The Animal Research Report
Dear Families, WELCOME TO FIRST GRADE!
My name is Char Soucy and I am delighted to be your child's teacher this year! When people ask me why I teach first grade, I tell them that "it's where the action is!" Students grow so much in their first grade year, and it is exciting to watch and help it all unfold.
Learning to read and write is one of the most important things primary grade students do, and each is learning at his or her own pace. I believe strongly in looking at each child as an individual and building on the strengths he or she has. I am looking forward to getting to know the students in the class.
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Video: Introduction
Meet Char and her first grade class. Listen as students introduce the project.
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With this introduction in her first newsletter of the year, Char Soucy sets the stage for a voyage of discovery with students and their families.
Project Overview
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Char's students are interested in animals—the birds and guinea pigs in the first grade classroom receive a great deal of attention. In this engaging project students use and develop reading and writing skills while studying an animal of their choice. Careful planning for both the learning goals of the curriculum and the learning needs of young students make for a successful project.
"Our district curriculum is tied to the Idaho state standards, so that is part of the considerations when I am planning a unit. It is not usually too difficult because a lot of subskills and standards get covered when you are doing a project."
— Char Soucy
Content
In a research project designed especially for primary students, children select an animal to study, gather information, and create a flipbook of facts. They then transfer the book into an electronic slideshow using the computer.
Learning Goals
Students read to find information from a variety of reference sources, follow a structured writing process to complete a simple report, and practice basic computer operations as they research an animal and create a presentation. They also practice what Char refers to as the unwritten curriculum of social skills, learning to work together, and caring for one another.
The project addresses the Coeur d'Alene School District and Idaho state standards for First Grade in Reading, Writing, Technology, Social Studies, and Science.
The Project
Dear Families,This week we will be starting a new project. We are going to study animals. Each child will choose their favorite and do some research and write a report. The step-by-step process of organizing and writing a report is more important at this early writing development stage than the amount information gathered. Each child will be setting up a research folder with specific steps to follow. In a few weeks, we will then transfer our reports to a PowerPoint presentation. (Watch the newsletter for the date of our grand techno-extravaganza—it will be right after school.)
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Video: Research and Writing
Join Char and her students at work in the classroom. Children build reading and writing skills while eagerly gathering information to answer their research questions.
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To view the videos on our site, you must have the QuickTime plug-in. Download it at http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/.
The Research: Gathering information.
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Students consider animals they want to learn about, looking through resources before making a final decision. Research folders provide a structured, hands-on way to manage information. Char models each step and guides students in setting up the folders, and supports them as they collect information. Together Char and the students develop a list of research questions.
"The students use books and magazines and tangible resources, but then I also preset some websites—like the zoo sites—which are great for animals for them to go on the Internet and find the information on the animal that they are studying. They are amazed. They can see videos of their animal and sometimes hear the sounds. It's a whole lot more than looking at the magazine. Also it is the most current source of information." — Char Soucy
Writing: The flip book
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"In first grade we are focusing on learning to read and to write. It's really fun when we get to this time in the year because they've got those skills and they want to use them, and they really want to participate in the project." — Char Soucy
Before beginning to write, teacher and class develop a rubric for the flip book so that students know what is expected. Students turn their brief notes into complete sentences that answer the research questions. They write and edit the text for the flip books and create illustratations for the front covers.
Student Flipbook Examples
Big Lions, by Kohl |
Tigers, by Katie |
Appaloosas, by Mandy |
Now view the electronic slide show of Kohl's, Katie's, and Mandy's reports
Slide Show: Computer product
"The students in my classroom use computers as tools for presentation much as older students do. As a first grade teacher, I try to instill in students the idea that using the appropriate tool is the key. Sometimes the appropriate technology is a pencil and sometimes it is a computer, but it's the brain behind the tool that makes the difference." — Char Soucy
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Students create images of their animals using a drawing program and transfer the text from the flip book into an electronic slide show. A PowerPoint template simplifies the task and assures that the individual slide shows will successfully combine into a class presentation.
More on computer work and the PowerPoint template
Celebrating -- The culminating event
"I want to send it home, but not every family has a computer they can play the slide show on, so I also record it on VCR. Because even though they don't have a computer, most families have a VCR or at least access to one, an aunt, or uncle, or grandparent's house where they could watch it." — Char Soucy
Students write invitations for a Grand Finale screening of the class slide show held in the computer lab. Scheduling it at the end of school day makes it easier for many parents to attend, and a majority of families were represented at the celebration. Each family receives their own copy of the class slide show on either videotape or CD.
"When you talk to the kids they've become an expert on the animal they've done. Even if it's not in their flip books there is so much more that they've looked at and read. They really love those animals that they've studied." — Char Soucy
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