Research Process

Directions to Students

  Scenario

Wow! You have been studying about animals and your classroom teacher has agreed to let you choose a pet for your classroom from one of the five classes of animals. What will you choose? Will it live in your classroom or will you adopt a pet that lives elsewhere?
Read one of the following about pets:

* Can I Keep Him? by Steven Kellogg
* Crictor by Tomi Ungerer
* Classroom Pets by Grace Maccarone

Task and Product

The Task

You will choose a classroom pet and be responsible for its care and cost. Your group will be assigned one of the following classes of animals.

* Mammals - whale or hamster
* Fish - goldfish or tropical fish
* Reptiles and Amphibians - snake or frog
* Birds - penguin or parakeet
* Insects and Spiders - tarantula or cricket

   The Product
Your group will research one animal, then make a poster to inform your teacher and classmates if your pet selection is a good choice for your classroom.

Assessments

Your grade will be based on the following:

 
Click here to see the rubric by which your research process will be assessed.
Click here to see the rubric by which your group work will be assessed
Click here to see the rubric by which your poster will be assessed.

Question

Essential Question:
Which animal would make the best classroom pet?

Subsidiary questions:

• How much will it cost?
• What does it eat?
• Does it make noise?
• What is needed in its habitat?
• How do you care for it?
• Can you keep it in your classroom?
• Which animal characteristics are the most important in determinig whether your animal would make a good pet?

Gather and Sort

Gather information from a variety of sources.

Sort your findings using a graphic organizer. Choose one from this site, or create one of your own. Remember you must include care, cost and habitat as categories. Add other categories based on your questions.

Organize

Analyze your research notes to determine whether or not your animal would make a good classroom pet.

Synthesize your findings by creating a poster which informs your teacher and classmates about your animal and if it would make a good classroom pet.

• What new insights have emerged about your topics?
• Which facts are the most compelling and would have the greatest impact on your audience?

Evaluate the effectiveness of your research for the task.

• Have you gathered sufficient details about your topic?
• Are your details organized in the right categories or sub-topics to make sense for your audience?
• Which facts are the most compelling and would have the greatest impact on an audience?
• Remember, you must have answered the questions about pet care, cost, and habitat.

Organizing and preparing the final product:

• Decide in your group who will be responsible for each of the categories of information.
• Each person in your group will create a poster for the one category showing what your learned in your research.
• Combine the finished individual posters into a "montage".
• The "montage" should include:
  • a title
  • the names of the group members
  • at least 3 separate posters (one for each category)
  • a sentence answering the question about a recommendation for a classroom pet

Conclusion

Presentation

Presenting the poster montage to the teacher and classmates:

• Orally share the information and show the montage.
• Display all montages and enjoy your great work!

Reflection:
Conclude as a class which pet would be the best choice.

You will be asked to vote on the pet you think the class should adopt. You will need to give reasons for your choice!