Introduction
     The manatee (man-uh-tee), a mammal, also known as a gentle giant has been chosen by your school as a mascot.  Come search the warm coastal waters of Florida and learn about the manatee as it rises toward the surface to greet you.

Task
    You must help you school discover the mysteries of the manatee.  A group of two people will be working together to learn all they can about the manatee.   I will give you directions to follow.  One person will be the computer specialist and the other person will be the recorder.  Each group will be responsible for one card of information for a HyperStudio presentation on manatees.

Resources
    You may use any books, encyclopedias or other references available in the classroom and media center.  You will also find these Internet sites helpful.

Florida Manatees-  http://pelo  tes.jea.com/Manatee.htm
Manatee FAQ-   http://www.savethemanatee.org/faq.htm
Senses-   http://www.nhgs.tec.va.us/ptoption/senses.html
Eating Habits, Habitats, and Behaviors-    http://www.nhgs.tec.va.us/ptoption/habitat.html
Florida (West Indian) Manatee-   http://www.bagheera.com/inthewild/van_anim_manatee.htm
Florida Fish and Wildlife-     http://www.state.fl.us/fwc/psm/manatee/eiwelcome.htm
International Wildlife Coalition-   http://iwc.org/volunteers/archives/May98/spec_pg4.htm

Process
    Your group is responsible for one card in a HyperStudio presentation on manatees.  You must share the responsibilities for the information gathered to put on this card.
    The technology specialist will be in control of the computer and will connect you group to the Internet sites.
    The recorder will take notes and gather information about the manatee.
    Each group must be sure they can answer  who, what, when, where, how, and why to each of their questions.

• Group 1    What is a manatee?
• Group 2    What does a manatee look like?
• Group 3    What does a manatee eat?
• Group 4    Describe the senses of the manatee.
• Group 5    Where do manatees Live?
• Group 6     Why aren't there many manatees?

Evaluation
 

Category	Exemplary          4	Accomplished        3	Developing  2	Beginning  1	Score
Research & gather  Information	Collected a great deal of information -all related to the topic.	Collected  some information -most related to the subject.	Collected very little information- some related to the topic.	Did not collect any information that related to topic.
HyperStudio card	The information was well written, will organized, & contained no grammatical errors.	The information was somewhat confusing but had few errors.	The information was confusing and had many errors.	Did not have information.
Participation	Shared responsibility & worked well with partner.	One person did most of the work. Had trouble working together.	One person did all the work.	Did not work together.

Conclusion

    You have gathered a lot of information and worked hard.   You may now open this web site   http://biology.usgs.gov/features/kidscorner/coloring11.html  and print the line drawing of the manatee.   This has been a fun project and  I hope you have learned things that you did not know before about the manatee.
Other fun sites:
http://www.gpa.unep.org/kids/colorbook1/default.htm
http://www.state.fl.us/fwc/educator/m.html
 
 
 

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Graphics by:
Michael T Bragg
Save the Manatee Club