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What is a Desert?
Objectives
Students will:
!list and describe the key characteristics
of a desert.
!associate familiar feelings of being out
in the desert to the definition of a desert.
!explain and be able to demonstrate
evaporation and evaporative
cooling.
What is a Desert?
using guided imagery which is intended to elicit familiar feelings they have
likely already experienced as "children of the desert". To further illustrate
the concepts of heat and evaporation, students create sidewalk water graf-
fiti and observe and compare evaporation in the sun and the shade.
Bringing it Together
There are many things students already know about their desert
home. Sometimes, a little reminder is all one needs to be aware
of these things. During the guided imagery portion of this activ-
ity, students will be able to describe the main characteristics of
a desert. The purpose is to focus their awareness on the way
they feel in the desert and the reactions they have to those
feelings. Students' descrip-
tions of their feelings will help
them identify the key char-
acteristics of a desert. Dur-
ing their imagery experience,
students will 'feel' hot and dry,
desire shade, and want to
drink. By reminding the class
that these characteristics are
central to what a desert is all
about, and that they knew
this all along -- this exercise aims to reinforce the sense of place the stu-
dents have already developed about the desert and praise them for their
awareness of it up to this point. The exercise further emphasizes that what
they naturally feel in the desert is typical of what other animals and plants
experience. Heat, scarceness of water, and high evaporation are the pri-
mary characteristics that make up a desert and just like the other creatures
that live here, their bodies have been paying attention to this all along. They
are children of the desert.
Materials
!“Imagining the Desert” guided imagery
story (provided).
!Globe or world map
!A bucket or bowl of water, pieces of
sponges or other rags, a watch with a
second hand or a stopwatch, a sidewalk
(part sunny and part shady)
Activity Summary
In this activity, students are introduced to the program with the idea that
they already know many things about the desert. Students listen to a story
Note:
If necessary, the guided imagery story
may be read inside, but be sure to take
the students outdoors for the rest of
this activity. For students to feel the
desert environment (to be out in it) is
the best way to elicit their feelings of
familiarity and existing knowledge of
their desert home.
