Rachel has her neck jutted out, and she s swinging her head from side to side. She peeks at the

Transcription

1 Exploring Animals, Glossopedia Style Third-grade students learn about animals and develop technology skills using a free, online multimedia science encyclopedia. Rachel has her neck jutted out, and she s swinging her head from side to side. She peeks at the screen of her laptop periodically, to see if she s imitating the Siebenrock snake-necked turtle correctly. Next to Rachel, Madison is looking at her own laptop. Why is that fish swimming with its mouth open? she asks. I offer a question of my own: When do you open your mouth? To talk. Or to take a drink or eat something, Madison answers. So if that fish is part of the food chain... I prompt. Maybe it s eating plankton while it swims! Madison finishes. It s the first day of the Animals unit for Tami Brester s third-grade class and the first day her students are using Glossopedia, a free online multimedia science encyclopedia. But you wouldn t know that from observing the kids, who are excitedly researching animals on the internet. This is inquiry-based learning of a special kind, incorporating the best of the internet to support science learning and technology instruction. For this third-grade class, that means learning about living things and how they exist and depend on each other, from food webs to human impact on ecosystems while also mastering skills to do online research and create multimedia presentations. 48 Science and Children By Lois Leveen

2 Exploring Animals, Glossopedia Style About Glossopedia The students are new to Glossopedia, but their teacher isn t. Ms. Brester uses it each year as part of the animals unit. As she explained to me (an educational consultant observing the class as she field-tested a multimedia lesson I developed), It s important that my students learn how to use the internet as a resource it will only become more and more a part of their daily life. But teaching third grade, it can be difficult to guide children to appropriate and useful websites that really contribute to their research. Glossopedia is one such resource. Glossopedia, created by GLOBIO, a nonprofit science and environmental education organization, is a website designed specifically for kids ages 7 12 and it s free for kids, educators, and families to use in school, at home, or any place with internet access. Each article contains text, photo galleries, video clips, audio files (vocabulary pronunciation guides, recorded animal sounds, etc.), maps, interactive features, and content-related vocabulary lessons. Educators can use the image-rich content to inspire visual learners, while the pronunciation guides, vocabulary lessons, and clickable definitions support both struggling and advanced readers. (Glossopedia works best on computers with a broadband connection and Flash player version 7 or higher and Javascript enabled. Users with dial-up connections have to wait longer for videos and for the Geosearch map to load). Glossopedia in Action The lesson these third-graders are field testing uses Glossopedia to extend textbook-based science instruction. Students begin the lesson by reading a chapter entitled How Do Organisms Live Together? in the life sciences section of their textbook. The teacher stops the reading periodically to have them define vocabulary words, such as predator, prey, food chains, and food webs. Once the reading is complete, she asks students to apply the ideas from the textbook to where they live. What other living things do you see near your house, besides humans? Students at their school draw from both rural forest and new suburban areas, and their answers from deer, coyotes, and snakes to plants, birds, cats, and dogs reflect different experiences of the natural world. The teacher has students think about what happens to animals when new neighborhoods get built so they understand how human activity affects animal communities. She tells the class that what they re starting to talk about is called biodiversity. She puts the word on the board and has students guess at what it might mean. Crystal says it has to do with animals, and Nathan thinks it has to do with habitats. No one Tips for Working Online If your school has a technology instructor or librarian/ media specialist, ask that person to join the class the first one or two times the students use a new website so that you can work together to give students any help they need logging in and using any multimedia features. Explore the resource and familiarize yourself with its features before you use it with students. If you have time, start students off with a treasure hunt or similar exploring activity to introduce them to the features, navigation, etc., before you ask them to focus intensely on the content for research. Devoting a class period to exploring the technology on its own can help students feel confident and focused when using the technology later. If you are working in the school s computer lab and have only limited time there, do as much of the preparation in your classroom as you can. Let students know in advance what activities they will be doing on the computers, how much time they will have for each activity, and what the goals for each activity are. When they are in the lab, give them regular reminders of time. You ll have five minutes to look at the video, You have two minutes to finish taking notes on the video, One more minute until we start reporting on what we saw in the video, etc. Use the time in your classroom afterward to follow up on connecting the computer work to other readings and discussions. If your students are sharing computers, use the same approach to working in groups that you use with other activities. If students take turns with different roles during reading circles or other group activities, tell them they will be following the same steps when working on the computers: One student will be the note taker, one will be the reporter who shares with the rest of the class, one will be the person who types on the computer. Make the roles as similar as possible to what they re already used to and have students switch frequently so that everyone gets hands-on experience with the computers. has exactly the right answer, and some guesses are sillier than others ( Is that when animals get divorced? Jack jokes), but everyone s curiosity is piqued. That curiosity is matched by excitement about using laptops in the classroom. A stack of laptops are ready for students to borrow from the school s portable cart. For ideas on working in a computer lab, see Tips for Working Online. The third graders all know how to login to the computers, and while some are more adept than others at scrolling, clicking, and typing website addresses, ev- September

3 Exploring Animals, Glossopedia Style Figure 1. Glossopedia homepage. eryone is eager to help each other. The teacher has the address for the Glossopedia home page (Figure 1) written on the board, and she tells students they are to use the site to investigate three characteristics of a wetland. Once the students are all on the website, she uses the instructor s computer which projects onto a screen at the front of the room to show them where to type Wetlands into the text search feature to find the article they need. Pretty soon, the clicking quiets down and the kids are all reading the online Wetlands article. Before long, Ted has discovered the rollover feature on the schematic diagram in the wetlands article, and Brock has played the Bald Eagle video. Observing them, I remember that Glossopedia s multiple links and multimedia features encourage kids to explore connections and pursue their own interests which doesn t mean they re wasting time or getting sidetracked. It means they re enjoying learning, developing online research skills, and applying what they re discovering to their own experience. It also means the teacher needs to be ready to respond to all of their questions and comments by helping them tie the information they re exploring into the bigger concept: understanding how the parts of an ecosystem interact. Mrs. Brester continually encourages students to make connections between the material and their own town, and she s understanding when some kids jump ahead of the lesson plan even as she guides the class as a whole to answer the questions they set out to investigate. Mrs. Brester, there s a wetland in my neighborhood, Madeline reports as she reads the wetlands entry. It s near the big water tower. My house is near it, too. I go there all the time, Jack says. While Madeline and Jack are connecting the reading to their own explorations of nature, Crystal notices that the article highlights the word biodiversity, which the class was discussing earlier. She clicks on the word and a definition and pronunciation guide pop up. Mrs. Brester, I was right! It does have to do with animals. She nods and asks the class to report back on what they ve learned about the characteristics of wetlands. They talk about the geographic location of wetlands, the size range of different wetlands, and the process through which wetlands are formed. But the kids are most excited about the species that live in wetlands. They list off species by name, checking their notes to jog their memories. Some of the students notice the 50 Science and Children

4 Exploring Animals, Glossopedia Style categories of species listed in the article: aquatic species, terrestrial species, migratory species, and endangered species, and Mrs. Brester helps them understand these concepts. She asks, What does aquatic mean? and hands shoot up lots of kids know it has to do with water. But terrestrial is a less familiar term, and it takes more prompting. Where else besides water can animals and plants live? she asks. Plants live in the ground, Nathan answers. That s right in the ground, or we might say, on land. What other species are terrestrial, meaning they live on land? More hands get raised, as students think of species from the wetlands article and from their own observations. When the class moves on to migratory species, the teacher uses prior knowledge to help the students. Migratory does that look like another word we talked about, at the beginning of the school year? Do you remember our butterfly unit? We talked about butterfly migration, Elly remembers. What did we say that meant? Mrs. Brester asks. It means they travel from one place to another. Right. So migratory species are species like the butterfly that travel from one place to another. The students are already familiar with the fourth category from the article, endangered species. Life Science study in this class emphasizes understanding how species are interdependent and how one species actions can affect the habitat for other species. The teacher asks students which species in the wetlands are endangered and has them guess at what might cause wetlands species to become endangered. Then she guides them to make connections to biodiversity, the concept that was new at the beginning of the lesson. It s an idea the class will return to throughout the Animals Unit, as they build understanding about shared habitats. For now, it s the perfect segue to watching the videos for the wetlands entry, which allow students to observe the movements of fish, birds, and animals that all live in wetlands habitats. PowerPoint Projects Over the next few weeks, students continue to use Glossopedia along with their textbook and nonfiction books from the school library to learn more about other habitats (deserts, coral reefs, oceans, and the Arctic) and to research their animal projects. Each student has to create a written report, a PowerPoint slide show, and an oral presentation on their chosen animal, its habitat, its predators and food sources, the impact of humans on its habitat, and any other facts they learn about the animals that intrigue them. The teacher designs Connecting to the Standards This article relates to the following National Science Education Standards (NRC 1996): Content Standards Grades K 4 Standard C: Life Science The characteristics of organisms Organisms and environments the assignment to integrate language arts with science and technology, and she scaffolds the learning by providing students with helpful worksheets that explain the expectations for the project and guide students through the writing and incorporation of multimedia elements (see NSTA Connection). The worksheets, written reports, oral reports, and PowerPoint presentations will all be part of the assessment. The teacher evaluates how well each student follows the worksheet directions; how creative they are in using pictures, video, and sound files in their presentations; and how well they share their new knowledge when their fellow students ask them questions at the end of the presentation. But the classroom conversations and teacher observations as students use the website provide important formative feedback on student learning throughout the unit. And while Rachel and her classmates won t be graded on how well they imitate the motility of the Siebenrock snake-necked turtle, anyone who s watching can see how well they re using technology to learn more about animals and nature. n Lois Leveen (lois@loisleveen.com) is an educational consultant in Portland, Oregon. Resource National Research Council (NRC) National science education standards. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Internet Glossopedia NSTA Connection Download project worksheets and a sample lesson plan to accompany this article at September

5 Animal Report Planner/Writing Guide Name: Animal: Introduction Paragraph This animal report is about a. In this report I will discuss the habitat, food chain, interesting facts about and human impact on. Second Paragraph What does your animal look like? What is the habitat of your animal? Where in the world can your animal be found? Third Paragraph Where is your animal in the animal kingdom?

6 What does your animal eat? Is it a carnivore, herbivore or omnivore? What are the predators of your animal? Fourth Paragraph Interesting facts about your animal (give at least three)

7 Fifth Paragraph How have humans impacted your animal? Conclusion Paragraph This report was about a included was information about the habitat, food chain, interesting facts about and human impact on. Sources: Editing List (check off each thing you have completed) Does every paragraph include all the needed information? Did you indent every paragraph? Do you have a capital letter and end mark for every sentence? Did you check your paper for accurate spelling? Did you read your paper out loud to someone or have another student read it to make sure it made sense? Did you have the teacher help edit your paper (this is done last)?

8 Name: Power Point Planner In order for to meet the expectations for this project this presentation must include the following: One picture of your animal (from clip art or the internet) 6 slides that contain all the necessary information as indicated below for each slide: Be sure to fill out the information for each slide first (on the attached sheets) then create your slide show. Slide One -Title (animal name), your name, date and a picture of an animal (from clipart or the internet) Slide Two -Title (habitat of your animal), describe the habitat and where in the world it can be found Slide Three -Title (predators and food sources for your animal), is your animal an omnivore, herbivore, or carnivore, what your animal eats, the predators of your animal Slide Four -Title (how humans have impacted the habitat of your animal), describe how humans have impacted your animal s habitat Slide Five -Title (interesting facts about your animal), list interesting facts about your animal. Slide Six -Title (Bibliography), document the sources that you used for your report. Editing List (check each item you have completed) Does every slide include all the needed information? Did you put a title on every slide? Did you use correct spelling and punctuation on each slide? Did you show your slide show to a classmate? Did you have the teacher help edit your slide show (this is done last)?

9 Slide One: Animal Name Picture of animal here. This picture can be from clipart or the internet. By, Your Name Date Slide Two: Slide Two: Habitat of a Describe the habitat of your animal and where in the world it can be found.

10 Slide Three: Predators and Food Sources for a Describe if your animal is an omnivore, herbivore, or carnivore. Describe what your animal eats and what it s predators are. Slide Four: How Humans Have Changed or Impacted the Habitat of a Describe what humans have done to change our impact the habitat of your animal. Slide Five: Slide Five: Interesting Facts About a Describe any interesting facts about your animal.

11 Slide 6: Bibliography Document the sources that you used for your report in correct form (see attached form).

12 Glossopedia Sample Lesson Plan This lesson was designed to connect textbook readings to use of the free online resource Glossopedia. It supports student learning in conjunction with reading EITHER Life Science Lesson 4, How do organisms live together? or Earth Science Lesson 2, What Happens to Water in Clouds? in Scott Foresman Science Grade Three (Cooney, T., and M.A. DiSpezio Scott Foresman Science Grade 3. Boston, MA: Scott Foresman.). Teachers can adapt it to use with any appropriate reading from whatever science textbooks or other instructional materials they use, or they can teach only the Glossopedia sections of the lesson plan. If the textbook portion is included, the lesson plan will take 2-3 class periods. 1. After completing the textbook reading, ask students to define biodiversity. If they don t know the word, invite them to guess what they think it means and describe why they think that. If they do know the word, ask them for examples of places where biodiversity exists. 2. Have students read the Wetlands entry ( in Glossopedia. Have each student list three characteristics of wetlands she or he learned from the reading. 3. Have students explore the schematic diagram in the Anatomy of a Wetland section of the wetlands article. Show them how to roll over the different sections of the picture to learn more. As they explore, have students answer the following questions: What type of plants live in a wetland? Where do they live? What type of animals, birds, and fish live in a wetland? Where do they live? 4. Divide the students into three groups. Show students how to click on the movie camera icon to access the videos in the green media viewer on the lefthand side of the screen. Have the students in the first group watch the River otters swimming video. Have the students in the second group watch the Rainbow trout video. Have the students in the third group watch the Siebenrock snake-necked turtle video. Ask each student to write a brief description of how the animal or fish in their video moves. Be creative and have them write down directions that will help their classmates move like that animal or fish. Ask students from each group to read their descriptions aloud. Can their classmates imitate the motion without watching the video? After students listen to all three descriptions, have the class, as a group, list what similarities and differences there are between the way the river otter, rainbow trout, and Siebenrock snake-necked turtle move. Then have the class watch all three videos together. Ask them to review the list of similarities and differences what else did they notice in the videos that should be added to the lists? What did they observe that might explain why these wetland inhabitants move similarly or differently?

13 5. Optional: have students choose one link to click from text of wetlands article. Ask students why they chose that particular link: What do they expect to learn? Have students click the link and then report back to the class or do a write up on what they learn. Were their expectations met? 6. Ask students to review their earlier definition of biodiversity, expanding it to incorporate information from Glossopedia. Ask them how biodiversity relates to the topics they read about in the textbook. 7. If your students began by reading Lesson 4, How do organisms live together? have them turn to the Review Questions on p. A76. Have them review their earlier answers to questions 1, 2, and 3. What did they learn from Glossopedia that they can add to these answers? If your students began by reading Lesson 2, What Happens to Water in Clouds? ask them which parts of the water cycle (condensation, evaporation, precipation) affect wetlands and how. Then ask what elements of a wetland environment are affected by the water cycle and how.