animal research questions for 3rd grade

Writing Unit of Study: Animal Research Project

This free animal research project will provide you with a writing unit of study that will help you build excitement about writing informational text in your classroom.

You can download this free animal research project to help your writers develop their research and writing skills.

This project will be a great fit for your first, second or third grade writing workshop.

This is another free resource for teachers and homeschool families from The Curriculum Corner.

Why should I introduce my students to research through animal study?

Animal research can be a great topic for writing informational text because students tend to be curious about animals.

Nothing seems to spark interest in most kids like learning about animals in our world. Turn their enthusiasm into an engaging animal research writing project.

They can take the time to learn about different habitats and diets.

You can also encourage students to expand their vocabulary by having them create a glossary to accompany their writing.

About this animal research project

Within this post you will find over 30 pages of anchor charts, mini-lesson ideas, writing planners and graphic organizers.

The unit will help guide your students through the complete process. In the end, you will be helping to teach your students how to write their own pieces of informational text.

The intended end product for students is an animal booklet that they can staple together to share with others.

Students who are ready for more advanced work, can create a larger project with less direction.

A description of the mini-lessons

Lesson 1: introduction.

• Begin the unit by having the students brainstorm a list of animals that they might see everyday.
• Then, have them brainstorm a list of animals they see when they visit the zoo or walk in the forest. You can do this on the blank anchor chart provided or on cart paper.
• Another option is to place students in groups. They could work to create a list together.  
• You might assign each group a continent and have them find animals that live there.
• Pull the class together and have each group share what animals they found that live on their continent.

Lesson 2: Noticings

• Next you might want to get your students familiar with common characteristics about informational texts that teach about animals.
• Have them work in pairs or small groups to go through some books and record their “noticings” about the writing.
• Then come together in a community circle to discuss those noticings and create a class anchor chart.

Lesson 3: Opinion vs. Facts

• Before getting truly into this unit, you might need to conduct a lesson on opinions vs. facts.
• After a brief discussion you can use the giraffe paragraph provided in our resources to give your students some practice differentiating between the two. This paragraph contains both opinions and facts.
• With your class read through the paragraph and record facts and opinions on the T-chart.
• Discuss both sides and how they are different from each other.
• A black & white copy of this giraffe paragraph has also been provided.  You can have them work in pairs or groups to distinguish between the facts and opinions.
• If you need more resources for your students surrounding fact & opinion check out our   Fact & Opinion Sort .

Lesson 4: Choosing a Topic for the Animal Research Project

• We want to help students to narrow their topic choices by giving them some guidance.
• Gather students and begin a discussion about choosing an animal research topic.
• For this lesson we have provided two pages where students can individually brainstorm the animals they are interested in.
• You might have students work in groups or independently to make their choice. Conference with students as needed to help.
• Don’t shy away from letting more than one student research about the same animal.  This can be a great way to promote group work. It might also help out with some of your literacy center choices throughout this unit.

Lesson 5: Good Places to Find Information about an Animal

• At this age we want students to begin to understand that all they read online about animals isn’t always true. Sometimes writing might sound true without being filled with facts.
• Show students two possible places to find information online about their animal. One should be a trusted site with reliable and accurate information. Another should be a site that perhaps a child has created.  (There are many that you can find if you search.)
• Pose these questions: Is everything on the internet true? Why?  How can you tell? Why is it important for your research writing to contain accurate information?

Lesson 6: Taking Notes

• Sometimes giving students resources and a blank sheet of notebook paper can be too overwhelming for them. Some students will copy word for word. Others might feel overwhelmed.  We need to guide them to read and pull out facts & relevant information to use later in their writing.
• For this lesson we have provided four templates for note-taking that you might choose to use for your students.
• You might need to provide different organizers to students depending on their needs.
• You will want to model the organizers your students are use. Show them how to take notes as they read.
• After initial teaching, you may find that you need to pull small groups for extra practice. Others might benefit from a conference as you take a look at the notes they are taking.

Lesson 7: Word Choice in Research Writing

• To help students think about making their writing more interesting, have them brainstorm words about their animal.
• Together brainstorm words that would be appropriate for animals. They might add words about what they look like, their movement, their habitats, their life cycles, their diets, etc. You can create a class anchor chart on the page provided.  You might even think about using the real life picture of the wolf in the download. This can get the students to begin thinking of more interesting words for animals (fierce, mighty, strong, etc).
• Then, pass out the individual brainstorm pages. Students can use the anchor chart as a guide to begin their own word choice pages about their animal. This might be a good partner activity as well.

Lesson 8: Writing Sketch for the Animal Research Project

• Next, you can model the writing sketch planner for your class.
• One idea to help your students narrow down all of the information they have learned about their animals is to give them a specific number of animals facts that they can focus on.
• Each of these facts can serve as the actual text that they will put on each page of their animal research book. Or the facts could serve as a focus for each paragraph in their writing.
• You might find that this would be a good mini-lesson to do with smaller groups of children.

Lesson 9: Creating a Table of Contents

• Another idea that can be a writing planner AND a page in their animal research book is the table of contents. Pull out one of the Table of Contents pages from the resources provided and model how to fill in the blanks on each page.
• This page will then serve as their Table of Contents (with a focus discussion on what that is and the purpose it serves) and also their writing planner so they know what they will put in the pages of their booklet.

Lesson 10: Creating a Glossary

• There are two pages provided in the resources that might help your students to learn to pull out topic specific words to put into a glossary for the end of their animal research book.
• Be sure to model how you would like for your students to use these organizers (keeping in mind that you may need to copy more than one page if there are more words than the page provides for).
• If your students need a refresher on ABC order check out these links for some added practice/review: ABC Order Task Cards & Fry Word ABC Order Task Cards

Lesson 11: Writing Your Animal Research

• You will decide on the best method for your students to showcase their published animal research.
• You may want your students to use their own creativity in the texts that they write and share. If you’d like a first experience to provide a bit more guidance, we have provided two different sets of pages for booklets.
• One is more guided and the other has less structure and smaller lines for more writing.  15 pages are provided so that you or students can pick what fits their needs.
• This “lesson” may actually become a series of lessons if you choose to model how each page can be used.  (We have also included a page with simple writing lines in case students need less guidance than the booklet pages provided.)

Lesson 12: Labeling Pictures

• One final lesson idea that pairs well with writing informational text is to teach your students how to label pictures.
• Since most nonfiction writing has real photographs, students can find some pictures online to print out and label for their booklet.  Hand-drawn pictures are also great if you would rather encourage some or all of your students in that direction.
• Whatever you choose, show your class how to effectively label a picture so that it teaches the reader more.  You can use the picture of the polar bear provided to model how to add words or even short facts as labels.  (For example if the simple label “fur” wouldn’t add additional information to the book, you might teach them to label it with a short fact such as “dense fur protects the animal’s skin from the weather”.
• To make this idea more user friendly, you might want them to use the page of blank white boxes provided to write their labels for their pictures.  Then all they need to do is cut them out and glue them to a printed picture.

Lesson 13: Writing Celebration

As always, find a way to celebrate your students’ writing.  

Invite guests (younger students or special adults) to read the books with your young authors. You might simply want to pair or group them, or some students might choose to present their book to everyone.  

Provide some light snacks if possible to give it a party atmosphere and pass out the author certificates to each child for his/her hard work.

You can download this free writing unit of study here:

Writing Download

As with all of our resources, The Curriculum Corner creates these for free classroom use. Our products may not be sold. You may print and copy for your personal classroom use. These are also great for home school families!

You may not modify and resell in any form. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Christine E.

Saturday 8th of May 2021

Thank you so much for this resource and the many pages that I can use in my homeschooling. It is exactly what I've been looking for to help me get my kids to write about our animal units! You are doing a great job, keep up the amazing work you do. I appreciate the hard work you put into putting these together.

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Animal Research Project: Writing an Animal Research Paper

Resources to Research Animals

Use library books, encyclopedias and magazines to research your animal. In addition, there are numerous online resources. Our school provided a list of three online resources (noted by *). Since these resources require a membership, we provided a few more online sites to assist in researching an animal.

Online Resources for Animal Research Paper

Each student selects an animal of her choice and should take good notes when collecting facts and important details about her animal. Good note taking will greatly assist a student when writing his animal research paper. You may want to remind each student to use his own words.

Writing Prompts for Animal Research Paper

After a student selects her animal, she must answer the questions below. It is important to instruct your child or student to take her time and answer each question thoroughly. These answers will be used to create the animal research paper.

After a student completes the above questions, it’s time to begin writing the first draft of the research paper. Take the information obtained above and put it on paper.

Each answer to the questions above should be a paragraph with the exception of the interesting facts question. The two facts should get put into the paragraph that is most applicable, e.g., habitat, physical description or life span.

If you are a teacher, consider visiting our writing rubric page for different templates used to grade writing papers.

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April 24, 2018 at 5:19 pm

Thanks very much, perfect for 3rd grade!

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• ELEMENTARY TEACHING , INTEGRATED CURRICULUM ACTIVITIES

Animal Research Project for Kids at the Elementary Level in 2024

Whether you are doing a simple animal study or a fully integrated science, reading, and writing unit, this animal research project for kids includes everything you need. From the graphic organizer worksheets and guided note templates to the writing stationary, printable activities, projects, and rubrics.

Thousands of teachers have used this 5-star resource to have students complete self-guided animal research projects to learn about any animal they choose. The best part is, the resource can be used over and over again all year long by just picking a new animal! Learn all about this animal research project for kids at the elementary level below!

What is the Animal Research Project?

The animal research project is a resource that is packed with printable and digital activities and projects to choose from. It is perfect for elementary teachers doing a simple animal study or a month-long, fully integrated unit. It’s open-ended nature allows it to be used over and over again throughout the school year. In addition, it includes tons of differentiated materials so you can continue to use it even if you change grade levels. Learn about what’s included in it below!

What is Included in the Animal Research Project

The following resources are included in the animal research project :

Teacher’s Guide

The teacher’s guide includes tips and instructions to support you with your lesson planning and delivery.

Parent Letter

The parent communication letter promotes family involvement.

Graphic Organizers

There are graphic organizers for brainstorming a topic, activating schema, taking notes, and drafting writing.

Research Report

There are research report publishing printables including a cover, writing templates, and resource pages.

There is a grading rubric so expectations are clear for students and grading is quick and easy for you.

Research Activities

The research activities include a KWL chart, can have are chart, compare and contrast venn diagram, habitat map, vocabulary pages, illustration page, and life cycle charts.

Animal Flip Book Project

There are animal flip book project printables to give an additional choice of how students can demonstrate their understanding.

Animal Flap Book Project

There is an animal flap book project printables that offers students yet another way to demonstrate their learning.

Animal Research Poster

The animal research poster serves as an additional way to demonstrate student understanding.

Poetry Activities

The resource includes poetry activities to offer students an alternative way to demonstrate their learning.

Digital Versions

There is a digital version of the resource so your students can access this resource in school or at home.

Why Teachers love the Animal Research Project

Teachers love this animal research project because of the following reasons:

• This resource guides students through the research and writing process, so they can confidently work their way through this project.
• It is a great value because it can be used over and over again throughout the school year because the pages can be used to learn about any animal.
• It offers several ways students can demonstrate their learning.
• It includes a ton of resources, so you can pick and choose which ones work best for you and your students.
• It is printable and digital so it can be used for in-class and at-home learning.

This animal research packet is great because it can be used over and over again using absolutely any animal at all. The printables in this packet are ideal to use with your entire class in school, as an at-home learning extension project or as a purposeful, open-ended, independent choice for your students who often finish early and need an enrichment activity that is so much more than “busy work.”

The Research Report Process

This animal research project packet was designed in a manner that allows you to use all of the components when studying any animal. Because the printables can be used over and over, I will often work through the entire researching and writing process with the whole class focusing on one animal together, This allows me to model the procedure and provide them with support as they “get their feet wet” as researchers. Afterwards I then have them work through the process with an animal of choice. You may find it helpful to have them select from a specific category (i.e. ocean animals, rainforest animals, etc) as this will help to streamline the resources you’ll need to obtain.

Step 1: Brainstorm a list of animals to research. Select one animal.

During this stage you may want to provide the students with a collection of books and magazines to explore and help them narrow down their choice.

Step 2: Set a purpose and activate schema.

Students share why they selected the animal and tell what they already know about it. Next, they generate a list of things they are wondering about the animal. This will help to guide their research.

Step 3: Send home the family letter.

To save you time, involve families, and communicate what is happening in the classroom, you may want to send home a copy of the family letter. It’s so helpful when they send in additional research materials for the students.

Step 4: Research and take notes.

The two-column notes template is a research-based tool that helps the kids organize their notes. I added bulleted prompts to guide the students in finding specific information within each category. This method has proven to be highly effective with all students, but is especially useful with writers who need extra support.

I have included two versions of the organizers (with and without lines). I print a copy of the organizer for each student. I also copy the lined paper back to back so it is available to students who need more space.

Step 5: Write a draft.

Using the information gathered through the research process, the students next compose drafts. The draft papers were designed to guide the students through their writing by providing prompts in the form of questions. Answering these questions in complete sentences will result in strong paragraphs. It may be helpful to give them only one page at a time instead of a packet as it make the task more manageable.

Step 6: Edit the draft.

Editing can be done in many ways, but it is most effective when a qualified editor sits 1:1 with a student to provides effective feedback to them while editing.

Step 7: Publish.

Print several copies of the publishing pages. I like to have all my students start with the page that has a large space for an illustration, but then let them pick the pages they want to use in the order they prefer after that. I have them complete all the writing first and then add the illustrations.

Finally, have the children design a cover for the report. Add that to the front and add the resources citation page to the back. Use the criteria for success scoring rubric to assign a grade. The rubric was designed using a 20 point total so you can simply multiply their score by 5 to obtain a percentage grade. The end result is a beautiful product that showcases their new learning as well as documents their reading and writing skills.

In closing, we hope you found this animal research project for kids helpful! If you did, then you may also be interested in these posts:

• How to Teach Research Skills to Elementary Students
• 15 Animals in Winter Picture Books for Elementary Teachers
• How to Teach Informative Writing at the Elementary Level

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Animal Research

I teacher the students that having the internet at your fingertips means you can find just about any information online. Just because the information shows up online does not mean it's true.

Look at the video, "Detecting Lies and Staying True" to hear about three easy guidelines you should follow to assess the credibility of sources. Learn more about the information you can trust and not trust online.

What is Research?

• It is finding facts to grow our knowledge of a subject, like animals.

Why Research?

• To find facts
• To learn something new
• To follow your interests
• To grow problem-solving skills

Before You Research

Ask questions.

What am I Researching?

What Do I Need to Know?

• Animal Group
• amphibians, birds, fishes, invertebrates, mammals, and reptiles

2) Body Covering

• hair, fur, scales, feathers, shell

3) How it Moves

• fly, jump, hop, walk, run, swim

4) What it Eats

• meat, plants, insects, everything

5) Where it Lives

• water, forest, polar, savanna, grassland, desert, rain forest

6) Interesting Facts

• something cool, different, exciting

What Tools Can I Use?

• Encyclopedias

Online Tools

• search engine

These tools can only be used with the Internet.

Search Engines

• Search engines are the white boxes on a webpage. We type words in them to find information.

Look for search engines as we practice.

Look for the tiny magnifying glass to find the search engine.

Let’s Practice

• We will practice researching the badger with online tools. Watch first, then try it.

Watch First

Brittanica School

Search engines are at the top of a page.

Britannica School

Click on the orange letters to see the article.

National Geographic Kids

Click on the blue letters to see the article.

Sometimes the first link is NOT always the best option.

This page is not about an animal.

a-z animals

• Click on Web and Images to research.

Kiddle searches the whole internet for information!

• Always ask a parent or teacher to go online.
• Stop right away if you see or read something that upsets you. Tell an adult.
• Never give out personal information like your address or telephone number.

How to write an animal report

Your teacher wants a written report on the beluga whale . Not to worry. Use these organizational tools from the Nat Geo Kids Almanac so you can stay afloat while writing a report.

STEPS TO SUCCESS:

Your report will follow the format of a descriptive or expository essay and should consist of a main idea, followed by supporting details and a conclusion. Use this basic structure for each paragraph as well as the whole report, and you’ll be on the right track.

Introduction

State your main idea .

The beluga whale is a common and important species of whale.

Provide supporting points for your main idea.

1. The beluga whale is one of the smallest whale species.

2. It is also known as the “white whale” because of its distinctive coloring.

3. These whales are common in the Arctic Ocean’s coastal waters.

Then expand on those points with further description, explanation, or discussion.

1a. Belugas range in size from 13 to 20 feet (4 to 6.1 m) in length.

2a. Belugas are born gray or brown. They fade to white at around five years old.

3a. Some Arctic belugas migrate south in large herds when sea ice freezes over.

Wrap it up with a summary of your whole paper.

Because of its unique coloring and unusual features, belugas are among the most familiar and easily distinguishable of all the whales.

Key Information

Here are some things you should consider including in your report:

What does your animal look like? To what other species is it related? How does it move? Where does it live? What does it eat? What are its predators? How long does it live? Is it endangered? Why do you find it interesting?

SEPARATE FACT FROM FICTION: Your animal may have been featured in a movie or in myths and legends. Compare and contrast how the animal has been portrayed with how it behaves in reality. For example, penguins can’t dance the way they do in Happy Feet.

PROOFREAD AND REVISE: As with any essay, when you’re finished, check for misspellings, grammatical mistakes, and punctuation errors. It often helps to have someone else proofread your work, too, as he or she may catch things you have missed. Also, look for ways to make your sentences and paragraphs even better. Add more descriptive language, choosing just the right verbs, adverbs, and adjectives to make your writing come alive.

BE CREATIVE: Use visual aids to make your report come to life. Include an animal photo file with interesting images found in magazines or printed from websites. Or draw your own! You can also build a miniature animal habitat diorama. Use creativity to help communicate your passion for the subject.

THE FINAL RESULT: Put it all together in one final, polished draft. Make it neat and clean, and remember to cite your references.

Download the pdf .

More resources

Homework help, science lab, (ad) national geographic kids almanac.

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Animal Research Project

Third graders prepare an oral report using Appleworks to present information on their animal. They write a short narrative comparing and contrasting their animal to another students and, after watching other presentations, discuss what they learned.

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Animal adaptations, animal habitats, cereal box book report, “i can” common core 3rd grade writing, class animal report, narrative writing, making flap books for report writing - all about tigers, writing genres and rules, present perfect: since and for, an animal report.

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Glacier National Park

Essential Question

How do scientist study animals?

Students will be able to: • Discuss difference between cultures with relation to animals. • Use guiding questions to conduct effective research about animal species living in Glacier National Park. • Illustrate their animal research. • Communicate the results of their research with others.

This lesson is one part of Work House: A Glacier National Park Science and Indian Education Program. It can be completed as a stand alone lesson or as part of the greater Work House course.  The full  Work House Program  is available on Glacier National Park's website.  Background information as well as the full lesson plan can be found as a  PDF here . Assign student reading. Get books for student research. Mark specific reference pages in suggested books. Arrange internet access and download the “ Animal Field Guide, Flathead Reservation Riparian Species ” App if applicable. Review the websites referenced in the introduction for this unit. You may want to compile a list for students to use in their research or make it into more of a “webquest” with the websites provided. Have questions for research ready to handout/display and a completed example (or grading rubric if applicable) to show students of the expected report results from their research.

Preparation

• Prepare for two 50 minute class periods - one for reading/discussion, choosing animal and starting research. One to finish research and write report with animal illustration. More time needed for extension activities.
• Theme and art paper
• Pencils, colored pencils
• Internet access, encyclopedias, wildlife books, and particularly books about the animals of Glacier National Park, as well as People Before the Park by Sally Thompson, Kootenai Culture Committee & Pikunni Traditional Association
• Students should do the Student Reading for Unit 5 , pages 34-40, before starting this lesson. Use the “Checking for Understanding” questions to focus on the lesson objectives of exploring how people relate to animals, especially wild animals and the idea of sharing the Earth with other creatures. Included in the objectives is for students to realize that different people and cultures all relate differently to animals. In doing their animal research, they should be thinking of their relationship or beliefs/feelings toward wild animals and why they feel that way. How do the different ways people feel about animals influence national parks?
• Let students know that they are going to learn more about the wild animals in Glacier National Park by creating research reports of a favorite animal that they are certain lives in Glacier National Park (and if going on a field trip, one that they would like to see on their visit). Be sure that they have a second choice so that there are not duplicates. The instructor may wish to specify animals that would frequent beaver habitat, or that would live in a burned forest, or that appear in a traditional Blackfeet, Kootenai, Salish or Pend d’Oreille story (or that conform to some other precondition). There are numerous references to uses and importance of specific animals found in Glacier National Park by the Kootenai and Blackfeet in the book, People Before the Park. There are also a variety of books in the Blackfeet Reading Series and from the Salish and Kootenai Culture Committees of animal stories. The Fire on the Land Project from CSKT has a section on wildlife, and  Bull Trout’s Gift and Explore the River from CSKT has information on animals. If students have access to Apps, the CSKT Riparian Animals Field Guide is a result of CSKT putting all their animal research together in one place for people to use- could your students make an App for Glacier?
• Go over the “Questions for Animal Research” to make sure students understand what they should be trying to find out about their animal. (Perhaps having a sample to show or one from a previous year’s student will help). Show the students how to find resources in the library, and walk through the Montana Field Guide on-line to help them begin their research.
• Ask students to illustrate their writing on a separate piece of art paper. Some students may find research more to their liking if they are allowed to draw the picture first. (There are animal coloring book pages on the park website.)
• For advanced students, have them make a movie documentary of their animal research. Here is an example the park received from a student who did research on wolverines .

Questions for Animal Research

• Give the common name and scientific name of the animal you have chosen to research (and if you wish, the Blackfeet, Kootenai, Salish-Pend d’Oreille name). Give a physical description of the animal.
• How does this animal reproduce? Are the young born alive? Are they hatched from eggs?
• How does this animal care for its young? Do parents supply food directly? Do they nurse them? Are the young taught to find food or are they left on their own?
• What does this animal eat? Does it eat plants and animals (omnivorous)? Does it eat only plants (herbivorous)? Does it eat only animals (carnivorous)? The Glacier National Park Teacher’s guide has a chart of “Who eats Whom” other activities to learn about Glacier’s wildlife.
• How does this animal move about? Does it fly, walk, crawl, etc.?
• In what kind of environment does this animal live? Does it live on the ground, in the air, in water, or in a combination environment? Does this animal prefer special terrain such as alpine tundra, marsh, open meadow, forest, stream, etc. ?
• What other interesting observations can you make about this animal?
• Draw the animal in an appropriate environment on a separate sheet of art paper.

Writing Extension

When writings have been edited and drawings are completed, have the students present their reports and pictures to each other in order to share knowledge of all the animals. Choose a title and help students assemble their reports and art in a book - maybe even a field guide for a trip to Glacier!

Field Trip Extension 

• Play traditional American Indian games. Contact the International Traditional Games Society to obtain lesson plans and game kits. How did these games help children learn the skills needed to improve their observation skills of animals? 
• Family Forestry Expo  and  River Honoring  - organized annually, target specific grades and include information about wildlife.
• Invite someone from the local community or tribal government to discuss wildlife management in your area. Compare local management objectives with the National Park Service objectives.
• Invite an elder to your class to talk about wildlife experiences he/she may have had in the past.
• Contact the wildlife division for one of the Reservations and ask it it’s possible to arrange a speaker or a field trip.
• Ranger-Led Field Trips  and  Service Learning Projects  in Glacier National Park. The park’s native plant restoration program has service learning field trips for middle and high school students; the  Forest Processes  and  Fire Ecology  field trips can be modified for 3rd - 8th grade.
• Self-Guided Field Trips  as well as Guided Tours - various concession operated - in Glacier National Park.
• Glacier Institute  - geology and other education programs.
• Guided Tours in Glacier National Park - various concession operated.
• Flathead Community of Resource Educators (CORE) -  outdoor education guide for field trips  in the Flathead Region.

Carnivorous, environment, herbivorous, omnivorous, reproduction.

Assessment Materials

Play the Animal Story Guessing Game. After students have presented their stories, have them take turns telling animal stories that give vital information, except name and physical description, about some animal that lives in the park. The other students ask for clues and guess which animal is being described. Play an animal pantomime game. Have students take turns doing a silent imitation of animal behavior until the other students successfully guess which animal they are imitating. Both of these activities are fun for students and provide a good review.

Additional Resources

• Research the ten thousand acre Grizzly Bear Conservation Area in the Mission Mountains Tribal Wilderness by contacting CSKT’s Division of Fish, Wildlife, Recreation, & Conservation.
• Fire on the Land DVD - contains information about wildlife and fire.
• Glacier Education Trunks available to borrow that have wildlife connections: Songbird Trunk, Fire Works Trunk, Mammals Kit, Bear Trunk, Wolf Trunk.
• Glacier NP Student Resource Guide - has copyright free images of Glacier wildlife, fact sheets about the plants and animals, podcasts about bear research and Citizen Science, resource bulletins about various animals, coloring books, alphabet books, and much more.
• Browning Public Schools has a Blackfeet English Language Animal Coloring Book.
• Look at a copy of Glacier National Park’s Bear Management Plan and Bear Management Guidelines and discuss them.
• Montana State Park’s Indian Education for All Lesson plans associated with state parks in Montana.
• Flathead Community of Resource Educators (CORE) - list of education trunks available from various organizations across the state. Also links to various education resource providers in the Flathead Region.

Contact Information

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Lesson Plans

Last updated: September 15, 2023

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• Resource Library
• Nebraska Department of Education

Education Standards

Oregon english language arts and literacy.

Learning Domain: Reading Informational Text

Standard: With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.

Standard: With prompting and support, identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.

Standard: With prompting and support, identify the reasons an author gives to support points in a text.

Standard: Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.

Standard: Identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.

Standard: Know and use various text features to locate key facts or information in a text.

Standard: Identify the reasons an author gives to support points in a text.

Standard: Identify the main purpose of a text, including what the author wants to answer, explain, or describe.

Standard: Know and use various text features to locate key facts or information in a text efficiently.

Standard: Identify the main topic of a multi-paragraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text.

Standard: Describe how reasons support specific points the author makes in a text.

Standard: Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.

Standard: Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea.

Standard: Use text features and search tools to locate information relevant to a given topic efficiently.

Standard: Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.

Standard: Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text.

Standard: Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

Standard: Describe the overall structure of events, ideas, concepts, or information in a text or part of a text.

Standard: Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively and explain how the information contributes to an understanding of the text in which it appears.

Standard: Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text.

Standard: Determine two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details; summarize the text.

Standard: Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

Standard: Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.

Standard: Compare and contrast the overall structure of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more texts.

Standard: Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text, identifying which reasons and evidence support which point(s).

Learning Domain: Writing

Standard: Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic.

Standard: With guidance and support, participate in shared research and writing projects.

Standard: With guidance and support, respond to questions and suggestions from peers and add details to strengthen writing as needed.

Standard: With guidance and support, explore a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers.

Standard: With guidance and support, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.

Standard: With guidance and support, focus on a topic, respond to questions and suggestions from peers, and add details to strengthen writing as needed.

Standard: Write informative/explanatory texts in which they name a topic, supply some facts about the topic, and provide some sense of closure.

Standard: With guidance and support, use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers.

Standard: Write multi-paragraph informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

Standard: Introduce a topic and group related information together; include illustrations when useful in aiding comprehension.

Standard: Develop the topic with facts, definitions, and details.

Standard: Use linking words and phrases (e.g., also, another, and, more, but) to connect ideas within categories of information.

Standard: With guidance and support, focus on a topic and strengthen writing as needed by revising and editing.

Standard: With guidance and support, use technology to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others.

Standard: Participate in shared research and writing projects.

Standard: Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.

Standard: Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Standard: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

Standard: Introduce a topic clearly and group related information in paragraphs and sections; include formatting, illustrations, and multimedia when useful in aiding comprehension.

Standard: Develop the topic with facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples related to the topic.

Standard: Link ideas within categories of information using words and phrases.

Standard: Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.

Standard: Provide a concluding statement or section related to the information or explanation presented.

Standard: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.)

Standard: With guidance and support from peers, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1–3 up to and including grade 4.)

Standard: With guidance and support, use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others.

Standard: Conduct short research projects that build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.

Standard: Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; take notes and categorize information, and provide a list of sources.

Standard: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

Standard: Introduce a topic clearly, provide a general observation and focus, and group related information logically; include formatting, illustrations, and multimedia when useful in aiding comprehension.

Standard: Link ideas within and across categories of information using words, phrases, and clauses.

Standard: With guidance and support, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1–3 up to and including grade 5.)

Standard: Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.

Standard: Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of sources.

Learning Domain: Speaking and Listening

Standard: With guidance and support, followagreed-upon rules for discussions.

Standard: Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about kindergarten topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.

Standard: Confirm understanding of a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media by asking and answering questions about key details and requesting clarification if something is not understood.

Standard: Ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get information, or clarify something that is not understood.

Standard: Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions as desired to provide additional detail.

Standard: Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly.

Standard: Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions.

Standard: Build on others’ talk in conversations by responding to the comments of others through multiple exchanges.

Standard: Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.

Standard: Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to gather additional information or clarify something that is not understood.

Standard: Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.

Standard: Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.

Standard: Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation. (See grade 1 Language standards 1 and 3 for specific expectations.)

Standard: Ask for clarification and further explanation as needed about the topics and texts under discussion.

Standard: Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 2 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.

Standard: Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation in order to provide requested detail or clarification. (See grade 2 Language standards 1 and 3 for specific expectations.)

Standard: Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.

Standard: Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to clarify comprehension, gather additional information, or deepen understanding of a topic or issue.

Standard: Ask questions to check understanding of information presented, stay on topic, and link their comments to the remarks of others.

Standard: Explain their own ideas and understanding in light of the discussion.

Standard: Determine the main ideas and supporting details of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

Standard: Ask and answer questions about information from a speaker, offering appropriate elaboration and detail.

Standard: With guidance and support, report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking clearly at an understandable pace.

Standard: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 3 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.

Standard: Speak in complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation in order to provide requested detail or clarification. (See grade 3 Language standards 1 and 3 for specific expectations.)

Standard: Pose and respond to specific questions to clarify or follow up on information, and make comments that contribute to the discussion and link to the remarks of others.

Standard: Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions and carry out assigned roles.

Standard: Review the key ideas expressed and explain their own ideas and understanding in light of the discussion.

Standard: Paraphrase portions of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

Standard: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.

Standard: Identify the reasons and evidence a speaker provides to support particular points.

Standard: Differentiate between contexts that call for formal English and situations where informal discourse is appropriate ; use formal English when appropriate to task and situation. (See grade 4 Language standards 1 and 3 for specific expectations.)

Standard: Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.

Standard: Pose and respond to specific questions by making comments that contribute to the discussion and elaborate on the remarks of others.

Standard: Summarize the points a speaker makes and explain how each claim is supported by reasons and evidence.

Standard: Summarize a written text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

Standard: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

Standard: Report on a topic or text or present an opinion, sequencing ideas logically and using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.

Standard: Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, using formal English when appropriate to task and situation. (See grade 5 Language standards 1 and 3 for specific expectations.

Nebraska's College and Career Ready Standards for English Language Arts

Learning Domain: Reading

Standard: Determine main ideas and supporting details from informational text and/or media.

Standard: Use prewriting activities and inquiry tools to generate ideas and organize information.

Standard: Gather and use relevant information and evidence from one or more authoritative print and/or digital sources to support claims or theses.

Standard: Compose paragraphs with grammatically correct sentences of varying length, complexity, and type.

Standard: Revise to improve and clarify writing through self-monitoring strategies and feedback from others.

Standard: Publish a legible document in manuscript, cursive, or digital format, and apply formatting techniques (e.g., indenting paragraphs, title).

Learning Domain: Speaking/Listening

Standard: Communicate ideas and information in a clear and concise manner suited to the purpose, setting, and audience (formal voice or informal voice), using appropriate word choice, grammar, and sentence structure.

Animal Research Graphic Organizer

3rd grade animal research.

The attached lesson plan is designed for 3rd grade English Language Arts students. Students will analyze informational text to determine the main ideas for a report, apply the concepts of the writing process, and communicate their research through an oral presentation to their classroom peers. This lesson plan addresses the following NDE Standards: NE LA 3.1.6.e, NE LA 3.2.1.a,c,d,e,j, NE LA 3.3.1.a

It is expected that this lesson plan will take five one-hour sessions to complete.

Standards and Objectives

• LA 3.1.6.e Determine main ideas and supporting details from informational text and/or media.

LA 3.2.1 Writing Process: Students will apply the writing process to plan, draft, revise, edit, and publish writing using correct spelling, grammar, punctuation, and other conventions of standard English appropriate for grade-level.

LA 3.3.1.a Communicate ideas and information in a clear and concise manner suited to the purpose, setting, and audience (formal voice or informal voice), using appropriate word choice, grammar, and sentence structure.

Objectives:

•   Students will analyze informational text to determine the main ideas for a report.

  Students will apply the concepts to the writing process to complete an informational report. 

Materials Needed

San Diego Zoo Live Cam:  https://zoo.sandiegozoo.org/live-cams

Research Sites to be used throughout the lesson (others can be used with teacher permission):

• https://zoo.sandiegozoo.org/
• https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/
• https://animalfactguide.com/animal-facts/

Internet Connection

PowerPoint app for students

Anticipatory Set

The teacher will introduce the students to the San Diego Zoo live feed website and then give the students 10 minutes (or more if you have time) to explore the different animals they have on camera.

Students will pick an animal they would like to learn more about. (the animal does not have to be one of the ones on the live stream)

Instructional Input and Modeling

The teacher will explain to the students that they will be practicing their research and writing skills by selecting an animal and finding out all sorts of facts about the animal.

The teacher will show what websites the students can use for their research (in materials list) and hand out the Animal Research Graphic Organizer.

The teacher will go through each of the sections of the graphic organizer so the students know what they should be looking for in their research.

Guided Practice

The teacher will allow the students to work on their graphic organizer.

Checklist for animal research:

Y.      N.  Did the learner use multiple sources and cite them at a 3rd-grade level?

Y.      N.  Did the learner have a large number of facts they can use for their paper?

Y.      N.  Did the learner effectively use a note-taking strategy.

Y.      N.  Are the facts the learner found accurate?

Once students have finished (should take about 20+ minutes), the teacher will then prepare students to begin their outline and rough draft of their research paper.

The paper should be approximately 1-page in length and should include the information from their graphic organizer. 

**If you are choosing to include science standards in the lesson, you can have the students focus on animal traits, comparing and contrasting regions, and variations in characteristics that may provide advantages.**

Checklist for the writing process:

Y.      N.    The learner has a well designed outline.

Y.      N.    The learner has gone through the 4 steps of the writing process.

Y.      N.    The learner compares and contrasts their animal with other animals in the writing process.

Independent Practice

The students will revise and edit their drafts and write their final draft of their research paper.

Once the final drafts are finished, the teacher will allow the students to begin their oral presentation. The oral presentation should include all of the information that is in their research paper (they can use the paper as a speech).

Research Paper Rubric:

The students will create a visual aid PowerPoint that helps the audience understand more about their animal.

Oral Presentation Rubric:

Version History

Topbar Social Icons

Updated Animal Research Reports + Wilderness Walk

Final Presentation

Wilderness Walk

Stephanie, I love this post. I did the pop-ups on my kiddos' animal research reports this year, but I stapled their written reports to the top of the construction paper and made the pop-ups at the bottom. The file folders are a good idea, and I love the quotes! I also liked the note card idea. I will definitely keep all of this in mind for next year. Thanks so much for sharing! :o) Tara TeachingwithTWitte

LOVE the notecard idea! We're doing our animal research reports right now too, but I just gave them a web to fill out. Will have to try the note cards next year! Angela :) Hippo Hooray for Second Grade!

What a great project! I need to remember this for next year! Thanks for the freebie! Bethany FabandFunin4th!

This is such a great idea, thank for sharing it! And thank you so much for the freebie, I will definitely be using it next year. Can you tell me what programs or website your kiddos use to do their research?

We did something like this....the kids made Wild Animal Family Albums. They had them on display and we all walked around to see the hard work. Only I hadn't thought of such a cute title (or note sheet). I will be calling it the Wilderness Walk this year! Thanks!

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Investigating Animals: Using Nonfiction for Inquiry-based Research

• Resources & Preparation
• Instructional Plan
• Related Resources

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 with graphic organizers. Students begin their inquiry by comparing fiction and nonfiction books about animals, using a Venn diagram. 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 using prompts from an online graphic organizer. 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 to an authentic audience.

Featured Resources

Animal Inquiry Interactive: Students can use this online to tool to help them focus and organize their research about animals.

From Theory to Practice

This lesson focuses on teaching primary students doing research with nonfiction, informational material how to document their discoveries. In her Planning for Inquiry: It's Not an Oxymoron! , Diane Parker poses a series of questions that make inquiry-based learning seem essential for elementary grade students: "Do we want them simply to memorize facts and procedures in order to pass a test? Or do we want them to want to know, to seek to know, and ultimately, to understand themselves and their world more deeply as a result of their knowing?" (5). Certainly our youngest students deserve the kinds of richly engaging learning experiences that well-designed inquiry instruction can bring them. Further Reading

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

• 1. Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
• 3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
• 4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
• 7. Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and nonprint texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.
• 12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

Materials and Technology

• Access to the Internet
• LCD Projector for full-class use of online Interactives
• Quality nonfiction, informational picture books and videos
• Chart tablets, journals, markers, and other writing materials

Preparation

• Bookmark the Websites about animals from the Resources section as well as any other sites of your choosing.
• Assemble supplies listed above. Ask your school librarian for help gathering books and videos. The Nature Series videos such as “A First Look” distributed by Diamond Entertainment Corporation and the National Geographic Kids videos series are good options.
• Prepare a chart with the heading: “What We Wonder about Animals.” Students will later add headings and supporting questions to define the scope of their research.
• Choose an audience so that the students have a clear idea of exactly who they will be sharing their findings with. Examples might include visitors to a science fair, family members at an open house, and another class of grade-level students. Good writing comes when children research and write on a topic they care about for an authentic and interested audience with whom they want to share their findings.
• Arrange for adult volunteers to serve as scribes or keyboardists as needed.
• Because the Animal Inquiry student interactive will not allow students to save work, for the research phase of the project, print out blank forms from the interactive. Click the Print tab on the opening page and choose the pages you want to print. You can also record these headings and supporting questions on your “What We Wonder about Animals” chart. This will be the basis for the graphic organizers students will create using the interactive to document the findings of their research.
• 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.
• Test the Animal Inquiry student interactive on your computers to familiarize yourself with the tool and ensure that you have the Flash plug-in installed. You can download the plug-in from the technical support page.

Student Objectives

Students will

• identify the characteristics of nonfiction texts.
• pose questions.
• participate in research.
• document and record discoveries.
• share their findings.

Session 1: Introducing the Genre and Beginnings of Inquiry

• Share a fiction book about animals, such as The Three Bears or The Three Little Pigs , with the class .
• Ask students to compare and contrast this type of fictional book about animals with the nonfiction books from recent reading workshop sessions. Have some nonfiction books on hand for prompting or verifying student responses with concrete examples.
• True versus make-believe
• Facts versus fiction (stories)
• Photographs and sketches versus drawings, collage, and paintings
• Working as a whole group, decide on the questions students want to explore to learn more about real animals. At this point, the questions need to be general, not specific to any one animal.
• Record students’ questions on the chart, under the “What We Wonder about Animals” heading. Usually questions will include questions about what an animal looks like, how it moves and acts, what it eats, where it lives, what its babies are like, etc.

Session 2: Defining the Scope of the Investigation

• Workings as a whole-class, choose an animal to study. Encourage the students to think of animals that they would really like to know more about and have them discuss various animals they might choose.
• Record the list as students brainstorm animals which they have a sincere interest in investigating.
• Give students small pieces of paper and have them sketch or write about the animal they would choose to investigate.
• Make a graph of the votes, and select the animal with the most votes as that which the class will investigate together.
• Review the “What We Wonder about Animals” questions generated during the previous session.
• Ask students if there are any questions they want to add now that they have selected a specific animal, or any questions that they want to eliminate or change. Revise the list according to their responses.
• On an Internet-connected computer with an LCD projector, lead students through a demonstration of the Animal Inquiry student interactive .
• Use the prompts built into the interactive to organize and refine the questions from the “What We Wonder about Animals” chart.
• Be sure students understand how the interactive works since they will be using it during a future session.

Sessions 3–5: Participating in Research

• With students, begin to sort through the books, Websites, and other materials you have collected, and choose those that contain information about your chosen animal.
• If desired, take a trip to the library to collect more information about the animal, introducing students to the process of collecting quality sources. Consult ReadWriteThink Lesson Research Building Blocks: Hints about Print for support in working with students on issues such as these.
• From the very beginning of the research process, emphasize the importance of audience so students have a clear picture of who their audience will be. If several classes are doing animal investigations, it is fun to share the results and be one another’s audiences.
• Help your students understand the needs and interests of their audience, thinking of ways they can choose to present their findings effectively. See ReadWriteThink lesson Teaching Audience Through Interactive Writing for support in teaching students about audience.
• Different groups of readers can explore various texts in guided reading or during paired or individual reading time.
• Help students record information that they find in the appropriate boxes on previously printed-out blank sheets from the Animal Inquiry student interactive. An adult volunteer can help with this process as well.
• As you share the nonfiction, informational texts you have collected, have students record their discoveries. Record from these readings and from students’ other research on their sheets.
• Explore appropriate videos and Websites and record this information as well.
• During the fourth session, have students look at what they have recorded and assess their progress so far.
• What information still needs to be collected?
• Are any boxes still empty?
• 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?
• What information is interesting, but doesn’t really fit in any boxes?
• Did you find any information that contradicted information you had already recorded?
• How could you find out which is correct?
• The focus of an investigation can change during the course of research. You may find out things that you didn’t even know about and decide to add new questions that you want to explore.
• You can eliminate questions that aren’t interesting or challenging.
• Sometimes you can’t find the information you are looking for with the sources that you have. You might leave those questions for a later time or you might have to find other sources.
• Sources are not equally reliable. Some may give less than accurate information. You need to see what several good sources say and record details that most sources agree upon as the answer to a question.
• Using their observations to shape the direction of their research, have students decide what still needs to be done, and allow time and support to complete their interactives.
• Use adult volunteers to help students type in their findings using the Animal Inquiry student interactive.
• Encourage students to discuss their findings and report what they have learned through their research.

Session 6: Sharing the Findings

• Ask students how they want their information to look in its final form. Since students will be sharing what they learned with their chosen audience, they need to decide how to revise and edit so that the information can be shared effectively with their audience.
• Display large sheets of chart paper with labeled headings and captions reflecting the graphic organizers filled in with the results of the research. Individual students can use their smaller copies from the interactive for their personal journals and then can illustrate and write about a favorite fact that they learned about their animal. Other options might include art created by the students about the animal that would also be displayed. Adult volunteers can help students copy their writing to the larger charts.
• Have students divide up the information to present orally to their audience, present in small groups, or come up with other ways to share the results of their research.
• Once students have experienced a whole-group investigation of a favorite animal, match each student to a fourth or fifth grade buddy 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. Make sure that the pairs have a clear sense of the audience with whom they will be sharing their findings. Older students will be able to identify the steps of the writing process being used and may compare this with their own research writing. Book Buddy Biographies is a similar lesson, pairing students to investigate each other’s backgrounds.
• Three other examples of writing reports can be found in the ReadWriteThink lesson Writing Reports in Kindergarten? Yes!
• Older students can extend the animal study to mathematics with the ReadWriteThink lesson plan Bridging Literature and Mathematics by Visualizing Mathematical Concepts , which uses picture books to talk about size and ratio.

Student Assessment / Reflections

• Encourage students to assess their 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 reflection journals.
• Use mini-conferences as you move around the room during independent reading to talk with individuals or pairs as they explore nonfiction texts. Encourage them to share what they found exciting or interesting.
• posing questions
• participating in research
• documenting and recording discoveries
• sharing their findings
• the animal inquiry graphic organizer
• the journals
• the writing
• identifying nonfiction by its characteristics
• using nonfiction to learn about a topic
• using graphic organizers to record and share their findings
• effectively sharing their findings with an audience

This reflection can easily be done as a celebration as students and teacher share what they noticed, felt, discovered, and learned during this lesson, reflecting on what they accomplished and shared. This is a time to CELEBRATE the learning!

• Calendar Activities
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• Student Interactives
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• Strategy Guides

This interactive tool allows students to create Venn diagrams that contain two or three overlapping circles, enabling them to organize their information logically.

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• Kindergarten K

3rd grade science worksheets about animals

by: The GreatSchools Editorial Team | Updated: April 15, 2016

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Animal dinnertime!

Skill: herbivore or carnivore.

Does it eat plants or other animals?

In this science worksheet , your child identifies which animals are carnivores and which are herbivores.

Animal habitats

Skill: nature.

Do sharks build nests and live in trees? Maybe. Maybe not.

In this science worksheet , your child will connect each animal to its natural habitat.

How animals adapt to habitat

Skill: observational skills.

How has the dormouse adapted to its home? How about the mole?

In this science worksheet , your child will look at drawings and read synopses of four animals. Then they will consider and come to conclusions about those animals adapting to their different environments.

How does it move?

Skill: visual discrimination.

Animals can move on their own, but in different ways.

In this science worksheet , your child will connect each animal to the word that describes how it moves, such as swim, crawl, or fly.

That’s my type of animal!

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In this science worksheet , your child learns that common features help identify different types of animals, such as mammals.

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U.S. public, private and charter schools in 5 charts

While children in the United States are guaranteed a free education at their local public school through state constitutional law, many families weigh other educational options for their children. Even before the coronavirus pandemic upended families’ usual routines, 36% of parents with K-12 students say they considered multiple schools for their child in the 2018-19 school year.

Students’ school environments vary widely – sometimes even for children living in the same community – depending on whether they attend traditional public, private or charter schools.

Here are some key distinctions between these three types of schools, based on data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). All figures reflect the most recent school year with data for all three types of schools.

Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to better understand how U.S. students’ school experiences might differ depending on whether they attend a traditional public school, a private school or a charter school.

Data comes from the Institute of Education Sciences’ National Center for Education Statistics . We used the most recent year in which data is available for all three school types.

Public, private and charter schools include those that teach students in kindergarten through 12th grade, unless otherwise specified. Racial categories used in this analysis include those who report being a single race and non-Hispanic. Hispanics are of any race. National School Lunch Program data for 2021-22 is not available for Alaska.

What’s the difference between public, private and charter schools?

Until a few decades ago, parents with kids in elementary, middle or high school could choose to send them to either a traditional public school or a private one. More recently, many states have added a third option: public charter schools.

• Traditional public schools are taxpayer funded, are tuition free and must adhere to standards set by a school district or state board of education. These are the most common schooling option in the U.S.
• Private schools are known for being selective, religiously affiliated or sometimes both, and charge tuition rather than receive public money. In addition to tuition dollars, private schools may be funded through a combination of donations, endowments or grants from other private sources. As a result, they have more autonomy when it comes to curriculum and other academic standards. During the 2021-22 school year, about three-quarters of private school K-12 students (77%) attended a religiously affiliated school. The largest share went to Catholic schools, which accounted for 35% of all private school enrollment. Another 23% of private school students attended secular institutions.
• Public charter schools are legally allowed to operate in nearly all states, plus the District of Columbia, as of 2024. Like traditional public schools, these are taxpayer funded and tuition free. They’re open to any student who wishes to enroll. But unlike their traditional counterparts, agreements – or charters – with the state or local government allow them flexibility when it comes to curriculum and other standards. They also may turn students away due to space constraints.

Differences exist in the size and locale of each type of school, NCES data from the 2021-22 school year shows.

Traditional public schools tend to be larger than the other types. For instance, 39% of public schools enroll 500 or more students, compared with 32% of charter schools and 8% of private schools. And while 31% of public schools have fewer than 300 students, 44% of charter schools and 82% of private schools do.

Public schools are relatively evenly distributed across urban, suburban and rural areas, while most charter and private school campuses are located in either cities or suburbs.

(Traditional public and charter school environment data includes prekindergarten students, who account for less than 1% of enrollment at these types of schools.)

Where is enrollment growing and shrinking?

During the 2021-22 school year, the vast majority of the country’s roughly 54.6 million public, private and charter school students in pre-K through 12th grade (83%) attended traditional public schools. Another 10% were enrolled in private schools, and 7% went to public charter schools.

Enrollment numbers have shifted over the last decade:

• Traditional public school enrollment has declined. In fall 2011, about 47.2 million students attended public elementary, middle and secondary schools, accounting for 87% of all school enrollment. By fall 2021, the number of public school students dropped to about 45.4 million, resulting in a small drop in public schools’ share of total enrollment.
• The popularity of charter schools has grown. Minnesota became the first state to pass legislation allowing charter schools in 1991. In the last 10 years alone, enrollment has risen from about 2.1 million students in fall 2011 to nearly 3.7 million in fall 2021, an increase from 4% to 7% of total enrollment.
• Private school enrollment has held relatively steady. Private school students have consistently made up about 10% of school enrollment, with numbers that have fluctuated from a 10-year low of fewer than 5.3 million in 2011 to a peak of almost 5.8 million in 2015.

How does enrollment look at the state level?

Nationwide, the vast majority of students in pre-K through 12th grade attend traditional public schools – but shares vary somewhat from state to state. In Wyoming, for example, nearly all students (97%) attend public school, while 45% do in D.C.

The states with the highest percentages of public school enrollment include some of those with the lowest population density . In addition to Wyoming, West Virginia (95%), Montana (93%), Kansas and Alaska (91% each) round out the top five states by share of public school enrollment.

In most states, students are more likely to attend a private school than a charter school. Charter school students make up a larger share of enrollment than private school students in just 12 states and D.C. (Data is unavailable for seven states because they did not have any charter schools or legislation allowing them in fall 2021.)

Among the places where students are the least likely to attend traditional public schools:

• D.C. has the highest share of charter school students, at 36%. Just 45% of K-12 students there attend traditional public schools. Another 19% attend private schools.
• D.C. and Hawaii have the largest percentage of students in private schools, at 19% each. In Hawaii, another 76% of students are enrolled in public school, and 6% are enrolled in charter schools.

How do student demographics vary by school type?

Charter schools had the most racial and ethnic diversity during the 2021-22 school year. Hispanic students make up the largest share of enrollment there (36%), followed by White (29%), Black (24%) and Asian American students (4%).

In contrast, 47% of traditional public school students and 65% of private school students are White. Smaller shares are Hispanic, Black or Asian.

Differences also exist by household income level. Nearly all public and charter schools are part of the National School Lunch Program , which provides free or reduced-price meals to students based on family income.

In general, charter school students are more likely than public school kids to qualify for the program. For instance, 31% of charter students and 21% of traditional public school students are enrolled at a school where more than three-quarters of their peers qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Because a relatively small share of private schools participate in this program, 2021-22 data is not available for them. However, research shows that private school enrollment rates are highest among upper-income families .

What does the teaching staff look like at each type of school?

More than 4.2 million full- and part-time teachers worked at public, private and charter schools during the 2020-21 school year, the most recent year with available data. That year, about 3.5 million teachers (83%) taught at traditional public schools. Another 466,000 (11%) worked in private schools, and 251,000 (6%) taught at public charters.

The teaching force in each environment varies based on race and ethnicity, age, experience, and educational attainment.

• Charter school teachers are the most racially and ethnically diverse: 69% of charter school teachers are White, compared with about eight-in-ten at both traditional public and private schools. Charters also employ the largest shares of Black and Hispanic teachers.
• Private school teachers skew slightly older, while charter school teachers are the youngest: About 17% of private school teachers are ages 60 and older, compared with 8% in public schools and 7% in charter schools. And in charter schools, 21% of teachers are under 30, compared with 14% each in public and private schools.
• Charters employ a larger share of teachers with fewer years of experience: For instance, 13% of both private and charter school teachers have fewer than three years of experience, compared with 7% of public school teachers. And 43% of charter school teachers have between three and nine years of experience, compared with 28% each in public and private schools.
• Public school teachers are the most likely to have a master’s degree: 52% of public school teachers have a master’s degree, compared with about 41% each in charter and private schools.

Katherine Schaeffer is a research analyst at Pew Research Center .

A quarter of U.S. teachers say AI tools do more harm than good in K-12 education

Most americans think u.s. k-12 stem education isn’t above average, but test results paint a mixed picture, about 1 in 4 u.s. teachers say their school went into a gun-related lockdown in the last school year, about half of americans say public k-12 education is going in the wrong direction, what public k-12 teachers want americans to know about teaching, most popular.

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Can we stay within planetary boundaries five research topics for a sustainable future.

Climate change is no longer a distant threat. It's here, disrupting the global chain supply, soaring the likelihood of pandemics, and raising global climate risks.

One powerful tool for understanding this reality is the Planetary Boundaries framework. This resource describes the limits of nine biophysical systems and processes, or "tipping points", that regulate the functioning of life support systems on earth and, ultimately, the stability and resilience of the earth system.

Introduced for the first time in 2009, the framework has been revised throughout the years. Scientists have shown that we have already crossed six of these boundaries, which increases the risk of drastic and irreversible environmental shifts, according to Stockholm Resilience Center research.

Finding solutions that keep us within these boundaries calls for the power of collective action. Today, we share five Research Topics that explore some of the factors impacting the nine planetary boundaries.

All articles are openly available to view and download.

1 | Water and Carbon Dynamics, Ecosystem Stability of Forest and Grassland in Response to Climate Change

42,000 views | 25 articles

In this Research Topic, scientists study forest, grassland, and climate change. They primarily focus on plant growth, carbon sequestration, evapotranspiration, water use efficiency, and ecosystem stability in response to climate change in arid or semi-arid areas. This topic also highlights the vegetation eco-physiological mechanisms in response to climate change.

Forest and grassland ecosystems are the most important carbon sinks in terrestrial ecosystems. How the two mitigate and adapt to climate change is still a challenge. Exploring their reaction to extreme climate events contributes to improving vegetation quality and enhancing their ability to respond to climate change.

View Research Topic

2 | Low Carbon Economy and Health in the Context of Carbon Neutrality

26,000 views | 13 articles

Among other issues, this Research Topic explores the many challenges faced by the low-carbon economy in the development process and how to deal with them. It also looks at which industries impact the development of a low-carbon economy, including energy, transportation, and construction.

The concept of a "low-carbon economy," which is based on low energy consumption and low pollution, has become a global topic of discussion. Simultaneously, the pursuit of the carbon neutrality goal has emphasized the importance of public health. As a result, researchers are examining ways to develop a low-carbon economy while protecting public health.

3 | Biogeochemical Processes of Micro/Trace Elements and Their Impacts on Marine Ecosystems

21,600 views | 14 articles

This Research Topic focuses on the biogeochemical cycle of micro/trace elements (M/TEs) and their interaction mechanism with marine ecosystems. M/TEs are found in exceedingly low amounts in the ocean, but they are critical to marine ecosystems, the global carbon cycle, and the ocean's overall health.

Over the past decades, the increasing availability of M/TEs and isotopic data has yielded new—and potentially more direct—insights into secular changes in seawater, sediment composition, and the evolution of the marine biosphere. This also reflects that human activity is altering the ocean through climate change, pollutants, and direct exploitation of the marine environment.

4 | Microbial Regulation of Soil Carbon Cycling in Terrestrial Ecosystems

22,300 views | 12 articles

This Research Topic increases our understanding of the role of microorganisms in soil organic carbon storage and mobilization processes. It also improves our capabilities in developing and evaluating cost-effective microbial strategies for carbon sequestration and anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions mitigation.

The soil organic carbon pool is larger than the combined carbon stock in the world's vegetation and the earth's atmosphere. Carbon exchanges between soil and atmosphere are quantitatively relevant to the terrestrial carbon cycle. The efficiencies of these processes are critical determinants of net ecosystem carbon storage, which makes this topic relevant to achieving carbon neutrality and peak CO2 emissions.

5 | Ocean Artificial Upwelling – Ecological Responses and Biogeochemical Impacts

29,100 views | 10 articles

This Research Topic studies the optimization of artificial upwelling and its effectiveness in fertilizing ocean productivity and enhancing energy transfer to higher trophic levels. Researchers also investigate the associated consequences of biogeochemical cycling, including carbon-to-nutrient stoichiometry, export efficiency, and production of climate-relevant gases.

Feeding a growing population and achieving net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050 are major challenges. Terrestrial resources are heavily used, but the vast ocean ecosystems still hold untapped potential. That's why assessing the feasibility, effectiveness, and risks of artificial upwelling is crucial for securing marine food production and mitigating climate change.

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