Local River Life Subject: Art, Language Arts, Science Grade: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12

Brief Description

Students create a class book about aquatic life in or near local river(s).

Objectives

Students

• identify rivers in their state, county, or province
• research the various kinds of animals and plants living in or near the rivers
• write short summaries about the animal and plant life in or near the rivers
• draw pictures of the animal and plant life in or near the rivers
• compile the information and present in book format.

Keywords

animal, aquatic, book, plant, river

Materials Needed

• teacher-selected and/or student-researched books, newspapers, and online sources about local rivers
• local map
• writing paper
• construction paper of various colors or tag board
• drawing paper
• scissors
• glue or paste
• hole punch and binder rings or clear plastic report covers and report clamps
• computer(s) with Internet access and/or word processing program and printer (optional)

Lesson Plan

Suggestion: You may want to plan a class trip to your local library or seek assistance from your school or local public library librarian for this lesson.

• Identify some rivers in your area. Depending on your location, you may decide to identify rivers by city, town, county, province, or state.
• Choose one or two rivers. Organize students into small groups. Tell students that half the groups will research information about animal life in or near the river(s); the other half will research information about plant life in or near the river(s). Tell students that they will use the information they find to create a class book about the animal and plant life in or near the river(s).
• Have the class use school, library, or online sources to research the information. If images of animal and plant life are not available, students might draw pictures.
• Have students write one-page summaries about each type of plant and animal life they study. Let students draw the pictures on drawing paper.
• Have students cut and paste pictures and summaries onto construction paper. Compile the pages into book format. Hold the pages together, using a hole punch and binder rings or clear plastic report covers and report clamps. Keep the book in your classroom library.

Variations:

• Idea 1: For younger students: Have students create a picture book about the animal and plant life in or near local rivers.
• Idea 2: Have students create the summaries using a word processing program and print the pages on a printer.
• Idea 3: Have students create the pictures with KidPix or another drawing program.

Assessment

Evaluate students' contributions to the book.

Lesson Plan Source

Education World

Submitted By

Lois Lewis

National Standards

Fine Arts:
  NA-VA.K-4.1
  NA-VA.5-8.1
  NA-VA.9-12.1

Language Arts:
  NL-ENG.K-12.1
  NL-ENG.K-12.3
  NL-ENG.K-12.4
  NL-ENG.K-12.5
  NL-ENG.K-12.6
  NL-ENG.K-12.7
  NL-ENG.K-12.8

Science:
  NS.K-4.3
  NS.5-8.3
  NS.9-12.3