Description

In groups of 4-5, students will use literature to research a particular habitat. Each group will then create a collage portraying their habitat.

Materials

- 4 to 5 desert books (Examples: Footprints in the Sand by Cynthia Benjamin; Life in the Deserts by Lucy Baker; Who Beats the Heat? by Pamela Chanko and Daniel Moreton; DESERT by Daniel Moreton)

- 4 to 5 wetlands/swamp books (Examples: America's Wetlands by Frank Staub; Leap Frogging Through Wetlands by Michael Maydak and Nancy Field; SQUISHY, Misty, Damp and Muddy by Molly Cone; Wading Into Wetlands by Sandra Stotksy)

- 4 to 5 forest books (Examples: Bambi's Forest by Joanne Ryder, David Pacheco, and Jesse Clay; Bears in the Forest by Karen Wallace and Barbara Firth; Bernie's Forest Adventure by Verna Larson and Nikki Tognetti; Deep in the Forest by Brinton Turkle)

- 4 to 5 ocean books (Examples: Oceans by Seymour Simon; The Magic School Bus on the Ocean Floor by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen; Life in the Oceans by Lucy Baker; Ocean by Susan Canizares and Pamela Chanko)

- Paper (for brainstorming)
- Pencils (for brainstorming)
- Large Poster Board (one piece for each group)
- A Variety of Art Materials (Examples: tempera paint, watercolors, markers, crayons, chalk, glue, scissors, construction paper, colored macaroni)
- Magazines
- Computer (to access web sites)
- Small container
- Plastic grocery bags (one per child or one per group)
- One copy of attached file for each group.
- Chart paper

Procedures

Day One:

1. Review what the students have learned about habitats.

2. Explain to the students that they will be put into four different groups, and each group will be assigned a habitat to study. Tell them that the activity will last for three days. Day One they will use books and magazines to learn about their habitats. Then they will use the paper and pencils to brainstorm things that they may want to do and use to create their collage. Day Two the children will go on a nature walk to collect materials to be used for their collage. Day Three each group will create a collage that represents their assigned habitat. Ask the students if they have any questions about what they will be doing during this activity.

3. Group students into four groups. The best way to do this is to divide the number of students in your class by four. (Ex.: If you have 21 students, you will have five children in each group, with the exception of one group that will have six members.) After you have decided how many children will be in each group, write the word "ocean" on a small piece of paper for each member. (Ex. If you will have five students in this group, write "ocean" on five different pieces of paper.) Do the same for "forest, desert, and wetlands." Put all of the papers in a small container.

4. Have each student in your class choose a piece of paper from the container. When everyone has chosen, send each child to the appropriate area for his/her assigned habitat.

5. Pass out a copy of the attached file to each group and refer to the chart you have created using the same questions. Explain that they will need to show the answers to these questions in their collage because this is what you will use to grade each one.

6. Encourage students to read the literature you have provided. Each student may choose one book to read. After reading, have students create a list of ideas that they want to include in their collage. This may include materials they wish to use and/or pictures they will create or cut out of magazines, etc.

7. Tell student to look around their homes and yards to collect items that may be used in the collage and encourage them to bring the items to school the following day.

Day Two:

1. Take the students for a nature walk around the school if possible. They may take plastic grocery bags to collect materials. You may wish to give each student a bag or assign one person from each group to hold the groups bag.

Day Three:

1. Allow students to assemble in assigned areas. Explain to them that they will now use all of the ideas and materials they have collected to create their collage. Remind them that their collages should answer each of the questions on the chart.

2. After the collages are completed and all materials are dry, each collage will be judged. The teacher may judge the collages or may send the collages to another classroom, possibly an older group of children, to be judged. Attach an award to each collage. Display them in the classroom or on a hallway bulletin board.

Extensions

1. It is ideal to have students bring collage items from home and to have a class nature walk so that groups can work together collecting items. However, if your school campus does not accommodate nature walks well, you can simply have children bring in items from home.

2. This activity is to be done after or near the end of your habitat unit. All of the students should have some basic understanding of what habitats are and should be able to briefly describe the oceans, deserts, wetlands, and forests.

3. You may also wish to use the web links for further research. This can be done large group or small group.

4. Other Sunshine State Standards that could easily be assessed from this activity include SC.D.1.1.2.1.1, SC.F.1.1.4.1.1, SC.F.2.1.2.1.3, and SC.G.2.1.2.1.1.

Attached Files

A list of questions to guide the research process and a grading rubric for assessment.     File Extension: pdf