Promoting Animal Writes

Contributor Information:

Name: Mary Armstrong

email address: mary_armstrong@places.pinellas.k12.fl.us

School: Woodlawn Elementary

Standards:

see Standards page

Title: Promoting Animal Writes

Grade Level: Intermediate

Description:

In an effort to combine science with writing, this series of lessons was developed to give students an opportunity to write a report on an animal of their choosing. Opportunities are provided to instruct students to utilize 2 or more sources of information to gather facts.

Students:

brainstorm to generate a list of mammals
select an animal to research and write about
use Hyperstudio stack to learn methods of research
use the Inspiration web to organize information
use at least 2 sources of information
write animal report on the computer
use Writing Rubric and Rubric Table to edit and score report
orally present animal report to the class

Approximate Time Required: 2-3 weeks

Gain Attention: The students will view the video Busch Gardens presents Shamu & You Exploring the World of Mammals and Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures. Following the video, students will participate in a "brainstorming" session to generate a list of mammals.

Tasks:

Students will read the section on mammals pp. A 34-A44 in the 3rd grade Harcourt Science book.
After selecting the animal of their choosing, the students will view the Hyperstudio stack on research resources.
Students will use the Inspiration web to organize the information they locate in their research sources.
Students must gather information from at least one library source and one Internet source.
After completing at least 2 webs, students use a word processing program on which to write their report.
Each columnar topic of the Inspiration Web should represent one paragraph of the report. The final paragraph should contain personal reflections or anecdotes about the chosen animal.
At the completion of the rough draft of the report, student should use "Spell Check" to correct spelling errors.
After the rough draft is printed, students will use the Rubric Table to edit their report.
After the entire report has been edited (teachers may assist with this process), scores should be entered on the Writing Rubric. This Writing Rubric is only a picture. If you have FileMakerPro you can download this database.
When all corrections are made, clip art of the students' animals can be added to the report.
Students will orally report on their chosen animal which can be illustrated with pictures and/or any other representations of their animal.

Interactions:

Students participate in most of the activities at their own pace. In collaboration with the Media Specialist, time was set aside in the school media center to use the Encyclopedias for research. Most of the report writing was completed with the assistance of the teacher or classroom aide. Staff also supervised the Internet searches and provided guidance to students in filling out their webs.

Tools:

Computer with Internet connection and printer, word processing program such as ClarisWorks, Inspiration software, access to media center and encyclopedias, clip art software, Harcourt Science books-3rd grade edition.

Assessment:

The following were used to assess components of the unit:

Inspiration webs-(use of two sources, details used)
Word Processing-(use of spell check, title underlined, author's name, paragraphs indented, capitalization, punctuation)
Writing Rubric-(accurate scoring, followed the rubric)
Completed Animal Report-(neatness of report, graphic added)
Presentation-(identified process, informed class, provided pictures or other representations of animal)