Written by: Rebecca Brown and Ashley Dawson - Berg Elementary Third-Grade Teachers
In January, after completing a four-week unit on informational writing, the third graders at Berg Elementary took on the daunting task of writing an essay based on the research they did of a chosen animal. Little did they know at the time, that this project would take them eight weeks to complete. Students put all their skills at work. They read and wrote, created a poster on their chosen animal and finally, gathered all the important facts into a google document that soon transformed into a fantastic essay.
The students first spent a few days looking at various animal books until they finally got their choice down to one. Once the animals were chosen, students quickly read books and filled out their Zoologist Notebooks with all the vital information they found. They had to look for specific details first, such as physical appearance & family life as well as habitat, diet, and how the animal kept themselves safe from predators. Students then took to the internet to seek more detailed information using a selection of websites provided by the teacher. Adriahna, a third-grade student who completed the project, shared, "I think I am a better reader and writer because of this. It was hard at first but then got easier, and I liked typing it into a google doc. I also liked sharing with the second graders – they felt like they can do it too next year in third grade."
This was a great project to further develop our third graders’ reading, writing, and research skills. Everett expressed how he felt after the project was completed, "It's been good! I feel more confident about my reading, and I like writing a lot more now." As they will tell you, this certainly was not the easy project they first thought it was going to be, but it most definitely was one that further developed and strengthened confidence and core language skills.
The following are two excerpts of students' projects.
All About Sea Stars by Harmony Wolf
Imagine that you are snorkeling near a coral reef and see something on the ocean floor that has Five arms. You wonder what it is. Read more to find out about these mysterious five-armed creatures of the sea.
Jellyfish by Hailey Vega
Food and Habitat
Jellyfish eat lots of stuff like shrimp, fish, small sea animals, other jellyfish and anything that's in their way. They catch their food by using special stinging cells and their oral arms and tentacles to bring food to the bottom of their bell. They find their food in different places because they live in different habitats. Lion's mane jellyfish live in freezing cold arctic waters. Upside down jellyfish live in warm tropical waters and most jellyfish live in very deep waters.