to search than the others because I couldn't narrow my search based on any characteristics.

<span style="color: #af2f09; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|Rainforest] Habitat - This website include general information about rainforests including location, parts of, and animals present. Each animal presented has it's own link so you can study some animals more in depth. This site also includes a map of where rainforests are generally located and a link to map printouts.

<span style="color: #af2f09; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|World Habitats] - This site has a world map with different ecosystems color coded. You can click on a certain area of the world and it gives you information on that specific habitat and also gives you a link to animals from that region. Also gives you information like annual rainfall and climate.

<span style="color: #af2f09; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|World Ecosystems] - The website gives you the option to pick your ecosystem and then go more in depth with that ecosystem. Each habitat page includes general info, animal life, location, and statistics.

<span style="color: #af2f09; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**Virtual Learning Resources []**
<span style="color: #af2f09; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Lots of options to sort through if you're trying to narrow your search, but I appreciate that they do give you options. Still no grade level prompts but at least we have multiple ways to search. I also like all the language options on this site, gives you lots of options for lots of different students.

<span style="color: #af2f09; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|Rainforest] Habitat - Great information on rainforests, also includes links to climate, farming, animals, plants, and environmental problems.

<span style="color: #af2f09; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|Desert] Habitat - Came from the same website as the rainforest link above. Has all the same great info except this time around it's about deserts.

<span style="color: #af2f09; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|Grassland] Habitat - Also from the same website. Same great resources, these sites were some of the few that I found that mentioned environmental concerns and focused on both animal and plant life.

**<span style="color: #af2f09; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">netTrekker [] **
<span style="color: #af2f09; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">I love that I can narrow my search by elementary, middle, and high school. That really helps you know that you're on the right track for the age group you have. I still had to wade through quite a few sites before I found ones that really suited my purpose I would need to play with this site a little more before I was really comfortable.

<span style="color: #af2f09; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|Tundra] Habitat - This website has information on location, plant life, animals, and different seasons in the tundra. Site includes lots of good vocabulary words and has some nice pictures.

<span style="color: #af2f09; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|Wetland] Habitat - This site has information about what wetlands are, where they're located, and different types of wetlands. Also talks about the danger posed to wetlands and what we can do to prevent wetland destruction. A little wordy but has some great information.

<span style="color: #af2f09; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|Forest] Habitat - This website includes a list of facts about forest ecosystems. Also has a lot of information on conservation and preventing forest destruction.


 * <span style="color: #af2f09; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Overall I really preferred the search options on eThemes although netTrekker also won me over with the grade level search options. In a pathfinder where I wasn't grouping sites by an overarching website I would have put all my tundra options together, all my wetland options together, etc.... **

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