Learning about Animal Shelters for Earth Day - Week 1

Engage

Week One – Reviewing Animal Habitats:

Activity 1 – Introduce A House is a House for Me:

1.  You will be reviewing the four needs of living things (air, water, food, shelter).  Name the four needs and list them on the board.  Now, carefully listen to a story about shelters.  Some of the shelters will be animal homes and some of the habitats will be “silly” homes for other objects.

2.  Your teacher will read A House is a House for Me by Mary Ann Hoberman.  (Use the big book version if it is available.)

3.  Discuss the variety of habitats presented in the book.  What animals and animal shelters come to mind?  Your teacher will record responses on chart paper and will reread the book if you are having difficulty remembering the animals in the book or thinking of other shelters.

Explore

Activity 2 – Nature Walk to Find Animal Shelters:

1. Your teacher will reread the story A House is a House for Me. Review the animal shelters listed in this book and those already listed on the chart paper.

2. Today you will think about shelters of animals that live (or could live) near you in your local environment.  First, look at the list of animals and shelters created yesterday.  Look over the list and put a star next to any animals that could live in your community.  For example, if you listed a squirrel living in a tree, put a star next to it.  If you did not list any animals that could live in your area, brainstorm a few at this point.  Your teacher will suggest one or two examples to get you started.  Think about animals that you see when you are outside on the playground, playing in the yards, or going on walks.

3. Next, you will be going on a nature walk to see if you can find any more animals and/or shelters around the school grounds.  Take a clipboard, pencil, and sheet of paper so you can take notes while you are walking.  Write down the names of any animals or shelters that you see while going on the walk.  Your teacher will give specific examples of some of the items you might want to write down.

4. Go on a nature walk.  While outside, your teacher will point out animals that you see, even small ones like ants or butterflies.  If no animals are sighted, what animals do you think might live in specific locations?  For example, “what do you think could live in this tree?” or “what kind of animal would dig a hole like this?”  This walk will be pretty extensive, so that as much of the school grounds as possible are covered.   

5. Return to the classroom and add any new animals and shelters to the chart.

Explain

Activity 3 – Photographing Animal Shelters:

1. Before this lesson, your teacher will need to have one digital camera for every two students.  If this is not possible, you might be grouped in small groups over a series of days, or your teacher will provide a more structured way for sharing the digital cameras that are available.

2. Your teacher will reread A House is a House for Me to review shelters.

3. Today you will be working with partners to photograph animal shelters on your school grounds.  Review the list of animal shelters created yesterday.

4. You’ll be working with a partner.

5. You will only be photographing animals or shelters.  What are some examples of acceptable and not acceptable pictures?  For example, “Should you take a picture of a tree? Your friend? The swings? An ant pile?” 

6. Each student should take no more than two pictures (substitute another number here, if you have a different guideline) so you will need to choose carefully.  The pictures will be used to create a book like Mary Ann Hoberman’s, so you will want to have a variety of pictures. 

7. Your teacher will review proper usage of digital cameras. 

8. Before you take pictures, think about your walk yesterday and discuss where you need to go to take the pictures you need.

9. Work with your partner(s), taking turns being the photographer.  Halfway through the walk, your teacher will signal partners to switch the camera if you have not done so already.  Remember, you will only take (total number of pictures) pictures.  

10. Take your nature walk, remembering to switch photographers halfway through the walk. When you return back to the classroom, return the digital cameras and discuss the experience.

11. After school or during a planning time, your teacher will review the pictures taken and compile a variety of pictures into a PowerPoint slide show.  Only one picture should be on each slide.  The picture should be large with a text box below it.  The text box should remain blank, so that the students can help input the words on the next day.  Review these training videos from Nortel LearniT:  PowerPoint Presentations, http://nortellearnit.org/technology/PowerPoint_Presentations/

Elaborate

Activity 4 – Adding Text to Class Book:

1. Before starting the lesson with the students, your teacher will open the PowerPoint presentation created with the pictures taken yesterday.  The presentation should be shown on a projector screen so that you can view it. You will use the pictures taken yesterday to create book just like A House is a House for Me. Your teacher will be carefully noticing how you participate in today’s work on a Participation Checklist.

2. The illustrations have already been created.  You will help add the words.

3. As you suggest words for each page, your teacher will type the words.

4. Look through the slides one by one, suggesting words.  All of the pages should have text in the pattern created by Mary Ann Hoberman; however, you will be using the word “shelter” instead of “house,” since you have learned this science term.  Completed slides should look something like this:

5. Continue through all of the slides.  A different animal should be named on each page.  All animals should be local animals.

6. These pages will be made into a class book.  What would make a good title?

7. After school or during a planning time, your teacher will print the PowerPoint presentation, having each slide be a full page.  The teacher will create a cover / title page and bind the pages together into a class book.  For added durability, your teacher will laminate the pages before binding them and use construction paper for the front and back covers of the book.

Activity 5 – Viewing the Class Book:

1. Your teacher will present the completed book to the class, reading it multiple times.

2. You will also have a chance to read the book.

3. Your book will be added to the classroom library / reading center, so that you may review it during independent reading times.

Evaluate

 There will also be several student assignments throughout the lesson (Weeks 1-3) for teachers to evaluate:

Digital pictures – Throughout the unit, you will be using digital cameras.  Your teacher should evaluate whether or not you are able to use the cameras effectively.

“Ways to Help the Earth” Lists – During week 2, you will be working in groups to develop a list of ways to help the Earth.  These lists can be used to determine if you understand the ways people celebrate Earth Day. 

Earth Day Project Journals – During week 3, you should reflect in a journal daily.  You will be able to record how you contributed to project, what you enjoyed during that day’s work session, and what was difficult.  “Reflection Worksheet” – At the conclusion of the project, you will reflect by completing the worksheet entitled “We finished our project!”  Note:  You will find a sample worksheet in the Evaluate section of the MS Word version of this lesson plan posted at the top of this web page, OR create one tailored to your classes efforts and needs.

Participation Checklist (for use with Earth Day Project)
During group discussions about the progress of your class’ Earth Day project, use this form to keep track of student participation.  You will find a copy of the table in this section (Evaluate) in the .doc version of the lesson plan posted at the top of this web page.

Extend

Share your project with the school community.

Days 3-5 – Sharing the Project

1. Decide with whom you would like to share your work.  Depending on how your class would like to share results, it could take a few days to prepare and then present, or it might only take one day.

2. Some suggestions for sharing the project are:

a.  In-Class Presentation – Students invite administrators, other teachers, and/or family members to the classroom.  The PowerPoint version of the class book is shared on the projection screen.  Students take turns reading aloud the text.  Students can also share their journals and reflection sheets with the invitees.

b.  Morning Announcements / Library – Choose a two or three class representatives to speak on the morning announcements, telling the student body about the project.  Make an additional copy of the class book and “donate” it to the library.  On the announcements, encourage other students to come and read it.

c.  Classroom Tours – Send small groups of students to other classrooms to share their experiences with other students.

School Web Site - If your school has a class news or latest projects section, you could upload the PowerPoint presentations and/or a story with student photos about these lessons. 

d. Community Groups -  Have the students present the material to a local community group, such as, Rotary Club or Lions Club.  This is a good opportunity for students to interact with the community and for the community to gain insight into the students work.

e. Parent Night - Present the project to during a parent night.  Invite parents and friends to school and present the project.  Ask the parents ways they can help with continuing the project or other ways they can extend the project.

Talk with the students before all presentations about how to speak loudly and clearly for others.  Remind your students to answer questions and respond to comments politely.

Related Resources

http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/general/educate/svclearn.pdf
This website features a 32-page booklet, Service-Learning – Education Beyond the Classroom, that describes previous Earth Day projects completed by students around the country. 

http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/curr068.shtml
This website describes two different simple Earth Day projects (“Earth Day Groceries” and “Down the Drain”) and gives links to others on the internet.

http://www.earthday.net/programs/handson2007.aspx
This website shows some examples of how schools have “greened” up their campuses in the past.

“Can It!  Save the Planet!” Song – This song is available for download at unitedstreaming.com  It is a fun way to start a discussion about recycling and keeping the Earth clean.

http://42explore.com/animhom.htm -- This website features information about animal homes and link to other sites on the same topic.

http://www.epa.gov/kids/ -- This is a great website that gives children a wealth of information about caring for the Earth.

Books About Earth Day

Earth Day Books for Children:

Earth Day, Mir Tamim Ansary
The Earth and I, Frank Asch
The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest, Lynne Cherry
Let’s Get Ready for Earth Day, Lloyd G. Douglas
On the Day You Were Born, Debra Frasier
Planet Earth / Inside Out, Gail Gibbons
Recycle: A Handbook for Kids, Gail Gibbons
Our Big Home, Linda Glaser
Tanya’s Big Green Dream, Linda Glaser
Why Should I . . .? Books, Jen Green
For the Love of the Earth, P.K. Hallinan
Garbage and Recycling, Rosie Harlow
Earth Mother, Ellen Jackson
Our Earth, G. Brian Karas
Earth Day, Linda Lowery
The Wartville Wizard, Don Madden
I Love Our Earth, Bill Martin, Jr.
Celebrating Earth Day, Janet McDonnell
Earth Day – Hooray!, Stuart J. Murphy
Earth Day, Marc Nobleman
Earthshake: Poems from the Ground Up, Linda Westberg Peters
Recycle That!, Fay Robinson
The Three R’s: Reuse, Reduce, Recycle, Nuria Roca
Our Earth, Anne Rockwell
Let’s Celebrate Earth Day, Peter Roop
Earthdance, Joanne Ryder
Earth Day, Nancy Sanders
Earth Day Birthday, Pattie Schnetzler
The Lorax, Dr. Seuss
One Well: The Story of Water on Earth, Rochelle Strauss
Earth Day, Trudi Strain Trueit
Just a Dream, Chris Van Allsburg
Recycle Every Day!, Nancy Wallace

Earth Day Books – Teacher Resources:

50 Simple Things Kids Can Do To Save the Earth, The EarthWorks Group
Habitats: Making Homes for Animals and Plants, Pamela Hickman
Teaching Kids to Love the Earth, Marina Lachecki
Earth Day Book for Kids, Linda Schwartz