Review

This journal article is an excellent resource for implementing a lesson on animal behavior, habitats, and care. The experience was a part of a series of projects, which included the componen... See More

This journal article is an excellent resource for implementing a lesson on animal behavior, habitats, and care. The experience was a part of a series of projects, which included the components of a habitat and the connections of each component in a habitat. I believe this would be a great way to engage students in a science project because the students will be caring for the animals as well as observing the animals first-hand. In this case, the students worked with a specific set of animals, mostly crustaceans and insects. However, this lesson can be bent to utilize any animal. The resource includes the worksheets the pre-service teachers used during their lesson and links to the resources used to research the topic. After this lesson, students will be more confident in their observations of animal behaviors and the inquiry process that comes along with any field of study within science.

Introducing students to invertebrates

This article is about using invertebrates in a pre-service classroom but since the undergrads then went on to include the same creatures in their elementary lesson plans it provides a pretty... See More

This article is about using invertebrates in a pre-service classroom but since the undergrads then went on to include the same creatures in their elementary lesson plans it provides a pretty good lesson. As a matter of fact - this unit is very similar to the FOSS Structures of Life lesson (without the plants and more diverse "critters"). This is a very good unit because it helps students of any age to consider the things that are necessary for any animal to survive and how the form of a creature fits its function in its environment. The internet links mostly work except some have new addresses and the one to the article website "Crazy Classroom Critters" is totally inactive. However the worksheets necessary are provided at the end of the article. Changes websites are Encyclopedia Smithsonian @ http://www.si.edu/Encyclopedia and the Missouri botanical gardens @ http://www.mobot.org/default.asp