Frog Project
John W. Gunn Middle School
Grade 6 Literacy Project 2000/01
The grade six team planned an integrated unit to address the following objectives.
Objectives:
To develop research skills.
To develop expository writing skills.
To develop skill in the use of technology - PowerPoint & Excel.
To develop presentation skills.
To create an awareness of the balance of nature.
To develop teamwork.
To develop & celebrate community.
Students worked in groups listening, reading and viewing, managing ideas and data, writing, representing and speaking to share and celebrate their new skills and knowledge.
WHY FROGS?
Frogs are on the front lines.
They are Environmental Indicators.
If they are in trouble are we far behind?
HOW did we begin?
We did an anticipation sheet prior to reading The Frog-cicle Life by Doug Collicutt from The Winnipeg Free Press, February 4, 2001. After reading and discussing the article we made a chart of all the amphibians in Manitoba and their wintering behavior.
We visited The Oregon Coast Aquarium's website, "The Case of the Disappearing Frogs" to find out about The Victims, The Crime, The Suspects and The Solution. We then subjected ourselves to The Interrogation. All the junior detectives were off and running.
Their work included:
Outdoor Education
The students collected frogs eggs from the bioreserve and observed their development through the tadpole to froglet stages in the classroom. They also fed and cared for them as they developed. Measurements were taken throughout the observation process. They released the grown frogs back into the bioreserve.
Students also monitored soil, water and air temperatures at the bioreserve throughout the spring.
Mathematics
The students worked with data management and created Excel tables and graphs of the data they collected.
Language Arts
Students researched many aspects of frogs from a variety of sources. In pairs they prepared PowerPoint Presentations using expository writing.
French
Students wrote the first slide of their PowerPoint Presentation in both English and French.
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Posted & maintained by Janice Biebrich |
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Updated May 26/02 |