Official Web site sponsors:

• Ecological zones are also referred to as biomes. For the definition of a biome, go to The World's Biomes.
• Visit the Biome Map. Locate Ghana on the map and identify its biome(s). How many are there? What are their names?
• Identify the characteristics of each of Ghana's biomes at Enchanted Learning. What are the temperature ranges in each biome? How much rainfall does each biome get? How many and what types of plants and animals are found in each?
• Make a comparison chart listing the similarities and differences among the biomes of Ghana.
• Now visit the University of Queensland, Australia site. How is this map different from the one you have just seen?

• How is the information you learned about the ecological zone(s) in Ghana the same as or different from what you predicted in your KWL chart? Use the information you have gathered to complete the chart.
• Revisit the Biome Map and determine how many biomes there are in the U.S. Does Ghana or the U.S. have more biomes? Are there any biomes shared by both?

• The EPA could really use the information you have just gathered. How could you share with them what you have learned? Incorporate your comparison chart and puzzle.

• Describe what comes to mind when you think of the following words and phrase in relationship to Ghana: Climate, topography, vegetation, biome, and environmental issue. Make a list of these descriptions and include them in the first column of your KWL chart.
• What led you to make these suggestions?
• How are your descriptions of these environmental features of Ghana similar to descriptions you would use for places you have visited?

• Use the Library of Congress and Encarta sites to explore how the climate differs between northern and southern Ghana.
• Visit Encyclopaedia Britannica. What is the harmattan? How does it affect the climate in northern and southern Ghana? Is the harmattan good or bad for the people of Ghana?

• The topography of Ghana can be divided into three regions. Visit the Library of Congress site to learn about the Low Plains region, the Akwapim-Togo Ranges, and the High Plains region. Using this information, map the three regions on a printout of a political map of Ghana from about.com. How does the topography affect the agricultural practices in these regions?
• One of the most prominent topographical features in Ghana is man-made. Visit Encyclopaedia Britannica to learn more about Lake Volta.

• Use Encarta to investigate how the vegetation differs in northern and southern Ghana.

• Visit the Biome Map. Locate Ghana on the map and determine which biomes are found there. How many are there and what are they called? Use the MapMachine from National Geographic to learn more about the different regions in Ghana.

• What are the main environmental issues facing northern and southern Ghana? Visit the "environment" section of Virtual Journey of Ghana to find out. Explore these issues further using Ghana Virtual Journey and Golden Essays.

• How does the information you learned about the environmental features of Ghana compare with what you predicted in your KWL chart? Use the information you have gathered to complete the chart.
• How do the differences in these environmental features in northern and southern Ghana affect the lives of the people who live there?
• How should the EPA go about designing a conservation plan for Ghana?
• Why is it inaccurate to generalize about Africa-or even Ghana?

• Make a comparison chart for northern and southern Ghana that could be incorporated into the EPA's comparison study report. Make sure to include both similarities and differences.

• Name some environmental issues you are familiar with. Make a list of these issues.
• Are these issues we are facing in the U.S. or are they more common in other parts of the world?
• Based on what you have learned in earlier themes, which of these environmental issues do you think Ghana may be faced with? What led you to suggest these?
• What questions do you have about the state of the environment in Ghana?
• Construct a KWL chart. Include in the chart which environmental issues you think are plaguing Ghana.

• Visit the "environment" section at the Virtual Journey of Ghana to find out what the main environmental issues are in Ghana.
• What regions of the country are most affected by these environmental issues? Why are these regions valuable and why are they vulnerable?
• What are the primary causes of deforestation? Why is it a problem? What can be done to ease the effects of deforestation? What is being done? Why was deforestation not a problem in traditional Ghanaian society?
• What is desertification? Why is it a problem? What natural and human activities contribute to desertification? What are some possible solutions to the problem of desertification? What is being done worldwide to combat desertification? In Ghana?
• Examine the relationship between desertification and deforestation and air/water pollution at the United Nations University site.
• Examine the relationship between desertification and bushfires at the University of Freiburg, Denmark site. What do Ghanaians use fire for? What is being done to prevent bushfires?

• How is the information you learned about the environmental issues facing Ghana the same as or different from what you predicted in your KWL chart? Use the information you have gathered to complete the chart.
• How do deforestation and desertification affect the lives of the Ghanaian people?
• How do you think deforestation affects the plants and animals who have adapted to rainforest conditions? What do you think happens to the plants and animals who depend on the trees for survival?

• Create a brochure for the journalists explaining what you have learned about the major environmental issues in Ghana. Use cause-and-effect diagrams to illustrate the relationship between factors. For an example of a cause-and-effect diagram, visit Clemson University's Web site.
• What other questions do you now have about environmental issues in Ghana?