animal research project middle school

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5 Animal Research Websites for Students

• stayingcoolinthelibrary
• February 24, 2019
• Lesson Plans , Research

Ready to do some animal research? Finding trustworthy and appropriate animal websites for students to use can be a challenge. Below are my go-to websites that you can feel confident having your students go to. Most of these sites also have videos, games and other educational activities as well.

National Geographic for Kids

DK Find Out

San Diego Zoo Kids

These websites below do have some advertisements on them.

Animal Fact Guide

Ready to research and use these animal websites for students?

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Writing Unit of Study: Animal Research Project

This free animal research project will provide you with a writing unit of study that will help you build excitement about writing informational text in your classroom.

You can download this free animal research project to help your writers develop their research and writing skills.

This project will be a great fit for your first, second or third grade writing workshop.

This is another free resource for teachers and homeschool families from The Curriculum Corner.

Why should I introduce my students to research through animal study?

Animal research can be a great topic for writing informational text because students tend to be curious about animals.

Nothing seems to spark interest in most kids like learning about animals in our world. Turn their enthusiasm into an engaging animal research writing project.

They can take the time to learn about different habitats and diets.

You can also encourage students to expand their vocabulary by having them create a glossary to accompany their writing.

About this animal research project

Within this post you will find over 30 pages of anchor charts, mini-lesson ideas, writing planners and graphic organizers.

The unit will help guide your students through the complete process. In the end, you will be helping to teach your students how to write their own pieces of informational text.

The intended end product for students is an animal booklet that they can staple together to share with others.

Students who are ready for more advanced work, can create a larger project with less direction.

A description of the mini-lessons

Lesson 1: introduction.

• Begin the unit by having the students brainstorm a list of animals that they might see everyday.
• Then, have them brainstorm a list of animals they see when they visit the zoo or walk in the forest. You can do this on the blank anchor chart provided or on cart paper.
• Another option is to place students in groups. They could work to create a list together.  
• You might assign each group a continent and have them find animals that live there.
• Pull the class together and have each group share what animals they found that live on their continent.

Lesson 2: Noticings

• Next you might want to get your students familiar with common characteristics about informational texts that teach about animals.
• Have them work in pairs or small groups to go through some books and record their “noticings” about the writing.
• Then come together in a community circle to discuss those noticings and create a class anchor chart.

Lesson 3: Opinion vs. Facts

• Before getting truly into this unit, you might need to conduct a lesson on opinions vs. facts.
• After a brief discussion you can use the giraffe paragraph provided in our resources to give your students some practice differentiating between the two. This paragraph contains both opinions and facts.
• With your class read through the paragraph and record facts and opinions on the T-chart.
• Discuss both sides and how they are different from each other.
• A black & white copy of this giraffe paragraph has also been provided.  You can have them work in pairs or groups to distinguish between the facts and opinions.
• If you need more resources for your students surrounding fact & opinion check out our   Fact & Opinion Sort .

Lesson 4: Choosing a Topic for the Animal Research Project

• We want to help students to narrow their topic choices by giving them some guidance.
• Gather students and begin a discussion about choosing an animal research topic.
• For this lesson we have provided two pages where students can individually brainstorm the animals they are interested in.
• You might have students work in groups or independently to make their choice. Conference with students as needed to help.
• Don’t shy away from letting more than one student research about the same animal.  This can be a great way to promote group work. It might also help out with some of your literacy center choices throughout this unit.

Lesson 5: Good Places to Find Information about an Animal

• At this age we want students to begin to understand that all they read online about animals isn’t always true. Sometimes writing might sound true without being filled with facts.
• Show students two possible places to find information online about their animal. One should be a trusted site with reliable and accurate information. Another should be a site that perhaps a child has created.  (There are many that you can find if you search.)
• Pose these questions: Is everything on the internet true? Why?  How can you tell? Why is it important for your research writing to contain accurate information?

Lesson 6: Taking Notes

• Sometimes giving students resources and a blank sheet of notebook paper can be too overwhelming for them. Some students will copy word for word. Others might feel overwhelmed.  We need to guide them to read and pull out facts & relevant information to use later in their writing.
• For this lesson we have provided four templates for note-taking that you might choose to use for your students.
• You might need to provide different organizers to students depending on their needs.
• You will want to model the organizers your students are use. Show them how to take notes as they read.
• After initial teaching, you may find that you need to pull small groups for extra practice. Others might benefit from a conference as you take a look at the notes they are taking.

Lesson 7: Word Choice in Research Writing

• To help students think about making their writing more interesting, have them brainstorm words about their animal.
• Together brainstorm words that would be appropriate for animals. They might add words about what they look like, their movement, their habitats, their life cycles, their diets, etc. You can create a class anchor chart on the page provided.  You might even think about using the real life picture of the wolf in the download. This can get the students to begin thinking of more interesting words for animals (fierce, mighty, strong, etc).
• Then, pass out the individual brainstorm pages. Students can use the anchor chart as a guide to begin their own word choice pages about their animal. This might be a good partner activity as well.

Lesson 8: Writing Sketch for the Animal Research Project

• Next, you can model the writing sketch planner for your class.
• One idea to help your students narrow down all of the information they have learned about their animals is to give them a specific number of animals facts that they can focus on.
• Each of these facts can serve as the actual text that they will put on each page of their animal research book. Or the facts could serve as a focus for each paragraph in their writing.
• You might find that this would be a good mini-lesson to do with smaller groups of children.

Lesson 9: Creating a Table of Contents

• Another idea that can be a writing planner AND a page in their animal research book is the table of contents. Pull out one of the Table of Contents pages from the resources provided and model how to fill in the blanks on each page.
• This page will then serve as their Table of Contents (with a focus discussion on what that is and the purpose it serves) and also their writing planner so they know what they will put in the pages of their booklet.

Lesson 10: Creating a Glossary

• There are two pages provided in the resources that might help your students to learn to pull out topic specific words to put into a glossary for the end of their animal research book.
• Be sure to model how you would like for your students to use these organizers (keeping in mind that you may need to copy more than one page if there are more words than the page provides for).
• If your students need a refresher on ABC order check out these links for some added practice/review: ABC Order Task Cards & Fry Word ABC Order Task Cards

Lesson 11: Writing Your Animal Research

• You will decide on the best method for your students to showcase their published animal research.
• You may want your students to use their own creativity in the texts that they write and share. If you’d like a first experience to provide a bit more guidance, we have provided two different sets of pages for booklets.
• One is more guided and the other has less structure and smaller lines for more writing.  15 pages are provided so that you or students can pick what fits their needs.
• This “lesson” may actually become a series of lessons if you choose to model how each page can be used.  (We have also included a page with simple writing lines in case students need less guidance than the booklet pages provided.)

Lesson 12: Labeling Pictures

• One final lesson idea that pairs well with writing informational text is to teach your students how to label pictures.
• Since most nonfiction writing has real photographs, students can find some pictures online to print out and label for their booklet.  Hand-drawn pictures are also great if you would rather encourage some or all of your students in that direction.
• Whatever you choose, show your class how to effectively label a picture so that it teaches the reader more.  You can use the picture of the polar bear provided to model how to add words or even short facts as labels.  (For example if the simple label “fur” wouldn’t add additional information to the book, you might teach them to label it with a short fact such as “dense fur protects the animal’s skin from the weather”.
• To make this idea more user friendly, you might want them to use the page of blank white boxes provided to write their labels for their pictures.  Then all they need to do is cut them out and glue them to a printed picture.

Lesson 13: Writing Celebration

As always, find a way to celebrate your students’ writing.  

Invite guests (younger students or special adults) to read the books with your young authors. You might simply want to pair or group them, or some students might choose to present their book to everyone.  

Provide some light snacks if possible to give it a party atmosphere and pass out the author certificates to each child for his/her hard work.

You can download this free writing unit of study here:

Writing Download

As with all of our resources, The Curriculum Corner creates these for free classroom use. Our products may not be sold. You may print and copy for your personal classroom use. These are also great for home school families!

You may not modify and resell in any form. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Christine E.

Saturday 8th of May 2021

Thank you so much for this resource and the many pages that I can use in my homeschooling. It is exactly what I've been looking for to help me get my kids to write about our animal units! You are doing a great job, keep up the amazing work you do. I appreciate the hard work you put into putting these together.

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Animal Studies and School Project Ideas

From Science Fair Project Ideas on Mammals to Experiments About Insects

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• Cell Biology
• Weather & Climate
• B.A., Biology, Emory University
• A.S., Nursing, Chattahoochee Technical College

Animal research is important for understanding various biological processes in animals , humans included. Scientists study animals in order to learn ways for improving their agricultural health, our methods of wildlife preservation, and even the potential for human companionship. These studies also take advantage of certain animal and human similarities to discover new methods for improving human health.

Learning From Animals

Researching animals to improve human health is possible because animal behavior experiments study disease development and transmission as well as animal viruses . Both of these fields of study help researchers to understand how disease interacts between and within animals.

We can also learn about humans by observing normal and abnormal behavior in non-human animals, or behavioral studies. The following animal project ideas help to introduce animal behavioral study in many different species. Be sure to get permission from your instructor before beginning any animal science projects or behavioral experiments, as some science fairs prohibit these. Select a single species of animal to study from each subset, if not specified, for best results.

Amphibian and Fish Project Ideas

• Does temperature affect tadpole growth?
• Do water pH levels affect tadpole growth?
• Does water temperature affect amphibian respiration?
• Does magnetism affect limb regeneration in newts?
• Does water temperature affect fish color?
• Does the size of a population of fish affect individual growth?
• Does music affect fish activity?
• Does the amount of light affect fish activity?

Bird Project Ideas

• What species of plants attract hummingbirds?
• How does temperature affect bird migration patterns?
• What factors increase egg production?
• Do different bird species prefer different colors of birdseed?
• Do birds prefer to eat in a group or alone?
• Do birds prefer one type of habitat over another?
• How does deforestation affect bird nesting?
• How do birds interact with manmade structures?
• Can birds be taught to sing a certain tune?

Insect Project Ideas

• How does temperature affect the growth of butterflies?
• How does light affect ants?
• Do different colors attract or repel insects?
• How does air pollution affect insects?
• How do insects adapt to pesticides?
• Do magnetic fields affect insects?
• Does soil acidity affect insects?
• Do insects prefer the food of a certain color?
• Do insects behave differently in populations of different sizes?
• What factors cause crickets to chirp more often?
• What substances do mosquitoes find attractive or repellent?

Mammal Project Ideas

• Does light variation affect mammal sleep habits?
• Do cats or dogs have better night vision?
• Does music affect an animal's mood?
• Do bird sounds affect cat behavior?
• Which mammal sense has the greatest effect on short-term memory?
• Does dog saliva have antimicrobial properties?
• Does colored water affect mammal drinking habits?
• What factors influence how many hours a cat sleeps in a day?

Science Experiments and Models

Performing science experiments and constructing models are fun and exciting ways to learn about science and supplement studies. Try making a model of the lungs or a DNA model using candy for these animal experiments.

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Glacier National Park

Essential Question

How do scientist study animals?

Students will be able to: • Discuss difference between cultures with relation to animals. • Use guiding questions to conduct effective research about animal species living in Glacier National Park. • Illustrate their animal research. • Communicate the results of their research with others.

This lesson is one part of Work House: A Glacier National Park Science and Indian Education Program. It can be completed as a stand alone lesson or as part of the greater Work House course.  The full  Work House Program  is available on Glacier National Park's website.  Background information as well as the full lesson plan can be found as a  PDF here . Assign student reading. Get books for student research. Mark specific reference pages in suggested books. Arrange internet access and download the “ Animal Field Guide, Flathead Reservation Riparian Species ” App if applicable. Review the websites referenced in the introduction for this unit. You may want to compile a list for students to use in their research or make it into more of a “webquest” with the websites provided. Have questions for research ready to handout/display and a completed example (or grading rubric if applicable) to show students of the expected report results from their research.

Preparation

• Prepare for two 50 minute class periods - one for reading/discussion, choosing animal and starting research. One to finish research and write report with animal illustration. More time needed for extension activities.
• Theme and art paper
• Pencils, colored pencils
• Internet access, encyclopedias, wildlife books, and particularly books about the animals of Glacier National Park, as well as People Before the Park by Sally Thompson, Kootenai Culture Committee & Pikunni Traditional Association
• Students should do the Student Reading for Unit 5 , pages 34-40, before starting this lesson. Use the “Checking for Understanding” questions to focus on the lesson objectives of exploring how people relate to animals, especially wild animals and the idea of sharing the Earth with other creatures. Included in the objectives is for students to realize that different people and cultures all relate differently to animals. In doing their animal research, they should be thinking of their relationship or beliefs/feelings toward wild animals and why they feel that way. How do the different ways people feel about animals influence national parks?
• Let students know that they are going to learn more about the wild animals in Glacier National Park by creating research reports of a favorite animal that they are certain lives in Glacier National Park (and if going on a field trip, one that they would like to see on their visit). Be sure that they have a second choice so that there are not duplicates. The instructor may wish to specify animals that would frequent beaver habitat, or that would live in a burned forest, or that appear in a traditional Blackfeet, Kootenai, Salish or Pend d’Oreille story (or that conform to some other precondition). There are numerous references to uses and importance of specific animals found in Glacier National Park by the Kootenai and Blackfeet in the book, People Before the Park. There are also a variety of books in the Blackfeet Reading Series and from the Salish and Kootenai Culture Committees of animal stories. The Fire on the Land Project from CSKT has a section on wildlife, and  Bull Trout’s Gift and Explore the River from CSKT has information on animals. If students have access to Apps, the CSKT Riparian Animals Field Guide is a result of CSKT putting all their animal research together in one place for people to use- could your students make an App for Glacier?
• Go over the “Questions for Animal Research” to make sure students understand what they should be trying to find out about their animal. (Perhaps having a sample to show or one from a previous year’s student will help). Show the students how to find resources in the library, and walk through the Montana Field Guide on-line to help them begin their research.
• Ask students to illustrate their writing on a separate piece of art paper. Some students may find research more to their liking if they are allowed to draw the picture first. (There are animal coloring book pages on the park website.)
• For advanced students, have them make a movie documentary of their animal research. Here is an example the park received from a student who did research on wolverines .

Questions for Animal Research

• Give the common name and scientific name of the animal you have chosen to research (and if you wish, the Blackfeet, Kootenai, Salish-Pend d’Oreille name). Give a physical description of the animal.
• How does this animal reproduce? Are the young born alive? Are they hatched from eggs?
• How does this animal care for its young? Do parents supply food directly? Do they nurse them? Are the young taught to find food or are they left on their own?
• What does this animal eat? Does it eat plants and animals (omnivorous)? Does it eat only plants (herbivorous)? Does it eat only animals (carnivorous)? The Glacier National Park Teacher’s guide has a chart of “Who eats Whom” other activities to learn about Glacier’s wildlife.
• How does this animal move about? Does it fly, walk, crawl, etc.?
• In what kind of environment does this animal live? Does it live on the ground, in the air, in water, or in a combination environment? Does this animal prefer special terrain such as alpine tundra, marsh, open meadow, forest, stream, etc. ?
• What other interesting observations can you make about this animal?
• Draw the animal in an appropriate environment on a separate sheet of art paper.

Writing Extension

When writings have been edited and drawings are completed, have the students present their reports and pictures to each other in order to share knowledge of all the animals. Choose a title and help students assemble their reports and art in a book - maybe even a field guide for a trip to Glacier!

Field Trip Extension 

• Play traditional American Indian games. Contact the International Traditional Games Society to obtain lesson plans and game kits. How did these games help children learn the skills needed to improve their observation skills of animals? 
• Family Forestry Expo  and  River Honoring  - organized annually, target specific grades and include information about wildlife.
• Invite someone from the local community or tribal government to discuss wildlife management in your area. Compare local management objectives with the National Park Service objectives.
• Invite an elder to your class to talk about wildlife experiences he/she may have had in the past.
• Contact the wildlife division for one of the Reservations and ask it it’s possible to arrange a speaker or a field trip.
• Ranger-Led Field Trips  and  Service Learning Projects  in Glacier National Park. The park’s native plant restoration program has service learning field trips for middle and high school students; the  Forest Processes  and  Fire Ecology  field trips can be modified for 3rd - 8th grade.
• Self-Guided Field Trips  as well as Guided Tours - various concession operated - in Glacier National Park.
• Glacier Institute  - geology and other education programs.
• Guided Tours in Glacier National Park - various concession operated.
• Flathead Community of Resource Educators (CORE) -  outdoor education guide for field trips  in the Flathead Region.

Carnivorous, environment, herbivorous, omnivorous, reproduction.

Assessment Materials

Play the Animal Story Guessing Game. After students have presented their stories, have them take turns telling animal stories that give vital information, except name and physical description, about some animal that lives in the park. The other students ask for clues and guess which animal is being described. Play an animal pantomime game. Have students take turns doing a silent imitation of animal behavior until the other students successfully guess which animal they are imitating. Both of these activities are fun for students and provide a good review.

Additional Resources

• Research the ten thousand acre Grizzly Bear Conservation Area in the Mission Mountains Tribal Wilderness by contacting CSKT’s Division of Fish, Wildlife, Recreation, & Conservation.
• Fire on the Land DVD - contains information about wildlife and fire.
• Glacier Education Trunks available to borrow that have wildlife connections: Songbird Trunk, Fire Works Trunk, Mammals Kit, Bear Trunk, Wolf Trunk.
• Glacier NP Student Resource Guide - has copyright free images of Glacier wildlife, fact sheets about the plants and animals, podcasts about bear research and Citizen Science, resource bulletins about various animals, coloring books, alphabet books, and much more.
• Browning Public Schools has a Blackfeet English Language Animal Coloring Book.
• Look at a copy of Glacier National Park’s Bear Management Plan and Bear Management Guidelines and discuss them.
• Montana State Park’s Indian Education for All Lesson plans associated with state parks in Montana.
• Flathead Community of Resource Educators (CORE) - list of education trunks available from various organizations across the state. Also links to various education resource providers in the Flathead Region.

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Lesson Plans

Last updated: September 15, 2023

A Virtual Animal Behavior Research Project for an Introductory Biology Course

In December 2019, I was preparing to teach the lab section for the second half of an introductory biology sequence, which includes evolution, form and function, and ecology. I’d taught this course many times in the past, though I hadn’t for a few years before 2019. I knew I wanted to move away from rote learning through memorization or canned laboratory activities, and to create an authentic experience that would allow me the overarching theme of developing students’ scientific skills, as well as their science identity. Therefore, I redesigned the course so that our scheduled lab time was used for knowledge and skill development. The course focused on the research skills in the Vision and Change Biology Core Concepts (AAAS 2011) and supporting literature outlining how to apply the core concepts (Branchaw et al. 2020) so that students developed the necessary skills to conduct the research project at the end of the course.

Unfortunately, my initial plans were sidelined by the ongoing global pandemic, which required a portion of our laboratory activities to be conducted virtually. I ended up developing a multiweek virtual model to develop basic scientific knowledge and skills using BioInteractive resources that culminated in an eight-week-long animal behavior research project.

In developing this course, I focused on skill development because it’s essential for building confidence. When students are more confident in their skills, this confidence generates a sense of belonging in science, contributing to their science identity. This is essential for retention of students identified historically as Persons Excluded because of their Ethnicity or Race (PEERs), who may be marginalized and less comfortable in the science environment (Asai 2020).

Ethogram and Time-Budget Study

In order to move students toward more open-ended experiments, I chose ethograms with a time-budget study as their final research project. Ethograms are used in the field of animal behavior to collect data during observations and require making a series of field observations that result in a catalog of behaviors and activities identified by the observer.

For this research project, students conducted independent ethological research observing the behavior of an animal species of their choice. I asked students to choose between focusing on a group of animals or an individual, since these require different observational techniques. In observing a group of animals via webcam, students needed to understand that they should focus on one individual of the group for set intervals. Students could also choose to focus on an individual animal for longer and more frequent observations, though that comes with its own limitations.

Initial observations of specific behaviors helped students construct their data-collection instruments, which are used to construct a basic ethogram. Students determined how they would collect data, which helped to develop observational skills and rudimentary experimental design. I provided students with some examples of ethogram templates. (Many zoos have a basic version posted for students, such as this one: Virtual Classroom | Animal Ethograms - Denver Zoo .)

Finally, students used the list of behaviors they collected for their ethogram to observe their animal(s) several more times. They were required to create a data-collection tool to record the number of times each behavior was observed during a specified period of time for at least three more observation periods. These data were used to create a time-budget study, which is a study that identifies the activities an animal is performing in order to determine how the animal uses its energy during a specific time period.

Overall, ethograms and time-budget studies ease students into research before they are introduced to experimental variables and more advanced research methodology. Plus, it’s fun because they choose their own study animal, so it allows for an authentic final assessment in which students demonstrate the skills they have learned and take ownership of their project.

Weekly Modules

For context, this course consisted of a three-credit lecture and a one-credit lab. The first six weeks of the 15-week laboratory portion were conducted in a synchronous virtual format, using BioInteractive materials to teach the basic skills necessary to start the ethogram project. (The first six weeks, as well as the culminating project description, are presented here.) Starting in Week 7, we also conducted in-person lab activities that enhanced students’ background knowledge on animal behavior and taxonomy. All work for the ethogram project was submitted through the course learning management system.

Week 1: Science Literacy Part 1 & Evaluating Science in the News

The first week of lab class introduced students to the process of science by having them evaluate scientific news articles to prepare them for the literature review of their animal behavior project. During our synchronous meeting time, I provided a minilecture on scientific literacy, pseudoscience, and understanding logical fallacies, followed by a short quiz using an online polling system. I then assigned students into breakout groups. Each team completed the short handout for the activity “Evaluating Science in the News,” which involves using the CRAP (Currency, Reliability, Authority, and Purpose) test to evaluate a science news source.

Each team evaluated a “science” article about SARS-CoV-2 that was filled with misinformation by filling out the handout. I assigned the extended version of the “ Scientist Role Models” activity as homework because I wanted them to begin creating their science identity so that they considered themselves as scientists.

Week 2: Scientific Literacy Part 2: Reading Scientific Articles

During Week 2, we continued exploring scientific literacy to scaffold skills they learned in Week 1. The synchronous virtual meeting began with a case study activity that provided students with information about experimental design and basic data analysis. This case study also showed an animal observation study in which there is no laboratory experiment, but data were still collected based on a hypothesis.

We discussed the case study as a class, with students responding in the chat or out loud. Once we completed the case study, I created teams for another article analysis activity. We used this activity to become familiar with the structure of a scientific paper and describe what kind of information is provided in each section (abstract, introduction, methods, results, and conclusion). The activity goals were:

• Identify hypotheses in scientific writing.
• Evaluate evidence in support of a claim in scientific and journalistic writing.
• Identify appropriate search terms.
• Effectively search library databases to find relevant peer-reviewed scientific literature.
• Gain experience reviewing peer-reviewed literature.

Here are guiding questions that I asked students to keep in mind when reading a scientific article. (I also provided an optional resource article: “How to (Seriously) Read a Scientific Paper.” )

• What basic research question are the authors trying to answer?
• What makes that research question significant? (That is, why try to answer that question? Why does it matter?)
• What data did the authors collect?
• What is the authors’ interpretation of their data?
• Do you think that the data they collected supports their conclusions? Why or why not?

This activity consisted of two parts:

Part 1: I reviewed how scientists formulate a hypothesis, test it, and share their information with their peers through publication. I briefly introduced a topic using a short video. While students watched the video, I asked them to focus on how an observation, no matter how trivial, could help form a testable scientific question and emphasized that observation is the beginning of all scientific investigations.

I used a video about penguin defecation to maintain the theme of research related to animal observation. It gave students a chuckle, but is related to actual research, which they review in Part 2 of the activity.

Part 2: Students were divided into groups to read an article about penguin defecation ( Meyer-Rochow and Gal 2003 ) related to the research depicted in the video. Students were asked to work as a team to identify various components of the article, including the scientist’s hypothesis, the evidence used to accept or reject the hypothesis, and whether the hypothesis was accepted or rejected. For the activity, students chose one person from their group to be the notetaker and one person to report back to the entire class when we reconvened.

When the groups finished, we reconvened and students shared out. I recommend doing this as a group activity after they watch the video, with a follow-up discussion, because both of my sections found this particularly difficult. The article was a bit complex for them to understand, but as we talked through it, they understood the importance of becoming familiar with primary literature. I also reminded students that they were not expected to fully understand the paper.

Homework for Week 2 consisted of a similar reading assignment that related to the work they would do in Week 4 (Lizard Evolution Lab). Students watched a BioInteractive video on reproductive isolation and speciation in lizards , then read “Rapid evolution of a native species following invasion by a congener” ( Stuart et al. 2014 ).

In the directions for the article analysis, I reminded students that they were working toward a course goal of being able to understand scientific journal articles. I also allayed students’ concerns about the complexity of the article by reassuring them that I would do my best to teach them the background information needed to understand each article before we read it. I also told them to focus their attention on what they wanted to glean from the article.

Week 3: Sampling Distribution Lab

During Week 3, students were introduced to graph analysis and the concept of sample distributions using the Sampling and Normal Distribution Click & Learn and its accompanying worksheet. I converted the worksheet to a Google Form that students could easily fill out and submit online, since they would be working asynchronously. During the synchronous meeting, we did a quick recap of the article that students read for their homework from Week 2. I also showed the annotated summary of the same article entitled “There's a new kid in town” posted on Science in the Classroom .

After the article discussion, I did a minilecture on sampling distribution and how to use the Click & Learn. I then allowed students to work individually or in teams during class time. I stayed online in the virtual classroom so that students could pop in if they had questions for me. This activity proved to be difficult for some students, so I set up individual virtual meetings to go over their questions. No homework was assigned this week as they were working on the activity asynchronously.

Week 4: Lizard Evolution Lab

Week 4 included one of the favorite activities for both of my groups. Like in Week 3, I spent the synchronous meeting time showing students how to use the Lizard Evolution Virtual Lab and its accompanying worksheet. I also showed the related video The Origin of Species: Lizards in an Evolutionary Tree , which helped students understand how the data for the virtual lab were collected. I reminded them that observational skills were key to this research and that this was the research from the article they read in Week 2.

As in Week 3, I converted the worksheet questions into a Google Form. Similarly, no homework was assigned as they worked on this virtual lab asynchronously.

Week 5: Animal Behavior & Communication Part 1

Students were now ready to apply their skills. For Week 5, I used the synchronous time to go over the following topics with students via videos, a minilecture, and exemplars of previous work:

• How to keep a field journal (discussion and examples posted)
• Overview on ethograms and how they are created (videos and examples posted)
• Various types of animal behaviors that can be observed and methods of sampling animal behavior (videos)

I found several good video examples on YouTube and various examples of ethograms, which I also posted in the learning management system.

For homework, students reviewed the materials, then conducted an initial observation of an animal species of their choice. I’ve written about a similar project here: “Teaching Ecology and Animal Behavior in an Online Setting.” These observations helped them decide on the animal species they would like to study.

I also asked them to find at least two peer-reviewed articles about their animal species. I will admit that I was surprised that, at this point, students struggled with understanding what this meant. Many started off with non-peer-reviewed resources, such as encyclopedias and popular websites. I provided feedback on their resources and did not award the points for the assignment until they submitted peer-reviewed articles. In some cases, this took a virtual meeting to discuss this with students.

Week 6: Animal Behavior & Communication Part 2

For Week 6, students were introduced to a more in-depth example of animal observations so they could apply their problem-solving skills, as well as the knowledge we had learned in class thus far. This example really created a deeper understanding of the process of science once students saw how it was done.

For the synchronous class time, we used the How Animals Use Sound to Communicate Click & Learn. Students were provided with a Google Doc version of the accompanying worksheet so they could fill it in as we worked through the Click & Learn. With the class, I clicked through and discussed the “Introduction” slides to provide students with the knowledge base for the activity.

On Slides 3 and 4, students watched a video of the various animal behaviors identified and defined by the researchers. On Slide 3, I played the video and asked students to try to identify which of the auditory signals they observed the animals using. After this, we moved to Slide 4, which has the same video but highlights the auditory signals that students should have observed. This really showed that observational work, especially when there are multiple animals, is difficult.

This example connected with what students should have done during their observations the previous week. The example also assisted them in that week’s homework, which was constructing their data-collection tool. In addition, we discussed how animals use sound to communicate as we continued to watch the videos. This was much more interesting than reading about animal behavior in their textbook!

At this point, students should also have been thinking about the types of behaviors they could have been observing in Week 5. Some opted to redo their initial observation because they realized they did not adequately observe their animal. I loved that this happened because it let them experience the actual process of science in action. In other words, they realized that their original observational skills were not honed and were better able to understand the types of behaviors they should be looking for in their chosen species.

Once we finished the introduction of the Click & Learn, as a class, we worked through the first case study about how elephants communicate across long distances. This case study begins with an introduction to various types of elephant sounds and describes the combination of low- and high-frequency vocalizations used in elephant communication. This is a great thinking exercise that shows students how observational research can be used to develop a quantitative research study.

As homework for this week, students were asked to revise/develop descriptions of the behaviors they had identified. Then, they developed a definition for each behavior and created their data-collection sheet for the time-budget study.

The time-budget study was created by each student based on the list of behaviors they had generated. Once they identified the timeframe (e.g., observing animals for two 15-minute intervals twice per week at a specific time of day) for their observations, they would count how many times the animal presented with each behavior within the time they observed the animal. This is where they would use the ethogram to create a checklist used during the time-budget study observations. They were provided with a detailed instruction sheet for the entire project.

Once students submitted their data-collection table and received feedback from me (either written or via a meeting), they could start collecting data. They were required to collect data on three separate dates.

After Week 6

After working through Weeks 5 and 6, which helped students design their projects, students collected data for the rest of the semester (Weeks 7–14), with at least three separate data-collection periods required for their time-budget study. The final assessment for the course included an oral presentation of their results, as well as a written paper. I created a slide template for them and a sample of a research paper (I used a former student’s paper with permission), as many were not familiar with how to present authentic research.

After Week 6, the students met for in-person lab exercises (we were masked and in full PPE) where we practiced skills they would need to successfully complete their project. For example, they practiced behavioral observation skills via a pill-bug experiment where they made their own hypotheses and tested them.

During these final weeks, I also scheduled time to meet with students in-person to discuss issues with their projects. I tried to highlight the importance of interacting with a mentor (in this case, me) and helped them practice the skills they would use in graduate school or at work.

All but one student out of 30 successfully completed the project. The final presentations were conducted virtually. Students proudly presented their authentic research and clearly showed how they had developed their research skills with this project. I was ecstatic that students were able to accomplish so much during a global pandemic. They were able to get a feel for what it is like to work with a research mentor and develop their own research projects. I really enjoy mentoring students, and this is a perfect way to interact with them and model for them what it is to be mentored and to engage them in the process of science. Through the creation of the student-mentor bond, I was able to help them begin to see themselves as scientists. The seed for the base of their science identity was planted.

American Association for the Advancement of Science. Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action . Washington, DC: American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2011.

Asai, D. J. “Race Matters.” Cell 181, 4 (2020): 754–757. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2020.03.044 .

Branchaw, J. L., P. A. Pape-Lindstrom, K. D. Tanner, S. A. Bissonnette, T. L. Cary, B. A. Couch, A. J. Crowe, et al. “Resources for Teaching and Assessing the Vision and Change Biology Core Concepts. CBE—Life Sciences Education 19, 2 (2020): es1. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.19-11-0243 .

Meyer-Rochow, V. B., and J. Gal. “Pressures produced when penguins pooh—calculations on avian defaecation.” Polar Biology 27, 1 (2003): 56–58. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-003-0563-3 .

Stuart, Y. E., T. S. Campbell, P. A. Hohenlohe, R. G. Reynolds, L. J. Revell, and J. B. Losos. “Rapid evolution of a native species following invasion by a congener.” Science 346, 6208 (2014): 463–466. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1257008 .

Melissa Haswell is currently the Associate Dean of Science and Mathematics at Delta College in Michigan. Previously, she taught introductory biology and science ethics for a biology majors program, and anatomy and physiology, and pathophysiology for the nursing program at Davenport University, a private university in Michigan. When she’s not focused on working to improve higher education, she enjoys hiking and camping with her husband and Dalmatian, Chloe, as well as reading, cooking, and spending time with their two cats.

Related Articles

Tim Guilfoyle describes how he uses the BioInteractive short film Some Animals Are More Equal than Others and a claim-evidence-reasoning activity to have his students examine Robert Paine's starfish exclusion experiment.

Sheila Smith explains how she uses the "Creating Chains and Webs" BioInteractive activity to teach her students about the direction of energy flow in food chains and webs. She also uses the short film The Guide to introduce the topic.

Jim Clark describes how he uses the Steve Palumbi and Megan Morikawa Scientists at Work short film to demonstrate to his students that science is not always performed indoors at a lab bench.

The Best Middle School Animal Adaptations Project

Do you know what a Beargle is? Neither did I. Not until one of my students turned in this fictional creature as a project. In case you were wondering, it’s half bear, half eagle. This middle school animal adaptations project is pure magic. 

I created this out of sheer desperation, knowing I had to teach animal adaptations and having no idea what to do. It turned out to be one of my favorite things I’ve ever made. There are about a hundred different versions of this project online. The students create an animal with different adaptations, draw it, and write about it. This is that. 

Except, this is NOT that. 

Teaching 8th grade science, I knew I needed something that was going to not just be fluff. It needed to be rigorous, yet capture their imagination. 

Nailed it! 

Imagination Meets Research

My students were super interested when they heard they were going to create their own animal!

I mean, who doesn’t want to make a scorpion wolf?! Their animal had to include five structural adaptations and three behavioral adaptations that addressed specific survival needs. 

They got a planning sheet, helping them detail some of these requirements. Each student completed their own research on animal adaptations. If they wanted their animal to be an herbivore, they looked up what herbivores needed to survive. They really did a good job finding adaptations and meeting the requirements. 

After they finished their research, they named their animal and created a Google Slides presentation addressing each adaptation and it helped their animal survive. 

If you’re looking for the perfect, no prep activity to teach structural and behavioral adaptation before introducing this project, you can find one here!

Ya’ll, these projects were bomb!

I was so impressed! I did not have high expectations (and that makes me a terrible teacher). Come on. It’s a middle school animal adaptation project… it can’t be that great. 

I got a Beargle. One student made a Butterfish – half butterfly, half fish. I will never forget the sound BeeveCoon makes… because every time the student said, “ BeeeeeeveCooooon !” she would make the sound effect too. They made models out of Legos, clay, dog toys… you name it! 

Imagination Meets Rigor

The same day the slides presentation on their animal was due, they completed the second phase of the project, answering the question, “Can my animal can survive in a mystery environment?” Based on the adaptations they gave their animal, would it survive in the rainforest, the taiga, or the desert? However, they didn’t have the locations until the last day of the project.

After some quick research, they made a claim – their animal could or could not survive in that environment. They completed two prompts using their animal’s adaptations as evidence to explain their reasoning.

Their responses were impressive! I read well thought out, clear, and accurate arguments. They told me exactly what adaptations allowed their animal to live there. Definitely a winning moment for me!

Show It Off

Once I realized HOW COOL these turned out, I knew we had to display them. We added their presentations to a QR code and put them in the display case in the hallway. I wish I had taken a picture, because they looked SO AWESOME. Parents came through at conferences and could scan the QR code to look at the presentations. 

Finally, here’s my last favorite part of my project. It takes about a week of class time to complete. I’m all about having kids work instead of talking at them.

I’m serious. This middle school animal animal adaptations project is a MUST HAVE if you teach life science. Imagination meets rigor . That’s the only way to do it. Grab your copy of this project here!

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Check out our FREE  sight word worksheets   – we have over 150 in our database!

Sight Words, Reading, Writing, Spelling & Worksheets

Everything you need to know about sight words. We also provide articles and worksheets for parents and teachers to provide assistance with spelling, writing and reading.

Animal Research Project: Writing an Animal Research Paper

Resources to Research Animals

Use library books, encyclopedias and magazines to research your animal. In addition, there are numerous online resources. Our school provided a list of three online resources (noted by *). Since these resources require a membership, we provided a few more online sites to assist in researching an animal.

Online Resources for Animal Research Paper

Each student selects an animal of her choice and should take good notes when collecting facts and important details about her animal. Good note taking will greatly assist a student when writing his animal research paper. You may want to remind each student to use his own words.

Writing Prompts for Animal Research Paper

After a student selects her animal, she must answer the questions below. It is important to instruct your child or student to take her time and answer each question thoroughly. These answers will be used to create the animal research paper.

After a student completes the above questions, it’s time to begin writing the first draft of the research paper. Take the information obtained above and put it on paper.

Each answer to the questions above should be a paragraph with the exception of the interesting facts question. The two facts should get put into the paragraph that is most applicable, e.g., habitat, physical description or life span.

If you are a teacher, consider visiting our writing rubric page for different templates used to grade writing papers.

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April 24, 2018 at 5:19 pm

Thanks very much, perfect for 3rd grade!

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Free Animal Report Printables and Notebooking Pages

Published: June 8, 2018

Contributor: Sarah Shelton

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning if you decide to make a purchase via my links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. See my disclosure for more info.

Do you  have a child that loves learning about animals but may struggle with writing? If so, then having them write a report on their favorite animal may be a great way to get them out of their writing funk and help them to get excited about writing. These free animal report templates and printables can help them organize their thoughts for a fun writing assignment.

Get Kids Excited to Learn About Animals

I have two daughters that are struggling learners. They are also amazing animal lovers and will soak up all of the information and facts on animals that they can. 

My favorite part of homeschooling is how we can tailor our learning experiences to our children’s interests and to things that are important to them. If you have an animal lover that struggles with reading and writing, try having them do some research and write a report about their favorite animal.

Writing an Animal Report

You may find that children get excited about what they are learning and want to share it in their report. When working on their report, they won’t even realize that they are doing “school” and that real learning is getting done! This is a great alternative to a textbook and works wonderfully for struggling learners that don’t like feeling “pushed”. 

What to Include in an Animal Report

Of course your student will cover the basics about each individual animal in his report, but here’s an idea of some of the topics your child can write about:

• Geography – where is the animal found in the world?
• Habitat – what is the habitat like for your animal?
• Lifespan – what is the animal’s lifespan?
• Lifecycle – what does the lifecycle look like for the animal?
• Animal Kingdom – where in the animal kingdom is your topic animal?
• Diet – what does your animal eat?
• Appearance – what does your animal look like?
• Food chain – where does the animal fit on the food chain?
• Animal tracks – what does the animals tracks look like? You can grab our free unit study on identifying animal tracks to learn more and incorporate into your report. 

Those are just some basic ideas – you can really take it however far you’d like when writing a report about animals. 

Observing Live Animals

Obviously you are not likely able to travel the world viewing animals live in their habitats, but that doesn’t mean you have to miss out! Watching animals via live animal cams is a fun way to get a glimpse into every day life for animals. 

Free Animal Report Templates and Notebooking Pages

I have compiled a list of some great free animal reports and notebooking pages that you can use without a curriculum, and for extra learning fun:

Animal Report Forms

Animal Report Form – This is a great form if your student wants to outline facts on zoo animals.

Rainforest Animal Research Report Form  – If you are researching animals specific to the rainforest, then this free printable animal report is perfect for your early elementary or beginning writer as it uses primary lines. 

Ocean Animal Mini Reports – Studying the animals of the ocean? These ocean animals report pages would be a perfect companion to your study of the ocean .

Animal Report Pages

Animal Report Writing Printable and Rubric – I like that this printable animal report also contains a rubric so that you can determine if your child put enough effort into their animal research project.

Animal Research Booklet – This 9-page animal report printable pack has blank templates that you can make your own.

Printable Animal Report Page – This animal report sheet has some decorative boxes and lines and a world map.

Animal Report Outlines

Animal Report Outline for Grades 3 – 5 – This freebie contains cute card prompts that will assist your elementary students in outlining their animal facts into categories.

Animal Report Printable – These free animal report pages are my favorite. I think even a middle school student could have fun researching a particular animal and then writing a paper using these sheets.

Animal Research for Kids with Zoey and Sassafrass Printable – Do your kids enjoy reading the Zoey and Sassafras series? If so, these animal research pages printable will be sure to delight them to no end. 

Animal Report Worksheets

Zoo Field trip Worksheets – Going on a field trip to the zoo? Take along these free zoo field trip worksheets so your kids can report on the animals they saw and learned about.

Animal Report Worksheet with Geography Map – This free animal report worksheet is simple. but contains all the spaces for the animal facts that your kids gather. 

ABC Animal Report 26 Printables – Young children can practice the alphabet and learn about animals at the same time with this freebie. 

Animal Research Websites

Kids National Geographic: Animals – is a great animal research site. You can quickly search for animals by type and there are facts and amazing photographs and videos.  San Diego Zoo Kids has amazing photos and easy to read simple facts on the different animals. Science Kids Animal Facts has simple animal facts for each animal as well as fun facts.

Animal Fact Guide has photos of each animal that you click on. It will give you very detailed facts of the animal and it’s scientific name, as well as geographical location, and conservation status.

More Free Animal Printables and Downloads

Animal Behavior Copywork Pack – Discover some terminology related to how animals act and behave in the wild. 

Animal Families Notebook Journal – Learn more about animal families using this printable research journal. This set of animal family worksheets would make a great addition to your report.

Animal Parts Vocabulary Copywork – Help your kids learn the meanings of 25 animal-related words with this Free Animal Parts Vocabulary Copywork.

Animals Science Notebook Journals   – Check out our free series of research notebooks on various animals and habitats.

Curriculum & Unit Studies About Animals

Discovering Plants and Animals Volume One: Africa and Asia –  Your elementary and middle school students can have fun learning about some of the many animals and plants that live in more than 100 countries with  Discovering Plants and Animals of the World, Volume One . It’s  perfect for students in 3th-6th grade , but it can easily be adapted for younger or older students.

Migration – Explore the Amazing Journeys of Animals –  This unit study   is a fun way to introduce your kids to migration and help them discover how 18 different animals migrate. It’s perfect for students in 4 th -8 th  grade, but it can easily be adapted for younger or older students.

From birds to mammals, insects to reptiles, your students will learn about pilchards, penguins, wildebeests, butterflies, and much more.

Sarah Shelton

Sarah is a wife, daughter of the King and Mama to 4 children (two homeschool graduates) She is a an eclectic, Charlotte Mason style homeschooler that has been homeschooling for over 20 years.. She is still trying to find the balance between work and keeping a home and gardens. She can only do it by the Grace of God, coffee and green juice

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Investigating Animals: Using Nonfiction for Inquiry-based Research

• Resources & Preparation
• Instructional Plan
• Related Resources

Young children are fascinated with the world around them, showing intense interest and curiosity about animals and their lives. Through the use of nonfiction, students can be encouraged and challenged to learn more about favorite animals and to document their findings with graphic organizers. Students begin their inquiry by comparing fiction and nonfiction books about animals, using a Venn diagram. They list things they want to know about animals on a chart. As a class, students vote on an animal to research. They revise their question list, and then research the animal using prompts from an online graphic organizer. After several sessions of research, students revisit their original questions and evaluate the information they have gathered. Finally, students revise and edit their work and prepare to present their findings to an authentic audience.

Featured Resources

Animal Inquiry Interactive: Students can use this online to tool to help them focus and organize their research about animals.

From Theory to Practice

This lesson focuses on teaching primary students doing research with nonfiction, informational material how to document their discoveries. In her Planning for Inquiry: It's Not an Oxymoron! , Diane Parker poses a series of questions that make inquiry-based learning seem essential for elementary grade students: "Do we want them simply to memorize facts and procedures in order to pass a test? Or do we want them to want to know, to seek to know, and ultimately, to understand themselves and their world more deeply as a result of their knowing?" (5). Certainly our youngest students deserve the kinds of richly engaging learning experiences that well-designed inquiry instruction can bring them. Further Reading

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

• 1. Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
• 3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
• 4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
• 7. Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and nonprint texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.
• 12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

Materials and Technology

• Access to the Internet
• LCD Projector for full-class use of online Interactives
• Quality nonfiction, informational picture books and videos
• Chart tablets, journals, markers, and other writing materials

Preparation

• Bookmark the Websites about animals from the Resources section as well as any other sites of your choosing.
• Assemble supplies listed above. Ask your school librarian for help gathering books and videos. The Nature Series videos such as “A First Look” distributed by Diamond Entertainment Corporation and the National Geographic Kids videos series are good options.
• Prepare a chart with the heading: “What We Wonder about Animals.” Students will later add headings and supporting questions to define the scope of their research.
• Choose an audience so that the students have a clear idea of exactly who they will be sharing their findings with. Examples might include visitors to a science fair, family members at an open house, and another class of grade-level students. Good writing comes when children research and write on a topic they care about for an authentic and interested audience with whom they want to share their findings.
• Arrange for adult volunteers to serve as scribes or keyboardists as needed.
• Because the Animal Inquiry student interactive will not allow students to save work, for the research phase of the project, print out blank forms from the interactive. Click the Print tab on the opening page and choose the pages you want to print. You can also record these headings and supporting questions on your “What We Wonder about Animals” chart. This will be the basis for the graphic organizers students will create using the interactive to document the findings of their research.
• For a few days before beginning the inquiry lesson, give students an opportunity to experience a variety of informational texts through a genre study of nonfiction by exploring nonfiction, informational texts about animals during read alouds, shared reading, guided reading, and independent reading during reading workshop.
• Test the Animal Inquiry student interactive on your computers to familiarize yourself with the tool and ensure that you have the Flash plug-in installed. You can download the plug-in from the technical support page.

Student Objectives

Students will

• identify the characteristics of nonfiction texts.
• pose questions.
• participate in research.
• document and record discoveries.
• share their findings.

Session 1: Introducing the Genre and Beginnings of Inquiry

• Share a fiction book about animals, such as The Three Bears or The Three Little Pigs , with the class .
• Ask students to compare and contrast this type of fictional book about animals with the nonfiction books from recent reading workshop sessions. Have some nonfiction books on hand for prompting or verifying student responses with concrete examples.
• True versus make-believe
• Facts versus fiction (stories)
• Photographs and sketches versus drawings, collage, and paintings
• Working as a whole group, decide on the questions students want to explore to learn more about real animals. At this point, the questions need to be general, not specific to any one animal.
• Record students’ questions on the chart, under the “What We Wonder about Animals” heading. Usually questions will include questions about what an animal looks like, how it moves and acts, what it eats, where it lives, what its babies are like, etc.

Session 2: Defining the Scope of the Investigation

• Workings as a whole-class, choose an animal to study. Encourage the students to think of animals that they would really like to know more about and have them discuss various animals they might choose.
• Record the list as students brainstorm animals which they have a sincere interest in investigating.
• Give students small pieces of paper and have them sketch or write about the animal they would choose to investigate.
• Make a graph of the votes, and select the animal with the most votes as that which the class will investigate together.
• Review the “What We Wonder about Animals” questions generated during the previous session.
• Ask students if there are any questions they want to add now that they have selected a specific animal, or any questions that they want to eliminate or change. Revise the list according to their responses.
• On an Internet-connected computer with an LCD projector, lead students through a demonstration of the Animal Inquiry student interactive .
• Use the prompts built into the interactive to organize and refine the questions from the “What We Wonder about Animals” chart.
• Be sure students understand how the interactive works since they will be using it during a future session.

Sessions 3–5: Participating in Research

• With students, begin to sort through the books, Websites, and other materials you have collected, and choose those that contain information about your chosen animal.
• If desired, take a trip to the library to collect more information about the animal, introducing students to the process of collecting quality sources. Consult ReadWriteThink Lesson Research Building Blocks: Hints about Print for support in working with students on issues such as these.
• From the very beginning of the research process, emphasize the importance of audience so students have a clear picture of who their audience will be. If several classes are doing animal investigations, it is fun to share the results and be one another’s audiences.
• Help your students understand the needs and interests of their audience, thinking of ways they can choose to present their findings effectively. See ReadWriteThink lesson Teaching Audience Through Interactive Writing for support in teaching students about audience.
• Different groups of readers can explore various texts in guided reading or during paired or individual reading time.
• Help students record information that they find in the appropriate boxes on previously printed-out blank sheets from the Animal Inquiry student interactive. An adult volunteer can help with this process as well.
• As you share the nonfiction, informational texts you have collected, have students record their discoveries. Record from these readings and from students’ other research on their sheets.
• Explore appropriate videos and Websites and record this information as well.
• During the fourth session, have students look at what they have recorded and assess their progress so far.
• What information still needs to be collected?
• Are any boxes still empty?
• Is this information you want to keep hunting for or is this something you are no longer interested in or want to include on your chart?
• What information is interesting, but doesn’t really fit in any boxes?
• Did you find any information that contradicted information you had already recorded?
• How could you find out which is correct?
• The focus of an investigation can change during the course of research. You may find out things that you didn’t even know about and decide to add new questions that you want to explore.
• You can eliminate questions that aren’t interesting or challenging.
• Sometimes you can’t find the information you are looking for with the sources that you have. You might leave those questions for a later time or you might have to find other sources.
• Sources are not equally reliable. Some may give less than accurate information. You need to see what several good sources say and record details that most sources agree upon as the answer to a question.
• Using their observations to shape the direction of their research, have students decide what still needs to be done, and allow time and support to complete their interactives.
• Use adult volunteers to help students type in their findings using the Animal Inquiry student interactive.
• Encourage students to discuss their findings and report what they have learned through their research.

Session 6: Sharing the Findings

• Ask students how they want their information to look in its final form. Since students will be sharing what they learned with their chosen audience, they need to decide how to revise and edit so that the information can be shared effectively with their audience.
• Display large sheets of chart paper with labeled headings and captions reflecting the graphic organizers filled in with the results of the research. Individual students can use their smaller copies from the interactive for their personal journals and then can illustrate and write about a favorite fact that they learned about their animal. Other options might include art created by the students about the animal that would also be displayed. Adult volunteers can help students copy their writing to the larger charts.
• Have students divide up the information to present orally to their audience, present in small groups, or come up with other ways to share the results of their research.
• Once students have experienced a whole-group investigation of a favorite animal, match each student to a fourth or fifth grade buddy and let each pair research an animal of their choice using the same process. Ensure that the older buddies understand the process your class has used in the whole-group investigation. Provide each pair with the graphic organizers complete with headings and captions that your kindergarten students developed, so everyone understands what is to be researched and how the information will be recorded. Make sure that the pairs have a clear sense of the audience with whom they will be sharing their findings. Older students will be able to identify the steps of the writing process being used and may compare this with their own research writing. Book Buddy Biographies is a similar lesson, pairing students to investigate each other’s backgrounds.
• Three other examples of writing reports can be found in the ReadWriteThink lesson Writing Reports in Kindergarten? Yes!
• Older students can extend the animal study to mathematics with the ReadWriteThink lesson plan Bridging Literature and Mathematics by Visualizing Mathematical Concepts , which uses picture books to talk about size and ratio.

Student Assessment / Reflections

• Encourage students to assess their the processes and evaluate their work on an ongoing basis. Urge them to decide what is going well and what needs further attention.
• At the end of each day, encourage students to reflect on what they learned and accomplished, and to share those thoughts either orally or in their reflection journals.
• Use mini-conferences as you move around the room during independent reading to talk with individuals or pairs as they explore nonfiction texts. Encourage them to share what they found exciting or interesting.
• posing questions
• participating in research
• documenting and recording discoveries
• sharing their findings
• the animal inquiry graphic organizer
• the journals
• the writing
• identifying nonfiction by its characteristics
• using nonfiction to learn about a topic
• using graphic organizers to record and share their findings
• effectively sharing their findings with an audience

This reflection can easily be done as a celebration as students and teacher share what they noticed, felt, discovered, and learned during this lesson, reflecting on what they accomplished and shared. This is a time to CELEBRATE the learning!

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This interactive tool allows students to create Venn diagrams that contain two or three overlapping circles, enabling them to organize their information logically.

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The Animal Kingdom Activities

Animal life cycles.

The video and quiz will teach students all about animal life cycles!

• From studyjams.scholastic.com
• Added January 27, 2016
• Tags research discovery

Adaptations

The video will teach students how animals adapt in their various ecosystems! 

Invertebrates

This activity will teach students key concepts about invertebrates. 

Vertebrates

The activity will teach students all about vertebrates in the animal kingdom! 

The activities will help teach high school students the concept of evolution! 

• From serendip.brynmawr.edu
• Added September 24, 2015

This activity focuses on teaching students a lesson about taxonomy. Students will learn about the different specifications and classifications! 

• From biologycorner.com
• Added September 11, 2015

Teach Your Fish to Walk

Through this activity students will be able to recreate an evolutionary milestone in their own room! This activity will teach them about evolution and fossils!

• From popsci.com
• Added March 25, 2015
• Tags Under the Sea discovery

Check out this enchanting world of animals! Create your own personalized animal character and explore what this fascinating world has to offer!

• From animaljam.com
• Added March 22, 2013
• Tags behavior exploration discovery

North American Forest Animals: What kind of animal is this?

Check out all the different types of animals that inhabit the North American forests! Can you put them in the right category? Play this game now to find out!

• From sheppardsoftware.com
• Tags North America Forest

African River Animals

Play this game to place each of these different African River animals in their right category!

• Tags Africa

Backyard Animals

Do you know which animals belong in which category! Play this game to test your animal categorization skills!

Decomposers

Find out which kinds of animals are decomposers and how they help out our environment!

• Tags environment

Carnivores, Herbivore, and Omnivores

Some animals eat only plants, some eat only other animals, and some eat both! Find out how to distinguish between these three groups of animals!

• Tags predator prey

Animal Jigsaw Puzzle

Do you which animals are endangered? Find out by doing these cool jigsaw puzzles!

• Tags endangered

What is a food chain? A food chain is a sequence of who eats whom in a given community along with all of the producers and decomposers! Find out more about what a food chain is!

• Tags environment habitat

Endangered Animals Activity

Do you know what endangered species of animals are? Find out from this activity which animals has been listed as endangered species from all over the world and what you can do to help!

Reptiles Crossword Puzzle

What season are reptile offspring usually born? What do reptiles use to smell? Give up? Do this cool reptile crossword puzzle to find out more and expand your knowledge about reptiles!

• From whenwecrosswords.com
• Tags discovery

Did you know that the ostrich is the tallest and heaviest of all birds? Learn more fun facts about the ostrich and watch it in action! Then, you can show off this amazing bird to your…

• From kids.nationalgeographic.com

Indian Peafowl

View amazing pictures of the peafowl, watch these animals in action, and make e-cards for your friends!

• Tags behavior

Snowy Plovers

iew interesting facts about these small shorebirds, make e-cards for friends, and learn where they live!

View interesting facts on flamingos, create e-cards, and learn where these amazing creatures live!

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Russia, the largest country in the world, occupies one-tenth of all the land on Earth.

Russia, the largest country in the world, occupies one-tenth of all the land on Earth . It spans 11 time zones across two continents (Europe and Asia) and has coasts on three oceans (the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic).

The Russian landscape varies from desert to frozen coastline, tall mountains to giant marshes. Much of Russia is made up of rolling, treeless plains called steppes. Siberia, which occupies three-quarters of Russia, is dominated by sprawling pine forests called taigas.

Russia has about 100,000 rivers, including some of the longest and most powerful in the world. It also has many lakes, including Europe's two largest: Ladoga and Onega. Lake Baikal in Siberia contains more water than any other lake on Earth.

PEOPLE & CULTURE

There are about 120 ethnic groups in Russia who speak more than a hundred languages. Roughly 80 percent of Russians trace their ancestry to the Slavs who settled in the country 1,500 years ago. Other major groups include Tatars, who came with the Mongol invaders, and Ukrainians.

Russia is known all over the world for its thinkers and artists, including writers like Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoevsky, composers such as Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and ballet dancers including Rudolf Nureyev.

As big as Russia is, it's no surprise that it is home to a large number of ecosystems and species. Its forests, steppes, and tundras provide habitat for many rare animals, including Asiatic black bears, snow leopards , polar bears , and small, rabbit-like mammals called pikas.

Russia's first national parks were set up in the 19th century, but decades of unregulated pollution have taken a toll on many of the country's wild places. Currently, about one percent of Russia's land area is protected in preserves, known as zapovedniks.

Russia's most famous animal species is the Siberian tiger , the largest cat in the world. Indigenous to the forests of eastern Russia, these endangered giants can be 10 feet (3 meters) long, not including their tail, and weigh up to 600 pounds (300 kilograms).

GOVERNMENT & ECONOMY

Russia's history as a democracy is short. The country's first election, in 1917, was quickly reversed by the Bolsheviks, and it wasn't until the 1991 election of Boris Yeltsin that democracy took hold.

Russia is a federation of 86 republics, provinces, territories, and districts, all controlled by the government in Moscow. The head of state is a president elected by the people. The economy is based on a vast supply of natural resources, including oil, coal, iron ore, gold, and aluminum.

The earliest human settlements in Russia arrived around A.D. 500, as Scandinavians (what is now Norway , Denmark , and Sweden ) moved south to areas around the upper Volga River. These settlers mixed with Slavs from the west and built a fortress that would eventually become the Ukrainian city of Kiev.

Kiev evolved into an empire that ruled most of European Russia for 200 years, then broke up into Ukraine , Belarus, and Muscovy. Muscovy's capital, Moscow, remained a small trading post until the 13th century, when Mongol invaders from central Asia drove people to settle in Moscow.

In the 1550s, Muscovite ruler Ivan IV became Russia's first tsar, or emperor, after driving the Mongols out of Kiev and unifying the region. In 1682, 10-year-old Peter the Great and his older brother, Ivan, both became tsar (though Peter’s aunt and Ivan’s mother, Sophia, was in charge). Soon after, Sophia was overthrown, and Peter was considered by most to be the real tsar, though he allowed his brother to keep his official position. For 42 years, Peter worked to make Russia more modern and more European.

In 1762, Peter took a trip to Germany , and his wife, Catherine, named herself the sole ruler of Russia. Just six months later the tsar died—perhaps on his wife’s orders. Now known as Catherine the Great, the empress continued to modernize Russia; supported arts and culture; and expanded its territory, claiming Ukraine, Crimea, Poland, and other places. She ruled for 34 years.

In 1917, Russians unhappy with their leadership overthrew Tsar Nicholas II and formed an elected government. Just a few months later, though, a communist group called the Bolsheviks seized power. Their leader, Vladimir Lenin, created the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R., or the Soviet Union) uniting Russia and 11 other countries.

The Soviet Union fought on the side of the United States in World War II, but relations between the two powers and their allies became strained soon after the war ended in 1945. The United States and many of its allies were worried about the spread of communism, the type of government the Soviet Union was. (In a communist society, all property is public and people share the wealth that they create.)

These concerns led to the Cold War, a long period of tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States. That ended in 1991 when the Soviet Union broke up after many of its republics—such as Ukraine, Lithuania, and Estonia—decided they didn’t want to be part of the communist country anymore.

Watch "Destination World"

North america, south america, more to explore, u.s. states and territories facts and photos, destination world.

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Annual Middle School Science Knight Explores Compelling Research Topics

Every year, eighth-graders embark on a long research project that culminates in a night of presentations to the community. This year many were inspired by what Ilsa Schrag ’28 described as “topics that have a big influence on our lives.” From the smallpox vaccine and the science behind hair to self-driving cars and space colonization, students delved into projects that affect their everyday lives and could affect their lives in the future. 

These impressive poster boards and demonstrations didn’t come to fruition overnight. Throughout April and the end of March, students hunkered down in the Library Learning Center (LLC) during their E block to collaborate with their peers and build their final product. Students pushed themselves to do their best work, knowing they’d get to share their findings with their parents and the wider BB&N community. 

One compelling project spearheaded by Aiden Ashaye ’28 and Kevin Pineda ’28 investigated what color blindness is and how it affects humans. When asked why they chose this specific topic, both Aiden and Kevin cited wearing glasses as the main inspiration, as they have “difficulty perceiving what other people naturally can.” At their booth, they encouraged visitors to take their color blindness test and showed off the glasses they invented that can show a person how a red/green and blue/yellow color-blind person sees the world. 

Another presentation by Liya Tilahun ’28 and Julian Foster ’28 focused on hair growth in straight versus curly hair. Sparked by their culture and identity, Julian noted that he was “curious about why there are different hair types.” Liya noted that it was surprising that different types of hair follicles influence the growth of the strands of hair, thus creating the wide range of styles found in humans. 

Launching a research project can be daunting but with the proper guidance and hard work, the eighth-graders completed another massive step on their BB&N journey.

Related News

Middle School Drama Festival Entry Wins Gold and Individual Accolades

Third-Grade Students Engage in Disability Education

Bionutrient Researcher Visits Sparks Street

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Moscow Lexical Typology group

Seminar seminars of the student research group “typological studies in lexicon”.

In 2014-2016 seminars of the Student Research Group “Typological Studies in Lexicon” were held every fortnight in the School of Linguistics, NRU Higher School of Economics.

In 2014, the group investigated animal sounds in lexical typological perspective. Students presented analyses of this semantic field in different languages. As a result, a database containig the data of 20 languages was created and a collection of papers with detailed descriptions of the semantic systems in question was published.

In 2015, the focus of the research shifted to the zone of falling. Fundamental components of this field were discoverd: (1) object of falling, (2) starting point of falling, (3) end point of falling. These components served as the basis for the semantic map, which summarized similarities and differences in the organization of this field in languages of the world. A database visualizing connections between frames of falling in different languages was created and published on-line .

Politics latest: Starmer interrupted as he outlines 'first steps' of Labour government

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has outlined the "first steps" his government would take should he become prime minister. Meanwhile, the current PM, Rishi Sunak, has received the backing of one of his predecessors - and been taking questions on Loose Women.

Thursday 16 May 2024 20:35, UK

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Today's headlines

• PM asked why he 'hates pensioners'
• Sunak 'can still win election', insists predecessor
• Starmer defends scrapping leadership ambitions
• Explained: Labour's six new pledges for government
• Nick Martin: Why Labour seems reluctant to promise too much
• Live reporting by Faith Ridler and (earlier)  Ben Bloch   and Faye Brown

The best of Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge

• Monday:  Govt dare not sweep absolute scandal under carpet
• Tuesday: Peace breaks out between Labour and unions - for now
• Wednesday: 'Austerity's children': Destitution 'at levels unseen for years'
• Thursday: 'Friendly little thing': Starmer interrupted by fly

Lord Blunkett, the former cabinet  minister and Labour peer, has said his party's six new pledges are "a way of getting attention" - but there is more to come.

He told Sky News: "We're in a terrible mess, aren't we, so over ambition would be ridiculed. 

"Let's be clear these offers - they're called doorstep offers - is just what it is. It's a way of getting attention.

"It's like a small checklist - it is by no means a policy offer because there is so much more Labour is actually going to be putting forward in the general election.

"There are no golden or silver bullets in the present climate.

"And if the Labour party came in, promising to the electorate that they could wave a magic wand and tomorrow all the things that have gone wrong have gone right, then nobody would believe us."

Rishi Sunak said he will "of course" stay on as an MP if he loses the next general election.

The prime minister said his North Yorkshire constituency is "wonderful" and he will remain in parliament whatever the outcome when the country goes to the polls.

There has been speculation that Mr Sunak, who previously worked at a hedge fund in California, could be eyeing a job in Silicon Valley as the Tories struggle to make up ground against Labour.

But asked on ITV's Loose Women whether he would stay on the backbenches if his party loses, the MP for Richmond (Yorks) said: "Of course I'm staying. I love being an MP. I love my constituents, I love my home in North Yorkshire."

You can read more from Sky News here:

Sir Keir Starmer's slick campaign launch this morning did feature one notable interruption - a fly.

Buzzing around the Labour leader as he delivered his speech, it distracted him just as he was in full flow.

"Friendly little thing," he said, as he swatted it away.

It's certainly not the first time a fly has made its presence felt in British politics - and how could we at Sky News forget this one very famous viral moment…

That's it for tonight's coverage of Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge - stay with us through the evening for more updates and analysis from Westminster.

Steve Reed , the shadow environment secretary, is now asked specifically about Sir Keir Starmer's six pledges - and one notable absence.

Sophy Ridge points out that defence wasn't on the Labour leader's list, despite him saying defence and security would be a top priority.

"This isn't supposed to be a manifesto," Mr Reed says. 

"I think when we're nearer the election we will publish the full manifesto that will cover all of those other areas."

But was the MP disappointed that his own brief - the environment - was not mentioned either?

"This isn't supposed to cover everything," he says. "And those pledges, those commitments remain."

'Every commitment is deliverable'

He adds: "In British politics right now, there are two things that are missing: money and trust. 

"Every one of these commitments is fully funded so we can say how we're going to pay for it. But every one of them is deliverable as well."

The first steps will help towards a "much bigger dynamic of change", the shadow minister says, but first a Labour government would have to "restore trust".

"That means levelling with the British public," he says.

Next up with Sophy Ridge is Steve Reed , the shadow environment secretary.

She asks about Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer's speech today, in which he made six major pledges for a prospective Labour government.

Mr Reed says the country is "crying out for change".

"We saw it in the local election results the other week," he adds. 

"Keir Starmer has changed the Labour Party out of all recognition and from the party that voters rejected back in 2019, he's put it back on the side of working people. 

"Today was about showing the public the first steps that Labour will take in government towards that much bigger change that we know that the country is looking for. 

"They want to get their future back."

Is 'stability' change?

Sophy says this repeated reference to "change", and Sir Keir's assurance that "stability is change", could be somewhat Orwellian, a reference to the dystopian novel 1984.

Is stability change?

"Since 2016, we've had five prime ministers, seven chancellors," the Labour frontbencher says.

"Liz Truss crashed the economy and sent mortgages spiralling, prices in the shops shooting up. 

"They've wrecked people's faith in politics and their belief that this country can have a better future."

Away from UK politics, it's been another day of box office testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial.

Michael Cohen, the ex-lawyer who paid hush money to the porn star Stormy Daniels for Mr Trump, has returned to court in New York to continue testifying against his old boss.

The jury has today been played a podcast clip in which Mr Cohen said "revenge is a dish best served cold".

You can keep up with the latest from the New York courtroom in our dedicated live blog:

Sophy is joined by her panel - Tom Baldwin , the author of Keir Starmer: The Biography, and broadcaster Daisy McAndrew .

On the topic of the Labour leader's speech - and the abandoned leadership pledges - Tom agrees with Sir Keir that "circumstances have changed".

"In some cases he's changed," he says. "He's adapted to an environment.

"But the Conservative Party would like nothing more than Keir Starmer still to be pledging those pledges he had at the leadership election.

"They'd love nothing more than to still have £28bn attached to him - that's why they talked about it all the time."

So why has Sir Keir changed?

Tom says: "It's a bit like if you're a dad and I promised my family the holiday of a lifetime, and then I lose my job, and I find dry rot in the basement, and my car needs replacing.

"Now, in those circumstances, I could say to my family 'we're going ahead with the holiday even if it ruins us', or I could say 'we can't afford it any more'."

He says these changes are just Sir Keir "being honest".

Next up with Sophy Ridge is the Conservative party chair, Richard Holden .

Asked what he makes of Sir Keir Starmer's pledges today, Mr Holden says: "We know he changes his mind constantly on the policies he's talking about.

"I think there's a lot of wool there in what he's talking about."

Mr Holden notes that Sir Keir made a number of pledges when running for Labour leader, and backed Jeremy Corbyn twice.

"It doesn't seem very clear to me at all," he says.

"When you look at the delivery, it's chalk and cheese between what we are doing in England and what the Welsh Labour government have been doing in Wales."

Labour 'does opposite of what they say'

Sophy notes Sir Keir has not broken promises made, whereas a number of pledges from Rishi Sunak have failed on delivery.

Mr Holden circles back, saying the Labour leader has "already reversed on 70 positions... he took since becoming Labour leader".

He also claims that, when Labour is in power, as it is in London and in Wales, they do the "total opposite of what they say".

Challenged on Conservative delivery, the Tory party chair points to falling inflation, which was one of Mr Sunak's key pledges last year.

"At the same time, I want to cut taxes for working people," he says.

"We want to go further, but we've been very clear, we won't say when until the finances are there."

Sophy Ridge is now joined by our political editor Beth Rigby , who spoke to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer after his "first steps" speech today.

She says his speech felt like a "general election launch".

And while Labour "didn't want to call it a pledge card", Beth says it certainly felt like one coined by Tony Blair in the 90s.

But there were "far fewer specifics" on Sir Keir's than there were when Mr Blair presented one back in 1997, when he promised things like class sizes under 30 and not increasing income tax.

"I think there are two issues coming out of this," says Beth.

"One, this message of change, it was the watch word in every thing he did. But actually when you drill into it, what he's actually saying is 'I don't know how much change I can commit to'.

"He doesn't want to make promises."

She adds that with Sir Keir, there will be questions about trust.

Of 10 pledges he made when he ran for Labour leader, Beth notes that most of them "have been junked".

As Sophy referenced in the previous post, we start tonight's programme with Sir Keir Starmer's six promises to "change Britain" should Labour form the next government.

The leader was speaking at a major pre-election party event in Essex, setting out the "first steps" of a Labour government before the public heads to the polls later this year.

The pledges are to:

- Deliver economic stability - Cut NHS waiting lists - Crack down on anti-social behaviour - Recruit 6,500 new teachers - Launch a new border security command - Set up publicly-owned Great British Energy

You can read more about his vision for the country in our full report from political reporter Jennifer Scott :

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