Introduction
Your family is on a picnic in the park. You go for a walk in the woods. You spot a small opossum that is too young to care for itself. You return to your parents for help. You ask your parents if you can be the baby opossum's mother since the mother cannot be found. Your parents explain that you will need to become an opossum detective to find out all the information necessary to take care of the baby opossum.
Task
After rescuing the baby opossum, you show her to your friend. Your friend
wants to help you with the baby opossum. You and your friend will
investigate:
what
opossums eat
unique
opossum characteristics
how
mothers care for their babies
facts
about opossums
define
marsupial
locate
the habitat of an opossum
Process
Step 1: The baby opossum needs to be fed a balanced diet. You and your friend will discover what the baby opossum eats so that you will know what to feed her. Click on the food.
Step 2: The baby opossum had a loving mother but was separated from her. You will work with your friend to find out how opossum mothers care for their babies until they are able to be on their own. Click on the picture of the mother opossum and her babies.
Step 3: While holding the baby opossum, you and your friend realize the opossum has paws that look like your hands and feet. You also notice a little pouch on the belly of the opossum. There are other animals that have a pouch on their belly, the kangaroo and the koala. These animals are marsupials. What does
marsupial mean?Click on the tracks to find out more about the opossum paws. Click on the hanging opossum to find out about more unique opossum characteristics.
Step 4: You found the baby opossum in the woody area of the park. You are thinking about what to do when the baby opossum is able to be on its own. Where does an opossum live? Click on the map to find out more.
Step 5: During your research, you find many interesting facts about the opossum. What does the phrase "playing ‘possum" mean?
Step 6: You want to take Virginia to school to share with your classmates. You polled your class to see if they liked or disliked opossums. You found out that most dislike opossums and are afraid of them. What could you teach your classmates so that they would not be afraid of opossums? Write a letter telling your classmates about Virginia and why she is so special.
You and your partner can earn up to 75 points on this webquest. You will find a graphic organizer to complete Steps 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Each task can earn up to 10 points. The letter to your classmates is most important! You can earn up to 25 points. Each step has a graphic organizer, directions and a grading rubric. You can decide how many points you can earn. You will help grade your own work.
Conclusion