Assessment
This activity is an assessment of the entire 3-5 curriculum. The completion of a project that shows changes in the local community as well as the design and implementation of a conservation project are the assessment project.

Scoring Rubric (Out of 10 Points):

• Create a visual project about local wildlife communities: 1 point
• Correctly identify what a wildlife community is. 1 point
• Identify some of the organisms in one of the local wildlife communities: 1 point
• Identify some of the organisms that would have lived in the community before human development: 1 point
• Explain some reasons why changes in the wildlife community may have occurred: 1 point
• Identify an issue affecting these wildlife communities: 1 point
• Identify a means by which students can have a positive impact on the issue: 1 point
• Create a plan for a project for the students to undertake to help wildlife communities: 1 point
• Implement and undertake the project: 2 points
• Total: 10 points

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Cross-Curricular Extensions
Social Studies Extension
Have students think about items they use every day. Have them divide these items into lists of necessities and luxuries. Have the students think about where the items come from, both where the natural resources are taken from and how the items are produced. How does the production of these items affect wildlife communities? How would it affect human communities if these products were not available?

English Extension
T ell students a forest on the outside of town is going to be knocked over to put up a new shopping center. Have them write two letters to a member of the town legislature to practice persuasive writing. One letter should persuade the legislator why the new shopping center should be built. The other letter should persuade the legislator why the new shopping center should not be built.

Math Extension
Have students look at the lists of organisms they compiled for the local community, both in recent years and in the past. Have the students make bar graphs to compare how many of the animals in each community were fish, birds, mammals, reptile, amphibians, invertebrates and plants. For example, if they listed dogwood trees, live oaks trees and poison ivy in the community, then the bar graph would show there are three plants in the community.

Art Extension
Have the students work together to paint a mural that shows how the various organisms in a specific local wildlife community interact.