Animal Research

When a teacher has the opportunity to teach across the curriculum, it is beneficial for both the student and the teacher. The story of the Kapok Tree involved a variety of animals, so it lent itself perfectly to science. We picked four animals; the jaguar, the toucan, the boa constrictor and the three-toed sloth. Each of these animals, we already knew some information about from the book. We started with what we knew from our reading - four basic facts for each animal. Then independently the students did research either from a computer or a book. We then used the new information to create four facts we did not know prior to our research. This was the students' first time using research, and they definitely rose to the challenge. Then, in teams, we used a four box format to show the information. Finally, the students presented their animals to the class.