Teacher's Note

Native Orchids of North America

by
Les Anderson
Introduction | The Task | Resources | Process | Evaluation

Introduction

North America is made of many habitats.  There are humid, warm tropics, cold northern taiga, dry deserts, wet areas of bog and fen, low coastal areas and high mountains.  This is a primer about the varieties of orchids that live in each of these areas.

The North American continent consists of Canada, Greenland, and the United States. Mexico, and the nations south to the Columbia-Panama border are all part of North America.  The islands of the Caribbean Sea are also considered as part of the North American continent.  This geographic range will be separated into three regions.  Each region will be divided as needed into biogeographical areas of similar orchids.
 

1. Canada, the Arctic Archipelago, Greenland, and the U.S.
2. Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama
        Resources for this region
3. The islands of the Caribbean
        Resources for this region
Only the first region will be covered initially.  The remaining regions will be added as time allows.

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The Task

Your task is to either:
    1) research the orchid genus or species of your choice and create a report about that species or genus,
        or
    2) research a special topic related to native North American orchids.

Your report can be a traditional written research paper, a PowerPoint presentation, or a web page ready to load onto the server.

See Process for more details

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Resources

The following books are about North American Orchids

  • Native Orchids of North America  by Donovan Stewart Correll
  • The Native Orchids of the United States and Canada Excluding Florida; Carlyle A. Luer; The New York Botanical Garden
  • Native Orchids of N. America North of Mexico; Donovan Stewart Correll; Stanford University Press 1950, 1978
  • Field Guide to Orchids of North America; John G. Williams & Andrew E. Williams, Universe Books 1983
  • An Introduction to the Ecology of the Illinois Orchidaceae; C.J. Sheviak; Ill. State Museum 1974
  • Orchids of Indiana; M. A. Homoya; Indiana Academy of Sciences 1993
  • Orchids of the Western Great Lakes Region; F.W. Case, Jr.; Cranbrook Institute of Science 1987
  • Orchids of Ontario; R.E. Whiting & P.M. Catling; CanaColl Foundation 1986
  • The Orchids of Maine; Jean Wallace Cameron 1976
  • Orchids of Minnesota; Welby R. Smith; Univ. of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis 1993
  • The Wild Orchids of California; R. A. Coleman Comstock Publishing, Ithaca 1995
  • The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California; James C Hichman; Univ. of California Press
  • The Native Orchids of Florida; Carlyle Luer
  • Orchids & Other Air Plants of the Everglades NP; Craighead, Frank C. 1963
  • Orchids of the West; Erikson, Rica 1951
  • The Woodland Orchids; Boyle, Frederick 1901
  • Drawings of Florida Orchids; Ames, Blanche 1959


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    You might want to consult some of the following web sites:

  • A Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland
  • Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands: Full Text Index, [A] - July, 1998
  • Biota of North America Program
  • Gray Herbarium Index of New World Plants
  • The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)
  • BONAP ORCHIDACEAE Listing

    • General orchid sites

    BOTANA, the Orchids ReSource home page

    General North American Sites

    Orchids by Country

    Canada,

  • Native Orchids that Bloom in Nova Scotia this Month
  • Natural History of Nova Scotia, Volume I: Topics & Habitats
  • Millicent Orchids: Home Page (Framed Version) Native Orchids Of Ontario Canada
  • Newfoundland's Orchids A checklist, with blooming seasons and Newfoundland distributions, by Todd Boland.
  • Orchids of Alberta Canada

    • Greenland

  • Names of Greenland flora

    • United States

  • U. S. orchids: State list  HTML
  • Orchids of the United States  JAVA

    • Orchids by State

    Misc. Orchid Topics
  • Chemical Mimicry in Pollination
    • Commercial Orchid Sources for Purchase
  • Terrestrial orchid flask list
  • Spangle Creek Labs' Cypripedium Page
    • Orchid Art Sites
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    Process

    You will need to complete the following steps to successfully complete your report:

       1. You will explore the world of native North American orchids and choose a subject of your report. (2 days)
            Get your subject approved by the teacher.

       2. You will collect information from the suggested sources and / or other sources from the library or the www.  (3 days)
            Create a preliminary resource list.  Get it approved by the teacher.

       3. You will decide which format  you will use to create your report.
           Your report can be a traditional written research paper, a PowerPoint presentation, or a web page ready to load
            onto the server.  (due within the first 5 days)
            Get your format approved by the teacher.

       4.You will write an outline or Powerpoint framework of your report.  (due at the end of the first 5 days)
            Get your outline or framework approved.

       5. Continue to collect information and look for new sources.

       6. Write the rough draft of your report.  Web pages and PowerPoint presentations can be begun now.
            Include reference resource information  (due on the 10th day)
            Hand in the rough draft for approval.

            If your paper or project does not meet minimum standards, it will be handed back UNAPPROVED.
            You must then rewrite the rough draft and hand in the new rough draft for approval.
            Your project final grade will be reduced by one letter grade for each rough draft rewrite.
            There will be a maximum of 2 rewrites.  You will have 1 day for each rewrite.

       7. Continue to collect information and look for new sources.

       8. Rewrite the paper.  Be sure to correct any problems pointed out during the approval of your rough draft.
            Add additional information, if appropriate.

       9.Your final paper is due 2 days after your approved rough draft is returned to you.

            Notes:  Late work will result in -5% (1/2 letter grade) per day late.
                        Work in, but not approved for reasons of quality will be considered late.
                        Also see: Evaluation

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    Research Paper

    Research Paper:

        should contain a title page
        should contain images of the orchid, or the special topic, of your report
        should contain a minimum of 5-8 double spaced pages in the body
        should contain appropriate documentation: footnotes or end notes, as well as bibliography
        use the MLA Style Sheet for documentation and the form of the paper

    Informational Links:

         Writing Center
         Academic Papers
         The Research Paper and the World Wide Web
     

    PowerPoint Presentation

    PowerPoint Presentation:

        should contain a title page
        should contain images of the orchid, or the special topic, of your report
        should contain the information of 5-8 double spaced pages
        should contain appropriate documentation: end notes, as well as bibliography
        use the MLA Style Sheet for documentation

    Informational Links:

          PowerPoint for Windows 95: Visual QuickStart
          Internet PowerPoint Presentation Techniques
          PowerPoint in the Classroom

    Note: A PowerPoint presentation series of slides can be turned into a series of web pages.  You can create the PowerPoint presentation and then move it to the web.

    Web Page(s)


    Web Page:

        should contain a title page and a directory to the other pages
        should contain images of the orchid, or the special topic, of your report
        should contain the information of 5-8 double spaced pages
        should contain appropriate documentation: end notes, as well as bibliography, which can be a separate page.
        use the MLA Style Sheet for documentation

        You can use a web page generator, such as Claris Home Page, Adobe Page Maker, the built-in Composer in
        Netscape Communicator, or any other WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) software.

        You can use PowerPoint to create all or part of your web pages, see above.

    Informational Links:

        HTML Basics
        Windy's Design Studio
        Spotlight on HTML

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    Evaluation

    Your report will be evaluated as follows:

           Notes:
                  -Late work will result in -5% (1/2 letter grade) per day late.
                  -Work in, but not approved for reasons of quality will be considered late.
                  -Rewrites of the rough draft will result in -10% (1 letter grade), maximum of 3.
     

    Advanced

    Grade A

    Satisfactory Plus

    Grade B
     

    Satisfactory

    Grade C

    Beginning

    Grade D
     

    Failure

    Grade F for those who did not participate in a meaningful way.

            Notes:
                  -Late work will result in -5% (1/2 letter grade) per day late.
                  -Work in, but not approved for reasons of quality will be considered late.
                  -Rewrites of the rough draft will result in -10% (1 letter grade), maximum of 3.
     
     

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    Teacher's Notes

    Background

  • This project is based on the Webquest template.
  • >From beginning to end should take 12 school days.  This can be expanded or reduced as fits your needs.
  • The activity can be adapted for any student at any level. It can be used as an introductory activity to net surfing or using multi-media in the classroom or as a replacement to the traditional written research paper.
  • Subjects other than orchids can also be used, with modifications made to the suggested resources.
  • There is a Teacher Note to help with keeping track of the student progress.  It can be printed out and filled in for student grading.
  • If you use this, please send suggestions for improvement to Les Anderson
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