Mr. Leonard holds a blood stained pot shard he picked up from the floor of a deep ceremonial limestone cave.

This is the magic of Belize! Ancient history is all around you. Mountainous tropical rainforest, mangrove swamps, and magnificant barrier reefs are all in an area the size of NC's coastal plain.
The friendly people of Belize are realizing how special their country is and want to share this special place through "Ecotourism" .....
 

Mr. Leonard's trip to Belize

Created by
Mr. Leonard, Lab Instructor at the Franklin County Creative Educational Centre (click to email)

Introduction  |  Task  | Resources  | Process  |  Evaluation


Introduction

Mr. Leonard was chosen by the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science's "Teachers of Excellence" Program to accompany eleven other teachers on a exploratory trip to the Central American country of Belize.  He learned firsthand about tropical and marine ecosystems and how the plants and animals form the complex food webs that he teaches about in the 8th grade. He visited ancient Maya ruins, sacred caves, and modern day Mayan educators.  He decided to share the experience with his students in the following activity. 

The Task 

You will help Mr. Leonard by finding the answers to some of the questions he has about what he saw and learned about on his trip to Belize in Central America.

Resources

Click here to read about things Mr. L has questions about. Mr. Leonard's Inquiry
All research hotlinks will be available in his inquiry.
When you see underlined text like the text above, click it to go to more pictures and pages of this webquest or to go to a hotlink to research a question. You can always click the back button on your browser to return from a link to this webquest.

If you are interested in further researching a topic Mr. L asks about you can always go to a search engine like Ask Jeeves or Google and research on your own.

The Process

Read Mr. Leonard's inquiry.  When he asks a question about what he has seen, go to the link(s) he provides and read about the subject.  Form your own answer or opinion then write down your answer.  When you finish, hand your answers in to your teacher. 

*The questions Mr. L asks about can be researched and found on the internet.  He will give you the links to research the topic he has questions about. Every time Mr. Leonard asks a question, a blue hotlink will be available to take you to an internet site where the answers can be found.  You can always return to Mr. L's inquiry by pressing the Back button of your browser after you research the hotlink information.

Go to the following hotlink to see the questions asked in this webquest...
                                                              Mr. Leonard's Belize Webquest Questions

Evaluation

Answer the questions asked in the webquest as you go through Mr. Leonard's inquires. 
If you would like to print out the questions on a paper, go to the the following hotlink and print the page. Questions asked in this webquest.
The work will be graded just as any classwork would be graded. Mr. Leonard loves to offer this webquest to students who always ask that age old question, "Can I do something to earn extra credit?"

Conclusion

Mr. Leonard hopes you enjoy researching some of the questions he had and looking at the pictures he took in Belize.  He also hopes he has asked some questions that have made you think about the ecosystems and issues dealing with the tropical rain forest.  Maybe one day you too can visit the reef and tropical rain forest of Belize and see for yourself this magnificent world treasure. Hopefully, you will be motivated to become a part of those who wish to preserve these ecosystems.


Credits & References

Thanks to Mary Ann Brittain, Liz Baird, and Bill Hasse, leaders of the Teachers of Excellence group, and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science for providing this awesome opportunity for teachers in North Carolina. 


 Go to Mr. Leonard's Inquiry