Create Your Own Field Guide

The Purpose of this unit is to learn about the different types of plants and animals in a deciduous forest.
The Objective of this Unit is that students will create a field guide of their own, using the digital camera lab and researching the items that they capture on film. Students will then use PhotoShop to create their field guides. Students will also learn the proper classification of different species. By using online databases that the library provides and using Roger Tory Peterson field guides.
The materials that will be needed for this Unit include Roger Tory Peterson field guides, Digital Camera lab, student notebook,PhotoShop software, good walking shoes, and students should be dressed appropriately for the weather.
The Procedure is as follows: Students will walk on the trails through that Roger Tory Peterson Institute grounds and document any animals, and plants that they want to put in their field guide. This would include but is not limited to leaves, bark, flowers, and different animals. Students will take photographs of these different species to be used in conjuction with their descriptions and attributes of the species. Once all photos have been taken, students will use PhotoShop to crop, define their images and produce their field guide.
New York State Standards:
Science, Math and Technology 1,2,4,5,6,7
English Language Arts 1,3,4
Information Literacy Standards 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
Evaluation: Students will be evaluated on the accuracy of their classifications, neatness of their work, and their own personal evaluation where they are able to discuss problems that they encountered, ways for improvement and their own opinion on the project.