Kindergarten Animal Research Book Making Project

Kindergarten Animal Research Book Making Project

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. Students begin their inquiry by comparing fiction and nonfiction books about animals. 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. 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 in a printed book.

Standards
KLS1-1 Use observations to describe patterns of what animals need to survive.
WK2 Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative texts in which they
name what they are writing about and supply some information about a topic.
WK6 With guidance and support, explore a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing,
including in collaboration with peers.
WK7 Participate in shared research and writing projects.
WK8 With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather
information from provided sources to answer a question.
SLK4 Describe things with prompting and support to provide additional detail.
SLK5 Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions as desired to provide additional detail.

Materials Needed
Quality nonfiction, informational picture books, videos, online resources
Projector Journals
Chart Paper Markers
Color Printer Paper
Computers Access to the Internet
Cardstock

Websites
National Geographic Kids
The Smithsonian National Zoo
Monterey Bay Aquarium
British Broadcasting Company’s Science and Nature: Animals
San Diego Zoo Animal Bytes
National Wildlife Foundation’s Endangered Wildlife

Preparation
Bookmark the Websites about animals.
Assemble supplies listed above. Ask librarian for help gathering books and videos.
Prepare a chart with the heading: “What We Wonder about Animals.”
Arrange for older student volunteers to serve as scribes or keyboardists as needed.
Prepare student accounts on Google.
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.
Find and talk to a class of older students to assist students in research and recording their learning.

The Plan
1. Read fiction and non-fiction books about animals.
2. Differentiate between true and make-believe/facts versus fiction/photographs versus drawings. Make a
chart.
3. Tell students we are going to learn more about real animals. Ask students what they wonder about
animals. Record questions on a chart.
4. Choose an animal to research. Record the list, then vote on 1 animal to learn more about as a class.
5. Review the questions generated before about animals. Ask students if they have any more questions.
Add them. Ask if there are any questions they want to get rid of. Use the list to make subtitles to
focus on in research.
6. Research through websites and books. Be sure to show the students how to use bookmarked pages
online for safe research and so they can use it on their own later. Record the information on the
computer in Google classroom. Tell students we will compile the information together into 1 project
that will become a book.
7. Encourage students to look closely at the information recorded to check the following:
What information still needs to be collected?
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?
Did you find any information that contradicted information you had already recorded?
How could you find out which is correct?

8. Edit information together.

9. Print the project and bind them. One to keep in the class and print one for each student to send
home. Allow students to share with other classrooms.

EXTENSIONS
Once students have experienced a whole-group investigation of a favorite animal, match each student to an older student 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.

STUDENT ASSESSMENT/REFLECTIONS
Encourage students to assess 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 science journals. Possible stem sentences…I learned, I wonder, I think.
Use mini-conferences as you move around the room during independent reading to talk as they explore nonfiction texts. Encourage them to share what they found exciting or interesting.
Celebrate their learning and accomplishment!