Adventures in Wild Places

Information for Teachers

Curriculum links

This investigation is linked to the following Grade 4 Next Generation Science Standards and C3 Social Studies Standards for Grades 3–5.

Influence of Science, Engineering, and Technology on Society and the Natural World
People’s needs and wants change over time, as do their demands for new and improved technologies (3-5-ETS1-1)

D2.Geo.7.3-5 Explain how cultural and environmental characteristics affect the distribution and movement of people, goods, and ideas

Engineers improve existing technologies or develop new ones to increase their benefits, decrease known risks, and meet societal demands (3-5-ETS1-2)

EST1.A/B/C: Defining problems, developing solutions and optimizing the design solution
Possible solutions to a problem are limited by available materials and resources
Research on a problem should be carried out before beginning to design a solution
Different solutions need to be tested in order to determine which best solves the problem (3-5-ETS1-3)

Helpful websites

You may want to direct your students to websites to help with their investigations.

Students may want to learn more about one type of adventure. They can do a search for the name of the adventure (e.g. underwater)+adventure. They can search each adventure topic this way.

Or they may want to learn more about hazards in a particular wild place. If so, they can search place (e.g. desert)+hazards.

Other search topics could be rescues+wild places

How to search the internet

1 Keep your request short

Fewer words will give a more accurate search.

2 Choose exactly what you want

For example: Arctic Circle Climate

3 Use quotes

Double quotes around a set of words tell the search engine to consider those exact words in that exact order without any change. For example: “Arctic Circle Climate”

4 Use the plus sign (+)

If you add a plus sign (+) between words, the internet will search for all the words. For example: migrate+birds+whales+mammal

5 Use the minus sign (–) to say what you don’t want

Use a minus sign (–) to show words you do not want to appear in your results. For example: if you search for burrowing animals and do not want mammals in your search,  –mammals will exclude mammals. Note that you need to put a space before the minus sign for the word to be excluded.

6 Be very clear about what you don’t want

Part 1
Ask questions and define problems

After reading Adventures In Wild Places, you may have many questions about how wild places are defined and the challenges they present to humans.

List your questions.

  • Compare your list with questions that others have.
  • Choose a question you would like to investigate.
  • You can work alone, with a partner, or in a small group.

You may want to choose one or more of these questions to investigate

Q1. Why are places considered to be wild?

Q2. How do harsh environments restrict people’s ability to use them long term?

Q3. What technologies have enabled people to survive in these environments?

Go to Part 2 Investigate →

Part 2
Investigate

Do searches in the internet or in books or talk to people who can help to find the information you are looking for. 

Your teacher may suggest suitable websites for further information.

Go to Part 3 Record data →

Part 3
Record data

Find a way of recording your information that will allow you to see any patterns in the data.

Data Chart for Adventures In Wild Places

(Download and change to suit your information)

Download Chart
Go to Part 4 Organize, analyze, and interpret data →

Part 4
Organize, analyze, and interpret data

1. Look over the information you have gathered and the patterns you have found.

In what ways do harsh environments restrict people’s ability to use them long term?

What technologies have enabled people to survive in these environments?

2. Search for other patterns.

How do people try to stay safe on these adventures? 

3. Makes notes about what you find.

Go to Part 5 Present and share →

Part 5
Present and share

Look over all of the information that you have gathered in your investigation.

What are the most important ideas about Adventures in Wild Places?   

Make a chart showing the most important ideas.

Download Chart
Download Chart
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