Unit Outline: Deserts and the Southwest United States

1. Desert Environment
   1. Introduction
   2. Creation of Bulletin Board
2. Desert Facts
   1. Mapping
   2. Graphing
   3. Measurement
3. Desert Plants
   1. Methods of Survival
      1. Roots to Obtain Water
      2. Waxy Coating
         • Slows Transpiration and Evaporation
      3. Spines
         • Protect From Thirsty Animals
         • Shade From Sun
      4. Students Create Their Own Plant That Will Survive in the Desert
         • Criteria
         • Must Be Able to Store Water
         • Must Be Able to Compete With Other Plants for Water
         • Must Be Able to Withstand the Hot Desert Sun
4. Desert Animals
   1. Introduction to Reptiles
   2. Research One Desert Animal Per Student
      1. Identify Adaptations to the Desert
         • Present to the Class
         • Create Class Book of Desert Animals and Their Adaptations
      2. Interdependence of Desert Life
5. The Southwest United States
   1. Research One Area of the Southwest United States
      1. Native Americans
         • Adobe
         • Irrigation
         • Art
      2. Cattle Ranching
         • Branding Stock
         • Famous Ranches
      3. Spanish Settlement in the Southwest
         • Vocabulary
         • Farming Development
      4. Clothing in the Southwest
      5. Present-day Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, or Texas
         • Map of State in Relation to the Rest of the United States
         • State Flag
         • Travel Brochure
           • Location
           • Environment
           • Sites
         • Animals of the Southwest
      6. Turn Classroom into a Museum of the Southwest United States and the Desert Environment (Culminating Activity)