Primary Grades Animal Research Bundle

Are you looking to engage the youngest learners in a successful AND fun research experience? Then this is the bundle for you! It has everything you need to provide your students with all the right scaffolds and materials to make their first research and public presentation experience positive, happy, rigorous, and successful!

First, you will receive my Researcher Behavior Posters:

In this resource, you will find 7 slides with 4 different sized posters to help you do just this. There are 4 full-sized posters meant for whole group instruction. This resource has been activated in TPT easel so you could use the student view to project these images on your Smartboard (or equivalent) as you introduce the behaviors or you could print the posters (8.5" x 11) for hanging in the room. There are also smaller versions (4 to a page, 8 to a page, and 16 to a page) that are meant to be used as reminders on the day of a presentation. Simply print, cut out the 2x2 section that represents all 4 researcher behaviors (see below) and tape to the presentation space of each child. At a quick glance, your students have a fast reminder to stand up straight or speak loudly and clearly as they present. Also included are directions for what each behavior represents (for example, loud and proud is more than just being loud- it also includes a clear speaking voice, and a slow rate of speech and interesting tone of voice) and a description of how I introduced all of this to my students so they were successful.

The 4 behaviors represented in print and in pictures are:

1) I Can Practice Until Its Permanent!

2) I Can Be Loud and Proud!

3) I Can Stand Straight and Tall!

4) I Can Listen Respectfully!

Next, you will receive my Non-fiction Zoo Animal Articles WITH VOICE RECORDINGS!:

- 12 beautiful, full color slides with informational text on 12 different zoo animals (lion, zebra, tarantula, alligator, chameleon, bald eagle, giant panda, African elephant, cougar, river otter, orangutan, koala bear)

- each slide includes 3 photographs of the animal being introduced

- each slide addresses important information about the animal: where it lives, what it eats and how it gets its food, how it moves around, what its body is covered with, and any important structures on its body, information about its offspring, and some interesting facts

- most slides include some excellent vocabulary words, in bold print and then defined in the article. A couple of the articles DO NOT include bold print terms on purpose. These are meant to be a little simpler for students who may need an easier option to listen to or read.

- all 12 slides have been recorded and have a speaker in the bottom left corner- simply click on it to hear the slide be read aloud- this makes research with your class so much easier if you have students who need to have the articles read to them! Simply set them up on one-to-one devices with headphones and with their slide ready for them and they can play, pause, record, and play again (and replay as necessary!) to get the information they need.

PLEASE NOTE: YOU MUST OPEN AS A READ ONLY! In order to protect this file, you will be prompted to open it as a read only or to enter the password. You will click to open it as a read only. You will have full access to print and to hear the recordings.

Next, you will receive a Zoo Animal Note-Taking Page:

The page is meant to be about a zoo animal. It looks like a cage at a zoo and it asks students to record the following information (each piece of information is in its own box and is supported with easy to recognize images AS WELL AS text):

- the name of the animal (no picture support- the student needs to write it)

- what does the animal eat: plants, meat, plants and meat

- what is the animal's body covered with: skin, scales, fur, feathers, exoskeleton

- how many legs does the animal have: 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, more than 8

- how does the animal move: walking/running, swimming, flying, hopping, slithering, climbing

- where does the animal live: on land, in water, in a warm place, in a cold place, in a cave or tunnel, in a tree

There is also a box for a "cool fact" for students who are able to write or dictate an answer to be written for them.

Learners simply read or listen to their text passage read aloud to them and circle the proper answers as they hear/read them. I always told students what to be paying attention for before they heard/read their articles. And, of course, they were always welcome to hear their articles/passages as many times as was necessary to get their answers.

The second page is blank except for a thick black rectangle around the outside. If you want a very simple project, just have students draw their animal in the rectangle and staple the notes to the rectangle page at the top. Students can read their notes and flip open the "cage" to reveal the zoo animal inside. You could even have them do a "clean copy" of the notes if you wanted to do a rough draft and final copy before stapling. (If you are buying this bundle, you probably don't want this option... it is meant to be a very simple end project instead of a big "research/presentation" project. I am just explaining it here, however, so you understand what's included.).

Finally, you will receive:

These pages are meant to be the "final copy paper" of the research project. The animals featured in the Non-fiction Zoo Animals articles are the same animals that are featured on these presentation pages (lions, zebras, tarantulas, alligators, bald eagles, chameleons, cougars, giant pandas, African elephants, river otters, orangutans, and koala bears). The features of the animals that the children are expected to present on from these pages are the same features that the Zoo Animal Note-Taking Page asked them to take notes on from the Non-Fiction articles (number of legs, what they eat, what their bodies are covered with, how they move, where they live, and a "cool fact"). "Conveniently," all of these facts are covered in the Non-fiction Articles.

These pages are set up so students will use them to present their animal in a public presentation setting.

All pages begin with a sentence starter that introduces themselves at the top, leaving space for them to write their name.

Then there are 3 versions:

One version leaves space for students to write their animal name in all the blanks and circle images to answer all questions regarding the facts stated above (what is eaten, body covering, etc. These images ALL match the images on my Zoo Animal Note-Taking Page exactly, for ease of transfer of information.).

A second version has dotted print for students who may need to trace their animal name instead of writing it in independently. These students still circle images to answer all questions regarding the facts they researched.

Finally, a third version asks students to trace their animal name the first time it appears on the paper but includes photographs of their animal every other time they would say their animal's name during the presentation, so they are prompted to say it but do not need to write it. These students still circle images to answer all questions regarding the facts they researched.

So, a sample may sound something like this:

"My name is Sam.

I researched lions.

Lions eat meat.

Lions have 4 legs.

Lions walk or run.

Lions have fur.

Lions live on land and in warm places."

There is room at the bottom for you to include a "cool fact" if the students do have one from the reading (my Non-fiction Zoo Animal Articles do include a few extra tid-bits for this purpose and my Zoo Animal Note-Taking Page does have a spot for able students to write in (or dictate) an extra fact of their choosing.

Also included are directions and images to support the creation of a visual art project to accompany the students' oral presentation. I also include links to an amazing artist who does incredible directed drawings of animals for kids. I give at least one (sometimes more than 1) link for each animal listed above.

I did this for 12 years with kindergarteners. It always brought me great joy to see them shine in front of families, other students, other teachers, and administrators. I set the bar high (especially since we did this in October!) and they rose to the occasion. With pieces in place to ensure their success, even students who came to me in September unable to find their name on their cubby or unable to say the alphabet were successfully completing this project just 6-8 weeks into the school year. It was a highlight of my year for sure!