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Animal Research |
Credits: Katie Anderson - katie.anderson@adams12.org
Kathy Livingston - kathy.livingston@adams12.org
Christine Cervera - christine.cervera@adams12.org
Steve Gandy - steve@stevegandy.com
VITAL INFORMATION
Subject Matter:
Language Arts (English), Science, Technology
Grades:
2
Software Application:
StarOffice Writer, Internet Browser
LESSON DESCRIPTION
Summary:
This is a culminating writing assignment for 2nd grade. All the skills gained throughout the year can come into play. The focus is on a real report on an animal of choice.
State & National Standards:
CO- Colorado Academic Standards
« Subject : Reading and Writing
« Standard 1: Students read and understand a variety of materials
The goal for students at all levels is that they know and can use strategies--various ways of unlocking the meaning of words and larger blocks of text--to become successful readers. The strategies are applied in increasingly difficult reading material at each grade level. At all levels, students should be challenged to read literature and other materials that stimulate their interests and intellectual abilities. Reading from a wide variety of texts, both assigned and student selected, provides experience in gaining information and pleasure from diverse forms and perspectives.
« Expectation by Grade or Topic : Second Grade
« Suggested Expectation : By the end of second grade, students will be early/fluent readers with strategies used independently to gain meaning from print at the second grade level. These strategies will prepare them for reading at higher levels. This requires:
Detail : an understanding of texts that shall include, but not necessarily limited to, students being able to do the following:
* gain meaning from a variety of print, such as lists, letters, rhymes, poems, stories, and expository text;
* use a variety of comprehension strategies before, during, and after reading.
Detail : an integration of cueing systems while reading a wider variety of increasingly difficult text that shall include, but not necessarily limited to, students being able to do the following:
* use word attack skills to read new and unfamiliar words (graphophonics);
* use sentence structure, paragraph structure, and word order to predict meaning (syntax);
*
use and integrate background knowledge, experience, and context to construct
meaning (semantics).
« Standard 2: Students write and speak for a variety of purposes and audiences
Writing and speaking are essential tools for learning, for success in the workplace, and for responsible citizenship. Developing a range of writing and speaking abilities requires extensive study, practice, and thinking. Students need frequent opportunities to write and speak for different audiences and purposes, and they need to be able to communicate expressively, informatively, and analytically. Growth in writing and speaking abilities occurs by applying skills to increasingly challenging communication tasks
« Expectation by Grade or Topic : Second Grade
Suggested Expectation : generate topics through prewriting activities (for example, brainstorming, webbing, mapping, drawing, K-W-L charts, group discussion);
Suggested Expectation : align purpose (for example, to entertain, to inform, to communicate) with audience;
Suggested Expectation : write a first draft with the necessary components for a specific genre;
Suggested Expectation : revise draft content (for example, organization, relevant details, clarity);
Suggested Expectation : edit revised draft using resources (for example, dictionary, word lists and banks, thesaurus, spell checker, glossary, style manual, grammar and usage reference);
Suggested Expectation : proofread revised draft;
Suggested Expectation : present final copy according to purpose (for example, read aloud, display, publish, mail, send, and perform).« Standard 3: Students write and speak using conventional grammar, usage, sentence structure, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling
Students need to know and be able to use standard English. Proficiency in this standard plays an important role in how the writer or speaker is understood and perceived. All skills in this standard are reinforced and practiced at all grade levels and should be monitored by both the teacher and student to develop lifelong learning skills
« Expectation by Grade or Topic : Second Grade
Suggested Expectation : know and use standard, age-appropriate spelling, grammar, word usage (for example, basic subject-verb agreement, complete simple sentences, appropriate verb tense, regular plurals);
Suggested Expectation
: write legibly.
« Standard 4: Students apply
thinking skills to their reading, writing, speaking, listening, and viewing
Students use reading, writing, speaking, listening, and viewing to think and learn. By moving beyond a literal interpretation of text to an analysis of an author's, speaker's, or director's purpose and perspectives, students practice and improve their higher-level thinking skills. Students need to recognize and evaluate different points of view and to follow a line of reasoning to its logical conclusion. Students need to think about their writing and reading skills and work toward improvement.
« Grade/Level : Grades K-4
Performance Indicator
: formulating questions about what
they read, write, hear, and view
« Standard 5: Students read to locate, select, and make use of relevant
information from a variety of media, reference, and technological sources
In this age of information and technology, people need reading and information-retrieval skills that will enable them to access facts, images, and text from many sources. The sheer volume of data makes it necessary for information seekers to be able to wade through a maze of facts, figures, and images, and to identify what is useful and relevant. Knowing how to locate, evaluate, and make use of an ever-increasing amount of information demands a broader repertoire of reading strategies. This implies an expanded definition of literacy that includes reading for information in a technological age. Students need to become discerning consumers of information.
« Expectation by Grade or Topic : Second Grade
Suggested Expectation : gather, organize, and accurately, clearly, and sequentially report information gained from personal observations and experiences such as science experiments, field trips, and classroom visitors;
Suggested Expectation : record observations (for example, logs, lists, graphs, charts, tables, illustrations);
Suggested Expectation : report events sequentially;
Suggested Expectation : write a concluding statement;
Suggested Expectation : use resources (for example, video tapes, magazines, informational books, reference materials, interviews, guest speakers, Internet) and report information in their own words;
Suggested Expectation : list resources used by title.
Local Standards:
INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY SKILLS CONTINUUM
Standard #2 Productivity Applications: Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity.
2A Word Processing Keyboarding Unit (4, 5)
2A.1 Keyboarding
2A.1.1 Uses touch typing with home row keys
2A.2 Editing 2A.2.1 Uses spell check and thesaurus
2A.3 Formatting
2A.3.1 Changes character formatting such as font and color
2A.3.2 Utilizes different document layouts (i.e. newsletter, etc.)
2A.3.3 Changes document formatting such as alignment, bulleted/numbered lists, borders, line spacing, margins, etc.
2A.3.4 Inserts a graphic into a word-processed document
Lesson Outcomes:
Students will participate in a large research and writing project. They will take information they learn and retell it in their own multi-syllable report complete with graphics.
Assessment:
Attachments:
CLASSROOM & TIME MANAGEMENT
Student Prerequisites:
Students should be familiar with writing paragraphs.
Lesson Preparation:
Pull the appropriate research books and materials from the library. The students will choose their animal from the books available thus insuring that they have "good" information to find in their research activities.
Time Frame:
8 class periods. 45 Min. per class.
Implementation Steps:
Use a demonstration final product to model the activity for the students. Show them the notes for each paragraph, and the final copy as guides.
Go over the paragraph notes pages. Have the students use their materials to do the research and take notes. The notes do not have to be complete sentences.
Have them write, revise, and edit the paragraph. Repeat the process for all the paragraphs.
Have them create on download graphics for illustration of the report.
Do the final revisions and edits before publishing.
RESOURCES
Lesson Resources:
Attachments:
