Thursday 16 May 2013

Animal Research Books ~A Long but Rewarding Learning Process!


Over the past few weeks we have been working on animal research.  We started with a class project learning about Giraffes.  We examined the layout of non-fiction books and discovered that many animal books had the same characteristics.  The information was organized under certain headings: appearance, habitat, diet, life cycle, etc. and that many (but not all) of the books also had a table of contents, a glossary and an index.  Using this information we developed criteria for what our non-fiction books should have.  Here is a chart of the criteria we developed for our books.



 Next, Mrs. Betts introduced us to a graphic organizer that we could use to record information.  She showed us how to take notes and record them under the proper headings using the information we had learned about the giraffe.

Here is a sample of our notes using the graphic organizer Shower of Stars from Developing Readers (an SD 36 resource)

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Then we were given the choice as to what Canadian animal we wanted to learn more about.  We were encouraged to visit the public library as well as the school library to find books on our animal of choice.  We also used our iPads to find videos, photos and information about our animal.  Once we  had 3-4 facts under each heading we met again as a class to learn how to put our notes into sentences.  We used our notes on the giraffe that we had taken as a class.  After a mini lesson about writing interesting sentences we met in small groups and were given one category to write a paragraph about.  Here are some of our paragraphs that we wrote.  The pictures were drawn by some of us using Draw and Tell.


Illustration by Jessica


Illustration by Melody


Once we had a clear idea of what our book should contain we began to create how we wanted our book to look.  We used the app Book Creator as well as the Draw and Tell and Skitch app.  We were given free choice as to how we wanted our book to look and how we wanted to represent our knowledge.  To illustrate our books, some of us chose to draw a picture, label it and then take a picture and import it to our book, some of us chose to draw a picture in Draw and Tell and import it to our book and some chose to take a screen shot of a picture that was in a book.  We learned that if we use a picture that someone else has taken we need to give credit to them.    Here are some screen shots of some of our pages.






















As we finish our books we are hoping to put them into our blogs for all to see! Keep checking our blogs.

5 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. What fun to learn about animals. when I saw the information about giraffes, it brought back memories when I saw them in the wild. They are so tall and have such long legs and necks, I thought they would be clumsy yet they moved smoothly and almost gracefully. It was interesting to watch them eating - they just stand there and eat off the top of trees , then they bend their necks and keep on eating. We passed trees that had been stripped of fruit, leaves and bark - leaving a barren tree. The guide said the giraffes had enjoyed a feast.
    Have fun with your research and books. I will look forward to reading them.
    I was able to read your response offering to help with responses. I am still learning but thanks for the offer.

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  3. Thank you for sharing your books with me. I learned many new interesting facts about your animals, and was very impressed by the thoughtful way you put the information and pictures together to create your own non-fiction books. You should be proud of your efforts, since I know it was a lot of hard work!
    Matt and Nik's mom

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  4. Thank you for helping us with our books. from Jack, Maxim, Nicholas and Henry.

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  5. Thank you for your comment. We love getting them. Thank you for helping us with our books. We learned a lot. Jessica, Alexa, Trevor, Daniel and Mimi

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