Submitted by Tricia Farner Christopherson

Objectives:

Content:
Students will:
* expand their knowledge of ocean life
* will identify the characteristics, diet, habitat and young of the chosen sea animal

Cultural:

Language: Content Obligatory
Students will:
* accurately use the following vocabulary:
Título Autor El derecho de autor El editor Bibliografía Investigación Enciclopedia Indice

Párrafo de información
Frase Completa
Enunciado
Citar las referencias

* describe the habitat, diet, young, enemies, and physical characteristics of their chosen sea animal

* use the 3rd person present singular and plural.

* use adjectives to describe characteristics of animals and use correct placement of adjectives.

* use accurate number and gender agreement

Language: Content Compatible

Learning Strategies / Social and Skills Development:
Students will: * develop skill in using a variety of reference materials such as encyclopedias, indexes, the Internet, etc.
* begin to develop the ability to take notes
* work cooperatively with a partner to find information and take notes.

Time Frame:

9 sessions of 45 minutes each

Materials Needed:

Books and encyclopedias in Spanish of sea life,
computers, internet access, LCD projector (if available)
note taking sheets (4 or 5 for each student)
overhead transparency copy of note taking sheet
overhead transparency of bibliography example
overhead transparency of a page of an index
overhead transparency of a page of an encyclopedia
Information Scavenger Hunt activity sheet

Description of Assessment (Performance Project):

Students will have chosen the animal that they would like to research. Students will work with an assigned partner that is researching the same animal.

As a class, brainstorm ideas of words that may be used when describing each of the different aspects of the animal they will be researching:

· Physical Characteristics (colors, lengths, sizes, shape, fins, tentacles, etc) · Diet (plants, other fish, uneaten parts of other animal's food, zooplankton, etc.)
· Habitat (in which zone does it live, does it live in a school or alone, etc)
· Young (does it lay eggs, birth it's children)
· Protection (does it camouflage itself, does it have a weapon, does it swim with other fish, is it quick)
· Interesting facts (things that you find interesting that don't fit in any other category)

Day Two:
Using encyclopedias and sea life books and the overhead transparencies of the index and encyclopedia page, explain how to find information in non-fiction materials using an encyclopedia and indexes in sea life books.

· Which volume of an encyclopedia to look in for information.· · Where to find an index.

Activity: This activity can be done in the classroom or the library, but set(s) of encyclopedias and books on sea life need to be available for them to use.

Using encyclopedias and books on sea life chosen beforehand, give the students their Information Scavenger Hunt.
Students will work in pairs chosen on their own to find the answers to the questions on the Scavenger Hunt. The first pair to have all the answers found wins.

Day 3
Using an overhead transparency sheet with the note taking form explain note taking using a separate note taking form for each source to be cited. Students must find 3-5 facts from all different sources for each question.

Discuss the vocabulary words: Titulo, Autor, la cuidad de publicación, el derecho del autór, El editor. Discuss what they mean and where to find them in a source. Do a few examples on the overhead.

Have the students take a book that they have in their desk. Ask them to find the title, author, the publisher, the city of publication, and the copyright.

Show the students an example of a bibliography so they understand before they begin the importance of keeping track of their sources as they go.

Day 4-6:
Allow students to research in books and encyclopedias

Day 7 & 8
In the computer lab on an LCD projector show students how to get on the internet and go on to google.com. Go through a few web sites to show them how to search for information on their animal.

Have a guided session of finding information on a certain animal , ie. elefantes. Have each student find a site on that animal and tell you one fact about it.

Show students how to cite the info. they find on their note taking sheets.

Allow students time to find information on their animal on the internet.

Assessment:

Students' work over the nine days is assessed with a checklist filled out by them and then by a classmate.

Attachments:

NOTE: some attachments are in PDF form (get Acrobat Reader)

Note Taking Sheet (vida marina.cwk)
Research Checklist (1researchchecklist.doc)
Bibliography example (Ejemplo de Bibliografía)
Information Scavenger Hunt (Information Scavenger Hunt)

A Lesson from the CoBaLTT Project
/cobaltt
Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition
University of Minnesota