Students will choose an animal and study how it adapts to its surroundings in a dry (desert) world. Then they will create a mural, each including their own animal in this unique environment. This lesson will help sustain attention and establish the relevancy of the content for students.

LIBRARY MEDIA SKILLS OBJECTIVES:

The students will:

• Listen to I see a kookaburra! : discovering animal habitats around the world / Jenkins, Steve (2005) and examine the illustrations
  
• Locate appropriate non-fiction reference books about their animal
  
• Ask questions about how the animals “adapt” to living in this environment
  
• Work independently or in pairs to search for facts using Searchasaurus NOVEL database to find periodicals on animals that live in desert environments

 

LIBRARY MEDIA SKILLS OBJECTIVES

The students will:

• Listen to I see a kookaburra! : discovering animal habitats around the world / Jenkins, Steve (2005) and examine the illustrations
  
• Locate appropriate non-fiction reference books about their animal Ask questions about how the animals “adapt” to living in this environment
  
• Work independently or in pairs to search for facts using Searchasaurus NOVEL database to find periodicals on animals that live in desert environments
  
• Type five facts about a particular animal on a computer and print the fact for illustrating Draw their animal in the desert environment
  
• Share animal facts with other students and show an illustration of their particular desert animal
  
• Sketch and plan the mural on paper and later on a large banner-type mural (brown paper)
  

 

CURRICULUM OBJECTIVES

The students will:

• Identify the ways animals adapt themselves to survive in nature
  
• Fill out an information card about a particular animal Write a poem in a cinquain format to explain how an animal lives in the desert
  
• Use art media and concepts to design and create a composite mural to include their animal in the appropriate background
  
• Identify habits of animals that adapt to life in a dry natural environment

 

MOTIVATIONAL OBJECTIVES:

The student will:

• Become interested in the research process.
  
• Understand the importance of information skills.
  
• Experience increased confidence in research ability Understand the value of information skills.
  
• Achieve satisfaction in research accomplishments.

Materials:

Assorted Reference (non-fiction) books

Database Fact Finding worksheet

Photograph of Utah Desert

Information Fact Card

Cinquain Poem Format

Computer, paper, pencils, pens, paints, brown poster paper

INSTRUCTIONAL ROLES

• The library media specialist and classroom teachers will work cooperatively to develop a schedule of activities.

 

ACTIVITIES AND PROCEDURES FOR COMPLETION

• The library media specialist will display various resources: National Geographic and other magazines, assorted reference (non-fiction) books.
• The library media specialist will place a globe, maps, and paper for easy access in the library media center. The library media specialist will check to see that the computer is ready to use. The library media specialist will show everyone (on the screen) the photo of the Utah desert. S/he will engage them in a discussion about the picture and how it would feel to be there:  “Who lives there?” “How do they live there?” Then s/he will read aloud I see a kookaburra! : discovering animal habitats around the world / Jenkins, Steve (2005) and examine the illustrations.
• The teacher (and the library media specialist) will introduce the definition of 'habitat' and ‘adaptation’ – possibly with the aid of the science curriculum. The students will go look at various reference materials in the Media Center and then go online searching the library's electronic databases for more complete information to fill in the information cards of animal facts, as well as draw a picture of their animal. Then with the information from the fact cards, the students will contribute to a discussion about life in the desert.
• Then they will plan the arrangement of their mural, on poster paper, rolled out on the floor. Later they will put their artwork onto a mural.

 

FOLLOW-UP

• Then with the information from the fact cards the students will list the various attributes of their animal. Using this data, they will create a cinquain poem about their animal. The teachers will develop a cinquain poem with students by modeling the format and assisting students in writing their own poems.
• Using the information from the worksheet, the students may work independently – or in pairs – to type their facts on the computer for a book page. The same pairs will work together to illustrate their fact page for a Library Fact Book. This page can be added to the library media center book about animals who live in diverse habitats, under the heading “Desert," housed in the section of books made by students.
• The library media specialist and teachers may want to work with the students to create a Venn Diagram for comparing the differences and similarities between two books such as " How animal babies stay safe” and “I see a kookaburra! : discovering animal habitats around the world."
  
• The students can write a class letter to World Wildlife Fund, USA: 1250 24th Street, NW; Washington, DC 20003, or to Friends of the Earth: 7th Street SE; Washington, DC 20037, stating their opinions about the preservation of the natural habitats of animals.
• The students can take a field trip to the botanical garden to see a desert-scape and later a zoo to see some desert animals in “actual” habitats.

Assessment:
The students will locate information on a specific desert animal.
The students will fill in a fact sheet and draw a picture of their animal
The students will complete a mural for display [and an illustration for a book page.]

LMS and elementary classroom teacher