The Introduction

It is traditionally believed that on February 2 of any year, a furry little animal will come out from his hole early in the morning. If this funny animal sees his shadow, it will frighten him and he will go back into his burrow and we will not see it again for six weeks. The story says that this event determines what our weather will be like for the next six weeks – winter will be long.

If , however, this little animal does not see his shadow, we will have an early spring. How can a little animal predict the weather? Why do we watch for this event every year?

Follow this web quest to learn more about this hibernating creature and the legends behind the stories of the GROUNDHOG.

· To do this task four people will investigate everything related to this old American tradition:

A Historian : to go to the place and learn about the legend and its origins.

A Reporter : to go to the place to learn about the event and take photos.

A Biologist : to learn about animals hibernation.

A Meteorologist : to learn about weather predictions.

· So, you have to assume one of the roles and work hard. With the information all of you have obtained, decide if this legend can be useful to predict the weather.