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Overview
This project actively empowers teachers to give students an exciting scientific experience when learning about Life Sciences. The Science curriculum is enhanced with the integration of web sites, trade books, and technology to support student learning about animal life cycles, how animals depend on their physical environment. Students will observe, evaluate and record what they have learned. The project also incorporates elements of nonfiction - informational literacy and math to further enhance student learning. The culminating activity is a hard cover book and an online eBook to showcase student work.
In the eBook students will demonstrate their understanding of Life Sciences by appropriately using words, diagrams, maps, graphs, or charts. Students will also include photographs, captions, table of contents, and a glossary to support their understanding. They will include focus boxes to highlight information found in the running text and fact boxes to provide interesting information. They will be able to differentiate between fictional and nonfictional texts and have an opportunity to engage in informational literacy both as a reader and as a writer.
Initially students will have an opportunity to learn about the honeybee. For mastery, students will then take this project and create a nonfiction informational book on the animal of their choice.
Students will use a KWL chart to learn what common knowledge or perceptions their classmates, friends, and family have about their selected animal. They will use this information to identify additional interesting details and facts that they should include in their book. They will use texts, interviews with experts, personal experiences, and information found on the Internet to research their animal. They will search for and download images. They will learn to scan their drawings and diagrams. They will insert these into a wordprocessing template, type informational text, print and bind their book.
They will share their books by posting them online and conduct read alouds and book discussions with students in other schools, via skype.com. |
