This project is intended for 3rd graders because they are learning in-depth information about an animal of their choice as well as information about one of the main habitats and brief information about many other animals and the other habitats.
Before beginning the Webquest, the students need to have some basic skills. The project requires good reading skills, the ability to synthesize information, and some creative abilities. The skill level for this project may be as advanced as desired because each student has the opportunity to challenge himself or herself. Each student can research other information and extra facts, and it can be as detailed or simple as each student wants to include.
The project will meet a few of the mandated science standards. The science standards state: “Students investigate the life cycles of plants and animals and characteristics of organisms and their offspring.”
- 3.1L.1 Compare and contrast the characteristics of offspring and parents.
- 3.2L.1 Compare and contrast the life cycles of plants and animals.
These 3rd grade science standards are met because the students are learning about a particular animal and a subsection of the project includes information about the offspring and parent animals. The habitat aspect allows the students to compare and contrast animals from the same habitats and then learn about other animals from the remaining habitats from classmates. As well as meeting science standards, the students will be learning in-depth information about their animal, that will help them better understand their favorite animal so that they can explain to others about its habitat, prey, predators, and reproduction. The information will most likely be retained because the presentation aspect measures their full understanding of the content of the project.
Each student will have 4 days to complete the research part of the project, but computers will be available for the entire time frame of the project, in case anything else needs to be looked up after the first 4 days. I recommend about an hour every day to work on the project and have questions answered. This time may also be spent helping the students that need extra instruction of more specific guidelines. I would designate about 3 days to group work and poster making and then about another 4 days to complete the individual projects. I would also recommend that some of the project be homework to keep the students thinking about the project over weekends and maybe days with light homework in other areas. The project should take about a total of 2-3 weeks to complete, but some students may need more time than others. The presentation day may take about 2 hours, depending on class sizes and presentation length. Good luck!
- This is the Animal Worksheet that each student should complete while researching the animals: http://docs.google.com/View?id=ddwhsfkz_3vstg9vhn
- This is the Knowledge Quiz that each student should take after watching one other presentation: http://docs.google.com/View?id=ddwhsfkz_2fpwq5qg2