Endangered Animals (Lesson 1 - Task Definition - Grade 3)

Summary

The purpose of this Big Six© lesson is to provide students with an understanding of the phrase 'endangered animal' and should help them define the 'task' of the overall unit (copyrights - Salt Lake City School District).

Materials

Book, Will We Miss Them?; Endangered animals definition chart or overhead (L1:1); Inflatable globe with endangered animals of the world on it; Overhead projector, chalkboard and chalk, or chart paper and marker; Overhead or chart of the BIG SIX; Sample of finished product (gorilla poster) (L1:2, 3, 4);

Intended Learning Outcomes

Students will:

1. Select an animal and write a final report in their own words using information gathered from a nonfiction source and create a poster.

2. Focus the research by brainstorming questions they want answered about their animals.

Instructional Procedures

Read about one or two of the animals in Will We Miss Them as well as the last two pages in the book. See Salt Lake School District - Big Six© Overview Tell students the definition of endangered animals and show them the chart or overhead. (Instruction) Toss inflatable globe to a student and give them 10-15 seconds to name an endangered animal on it. Then let that student toss it to another. (Instruction--this will help students become acquainted with some of the endangered animals.) Tell the students that today we are going to start our study of the endangered animals. When we study something it means we are going to find information about it. What would you like to know about these animals? (brainstorming on chart , chalkboard, overhead or computer screen) (Instruction) Tell the students that they will be making a poster like the sample (show sample). From brainstormed list highlight suggestions related to habitat, diet, reasons for being endangered. Tell students this is the information we will be focusing on for your report. (Save for next lesson) (Instruction) Ask students what endangered means. After their response, show chart or overhead of definition for review. (Check for Understanding) Ask students to tell you what they will be doing during the next few classes. They should know they will be gathering information about endangered animals and making a poster to share their information. (Check for Understanding) Tell students that what we did today is called Task Definition and refer students to BIG SIX chart. That means we have a clear idea of what we are going to do. It is the first step in solving an information problem or doing a research project. (Closure)