This page is dedicated to the lure and mystery of our planet's deserts.

Desert Internet Projects

The following projects are designed for students of various levels and abilities at the third through fifth grade levels, with the purpose of increasing general knowledge of the desert, encourage reading for information, and to foster  written language skills.

Lesson 1.  Click here on "Deserts" to learn about 24 hours in the Namib Desert of Africa.  Click on a time of day, and then choose a desert animal and find out how it survives in this habitat. 

Lesson 2.  Go to "Mojave National Preserve-Desert Ecology" site .  Click on "World Deserts" and scroll down to read about rain shadow deserts.  Find the picture  showing the rain shadow desert and draw it on your drawing paper.  Label and color it. Next, click the "back" icon.  Click on "North American Deserts". On your map of North America, color in the four North American desert regions in four different colors.  Then make a map key to identify and label each colored region.

Lesson 3.  Use the site "Desert Animal and Wildlife Index" to find a list of desert animals.  Choose one animal to do a written report on and click on it.  Read about your animal, then write one or more facts about the following:

a)  Range  b)  Habitat  c)   Description  d)  Behavior or Habits  e)  Life Cycle

Be ready to give an oral report to the class when your report is done.

Lesson 4.  For an additional research project, assign cooperative learning groups with varied ability in each group. Using the site "Desert Life in the American Southwest", assign each group a topic:

a) Minerals and Geology                         b) Animals and Wildlife

c) Plants and Wildflowers                        d) People and Cultures

Each group is responsible for making sure each child in their group knows two facts to orally report to the whole class when they return to the room.

(Assignment could be changed to research information on one of the four American deserts:  Chihuahuan, Mojove, Great Basin, and Sohoran Deserts.)

Special Desert Links

Desert Life in the American Southwest

An excellent site for 3rd to 5th graders to explore desert life in the American southwest. Pictures and information about animals, plants, people, environment and geology.

The ABCs of the Desert

Interested in the desert? This site is a must!