Look But Don't Touch:
Dangerous Animal Facts

Subjects

• Science
  --Life Sciences
  ----Biology
  ----Animals

Grade

• K-2
• 3-5

Brief Description

Using an age-appropriate reference site, students identify three facts on a dangerous animal then record those facts on a printable graphic organizer.

Objectives

Students will:

• Identify three important animal facts using information from a single Web site.
• Record those facts on paper.
• Transfer those facts onto an online graphic organizer.

Keywords

animals, graphic organizer, zoology

Materials Needed

• Internet access
• Pen and paper
• Ability to display teacher computer, such as a projector or TV monitor (optional)

Lesson Plan

Prior to this lesson, students should be comfortable opening and closing windows, as well as clicking icons on a computer Desktop. Also, be sure to create on the Desktop a shortcut to the sites below:

• Poisonous Animal Printouts: https://www.enchantedlearning.com/coloring/poisonous.shtml
• Animal Inquiry Graphic Organizer: http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/animal-inquiry/

To create shortcuts, open your Internet browser (Internet Explorer, Foxfire, Safari) and type in the URL for one of the above Web sites. When the page opens, drag the Web site address (URL) from the Address Bar to the computer Desktop. An icon will appear with the Web site address as the title. Click the icon and rename it something very simple, such as "Animals" or "Organizer." Be sure to add the shortcuts to every computer (lab or classroom) to be used in this assignment.

Begin the lesson by asking students to pretend that a NASA space probe recently discovered a large animal living on Mars. Ask what they would like to find out about this new animal if they were NASA scientists. Questions might include, "What does it eat?" "How big is it?" "When and where does it sleep?" "When it's a baby, what does it look like?" Write students' responses on the chalkboard.

Next, ask students to choose the three most important questions on the board. Those might include habitat, food, behaviors, or other characteristics. Explain to students that they are going to look for answers to those questions, but the answers won't be about an imaginary animal; they're going to find out about some dangerous animals.

Walk students through the following steps:

• Click the shortcut called "Animals."
• Choose an animal you want to learn more about.
  

  Point out to students that they can choose from six poisonous animals, or they can click the word "Venomous" in the menu at the top of the page and choose from more animals there. They also can look for dangerous animal in any of the other animal categories.

• After your choice of animal is approved, read the information about your animal. Using the three questions circled on the chalkboard as a guide, write down three important facts about your animal. One of those facts should explain why the animal is dangerous.
• Close the window about animals and click the shortcut called "Organizer."
• Follow the directions at the site for creating an Animal Facts organizer.
• After your work is approved, print your organizer.

You can display students' work in the classroom or collect their work in a binder and place it in the reading center for browsing.

Assessment

Students will e evaluated on their

• printed graphic organizer containing three animal facts.
• ability to manage time.
• ability to navigate Web sites.

Lesson Plan Source

Education World

Submitted By

Lorrie Jackson

National Standards

SCIENCE
GRADES K - 4
NS.K-4.1 Science as Inquiry
NS.K-4.3 Life Science