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Web Research Helps Students Choose Classroom Pets
Subjects
Science
--Life Sciences
----Biology
----Animals
Grade
3-5
Brief Description
Students analyze several classrooms at their school, interview teachers, research pets, and make informed recommendations
about which pet is right for each classroom.
Objectives
Students will:
identify teachers' pet requirements.
research online a variety of classroom pets.
apply what they learned to choose the best pet for a specific classroom.
use their time wisely and work cooperatively with others.
Keywords
pets, higher order thinking, web research
Materials Needed
pen and paper
Internet access on one or more student computers
projector or TV monitor on teacher computer (optional)
Lesson Plan
This lesson requires students to analyze several classrooms at their school, interview teachers, research pets, and make informed recommendations on which pet is right for each classroom. Instead of traditional animal reports ("This is what a hamster eats."), students synthesize and apply information to determine the best pet for a particular classroom.
Prior to the lesson, students should have some practice taking notes about what they read on the Web. They should be familiar with summarizing information and citing sources.
You also should ask 5-7 additional teachers to help you with this project by allowing a small group of students into their classrooms for a look-around and being available for a five question survey.
Begin a classroom discussion by asking students who have pets to raise their hands. Then ask students who do not have pets for some of the reasons why they don't. (Be careful not to push anyone to disclose anything if they don't want to.) List those answers on the chalkboard. Reasons might include, "We're not home to let a dog out throughout the day" or "My dad is allergic" or "Mom's afraid we won't give a pet as much attention as it would need."
Share with students that those are some of the concerns that might prevent someone from owning a pet, or limit the type of pet they own. Ask them to imagine that they own their own business called ClassroomPets4You. This business helps teachers find the kind of pets best suited for different classrooms, or discover that they are better off without pets.
Next, go to Teachers Web Shelf's Hamster entry and read the information aloud. Using your mouse, highlight important facts about the hamster that might affect a teacher's decision to keep it in her or his classroom. Discuss those facts with the class. If you don't have a projector or TV monitor, print the hamster section and copy it for students to read along with you. That will help students visualize what kinds of facts they'll need to watch for in reading about pets. For example, hamsters, unlike fish, need fresh water and food daily, and can escape easily. Explain that a teacher who keeps a hamster will need to decide who feeds the hamster during holidays and how to keep the hamster from escaping.
After reading about hamsters, ask students to share the top five things they would ask a teacher who was interested in keeping a classroom pet. Questions might include, "Do you or any of your students have allergies?" "Do you want a pet that can be picked up and petted?" "What will happen to your pet during the summer?" "Where in your classroom would you keep a pet?" Ask student to write down the top five questions. (Help them decide which five are best.)
Ask students what they will look at in the classroom they visit. Is there a place for the pet that looks sunny? Too near the heater/air conditioner? Would the cage be too close to students' desks? Write down three things they should look for in the classroom.
Arrange students into 5-7 small groups of three to four students each, assign each group a classroom, and ask each group to
appoint one student as note taker. Explain to students that they will visit the assigned classroom and speak to the
teacher; then they will research pets on the Internet and decide which pet might be the best choice for that classroom.
Each group then will return to your classroom and discuss what they saw, making some guesses as to what might be a good
pet for that teacher to have. ("With Mrs. Johnson's fur allergy, I was thinking about a turtle, lizard, or fish. What
do you think?")
Each group now will need computer time to research pets and make a final decision on the best pet. You can take the whole class to the lab, use laptops or tablets, or rotate groups on a classroom center (even one computer will work!). Send students to Classroom Pets and Animals Table of Contents and ask each group to spend 15 minutes looking through the entries. The goal is to find the pet they think would fit best with their assigned teacher's classroom.
Finally, have each group write its recommendation to the assigned teacher. The recommendation -- which can be as simple as a handwritten note -- would list group members' names, identify their choice for a pet for that classroom, and include 2-3 sentences explaining that choice. They also should list 2-3 pets that are not good choices (Explain that these pets also must be listed at the Web site visited, not animals like elephants or unicorns!), and write several sentences explaining why those would not be good choices. Each group then delivers its decision to the teacher, who will return the copy to you for grading.
Assessment
Students will be graded on their ability to
manage their time and work in a group.
assess the pet requirements of a teacher and the teacher's classroom.
identify key characteristics of a specific species and use those characteristics to determine the pet that fits best with a teacher's classroom.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Lorrie Jackson
National Standards
SCIENCEGRADES K - 4NS.K-4.1 Science as Inquiry NS.K-4.3 Life Science GRADES 5 - 8NS.5-8.1 Science as Inquiry NS.5-8.3 Life Science
Dr. Matthew Lynch
During word study instruction, students engage in challenging and motivational activities instead of simply memorizing a set of words. In order to become literate, students need hands-on practice with dissecting and rearranging word elements in a manner that permits them to generalize learning from remote, individual examples to entire clusters of words that are spelled the same way. In itself, word study is not a panacea, as there are exceptions to every rule. Students can, however, learn invaluable strategies that teach them how to read, write and spell words.
Word study also teaches students how to examine words so they can construct a deep understanding of how written words function.
Even though many educators and parents are totally against abandoning weekly spelling tests, it is my professional opinion that alternative methods of spelling instruction, such as word study, are more viable. If you are an educator who is still giving traditional spelling tests, I strongly urge you to give word study a try -- not because I said so, but because it will provide your students with balanced literacy instruction and exponentially increase their ability to read, write and spell.
About Dr. Lynch
Dr. Matthew Lynch is a Chair and Associate Professor of Education at Langston University and a blogger for the Huffington Post. Dr. Lynch also is the author of the newly released book It’s Time for a Change: School Reform for the Next Decade and A Guide to Effective School Leadership Theories. Please visit his Web site for more information.
If you have a question for “Ask Dr. Lynch,” submit it here. Topics can be anything education-related, from classroom management to differentiated instruction.
Screenshot of artwork by Ryan Vogler
Alex Murphy sits behind a desk, fondly remembering his crime-busting heyday. His infamous helmet, the dark visor that covered his piercing eyes, is nowhere in sight. With street crime extinguished, Murphy has pursued his passion for teaching health, physical fitness and advanced robotics engineering. He sees working with students as his next chance to change the world for the better.
Unfortunately, peer bullying is a big problem at Mr. Murphy’s school. Many kids face violent neighborhoods, unstable home environments, and a lack of role models for positive behavior. This leads them to act out by bullying other students.
As a crime-fighting cyborg, RoboCop’s “Prime Directives” were to: (1) serve the public trust, (2) protect the innocent and (3) uphold the law. In his new life as an educator, the ingenious Mr. Murphy has applied these directives to school-wide bullying prevention. The Prime School-Wide Directives, as they relate to bullying, have significantly improved student behavior. They include:
1. Serve the public trust
In RoboCop, citizens of crime-ridden 1980s Detroit came to feel as though law enforcement “had their back,” and Mr. Murphy recognizes that it’s equally important for students to believe that adults will protect them at school. He has ensured that all staff take seriously student reports of bullying. In addition, he has convinced school administrators that when a bullying situation arises, a concrete safety plan needs to be put in place for the targeted student. Since his state’s laws also require that parents of the targeted student be invited to school for a meeting, Mr. Murphy makes sure to sit in on these meetings and gather parent input on how to best ensure the physical and emotional safety of the student. And he never forgets to carefully document all safety measures implemented.
2. Protect the innocent
“Excuse me, I have to go. Somewhere there is a crime happening.”
As in his RoboCop days, Mr. Murphy continues to have a “sixth sense” about student bullying behavior. He knows that protecting the innocent starts with opening one’s eyes to peer cruelty. He has made sure that school staff monitor bullying “hot spots” and recognize all forms of student-to-student mistreatment when they occur—including not just physical assault, but also homophobic and racial slurs, disability-based teasing, social exclusion, and taunting based on weight or other physical characteristics. And since he knows much of the behavior occurs when adults aren’t watching, he also has trained students to be the school’s “eyes and ears” for observing and reporting bullying. To supplement these efforts, Mr. Murphy has encouraged staff to post supportive posters affirming everyone’s right to feel safe in the building.
3. Uphold the law
Just as he brought order to the streets with his no-nonsense RoboCop style, Mr. Murphy has helped institute a set of clear school-wide rules prohibiting bullying. He works with school leadership to ensure that these are consistently enforced. At the same time, he realizes that compared to a city under law-enforcement lockdown, a school should have a more caring climate.
He encourages staff to avoid simplistic, zero-tolerance bullying policies where bullying students receive harsh automatic punishments that do little to change behavior over the long term. Now, staff focus on re-educating the bullying student and providing constructive outlets for mastery/control and social status. Although targets of bullying often request harsh, robotic-gunfire-style punishment for the bullying student, Mr. Murphy makes it clear that he’s working hard to prevent the target’s future victimization. This is ultimately more satisfying for students who have been bullied.
Related resources
Bullying Prevention: What Your School May Be Missing
When is Bullying a Hate Crime?
The Best Bullying Prevention Schools Aren’t Doing
Stan Davis: Ask Bullied Kids What Helps Them
Lesson Plan Booster: How Can Students Help a Bullied Peer?
EducationWorld Bullying Prevention Page
EducationWorld School Climate Page
Article by Jason Cunningham, EducationWorld Social Media EditorEducation World®
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