This unit makes learning about research fun for primary grade students by combining musical exploration with research into the animal kingdom.

LIBRARY MEDIA SKILLS OBJECTIVES: The student will identify and locate fiction and nonfiction animal books in the library media center. The student will research an animal by picking out important information from many sources. The student will listen to folktales and nonfiction books about the same kind of animal. The student will read and sing the book Sing a Song, by June Meiser, and identify the rhythmic pattern of the words. The student will show an appreciation for books by sharing a book with another class. The student will practice reading verses to increase vocabulary and ability to read the book. The student will write and illustrate a book that will be bar-coded and placed in the library media center. CURRICULUM OBJECTIVES: The student will see connections between reading, music, research, and poetry. The student will brainstorm ideas in small and large group situations. The student will create clues about animals based on research. The student will listen to information about different animals and decide what is important (notetaking based on aural information). The student will choose animals from a variety of different families. The student will list action verbs that are associated with animals. The student will draw selected animals. The student will practice public speaking and singing by presenting the book to other students.

TITLE: Resources

TITLE: Images and Examples

 

Credits:

Author: Dianne Ritz-Salminen Adapted for SOS by Jennifer Nace, School of Information Studies, Syracuse University

Sources:

Source: School Library Media Activities Monthly

 

INSTRUCTIONAL ROLES:
The library media specialist coordinates the project with the classroom teachers; confers with the art teacher and provides a list of animals chosen by the classes (each student will have one of his of her pictures in the book); develops a time line of due dates for each step; provides research materials for the lessons (pictures of the animals can be provided to the art teacher if they are needed); and schedules times for classes to visit each other so books can be shared.

The library media specialist and classroom teacher help students choose eight to ten animals and write verses about each for the book and help publish the book (parent publishing groups may assist in this activity).

The classroom teacher introduces and initiates the unit on animals; assists the class in brainstorming activities that produce poetry for the book; and provides time for students to finish pictures needed for the project/
The art teacher selects the medium for animal pictures and instructs students in its use.

ACTIVITY AND PROCEDURES FOR COMPLETION:
The classroom teacher introduces the animal study unit. The library media specialist follows by sharing the previous year's Animal Guessing Book or an animal book that is written in a similar format. The Who Am I Series is a good choice.

During this lesson, students select eight to ten animals to research and include in their book. The classroom teacher and library media specialist may suggest animal families from which to choose and conduct a vote for the top animals.

In the next lesson, the library media specialist introduces the book, Sing a Song. Students clap the rhythm of the words. This rhythm provides the basis for the text. In order to include more information about the animal, the verses will not repeat the word "together" unless it helps make the text clearer. The rhythm is: [see media attachment].

The students will have a book about the animal read to them or will listen to a CD-ROM about the animal. They will tell interesting facts they learned about the animal to the library media specialist. Facts may be from what they heard or already knew. These facts will become the sections of the page titled: "Did You Know?"

The facts are written on chart paper and provide a basis for the verse. By humming the melody, the students brainstorm different characteristics about the animals that help identify them. Direction can be given for verbs that help distinguish the animal. Usually one or two animal pages can be completed in a 15-20 minute period. This allows students 15-20 minutes to check out books. Two or three library media sessions are needed for writing the verses and researching the animals.

In addition to library media center time, the library media specialist visits the classroom and works with groups of three of four students to research some of the animals that were chosen. This allows all of the students to participate in the creative process.

In art class, the students draw pictures of the chosen animals. Extra pictures can be used in a cover collage. If a publishing group is not active in the school, the library media specialist and teacher can assemble two books for each class. The verses in each book will be the same, but the illustrations will differ. Student illustrations should be one-half to one-third of the page. The verses may be hand written by students or word processed on a computer. Use of a different color for each verse is an effective way to display the text.

Each class makes two books about the same animals. One book remains in the classroom and the other becomes part of the library media center collection.

Copies of the verses are sent home with the students so that they can practice reading the words and to challenge parents to figure out the clues. Verses are created by small groups of students, so this allows the students to learn about all of the animals chosen by the class.

Once the book is complete, the students present it to another class and ask them to guess the animals.

The library media specialist shows both picture and nonfiction books and reads a short story or folktale, such as Why the Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ear by Verna Aardema, The Terrible Eeek by Patricia A. Compton, or Crocodile, Crocodile by Barbara Baumgartner. Other multicultural folktales might be used. The library media specialist leads a short discussion about fiction and nonfiction and reminds students where each section is located.

FOLLOW-UP:
The students may:
1) visit a zoo, circus, or farm.
2) write an original folktale about an animal or explain why an animal has a certain characteristic.
3) parade through school dressed as one of the animals in the book.
4) hold a pet day during which they share pets from home with their classmates.
5) research pets or other animals of interest and present the information during a pet sharing day.
6) invite adults who work with animals, such as veterinarians, to talk about their careers.
7) pantomime different animals and see how many their classmates can guess.
8) watch a video on animals such as Homeward Bound.
9) compare movies that have animals with human characteristics (Charlotte's Web) versus animals that are more realistic (Homeward Bound or Beethoven).

EVALUATION:Students should recognize all of the selected animals from clues.Response from the audience to the presentation will provide immediate feedback to the performers.A small group of students can present the book to an administrator or other adult to see if the students can read all of the words.Keeping track of how often the classroom copy is read and the library copy is checked out will provide feedback on the success of the project.Feedback from parents on the project can be requested verbally or in note form.

Source: School Library Media Activities Monthly