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Information Literacy & Science » 5th Grade Big Six Animal Research project

5th Grade Big Six Animal Research project

Fifth Grade Big Six Animal Research Project

Written By Beth Morris, Library Media Teacher

INTRODUCTION

This project will start in either December or January after the students have learned the important parts of a book, how to use and encyclopedia, how to use an almanac, and how to search on the Internet. It will end the third week in May.

Students will learn about the Big Six research method from Big Six Introduction. They will also view the power point presentation The Bright Bird Story which tells the story of a bird who uses the Big6 when designing the perfect nest. This bird is so bright, she even cites her sources! Bird Bird Story

We will also use the Media Mania Videos series (Fiction and Nonfiction, Card Catalog, Research, and Reference) and the Know-It-All video series as teaching and discussion tools.

Students will receive worksheets to answer the assignment questions and the teacher will review each assignment sheet before they move on to the next one.

Step #1: TASK DEFINITION (Select an animal that you would like to learn about)

  • Why would you like to learn about this animal?
  • List four things that you know about this animal.
  • Are you going to do this project by yourself or with someone else? Who?
  • List four things that you would like to learn about your animal?

Example by Alyssa and Candace

  1. The animal that we would like to learn about is the mongoose.
  2. We chose this animal because we think it is really interesting because it is very fact and it attacks snakes.
  3. a) A mongoose is a mammal. b) They have a short life span. c) They attack snakes. d) They life in forests.
  4. Candace and Alyssa would like to work together.
  5. a) What is the mongoose's scientific name? b) How many miles per hour do they run? c) Who are there predators? d) How smart are Mongooses?

PART II: Let's come up with questions that we want to learn about our animal.
(These questions were selected by Mr. Barreto's, Ms. Bates', Ms. Conley's, and Ms. Markiel's 5th Grade classes)

  1. What is my animal's scientific name?
  2. What family does it belong to?
  3. What does my animal look like?
  4. What is my animal's height/length, weight, wingspan (only if bird)?
  5. What does my animal eat?
  6. Is my animal a predator? If so, what does it hunt?
  7. Where does / where did my animal live?
  8. How long does my animal live (lifespan)?
  9. What does my animal's home look like?
  10. Who are my animal's enemies?
  11. How does my animal move? (swim, run, fly, hop, etc)
  12. How fast can my animal move?
  13. How many babies can my animal have?
  14. How does my animal care for it's young?
  15. Is my animal extinct or endangered?
  16. How can my animal be saved?
  17. What is or what was cool and unique about my animal?
  18. What did I learn from doing this report? What could I have done better?

STEP #2: INFORMATION SEEKING STRATEGIES (What are the best sources I can use to find this information?)

  • Encyclopedias (print and CD-Rom)
  • Books
  • Internet and card catalog
  • Magazines (Zoobooks, National Geographic Kids, Ranger Rick, Your Big Backyard)

STEP #3: LOCATION AND ACCESS

Where can I find these sources?

  • school media center or public library
  • home library
  • my teacher
  • Internet

 Who can help me find these sources?

  • I can find them myself.
  • my media teacher or librarian
  • my classroom teacher
  • my classmates
  • my parents

STEP #4: USE OF INFORMATION

Assignment #2A: Internet printout

Assignment 2B: Using the Internet printout answer the following questions. Please write in complete sentences in your own words. DO NOT copy from the article.

See Austin and Adrian's work below.

  • What is your animal? mountain lion (also called a cougar, puma, panther, or catamount)
  • Where does your animal live? They live in forests, rain forests, grasslands, and deserts of North and South America.
  • What does your animal eat? It is a carnivore(meat-eater) and it eats deer, wild hogs, elk, rabbits, sheep, hares, rodents, raccoons, some birds, and livestock.
  • What is the size of your animal? (height, weight) My animal is 6 feet long with a tail that is 2-3 feet long and it weighs up to 200 lbs.
  • What is your animal's scientific name? The scientific name of the mountain lion is Felis concolor.
  • How long can your animal live? My animal can live up to eight years.
  • ell me some neat things about your animal. They bury their food under leaves and dirt. It kills large animals by jumping on them and breaking the neck.

Assignment #3A: Use of an Encyclopedia

  • Find your animal in either a print(book encyclopedia) or on the CD-Rom encyclopedia
  • Record your source as follows:
    • CD-Rom Encyclopedia:
      Title of article.
      Title of Encyclopedia
      Copyright date.
    • Example: Mountain Lion
      World Book Multimedia Cd-rom
      1998.
    • Print Encyclopedia:
      Title of article
      Page(s)#
      Encyclopedia name
      Volume #
      Letter
      Name of Publisher
      City and state where published
      Copyright date
    • Example: Dolphin
      297-300
      World Book 2001
      5:D
      Chicago, ILL.
      2001
Assignment #3B: Questions 1-5 (week of 2/17-3/7)

Using the encyclopedia and printout, answer these five questions in a complete sentence. In your own words, please.

See Mariana's and Vanesa's work:

  • 1. What is my animal's scientific name? The African gray parrot's scientific name is psittacus erithacus.
  • 2. What family does it belong to? My animal belong to the psittacidae family.
  • 3. What does my animal look like? The African Gray parrot is a parrot that has gray feathers and bright red feathers behind the tail. It has gray feet, white around the eyes, and also a dark gray curved bill.
  • 4. What is my animal's height, length, weight, wingspan (if bird)? My animal is 13 to 16 inches long. The wingspan is 18 to 20 inches . It weighs about 1 pound.
  • 5. What does my animal eat? My animal eats seeds, berries, nuts and fruit.
 
Assignment 4 : Recording a book citation (week of 3/10)
 

Find a book on your animal . List title, author(s), Name of Publisher, City and State where published, and copyright date.

See examples by Daniel and Alejandro below:

  • Title: Eagle Watching
  • Author(s): Diane Bair and Pamela Wright
  • Name of Publisher: Capstone Press
  • City and State where published: Mankato, Minnesota
  • Copyright Date: 2000

     

  • Title: Soaring with the wind:The Bald Eagle
  • Author(s): Gail Gibbons
  • Name of Publisher: Morrow Junior Books
  • City and State where published: New York, NY
  • Copyright Date: 1998
 

Assignment #4 Questions 6-12

  • 6. Is my animal a predator? (circle yes or no)
    If Yes, what animals does it hunt? ( a predator hunts other animals) Christopher says: Mountain lions usually hunt from dawn to dusk and they are predators of small game and deer.
  • 7. Where did or where does my animal live? Evan wrote: Hawks live in the taigas, swamps, and deserts of North America
  • 8. How long does my animal live (life span)? Nora and Hope wrote: Our animal, the bottle-nose dolphin has a maximum life span of 25 years.
  • 9. What does my animal's home look like? Evan wrote: My animal, the hawk lives in a nest high up in a tree made out of sticks, bark, and leaves.
  • 10. Who are my animal's enemies? Jonathan and Anthony wrote: The enemies of a hedgehog are large birds of preys (owls), foxes, and badgers.
  • 11. How does my animal move? (fly,hop, swim, etc.) Chaunise and Dominique wrote: The Saber-tooth cat moved by walking on four legs
  • 12. How fast can my animal move? Christopher wrote: My animal, the mountain lion moves at a speed of 35 miles per hour
 Assignment #5 Questions 13-15

Use animals web sites if possible for more info Animal web sites

  • 13. How many babies can my animal have? Gina wrote: Polar beard can have 1 to 2 babies at a time. They Usually have twins.
  • 14. How does my animal care for it's young?
  • 15. Is my animal extinct or endangered? Why? Gina wrote: The polar bears are very close to being endangered, because there are only 25,000 left. They even have laws to protect the polar bears.
 

Assignment #6 Question 16 and Interesting Facts about my animal
Only answer Q 16 if endangered or extinct for Q 15.

  • 16. How can my animal be saved? Gina wrote: They are being saved because naturalists put radio collars on them to track wherever they go. There also are laws to protect polar bears. Hunters also need to stop killing them for their fur.
  • Write 4 to 6 interesting facts about your animal. This should be things that you have not mentioned before.
  • Vanessa H wrote:
  • 1. Rabbits sleep and rest in a shallow hole called a form.
  • 2. Rabbits damage fruit trees by gnawing on the bark, and may kill berry bushes by eating their sprouts.
  • 3. A few rabbits live more than 1 year in the wild, but those kept as pets can live about five years or more.
  • 4. Rabbits can see on the side and behind them even better than they can see in the front.
  • 5. The plant foods that rabbits eat are hard to digest.

Step #5: Synthesis (What can I make to finish the job?)

After students have answered all the questions and completed their assignments, they will receive a blank book, line guide, and the following directions. Students will have class time and time at home to create their final project, which will be a research report book on their animal.

Directions for making final animal books

  1. Make sure all your research is complete. Save everything in your folder you may need it later.
  2. Find or draw pictures of your animal for your book.
  3. BE CAREFUL. If you mess up you do not get another book. Write in pencil if you need too. If gluing, please wait until pages dry or else the pages will stick together. Be neat. This should be something you should be proud to show your parents and have everyone see.
  4. The cover should have: the name of your animal, picture of your animal, your first and last name and room number (Ex: Raccoons by Jane Student Room 50.
  5. Title page (the first page in your book) should have:
    Title of book
    By your name
    Hillview Crest Elementary School
    Hayward CA
    2003 (insert current year)
  6. Be sure to save the four last pages for your references. You have a limited amount of pages about 2 to 4 questions per page. We will work on this in class.
  7. You should use the line guide to write your work neatly. Don't write on or ruin your line guide, as they need to be returned with your book or when you are finished.
  8. Write your question, Underline it, and write your answer underneath. You may also type and paste it in the book if you prefer.
  9. Be creative. Put some pictures in.
  10. You should have your cover, title page, and start putting questions and answers in book.

How the Book should look - HINTS

  • The cover should have: the name of your animal, picture of your animal, your first and last name and room number (Ex: Raccoons by Jane Student Room 50.
  • Title page (the first page in your book) should have:
    Title of book
    By your name
    Hillview Crest Elementary School
    Hayward CA
    2003 (insert current year)
  • Introduction: Why did I choose my animal?
  • Questions and pictures. Write the question Underline it. Write your answer in full sentences.
  1. 1. What is my animal's scientific name?
  2. What family does it belong to?
  3. What does my animal look like?
  4. What is my animal's height, length, weight, wingspan if bird?
  5. What does my animal eat?
  6. Is my animal a predator? If so what does it hunt?
  7. Where does/ where did my animal live?
  8. How long does my animal live (lifespan)?
  9. What does my animal's home look like?
  10. Who are my animal's enemies?
  11. How does my animal move? (swim, fly, hop)
  12. How fast can my animal move?
  13. How many babies can my animal have?
  14. How does it care for its young?
  15. Is my animal extinct or endangered?
  16. How can my animal be saved?
  17. What is or what was cool and unique about my animal? (write some interesting facts that you have not written before and include some pictures. (2 to 4 pages only)
  • SAVE AT LEAST 4 PAGES TO DO THE FINAL PART IN CLASS!

Step #6 Evaluation: How will I know if I have done my best?

Before you show your book(final product) to others, make sure it is as perfect as possible. You should be proud to put your name on your paper. You should also be able to answer "YES" to all of these questions before you turn in your paper:

  • Did you do everything in the assignment and include all that was required for the book?
  • Does your final book show your original ideas as well as other information you found? (It's ok to have pictures from web sites but just pasting in information from someone else's webster is NOT OK. It's plagiarism)
  • Did you give credit to all of your sources in a bibliography (Reference page)?
  • Is your book word-processed (or very neatly typed or hand-written if you do not have access to a computer)?
  • Is your book complete and does it include a title page with heading information (Title, your name, room #, date, etc)?
  • Would you be proud for anyone to read this book? (parents, principal, asst principal, classroom teacher, zoo keeper)?
  • Does your book have......?
  • Cover with animal name, your name, room #.
  • Title page, title of book, your name, room #, Hillview Crest Elementary, Hayward, CA, @2003 (insert current  year).
  • Introduction (Why did you choose this animal)?
  • All questions written and answers in complete sentences