Submitted by Kara Scheid
Time Frame:
4 - 45 minute class periods; 1/2 class in classroom and 1/2 class in lab (or use mobile notebook lab)
Materials Needed:
- computers
- encyclopedias, books and magazines on insects
- research guide
- diagrams, posters, videos
Description of Task:
Pre:
Students will be given a research guide to aid them in finding the necessary information about an insect that they have selected (one that has not been studied in class). The questions on the research guide are:
- What does the insect look like/physical features?
- What is its habitat?
- What are the stages of its life cycle?
- Other interesting characteristics about this insect?
The expectation is that students will be able to write two to three sentences on each topic area.
Students will work in groups according to the insect that they have selected. Students will use the Internet and other resources to research insects with their group. They will also be using encyclopedias, books, and magazines to find the information.
Students will need to consult with their classmates to help them find information that they could not find. In this information search, they will be expected to use appropriate questioning structures to get information from others in the group.
During:
Once the students have gathered sufficient information to assist in the writing of their report, the teacher will give the instructions for writing a Word document. Each student will need to use his own research guide to write a report containing a title and four paragraphs (each consisting of two or three sentences) on physical appearance, habitat, life cycle, and unique characteristics.Students will be reminded of the key stroke expectations regarding accents, tildes, punctuation and spaces in their writing. (how to make accents, tildes, punctuation, two spaces after punctuation, etc.).
Sentences need to include subject, verb and predicate. All reports should also show consistent use of subject/verb and article/noun agreement as well as proper usage of science vocabulary.
When the report is completed student will also be asked to use spell check as a final editing step.
Finally the students will copy and paste this document to a new slide in their Power Point presentation.
Post:
The culmination of this unit is in the presentation of all of the slides to the class. Students will be able to show all of the slides that they created. In order to do this, they click on the projector button on the tool bar and the presentation will begin using the full screen. The students will need to use the mouse to click to the next slide. They will only need to narrate their research report. At the conclusion of their presentation, students will be expected to answer questions asked by their classmates using fitting responsorial structures.
References and Resources:
- List of books used in the classroom
- Websites in Spanish on insects
- Foss Science Kit
Attachments:
NOTE: some attachments are in PDF form (get Acrobat Reader)Vocabulary - Unit Assessment