Classroom III

This week marks the last week of the grading period. One of the Friday Seminar activities our middle school students have participated in has been a study of North Carolina animals. Students pulled names out of a hat to select an animal. The next step was for students to research their animal. Students used a list of questions to gather information about an animal found in our state. This information was then used for their posters. Students then drew their own pictures of their animal. This student did an outstanding job with his Students enjoyed having their eyes layered into a photo of an animal.

The photo of a beaver is located in the lower right hand corner of the poster below. Since I do not have copyrights to use the image on the web, I did not try to enlarge it. The final step was to have students report to the class on what they learned. We ran out of time, and had to skip this last step. In order to motivate students to use critical thinking skills, we discuss a variety of concepts intertwined with the study of animals. We use the posters to hook students into concepts like life cycles, adaptations, interdependence, habitats, food chains, and food webs. Of these topics, only life cycles and adaptations are specific to one animal. Broader topics related to an entire ecosystem cannot be addressed in a report focused upon one animal. So the animal poster is the bases for animal reports assigned to help students understand the life cycles of various animals. Also, the reports will help show how an animal’s successful adaptation to an environment is necessary for survival.

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