Texas Animal Research and Fun!

This week students were very busy finishing up the "PBL" (Project Based Learning) about Texas Animals to help the Fort Worth Zoo.  This has been a 3 week project, chalk-full of state standards, higher order thinking and 21st Century skills.  The PBL included things like:
~ Skyping with zookeepers and First Graders from Grapevine Elementary
~ Solving real world problems
~ Generating lists to determine what we needed to know about Texas animals
~ Deciding and choosing which animal to research
~ Researching using iPads, non-fiction books, classroom computers, videos, and Voice Threads from our 1st Grade friends at Grapevine Elementary School
~ Collaborating and working with a small group of classmates (teamwork!)
~ Organizing and recording animal information in our Science Notebook
~ Creating a piece of artwork that reflected their knowledge of the Texas animal and habitat
~ Generating a summary of important facts they learned about their animal
~ Creating a "Pic Collage" (iPad app) of their Texas Animal
~ Typing their summary
~ Sharing with classmates (and parents) their Texas animal artifacts (using our classroom microphone!)
~ Helping to design the First Grade "Texas Animal Art Show" for Open House (Wow! It was like a real art gallery!)
~ Hosting  First Grade students from Grapevine Elementary who walked to Bear Creek to see the Texas Animal Art Show and share their own Texas animal projects

Click on the link to view a few moments from our PBL:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVgzdGwX4y8

Here are student groups displaying part of their final product for the Texas Animal Art Show:

Monarch Butterfly Team

American Alligator Team 

Prairie Dog Team

American  Black Bear Team

Rattlesnake Team

Bobcat Team

I hope to post short videos of each Team's "Group Share" of their projects after Spring Break!