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Growing Deserts | Article + Research Project Template Webquest | Digital + Print

Learning about growing deserts is an excellent study choice for middle and high school students because it offers a window into critical global challenges such as climate change, human land use, and environmental sustainability. Learning about growing deserts not only connects subjects like geography, ecology, and environmental science, but it also highlights the real-world impacts of deforestation, overgrazing, and water mismanagement. By exploring how deserts expand and the factors that drive this change, students gain valuable insights into both natural processes and human influence on the planet. This interdisciplinary study - desertification - fosters critical thinking and problem-solving skills, preparing young minds to understand and address complex environmental issues in the future. With this in mind, let's engage with this excellent learning and teaching resource. This growing deserts research project template (webquest) provides the perfect grab and go, print and provide resource that can help your students learn all about growing deserts. For digital, you can provide a Google doc copy for ease of submission or a Microsoft word version as well. In this growing deserts research project template (webquest) with questions to check comprehension and inspire scientific thinking. It gives a rich and supportive framework that can be tweaked as needed for students to support differentiation. This growing deserts research project template includes: * Space for a one paragraph summary (that links to the 2 page science article also available on this topic - but does not have to). * Students should produce a mathematical connection, an engineering / technology connection, 2 interesting facts / stats. * 5 glossary terms they should fill in with their own words (which also links to the science article also available) * 3 thought provoking questions (ie: critical thinking questions) they must answer. * Finally, each template has 3 alternative thought provoking questions for younger students and 3 other alternative harder questions to extend high flying or older students. Giving you a total of 9 possible thought provoking questions that could be used with students to enhance their research and critical thinking. * Further, I have added a 1 page - 20 point rubric to be used for either self-assessment or teacher assessment as you deem fit. I hope it helps support the learning even further! The template is some of my best work and I am proud to share it with you. The desertification science article provides the perfect grab and go, print and provide resource that can supplement lessons. It is a growing deserts article with questions to check comprehension and inspire scientific thinking. I am very proud of this series of science articles and they are rich with information and wonder at the majesty of science. Each science article includes a fun fact(s) to add to the knowledge gained from this article. Formatted in an easy to read and digest manner, each paragraph is numbered to help with referencing and each question answer has a paragraph reference number to point to the specific information (where applicable). A SCIENCE RESEARCH PROJECT TEMPLATE CAN BE USED SO MANY WAYS: * Useful for substitute (sub) teaching * To extend students * To increase scientific literacy and research skills in your class * Great as a lesson filler when class goes too fast and you need a long running task * To inspire students on a particular topic * As a scaffold to support students who need support on research skills and can use a framework * To enhance critical thinking when doing research and making a relevant and interesting output * Give a selection of these research project templates for students to choose from * To enhance students ability to express ideas and synthesis knowledge * To increase scientific literacy in your class * A weekly reading / research task WHAT'S INCLUDED: Growing Deserts Science Research Project Template * 7 page Google doc teacher version with supporting appendix items * 3 page Google doc student version with room to fill in answers (text boxes) * 7 page Word doc teacher version with supporting appendix items * 3 page Word doc student version with room to fill in answers (text boxes) * 7 page PDF teacher version with supporting appendix items * 3 page PDF student version with space to fill in answers * 1 page 20 point rubric for self or teacher assessment in all three - Google doc, Word doc and PDF form Growing Deserts Science Article * 3 page Word doc teacher version with answers * 2 page Word doc student version with room to fill in answers (text boxes) * 3 page PDF teacher version with answers * 2 page PDF student version without answers (but space left to do so) * 3 page Google doc teacher version with answers * 2 page Google doc student version with room to fill answers (text boxes) Please note: That the Doc versions are images with editable text boxes overlayed on top and this is the most effective way to keep the article sleek and well-designed and also that students cannot change things significantly.