Researching Animals Teacher Page Teacher Page Teacher Page Teacher Page

Teacher Page This lesson can best be done in a computer lab setting or rotational system for a one-computer classroom, but it can also be done as a whole class. If completing the lesson as a whole class, you may want to make copies of slides 7, 10, and 12 so that kids can record their individual answers. You may also have to select a few animals to research as a class on the websites, and have each student choose to write about one of those animals.

You’re hired! Congratulations! Your class has just been hired by National Geographic KIDS to create this year’s special edition magazine, “Awesome Animals”. Each class member will choose an animal, research facts about it, and write a 3-paragraph article about that animal. People all over the country will be reading your magazine, so be sure to do your best!

How do we begin? This writing adventure will lead you through the steps of collecting information through research, writing your article, and citing your sources. (What? You don’t know what “citing sources” means? You will after you finish this adventure!)

Research There are many ways to research a topic. You can look in books or talk to experts. You can also find information on the Internet. Click the www below to practice using the Internet.

How to Collect Information for a Research Report When getting information for a research report, you do not need to copy everything that you read. You can take notes by only including important information. Click Fact Fragment Frenzy to practice taking notes.

Which animal will you choose for your article? Click to go to the National Geographic KIDS Creature Feature. Use the scroll bar to see all of the different animals in the Creature Feature. Select an animal for your report. Click the animal to read information about it.

What did you find out? Which animal will you choose for your research report? What information did you find out about that animal? Take notes. What is the name of the website that you visited to find that information? Hint: What is the URL of that website?URL

What is a URL? URL A URL is a web address for a website that you visit on the Internet. Examples of URL’s:

Find out more about your animal. Click to visit this website. Is your animal an amphibian, bird, fish, mammal or reptile? Click the animal group to which your animal belongs. Is your animal in the list? Click it to see what else you can find out about it.

What did you find out? What else did you learn about your animal? Take notes. What is the name of the website that you visited to find that information? What is the URL of that website?URL HINT:

Time to Write! Remember to follow the steps that good writers use. PLAN DRAFT SHARE AND RESPOND REVISE EDIT PUBLISH

Let’s Plan! Write the name of your animal, three interesting topics about it, and supporting information for each topic.

Write your first draft. Now write your draft of your report. THINGS TO REMEMBER THINGS TO REMEMBER: Write three paragraphs. Each paragraph should be about one of the main topics you planned. Start each paragraph with a topic sentence. Write your ideas in a good order. Use good describing words. End with a good closing, summary sentence.

Share and Respond Read your writing to a friend or your teacher. Ask him/her these questions: Did you understand my writing? What did you like best about my writing? What changes do you think I could make to improve my writing?

Revise revise It’s time to revise your paragraph(s). Read it again. Think about the ideas that your friend or teacher gave you. Make any changes that you feel will improve your paragraph(s). Proofread your paragraph(s). To proofread means to look for mistakes. Correct any misspelled words, capitalization or punctuation errors.

Publish publish It’s time to publish your research report. To publish means to make a correct, clean copy to share with others. Make a pop-up book to write your report.pop-up book Things to remember: Write a copy with no mistakes. Don’t forget to cite your sources: Write a list of the sources that you used to write your report.sources

What are sources? Sources are the books, magazines, web sites, or any other things you use to get information to help you write. Make a list of the sources you used. List each website title and its URL (web address). List each book, encyclopedia article, or magazine and its author.

Good job! National Geographic KIDS will be so proud of your work!