Wild About Owls

Owls are a Raptors. The word “raptor” means “to seize or grasp” in Latin. Raptors use their powerful, sharp talons to capture their prey and to defend themselves. Several bird species are considered raptors. Eagles, hawks, kites, falcons, and owls are all considered raptors.

Owls usually live and hunt alone. Some owls can see well enough in sunlight to hunt by day as well as by night; however, the majority of owl species hunt for food at night. Most night-hunting owls have keen vision in the dark; however, some have such sensitive hearing that they rely very little on vision. These owls locate and catch mice, voles, and other small mammals in total darkness by listening to the rustling noise the animals make running through the forest. Owls eat mostly mammals. The larger owls catch rabbits and squirrels, and the smaller ones catch mice, rats, and shrews. Some owls also hunt a few birds and insects; others have been known to take fish from shallow waters. Like hawks, owls tear large prey into pieces when they eat it. If the prey is small enough, they swallow it whole. They later cough up pellets of undigested bones, fur, scales, and feathers. These owl pellets are found under their nests and roosting areas.

There are about 145 different species of owls. They are found throughout the tropical, temperate, and subarctic regions of the world and on many oceanic islands. The smallest species is the tiny elf owl, measuring about 6 inches (15 centimeters) long, that lives in Southwestern United States and western Mexico. The largest species is the great gray owl that lives deep in woods of Canada and Alaska as far north as trees grow. Gray owls grow to about 30 inches (76 centimeters) long and have a wingspread of 54 to 60 inches (137 to 152 centimeters).

STEP 1

• Form a team of 3
• Choose an owl to research
  
• Each of you will research a different owl below. Use the graphic organizer to record your notes on your owls.

 GRAPHIC ORGANIZER

STEP 2

Your graphic organizer has extra blanks for you to add additional information you think is important. Make certain that you find all the information in your organizer and answer the questions completely. After you complete your organizer, share and discuss what you learned about your owl with your team. Each member should complete a new organizer for each owl that is discussed during your share time. You will submit 3 completed graphic organizers on the 3 owls discussed in your group. (5 points for each organizer)

STEP 3

After your group has discussed their owl information, you will meet with other experts in your class who researched the same owl as you. In this step you will discuss information and take notes on any new information you may gain from your expert groups. 

STEP 4

Now that you have learned about 3 different owls, it is time to write your informational paragraph about your owl. Your paragraph should have a minimum of 10 sentences that include accurate details and facts. You will be graded on content (the heaviest weight), grammar, punctuation, capitalization,and effort. (Submit a copy of your rough draft for participation and timeline grade worth 5 points.) 
RUBRIC for your final draft

STEP 5

In this step, you will peer edit your drafts to identify errors. Exchange papers, read aloud to your team exactly what is written, and ask each other if each sentence is appropriately written with correct punctuation and grammar.

Your Individual Grade

Your grade is based on individual performance on your final product about your owl (your paragraph information) (100 points), the 3 graphic organizer submissions that you completed during group discussion (15 points), the rough draft of your paragraph (5 points) .
100 points + 15 points + 5 points

Culmunating Project 

Owl Pellet Dissection.

We will finish our study of owls by dissecting an actual owl pellet.  You will first dissect a virtual owl pellet and then dissect an actual owl pellet.

You will work in groups of two to complete both dissections. Use the following link to complete the virtual dissection. Virtual Owl Pellet

The informatin for this Webquest was obtained from:

http://maldonadosamazingowlquest.weebly.com/index.html