1st grade Entomologists--Part 2

1st graders from Ms. Noble's class had fun researching, writing, analyzing, and creating this week in the Media Center. Each student randomly drew an insect to research and took notes about the insect's habitat, life cycle, physical appearance, diet and abilities.

On days 1 and 2, we used the iPads to access PebbleGo, an engaging non-fiction database for young learners.

I love this database for many reasons: the students are able to navigate it independently; students have the option to hear the information read out loud; and key vocabulary words are defined for clearer understanding. Not to mention the kids love it! (please contact me if you would like the username and password for access at home)

I stressed to the students that good researchers ask questions. Some of the students had questions that could not be answered by PebbleGo so we turned to Twitter to contact the scientists at The Entomological Society of America. 

After gathering their data, I paired students and challenged them to use a Venn diagram to compare/contrast their insects. 

The students were very proud of their diagrams!

Grasshoppers and Cicadas

Dragonflies and Moths

Flies and Painted Lady Butterflies

I took a picture of each diagram and imported it into the Educreations app. The students had to decide what information they wanted to share and I recorded their voices. Even though we practiced a bunch, a few of us got nervous and mixed up our words. In the interest of time, we did not re-record but just corrected ourselves in the next clip. We tried to use a 'loud and proud' voice, but it's still hard to hear some of us. Make sure to turn up your volume :) We hope you enjoy our presentation and learn something new from our hard work!