The Animal Groups: Mammals, Reptiles, Fish, Amphibians & Birds

A WebQuest for 1st.Grade (Science)

Designed by Tara Gerritz

gerr6907@pacificu.edu

| Credits | Student Page

Introduction

This lesson was developed on part by the committee of Advancing Technology in Title One School Buildings.  The lesson is federally funded under the grant that supports this committee's movements.  

The purpose of this lesson is to have young elementary students become familiar with using technology to perform simple research.  The lesson is about discovering the five animal groups and characteristics each one. The students will discover what makes up a bird, amphibian, reptile, mammal and fish through the use of the one detailed link provided on this web quest.

I have purposely chosen the use of one website as this projects source because I want to keep this experience somewhat simple, since it is most likely their first exposure to an assignment such as this.

Learners

This lesson is anchored in first grade life science and involves language arts.  This lesson could easily be used in both second and third grade classrooms, by advancing the lessons objectives and increasing the number of websites or resources.

The needed prior knowledge of the first graders to perform this lesson include the following skills:  read simple words, ability to look up unknown words in a picture dictionary, able to follow verbal instructions, ability to work in pairs effectively, ability to write, ability to write only understood words (not just copying), familiarity with computers especially the mouse, knowledge of characteristics and ability to perform simple research (read or observe to retrieve information & knowledge).

Curriculum Standards

This project will support the first graders in learning the content science life standards created by the state benchmarks. Such standards that will be addressed through the lessons activities include the following:

1.  Describing the characteristics, structure, and function of organisms.

2.  Describe the basic needs of living things.

3.  Explain the interdependence of organisms in their natural environment.

Technology will also be addressed with the standard of exposure in mind!

Students will be encouraged to explore the selected website to further their understanding of researching online and discovering non-fiction animal information. 

I will encourage my students to advance in their online researching techniques by probing them to search for their questions on the website.  I will attempt to empower my students by suggesting that I don't know how to answer their questions, but instead ask them where they think they could discover that answer?  I will lead them toward a resource they can easily explore if they are unsure. 

Therefore, I will use motivating and scaffolding forms of communicating with my first graders.  I will continue to advance their understanding of researching by asking them what they are discovering while they are working.  I will praise their obvious efforts of exploration!

I will encourage their observing, categorizing and comparing skills by explaining what each skill is and probing my students to notice when they are performing one of those skills.  I will also teach ways to compromise with partners if they need lessons on how to best work with a partner.  I clearly will be doing a lot of monitoring and adjusting throughout this whole unit lesson.

Process

The students will be asked to open the link to the Enchanted Learning website to explore the five different animal groups.  The students will be directed where to locate each animal group and taught how to explore through the website. I will begin this lesson in the spring due to the completion of building a firm understanding of the lessons prior knowledge essentials.  Most students will feel more comfortable with this type of assignment after been exposed to some computer and research use and knowledge.  

This unit project will include the use of the website, and hard back books.  The lesson will expand over a six week period with having a total of six 30 minute visits to the schools computer lab.  The first visit will consist of discovering how to work with the computers through the web quest and exploring the Enchanted Learning website.

Our first visit to the computer lab will be with our wonderful 5^th grade buddies.  I will split up my class to have half of our students remain in our classroom with half of the fifth grade buddies and their teacher.  The other half of my class will be accompanied by their fifth grade buddies to our computer lab with me.  I will have the fifth graders assist their buddies in reading the web quest and beginning their exploring of the web site for animal group facts such as characteristics.  We will then have the groups switch. 

Once, this first day is completed with success I will continue to explain the project with handing out the materials.  Each student will be given a hand made booklet labeled Animal Groups.  Every two pages inside it will be titled with a different animal group.  Each animal group's pages will contain an area for an appropriate animal illustration and 3 corresponding group characteristics.  The students will work in pairs on the website to discover an animal and the characteristics that represent each group.  Students will be assigned number either 1 or 2.  The number 1's will work the mouse for the first half of the visit and then the number 2's will work the mouse for the last half.  This will decrease any unnecessary conflicts. 

For each day that our class visits the computer lab I will have retrieved three to five parent or student volunteers to assist my first graders in this technical process of research.

This lesson with such a young age group may be difficult for any teacher to perform.  The teacher must have powerful and effective classroom management skills in place with her students.  A teacher will need to know how to monitor and adjust throughout this whole lesson.

Variations

I believe this lesson can be pulled off with much success if the students are expected to focus and behave as if they were fourth graders performing important research.  It is absolutely essential for the teacher to have and maintain high and clear expectations of her students will instructing this lesson!

If this lesson seems too difficult for the students then the following modifications can be applied:

1.  Walk the class step- by- step together through researching each animal group at a time.

2.  Split the class up if possible so only half of the class attends the computer lab at once.

3.  Simplify the assignment to having them write only 1 characteristic about each particular animal group and hand drawing one illustration.

4.  Have only two or three of the five animal groups researched online through the web quest while leaving the remaining animal groups to be completed through in classroom book research.

5.  Maintain the use of the fifth grade buddies for every visit if need be.

6.  Continue monitoring and adjusting through each visit!

Resources Needed

·        A variety of the animal books:

            * Scholastic Encyclopedia of Animals

            * Sharks by Miranda Macquitly

            * Amazing Animal Facts by Chris Maynard

            * Animals by Sally Fleming

            * Reading the Wild by Bev Doolittle

            * Animals on the Other Side by Sylvia Browne

            * Dogs by Seymour Simon

            * Animals Nobody Loves by Seymour Simon

            * Forest Bright, Forest Night by Jennifer Ward

            * Where are the Night Animals by Mary Ann Fraser

            * Amazing Animals of Oregon:  Incredible True Stories

            * I can draw Animals by Toni Tallarico

            * Is a Dolphin A Fish? By Melvin Berger

·        Computers in lab with

·        web quest assess ability

·        Field trip to Oregon Zoo information

·        FOSS kit animal videos

·        Link: enchantedlearning.com

One teacher needed with at least three parents or upper level student volunteers.  Role of aids will be to assist the students in reading difficult words and discovering how to find their way around the web site if they get confused.  Aids will also assist the students in remember to write down their animal findings and to illustrate a picture of an appropriate animal and label it.

Evaluation

Lesson Objectives:

The students will be able to demonstrate their understanding of using the internet as a research tool by discovering information on animal groups through the Enchanted Learning web site.

The students will be able to demonstrate their understanding of the five different animal groups by identifying the names of these groups and three characteristics of each as written in their completed Animal booklet.

Students will be graded on their participation while in the computer lab (applied effort to task), completed overall animal booklet (Quality of work), accurate information recorded.

I will believe this was a successful web quest for first grade if most of my students learned how to work on a computer to discover research with ease by the last visit to the computer lab, and their booklets are mostly at the level of proficient or strong.

I will evaluate students in the computer lab by keeping a running record of each pair of students and writing comments of effort and gained understanding as often as possible.  The first visit and last will be my most important assessments of my students technical performance and understanding.  I will evaluate the booklets once they are turned all in to me

Credits & References

I decided to use everything for this webQuest layout from the same online source so I could tell the students you will explore the same website I used to help me create this webQuest. I want my first graders to start of with a rich exposure to this online learning concept by becoming familiar with one good website resource.

enchantedlearing.com

Additional books were provided by the science FOSS kit program, Amazon and local library.

"We all benefit by being generous with our work. Permission is hereby granted for other educators to copy this WebQuest, update or otherwise modify it, and post it elsewhere provided that the original author's name is retained along with a link back to the original URL of this WebQuest. On the line after the original author's name, you may add Modified by (your name) on (date). If you do modify it, please let me know and provide the new URL."