Through spatial and graphical analysis of bird populations on a fictional island, students learn the meaning of biodiversity, species richness, endemism, and abundance. With the teacher acting as a facilitator, students use an interactive PDF map to explore various ways to represent and compare biodiversity across ecoregions. Students manipulate information layers to identify, describe, compare and graph bird distribution patterns in the island's different ecoregions. Rather than being given a list of vocabulary words, students grapple with the material to discover the meaning of these words and concepts. Through this experiential process, they combine the newly acquired terminology with complementary skills to evaluate and communicate their findings on bird biodiversity. This lesson prepares students for the more complex use of spatial and graphical analysis in our GIS-based Amazon unit.

This formal report Donut Test Test is targeted to 11-12 grade students in a Business Communications course or unit of study. Students will sample two company's donuts and complete a survey. Once the surveys have been completed students create a formal report on their findings from the survey results by using the template provide.    

Students will organize and analyze data to make decisions about which rides to choose on their vacation to Disneyland.  The students will be given average wait times for a variety of rides at an amusement park and then analyze the data.