Animal Research sites

We're studying animals of our choice for the next few weeks. Here are some of the questions my students created to help guide their research:

• Where does it live? (Habitat)
• What adaptations does it have to survive it's environment?
• Is it a predator or prey?
• What does it eat? 
• What type of eater is it?
• Is it endangered, extinct, or fully populated?
• Fun Facts
• What are its babies called?
• Does it lay eggs? Where?

Students are also encouraged to add a map, graph, scale, fraction, statistics, timeline, diagram, dates, and lists to make their project interesting.

Here are some safe links for research:

National Geographic for Kids: Animals

Library Patch: 10 Animal Research websites for kids

Ranger Rick

Animal Fact Guide

A-Z Animals

SoftSchools.com: Animal Facts

Kidzone: Animals

Make sure you're staying focused on your animal! Add extra information that you think is interesting!

Science Tubs: Made with Units in Mind

This past Monday I had the pleasure of taking a Professional Day to go do something I've wanted to do for at least a year now: take an inventory of science tubs at Barger Academy.

It was a dream come true! (Yes, really!) It all started when I attended the Hamilton County science PDs. (Professional Developments) I also started attending an extra PLN (Professional Learning Network) for elementary science teachers. Susan Dorsa at Barger Academy allowed us the use of her room and equipment.

She has tubs. For everything.  

Great, big tubs full of wonderful science magic and happiness!!

 She would bring a different tub to each of the sessions; each full of materials organized by topic of study. And these tubs are available to the Barger teachers to borrow and use whenever they need. Simply wonderful!

So, my idea was to inventory these tubs to see what makes them so magical, then take the inventory back to my building to see what we can recreate. I know we have the materials floating around the building, it's just a matter of getting them in a central location for classroom consumption.

Below are pictures of what Mrs. Dorsa had. Some of the tubs were for large units, some were for mini lessons, and others held random materials for different lessons. If you'd like a PDF of the materials list, you'll find a link at the bottom of the post.

Space

Sound

Light

Electricity and Circuits

Rocks and Minerals

Bird Beaks: Animal Adaptations

Cell Making

Chemical Reactions 

(This tub was bought, not created. The PDF has links to where you can find the Student Manuals and other activities)

Sea Turtles: Adaptations and Conservation

(The PDF has a copy of a game you can play with your students.)

Food Chains and Food Webs 

(You can find a link to a Food Chain War Game HERE! Leave a comment on this post and I'll send it to you for FREE!!)

Heredity 

(PDF file has link to printable activities)

Inherited vs Acquired

(PDF has a printable version of the game included)

Extra Materials

(full list of extra materials included in the file)

She also had a Magnets tub, but 3rd grade had checked it out. 

I was like a nerdy kid in a science candy store. It was wonderful. I can't wait to share my findings with my school. I would love for  my school to have these kinds of easy-to-access materials. (And I'm just the Type-A personality to get it done!)

Thank you, Mrs. Dorsa for allowing me to invade your space! 

I had a wonderful time!

Want a guide to help you make science tubs? 

Click HERE for a PDF!

Science: Sound Stations

At the last science professional development of the year, we looked at the science of sound. Here are some of the activities we teachers got to play with. :)

Mystery Egg Shakers

 You know all those Easter eggs that are just sitting around your house right now, just waiting for next year's hunt? Put them to good use! Mystery Egg Shakers!
Each egg is holding different small items and students must guess the item based on the sound of it being shaken in the egg.
Here are some of the ideas for the small items: small barrette, dice, rubber ball, chalk, safety pins, brass brads, shells (or shell noodles), rubber bands, push pins, shelf hooks, Lego block, paper, cotton ball, hard candy
Students will have to describe how object sound when being shaken in the egg. They can also describe the weight of the egg. It was lots of fun to play as an adult, so I know the kids would love it!

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Mini Milk Carton Guitar

 Remember doing this when you were in school? It's still fun today! Using pencils to make sure the rubber bands have vibrating room, use different sized bands to create different sounds. Bonus points of you can play a song!

 This activity was found online, so our presenter couldn't take the credit. Not sure of the website, but love the activity!

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PVC Mouth Pipe

Using PVC pipe cut into 4-8 inch sections, the pipes are first glues together using plumbers glue, then taped together using pretty tape. (to cover the ugly glue)
Our facilitator mentioned that if you're a teacher, and have adorable puppy eyes, places like Ace and Home Depot will usually cut the pipe for a discount- and sometimes for free!

I've seriously enjoyed the science professional developments this year. Can't wait to see what they have in store for us next year!

Animal Research Projects

This project is approximately 20 years in the making.

It all started in the 90's with a young girl and an unhealthy addiction. Nurtured by a grandmother who was convinced they were a good investment, the young girl slowly went down the rocky road of the Beanie. Beanie Babies, that is.

Thankfully the Beanie Baby fascination died out after a few short years, but now America had a problem. What do you do with all those Beanies?

Here's the answer- you give them to your teacher sister so she can she can use them in her classroom!

Yes, that young girl was my little sister. Her collection of Beanies was impressive, if you were into that sort of thing. So impressive that she's had them in large storage containers for the better part of 20 years. They were just waiting for another chance to bring a smile to a child's face!

So my sister, being the loving person she is, donated 24 Beanies to my classroom- no strings attached. I, in turn, had my students randomly choose a Beanie out of a bag. Whatever they pulled out of the bag- that was the animal they would be researching for the next 3 weeks!

We had an assortment.

 Some exotic, some domestic, all fun!

Now to set some parameters for our research.

We came up with the questions ourselves. Students were told to pick 5 of them as research starters. We went over important points, like how to navigate the Web- Google and Wikipedia. (I explained that Wikipedia was good enough for this project, but not so much later in school.) We talked about Internet safety and how to research exactly what you wanted to know.

After researching, students were to add their own Text Talk to the information and personal connections. In the end, they made books complete with text features like a table of contents, headings, pictures, captions, diagrams, bold words, and glossaries. (Yes! Some of my students added glossaries!)

After presenting their books to the class, students were asked to use the information from their research to create brochures about their animal's habitat or living space. Since we had a wide variety of animals, we had to create research points for both exotic and domestic.

Students were to choose 4 of the 6 to put into their brochures. Extra research was done over the course of 2 days, text features and personal connections added, and best handwriting used.

Here are a few examples of some finished work.

 All About Cats

 All About Rhino(s)

 All About Cats

 All About Hedgehogs

All About Parrots

 All About Sheep

All About Dolphins

After final presentations and grading, some of the best projects were chosen to grace the board in the hallway!

Everyone really enjoyed this project. My students loved getting to have their "pets" on their tables all day. The "pets" had magical properties-  my students were able to stay in their seats! They were able to quietly read, as long as they were reading to their pet! They could reteach math concepts, their pets were all ears! Why have I not done this before now?

At the end of the project students were given a choice: Take their pet home to keep, or keep them at school as a class pet and take them home at the end of the year. I had students choose both options. You'll still see animals on tables, patiently listening to their child read to them.

Thanks you, Little Sis for your generosity! Can I get more for next year? :)

SHOUT OUT!!
I want to show off one of the books. One of my students added beautiful illustrations, captions, bold words, and a glossary. Other than one major research glitch that I didn't catch until it was too late, this was a perfect project!

Excellent job, Soldier!!