My first grade students research penguins as part of their non-fiction and science unit. This unit provides them the opportunity to practice reading informational text and work on identifying key words and facts while reading. Students find the answers to questions concerning the life, habitat, eating habits and body of penguins. They work with a partner and complete the organizer below. This year we used the database Pebble Go created by Capstone publishing. If you have read some of my other blog posts, you may see a reoccurring theme of using this resource. This is my school's first year purchasing this product and is was well worth the money. It is specifically geared at kindergarten through third grade students and aligned with the Common Core State Standards. I use it a frequently with my first and second grade students especially. The students are easily able to navigate the page. They click on tabs to move to the different pages, each labeled with a heading that matches the ones on their organizer. The database also allows them to define new words with just a click and the audio capability makes it accessible for all students.
The following week I showed the whole class how to use a software program called Kidspiration. At the smartboard I show them how to access the program and the key features I would like them to include. This is another week where we invite parent volunteers into library class to help support the students in the computer lab. I provide parents with a cheat sheet to using Kidspiration so they have a reference guide as they assist students. In the past we have had students work in groups of four to five, but this year we decided to use partnerships with the exception of a few groups of three. This seemed to go much smoother because it eliminated the down time for each child. They worked on collaboration and team work skills as they took turns in the "driver's seat" at the laptops (the seat in front of the keyboard with mouse access). Each group was responsible for the task of creating an idea web showing the research they had found on penguins. They were required to add images and use toolbar functions.
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| Students typed the main idea and heading for each circle. |
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| Partnerships added images to support their research. |
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| Students incorporated tool bar functions by adding background and text box colors. |
The kids really worked well together. Penguins are an animal students find interesting. It was fun to hear them excitedly talking and sharing facts they learned about these birds. Even though we had parent support, students are really able to do a large amount of this project independently with adults their to support and model if needed. The penguin webs they create are a good foundation for additional penguin work that occurs in the classroom.
